“He didn’t do it for himself—he drugged her for the creature he was working for,” Stav said. “A Lud’om, I think. At least, he looked like one.”
“What’s a Lud’om? No, never mind.” Charlie raised her hand to stop him answering. “First tell me if that poor girl is all right.”
“I think she is.” Stav frowned. “Another male came in and stopped her from drinking too much of the drugged wine. She only took the first sip.”
“Thank God!” Charlie nearly sagged with relief—she really felt for this unknown girl, whoever she was. “But…what will the first sip do to her? Will it hurt her?”
“She’ll have some side effects but nothing that will kill her,” Stav assured her.
“So who saved her? Another Lud…Ludo…whatever it was?”
“No…he looked like a Kindred. But he spoke to Two of his home world on Xander Prime. So he must be Havoc.”
“Really? Havoc?” Charlie was intrigued. When she and Stav had gone undercover at the couple’s resort, J’lorgon’s Mind, he had pretended to be a Havoc because they were genetic cousins to the Kindred. As far as she knew, the two kinds of males were almost exactly alike in every way except the Havoc didn’t call brides like the Kindred or bond with them. Though of course, for the purpose of their cover, they had pretended that Stav was one of the rare few who had, in fact, found a bride. Charlie, of course, had been that bride—a deception that had become a reality once they fell in love.
“The Havoc seemed to be taking care of the girl fairly well.” Stav frowned. “But Two distracted him long enough for others to interfere. The last I saw, the two of them were surrounded.”
“Oh, no!” Charlie put a hand to her mouth. “Do you think they’ll be okay? Can we help them?”
“I don’t see how.” Stav shook his head. “Even if we could fold space to their exact spot, I have a feeling the fight is already over.” He sighed. “At least the Havoc male seemed to know what he was doing. And I could tell he would protect the female with his own life if necessary.”
“Just like a Kindred would,” Charlie murmured. Though she had once considered the alien race her enemies, Stavros had changed her mind with his love and devotion as well as his willingness to sacrifice himself for others. He was truly noble—and that wasn’t a word she could apply to hardly anyone else she knew.
“Just like a Kindred,” her lover agreed, smiling a little. “We love our females to distraction and we would die to keep them safe.”
“I know you would, sweetheart.” Charlie stroked his hair again and leaned down to give him a lingering kiss. “So…they were a couple, then?”
He frowned. “I don’t think so. Two said something else to him at the end…something about him being protective of her even though she didn’t allow him to penetrate her. Very strange.”
“Well, aren’t there some cultures that don’t allow that?” Charlie asked. Her new friend Kat and several of the other Kindred wives had told her tales of Yonnie Six, the planet where the females were superior and the males were all sex slaves.
Stav nodded. “That’s true. But until he said that, I assumed the girl was from Earth somehow. Now it’s clear she can’t be.”
“Why would you assume that?” Charlie asked.
“She has the same brown skin tones that Lauren and Becca have,” he explained. “It’s lovely but I thought it was only found on Earth.”
“Hmmm, I don’t know.” Charlie frowned. “Well, whoever she is and wherever she’s from, I hope she’s okay. Although I think it’s kind of sad that he loves her enough to risk his life for her and she won’t let him…you know.”
“Penetrate her?” Stav raised an eyebrow at her and bared his double set of fangs meaningfully. As a Blood Kindred, he looked a little like a vampire and like a vampire, he loved to bite. But the Blood Kindred didn’t really drink blood—they bit to inject their essence—the pale blue liquid secreted by their fangs. The essence helped bind their mates to them and it could also facilitate healing if a Blood Kindred’s bride was ill.
It also caused multiple orgasms, as Charlie knew from delicious experience.
Suddenly she felt the need to have Stavros in her—to feel both his fangs and his shaft deep inside her, filling her with himself in every possible way. But she felt a little awkward about asking. After all, he’d just endured a weird mental connection with the Dark Kindred who had almost killed him. It seemed like he needed comfort right now…not sex.
