My voice broke off as her head whipped up suddenly, her eyes now gunmetal gray instead of crimson or hazel, dark brown hair changed to red and framing the same face I saw looking back at me from the mirror.
“Bugger me dead, you did it,” Bones whistled.
A slow grin spread across Denise’s face—except it wasn’t her face anymore. It was mine.
“That was so much easier than the last time!” she said, giving Spade a quick kiss before jumping to her feet. Even her body now looked exactly like mine, I noted with amazement. She’d grown inches taller and filled out in the butt and breast area, all in the space of about three minutes.
“Darling, are you all right?” Spade asked, rising and looking her over with far more objectivity than I felt. Staring at a mirror image of myself on my best friend was just . . . odd, even though this was what we’d hoped would happen. The demon’s essence hadn’t just made her virtually unkillable. It had also turned Denise into a shapeshifter like he’d been.
She smoothed her hand down Spade’s chest. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Looks and sounds much worse than it is, really. Now, where’s the kitchen? Did I mention I was starving?”
I’d just gotten out of the shower when Bones shut the bedroom door behind him, his gaze somber. After dinner, which all of us ate so Denise didn’t feel like the odd person out, we’d finalized the details of our plan. Everyone agreed it was our best way to hopefully head Apollyon off at the pass, but Spade wasn’t the only one who had misgivings about his spouse’s safety. I was nervous for Bones, as he was for me, but we both knew not acting posed the greater danger. Still, now that we were alone, I felt his disquiet in the emotions grazing mine. His natural heady, burnt sugar scent was more reminiscent of kitchen accident than crème brûlée right now.
I stopped towel-drying my hair and went over to him, sliding my arms around his neck as I laid my head on his chest. Soon, I’d have to reapply the garlic-and-pot packets all over me, but for now, I could hold him without those smelly impediments.
“It’ll be okay,” I said, my words puffing onto the fabric of his shirt. “This will work.”
Hard arms encircled my back as he pulled me closer. “I know. Just don’t fancy being separated from you.”
I let out a small snort. “I don’t like it, either, but Denise is the ultimate decoy. You saw her. She’s now my twin, right down to my cup size. If you saw her out at a bar, even you would swear it was me.”
“Not as soon as I got close,” he replied, head lowering until his mouth brushed my jaw. “Forget the heartbeat; she doesn’t smell like you, her voice isn’t yours, her posture is different, and she looks at people differently than you do.”
“How do I look at people?” I asked, bemused. All the other things he’d listed made sense, but few except Bones knew me well enough to notice those differences. Denise’s heartbeat was the biggest concern, but we had a way around that which would work for all but someone right up next to her—and I didn’t think Spade would let anyone get that close.
Bones pulled back, staring into my eyes even as his fingers traced my face. “You have the gaze of a fighter. Noticed it right off when we met. You looked at me . . . and I could tell you were mentally assessing my strengths and weaknesses before anything else. At the time I thought it was odd, because that stare didn’t match the green girl who tripped over her words when she asked me if I wanted to fuck.”
Laughter bubbled from my throat. “I was trying to lure you outside so I could kill you, but unlike every other vampire I’d met up to that point, you weren’t cooperating. Should’ve known right then that you’d be trouble.”
His lips curled, a hint of green appearing in his gaze. “Ah, but that only made me more tempting to you. You couldn’t resist the challenge. That’s why you came looking for me the very next night, and why you agreed to let me train you even though you still plotted to kill me those first few weeks.”
He was right. Back then, believing all vampires were evil bloodsuckers, I’d been determined to kill Bones despite the fact that he was much stronger than me. And he was right that the lure of defeating such a powerful vampire appealed to my sense of challenge. Or recklessness, depending on who you asked.
“What about you?” I breathed, standing on tiptoe to brush his mouth with mine. “If I’d have fallen back with my legs open like all the other women you came across, you’d have given me the night of my life, and then forgotten my name before breakfast. But I was immune to your charms and prettiness. Must’ve shocked you.” I couldn’t stop my grin as I lightly nipped his lower lip. “So I’m not the only one who couldn’t resist a challenge.”