She shifted uncertainly and felt the sharp stab of a muscle cramp in her inner thigh.
“Ow!” she gasped, stepping back from Stav. “Damn it, that hurts!”
“What? What’s wrong?” Stavros was instantly worried. He had spent most of his life feeling the pain of others and though being freed from that curse was a blessing for the most part, it still seemed to bother him when he couldn’t tell exactly what was wrong with Charlie the minute anything hurt her.
“Oh, just my thigh.” She sighed and started to stretch it out. “I tried some new machine at the Exercise Arena today.” Which was what the Kindred called their on-ship gyms. “Must have pulled something because it hurts like H E double hockey sticks when I move a certain way.”
“It hurts like what?” Stav looked more concerned than ever. “I have seen the Earth sport Hockey. Does it feel like someone is beating you with those curving sticks they use?”
“No.” Charlie had to keep herself from laughing. “I didn’t mean it that way. It’s a nice way to say it hurts like hell—that’s all. It’s bound to get better after I stretch it out some.” She moved her leg again experimentally and winced. “But for now it’s still sore.”
“Let me see,” Stavros said, motioning for her to sit on the bed beside him.
“Why?” There’s nothing to see—I pulled a muscle, that’s all.”
“Let me see anyway.” He frowned. “Remember, I have some training as a medic. What if it’s more serious than you know? It’s better that I examine you.”
“Well…all right.” Charlie shrugged. “But I’m telling you, there’s nothing to see.”
Despite feeling like it was no big deal, she couldn’t help the way her heart sped up when she settled on the bed and lifted the hem of her deep red nighty to let him look. The color was almost burgundy and it looked good with her blonde hair and pale skin. It also had a small pair of silky burgundy panties to go with it.
“Hmm…” Stav slipped off the bed and knelt before her, insinuating his broad shoulder right between her thighs. It reminded Charlie of the way he liked to taste her and she could feel herself getting hot and bothered at the thought.
Comfort, he needs comfort right now, she reminded herself. But when he ran his big, warm hands up and down her bare thighs, she had to bite her lip. God, that felt amazing. And when he leaned forward to get a closer look at her thigh, she could feel his hot breath blowing over the crotch of her panties, making her pussy feel wet and swollen.
Then his big fingers brushed over the tender spot in her thigh and she gasped.
“Hurts here?” He looked up at her questioningly.
Charlie nodded. “That…that’s the spot,” she said rather breathlessly. “But I’ve tried massaging it and stretching it already—I think it’ll just have to wear itself out.”
“Or I could bite you,” Stav murmured, stroking the sore spot on her thigh. “I know you’re tender, Falinda, so I promise I’ll be careful. You’ll barely feel it as I slide my fangs into your flesh.”
His words made Charlie shiver with desire. She’d had a secret vampire fetish since she was a teenager and had read her first Anne Rice book. After that, she had devoured anything vampire related and the fact that her man had fangs was a huge turn on for her. Still, she tried to remind herself that he was only healing her, giving and receiving comfort, not looking for sex.
“Sure,” she said, trying to smile. “As long as you’re gentle.”
“You know I will be.” Bending over her, he kissed her h
urt thigh lightly. “Sometimes I wish I still had my Curse—just so I could feel any ache or pain you might have and heal you right away. You should have told me you were hurting earlier, Charlotte.”
“I don’t want to bother you with every little ache and pain I ever get,” Charlie protested.
“But I want you to.” He was nuzzling her thigh gently now, rubbing his scratchy cheek against her tender flesh. It was a Kindred thing, Charlie had learned—a way of scent marking their partner. Since the Kindred sense of smell was so much stronger than what humans possessed, scents were very important to them.
“Well then…heal me,” she whispered. The feel of his hot breath and his rough cheek against her inner thigh was driving her wild.
“It will be my very great pleasure, Falinda,” he murmured, kissing her thigh lightly. Then he opened his mouth, letting his fangs extend to their greatest length.
Charlie shivered to see the long, curving double set of fangs on either side of his mouth with the blue droplets of essence already beading at their tips. I have to try not to come when he bites me, she told herself. It’s not about sex this time—it’s about healing and comfort.
At that moment Stav sank his sharp points deep into the tender flesh of her thigh. As he had promised, it was a smooth, almost painless entry. Though Charlie tried to steel herself for the effects of his essence, she was helpless to stop the lust and need that overwhelmed her. A whip crack orgasm raced through her, turning her nipples to hard little points and making her pussy liquid with desire.
She bit her lip, trying to hold back the moan that filled her throat and grabbed fistfuls of the bedspread on either side of her to stop from threading her fingers through Stav’s hair. Oh God…so good…so good! The pleasure went on and on, racing through her, stroking her like a big, warm hand that had somehow found its way under her very skin to the core of her desire.
After what seemed like an eternity of breathless panting and silent moaning on her part, Stavros withdrew his fangs, sliding them out of her thigh as smoothly and painlessly as he had slid them in. Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as the pleasure coursing through her ended. God, she hadn’t known how much more she could take before she started begging him to take her! Normally it wouldn’t be a problem but she was still trying to be sensitive to his needs.
“My, my,” Stav murmured. He was still between her thighs and he seemed to be frowning at something.
“What…what is it?” Charlie asked uncertainly. The place he had bitten her was already healed, sealed when he licked her to rid her of the small wounds. So what was he staring at?
“Well, it seems that healing your thigh had an unintended effect.” He ran one long finger down the slit at the center of her pussy. “Your panties are soaked, Charlie.”
Charlie bit her lip as she looked down to where he was pointing. It was true that the burgundy silk of the panties she wore was damp and clinging to her mound. The thin, wet material clearly outlined her wet pussy lips and even the little bump of her clit which was peeping out from between them.
“God,” she whispered and had to fight the urge to close her legs. For years she’d felt self conscious about the way she got so wet when she was aroused. The first man she’d ever slept with had been disgusted by it and hadn’t been shy about letting her know how he felt. Charlie had developed a real complex about the way her body reacted to pleasure—so much so that she’d never allowed another man to taste her pussy. That is, until Stavros came along.
Like all Kindred, he not only loved to go down on his female—he needed to. And as a Blood Kindred, he had a special affinity for women who got especially wet. There was even a word for a girl like her—numala or “liquid pussy” in the Kindred tongue.
“Beautiful,” Stavros breathed, his warm breath ghosting over her wet pussy. “So beautiful the way you get so wet, Falinda.”
Charlie squirmed and bit her lip. Knowing that Stav loved how wet she got helped her get over her fear of being tasted, but there was still a lingering discomfort in realizing how obvious her desire was.
“It seems to me you might be ruining these little panties,” Stav murmured, stroking over her slit with one fingertip again. “Perhaps I should slip them off and clean you up a little with my tongue.”
“Do…do you want to?” It was still a minor revelation to Charlie how much he loved doing this. Probably because her first boyfriend had been so vocal in his dislike of it.
“How can you ask me that?” Stav was already reaching up to strip the clinging panties down her legs. Charlie lifted her hips to help him get them off. “I always want to taste you, Falinda,” he murmured, looking into her eyes. “I think about it all the time.”
He got the panties off and tossed them aside before turning his full attention back to her naked pussy. Charlie had just recently had a wax and she was completely bare—a fact that made her feel even more vulnerable than her excessive wetness.
“Gods,” he muttered hoarsely. “You’re so gorgeous like this—naked and wet and spread open for me. And I don’t think I’ve ever seen you completely without hair.”
“I wanted to try something different.” Charlie shrugged a little. “You like it?”
“I like anything to do with tasting your pussy, you know that,” Stav growled softly. “But right now I need to clean you up. You’ve got honey everywhere.”
“I…I know.” Charlie looked down at her plump, naked pussy lips and bit her lip. They were swollen with need and shiny with her juices. “I can’t help it,” she whispered. “When you bit me and injected your essence…”
“I know. I felt you coming.” Stav looked up at her, his eyes half-lidded with desire. “I felt your pleasure as my own. You don’t need to be ashamed of it.”