“You weren’t immune to my charms for long, as I recall,” he responded, a brow arching with sinful meaning.
“I admit to being stubborn when it came to resisting your appeal.” Spoken as I unwound my towel to let it drop to the floor. “But I’d have to be all the way dead not to want you.”
His eyes were now completely green, and fangs gleamed out from his upper teeth. I loved the way his gaze raked over me. Like it was the first time he’d seen me this way, and he couldn’t stop himself from staring. I knew my body, was well aware of its flaws, but Bones made me forget those when he looked at me. Under the hunger in his gaze and the swell of his lust cresting against my subconscious, I felt beautiful, strong, and sexy. Free to do anything without fear or shame.
His hands slid down my bare skin, power caressing my senses at the same time. I opened my mouth as his head dipped, feeling those inner sparks ignite with his kiss. They increased as his tongue stroked along mine with deliberate, intimate thoroughness. He’d use the same slow, deep strokes when his mouth was somewhere else, and the thought made my loins clench with anticipation. Bones only rushed things when I wanted him to; when impatience made my need so sharp that I couldn’t endure the delicious way he drew out foreplay. Tonight, though, I wanted him to be the one who felt drugged with passion, and if I let him keep kissing me, I’d soon be past the point of enough mental capacity to do that.
“Get on the bed,” I said, tearing my mouth away.
He carried me there, trailing more dizzying kisses down my neck at the same time, but I resisted when he started to lay me onto the mattress.
“Just you,” I said, untangling myself from his arms.
He cast a meaningful glance at the thick bulge in his pants before looking back at me. “Not becoming a tease, are you?”
I felt the rub of fangs against my tongue, two pointed reminders of the heat flaring inside me, but I pushed my desire back. That was tough to do with Bones propped on his elbows, legs casually yet invitingly splayed, inky shirt unbuttoned to reveal a V of crystal flesh in extravagant contrast to the dark fabric. For a minute I stared at him, letting his beauty fill my eyes.
“Angels wish they were as gorgeous as you,” I said with conviction.
“I’m very far from angelic, but thank you for the compliment.”
The words were light—his expression wasn’t. It was intense, his eyes flashing with emerald, and that bulge between his legs sent rip currents of lust through me. If I kept staring at him, letting my mind dwell on the fact that he felt even better than he looked, I’d fall on top of him and lose all thought amidst the bliss of his flesh merging into mine.
But I had an agenda, and right now, it didn’t involve me jumping on him. We’d had so much stress, danger, and violence lately, with more coming on the horizon, that our circumstances didn’t lend themselves to romance, but I didn’t care. Sure, we could sit down, go over our battle strategy yet again, or smother each other with admonitions to be careful, but if I’d learned anything these past few years, it was to grab hold of moments of bliss when they came.
Or to make them myself, if circumstances weren’t accommodating enough to throw one my way.
“After tomorrow, we won’t see each other for a little while,” I replied, voice low and throaty. “So I want to make sure that you have something to remember me by.??
?
Chapter Twenty-one
I reached out to Bones with deliberate slowness, batting his hands away when he sought to pull me down again.
“No,” I said, pushing him flat against the bed. “Tonight, I’m in charge. Your only job is to lie back, relax, and”—memory of words he’d once said made a soft laugh escape me—“let me work.”
His brow arched even as a wicked smile tugged at his mouth. “I’d tell you to be gentle, but we both know I wouldn’t mean it.”
No, he wouldn’t, and that knowledge only fueled my desire. Bones might be a master at control, but once pushed past his limit, he made love the same way he fought; ferocious, unbridled, and inexhaustible. I couldn’t count how many bed frames we’d ruined in our time together, and I hoped there were many more broken ones ahead of us in our future.
“Close your eyes,” I told him. He did, and I pressed on his lids lightly to punctuate my next point. “Keep them closed until I tell you otherwise.”
That little smirk still hugged his mouth as he complied. “Fancy me calling you mistress as well? You could always punish me if I forget and address you as Kitten.”
“No ‘mistress,’ and no more talking, either,” I said, biting back my grin even though he couldn’t see it.
Then, with far more slowness than I usually used, I unbuttoned his shirt, letting my knuckles brush his skin. Once that was off, I moved to his pants, controlling my urge to reach inside and instead treating his zipper to the same slow handling. With his pants undone, I dragged them down an inch at a time until they slid past his feet. Then, at last, I allowed myself to stare. Bones’s body was a pale, smooth landscape of beauty, the only dark interruptions being the thin line of hair on his stomach that flared to a patch of darker curls cradling the only fat thing on him. His skin gleamed with a vampire’s natural incandescence, emphasizing the hard muscles, lean lines, and enticing contours. His entire body invited touch, and I accepted that invitation.
My fingers grazed his chest, measuring his reaction in his deepening scent and the thrum of power in the air. His eyes remained closed, arms folded beneath his head for comfort—or maybe because he knew that showed off his chest to greater benefit. Probably the latter. Bones had mastered the art of seduction before this country even elected its first president. I continued trailing my fingers down his chest, enjoying the feel of him underneath their tips. He might be far more experienced at making someone weak with desire, but I had an edge, too. I knew everything he liked, and I was going to exploit that knowledge to my fullest advantage.
I splayed my hands along his ribs and moved them slowly up to his raised arms. His power tingled against my palms, sending pleasant vibrations through me. Then, I placed both hands on his chest and rubbed my thumbs across his nipples. They hardened to match the rest of his body.
“I love your hands,” he sighed. “You think I look like an angel? Well, Kitten, your hands are my heaven and your eyes are my home.”
The words warmed me, but his voice was its own temptation with its smooth English accent and sensual undercurrents. If I let him keep talking, he could entice me into doing whatever he wanted instead of what I’d planned.
“Shhh . . .” I drew out. Bones might not be able to see my smile, but he could probably feel it as I brushed my mouth over his in a feathery kiss.
“Mmm, my mistake,” he murmured, stretching in a way that sent muscles rippling down his body.
I licked my lips, forcing down my urge to follow those ripples with my tongue. Instead, I let my hands wander at will, stroking and touching him from his face to his feet and back again. Honestly, I hadn’t spent so much time just handling him before. Lust usually cut short such a thorough exploration since I lacked his patience and control. Tonight was different, though. Feeling him this way, lingering over the curves of his body and enjoying the low sounds of pleasure he made, was more than arousing; it was affirming. Bones was mine, and no matter what the future threw at us, we’d meet it together, come hell or high water.
He rolled onto his stomach when I directed him to, revealing those wide shoulders, the narrow curve of his waist, and the twin hard mounds of his buttocks. This time, it wasn’t enough for me to merely caress him. I crouched over him, running my mouth down his spine and feeling his shiver underneath my lips.
The taste of his skin and his scent was like an aphrodisiac. I climbed on the bed, letting my hair tease his flesh as I continued to drag my mouth over him, licking and nibbling everywhere. He began to make low, guttural noises with every new inch of his back, ass, and legs that I gave the same thorough attention to.
“Sweet bleedin’ hell, luv, this was a smashing idea.”
His voice was strained, and his hands were now clenched into fists. I didn’t comment on him speaking this time, but bit gently into a muscled cheek, not breaking his skin with my fangs, just applying pressure. Then my tongue crept out for a long lick while I pressed my bare breasts against the back of his thighs. His shudder reverberated underneath my mouth and along my subconscious as his arousal touched me even though his hands stayed where they were.
“More.”
The word was almost harsh in its vehemence. I smiled into his skin as I dragged my body lower down his legs.
“Don’t worry, I’m not done yet.”
I turned him back around, my lips trailing along his hip to the flatness of his stomach. His muscles bunched underneath my mouth in expectation, but I only blew a teasing breath on the hardness jutting to his navel before sitting back. The bedroom was lit by candles on the nightstand and the dresser, natural light being easier on vampire eyes instead of the glare from electric bulbs, but now, those candles would serve a different purpose.