“I…” Charlie wasn’t sure what to say. But just then Stavros shut her up by bending his head and licking her pussy in a long, slow stroke using the flat of his tongue. “Ohhhhh,” she gasped, her head falling back as his warm, wet tongue dragged over her sensitive flesh.
“Relax, Falinda,” she heard him say. “Just open your thighs and let me taste you.”
“Stav!” she moaned as he licked her again and then again. At first the strokes were broad and long, covering the entire length of her pussy slit, bathing her outer pussy with warmth. But then Stav put his big hands on her thighs and parted her with his thumbs.
“Gods, your little clit is so perfect,” he whispered hoarsely. Then he ducked his head again and sucked the throbbing pink pearl between his lips.
Charlie moaned as she felt him circling her sensitive bud with the tip of his tongue. Stav was always so gentle when he did this and yet he somehow managed to convey great urgency—as though he loved her taste and couldn’t get enough.
Unable to hold still, Charlie wove her fingers through his thick, wild mane and pulled him closer, bucking her hips up shamelessly to meet his mouth.
“Stav,” she heard herself babbling. “Oh God, Stav…don’t stop…don’t stop!”
And just at that moment he stopped.
“Stav!” she wailed, opening her eyes and looking down at him. “What the—”
“I think you’re all cleaned up now.” He looked up at her, his indigo eyes teasing. His entire mouth and jaw were wet with her juices and as she watched, he slowly licked his lips as though savoring her taste.
“Stav, I swear to God, if you leave me wanting like this…What the hell are you doing?” Charlie demanded, feeling so frustrated she could almost cry. She’d been so close.
“I’m teaching you a little lesson. You’ve been thinking about how I only wanted comfort from you, not sex.”
“You heard that?” Charlie bit her lip. Their bond was still so knew she sometimes forgot that Stav could catch her private thoughts sometimes as well as the ones she sent him.
“I couldn’t help it,” he said dryly. “You think very loudly—you always have.”
“I can’t help that,” Charlie said defensively. “And anyway, you should
n’t have been eavesdropping.”
“It’s not eavesdropping to hear thoughts that are projected directly into my mind. Besides…” Stav sat up and cupped her cheek. “You should know that sex with you is a great comfort, Falinda. Making love with you, holding you in my arms and my heart at the same time…it replenishes me. It restores my soul.”
Charlie smiled.
“That’s very poetic of you, honey. It makes me feel kinda bad—I wasn’t thinking of ‘replenishing my soul’—I’m just horny. But I didn’t want to be pushy about it.”
“Be as ‘pushy’ as you want. I’ll always want you,” Stav murmured. He leaned forward and nuzzled against her breasts but this time he was definitely seeking more than comfort. Charlie moaned softly as she felt his hot breath against her nipples through the thin fabric of her nightgown.
“In that case I’ll be pushy enough to say I want you too. No, not just want you—I need you. Inside me,” Charlie told him bluntly. “I need your fangs in my throat and your cock deep in my pussy. I need it now.”
A low growl of desire rose in his throat and suddenly he was up off the floor and onto the bed with her. Before she could say another word, he had scooped her into his arms and was sitting on the edge of the bed with her straddling his lean hips.
“Stav!” she gasped breathlessly as he reached between them to push down his sleep trousers, baring his long, thick shaft.
“Charlotte,” he murmured in return. “Tell me now if you do not want this because I can’t hold back much longer.”
“I want it,” Charlie assured him, looking into his half-lidded eyes, blazing with lust. “I want it so much I’m going to scream if you don’t give it to me.”
“I’ll make you scream, all right,” Stav promised in a deep rumble. “Scream and cry and moan.”
“Please,” Charlie begged him, reaching between them for the thick shaft. She loved the feel of him in her hand—his cock was like a bar of heated steel covered in silk. “Please put it in me now—I need you.” She fitted the broad, mushroom shaped head to her entrance and spread her thighs even further.