I scooted off the bed, stopping when Bones’s hand shot out to land on my arm even though his eyes were still closed.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I pushed his hand off with a throaty laugh. “You’re having a hard time being obedient, aren’t you? If you don’t behave, I won’t do what I intended, and trust me, you’ll wish I had.”
That wicked curl was back on his mouth even as he dropped his arm. “My sincerest apologies, mistress, for my shameful disobedience. If you pray continue, I vow my complete submission.”
Smart ass. Despite the promise, I knew Bones was about as submissive as Genghis Khan, but that was okay. I’d make what I knew was just his temporary compliance count.
I took one of the candles off the nightstand, considering Bones in the light of the flickering flame. His body was stretched out, arms once again behind his head, limbs completely relaxed even though he was still hard as a baseball bat in one very notable place. All this bounty, mine to enjoy. I licked my lips. Damned if I knew how I’d gotten so lucky, but that was a question for another time. Now was the time for action, not contemplation.
I moved closer until my legs pressed against the side of the bed. “Do you remember the first time you bit me here?” I asked, tracing my finger over the tight bud of his nipple.
“Yes.” One word, hissed with all the weight of desire that I could feel through his emotions.
“It felt like your fangs were burning me.” My voice was no more than a whisper from the shiver of remembrance, and I blew out the candle with an unsteady puff. “I can’t duplicate that with you because you’re not human,” I went on. “The juice in my fangs won’t feel the same, but maybe this will be close.”
Then I poured some of the hot wax that pooled in the candle directly onto Bones’s nipple.
His whole body arched while a strangled groan tore from his throat. I didn’t wait for the wax to harden, but covered it with my mouth, biting into his skin and tonguing the searing mixture at the same time. His back arched again, strong hands tangling in my hair to press me closer with enough force to drive my fangs deeper into him. Pleasure blasted across my subconscious, inciting me to bite him again, pushing the wax aside in my mouth to swallow the heady vintage of his blood.
Then
, before the wax cooled too much, I poured the remains from the candle onto his other nipple, rewarded by another guttural moan. I waited a second before switching my fangs there next, alternately licking and sucking the hard, heated peak. Once I’d swallowed another decadent mouthful of his blood—and possibly a few stray bits of wax—I leaned back, wiping my mouth of any spare drops and staring into his scorching green gaze.
His power throbbed beneath my hands, the scent of his lust heavy in the air. It mingled with the smoke and fragrance of my own arousal, creating an erotic ambiance. Without taking my eyes from him, I leaned forward, brushing my breast along his side as I reached to put the extinguished candle on the nightstand . . . and grab the other lit one.
Very slowly, I ran my free hand down his body, brushing aside the remaining bits of wax on his chest before following that thin line of dark hair to where it widened at his groin. Bones’s eyes didn’t close as my hand circled around him, but his lips parted, revealing those sharp twin fangs. I moistened my own lips as I looked down at the hard flesh in my hand. It overflowed my grip, pulsing with a different sort of power, the tip wet with the palest drop of pink as I stroked with firm, smooth pumps. Then I glanced at the candle in my other hand before meeting his unblinking gaze.
“Do it,” he said, his voice so rough I almost didn’t recognize it.
I blew the candle out with a soft puff that still left it smoldering, then poured the entire scalding contents onto the hard flesh in my hand.
His whole body jerked while flashes of pain and pleasure assaulted my subconscious. I mashed the top of the candle together to ensure that it was out before throwing it aside, ignoring the fleeting burn in my hand. Then, before the wax had a chance to cool, I fastened my lips around the head of his cock. A primal groan came from his throat when I pulled him in deeper, tonguing his flesh, taking as much as I could with two sharp, pointed fangs in the way. He felt like sculpted marble, flesh warmer from the contact with the wax that clung between my fingers. I stroked him as I continued to work his length into my mouth, sucking on his flesh like I wanted to rend the skin from him.