Blood Haze (16 page)

But
he couldn’t help but be drawn to her. She had that one elusive quality that men
and kings, worlds over had fought to protect… she was pure. While other
people’s motive could be questioned, he knew she could always be depended on to
do the right thing. He studied her elfin features, the shadows under her eyes
that she’d carried for days still clearly visible. He hated those shadows…
hated her brother, Larkin, and the vamp which had placed them there. He ran a
finger gently against them and she turned into his touch as if she knew she
could trust it.

He
stilled at the thought. But she couldn’t trust it… shouldn’t trust it. If she
knew the truth about him… about what he was, then she’d run away screaming. No
matter how strong she tried to be, what he was would always be between them.
Celeste had decided death was better than living with the truth. Why would this
woman think any differently?

She
smiled a faint smile in her sleep. He wondered what she was dreaming about. It
seemed to make her happy. It wasn’t long after, however, when she began to
twitch and thrash about. She whimpered and slurred his name… calling to him.
Blood, her glorious blood, began to trickle from her nose. He inhaled sharply
and his stomach clenched as he fought his desire to feed from her. It took her
anguished words to draw him back to reality.

“I’m
scared, save me… oh, please, save me,” she whimpered.

He
ran his hands soothingly over her shoulders and down her arms before gathering
her into his chest. “I’m here. Just hold onto me.”

That
seemed to calm her and she nestled into him, trustingly. He murmured soothing
words softly into her ear as he stroked her back, up and down. His chest burned
at how much he wanted to protect this woman from the monsters of the world… how
much he wanted to protect her… from himself. When she settled back into sleep,
he leaned over and quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped the blood from her face.

Chapter 8

Arabella
woke slowly and for once she wasn’t afraid. In fact, she couldn’t remember a
time in recent days where she woke feeling so rested. She moved to stretched
and became aware of the powerful arms wrapped around her, holding her close.
She stilled immediately. Lynx was perfectly still behind her as well. The
jersey she’d worn to bed had risen up during the night and she could feel her
pantied-bottom nestled against his hard shaft. She couldn’t help but wiggle a
little bit more snuggly against him. It was nice to wake this way.

She
felt him tense behind her and hold still for a few seconds. Then he increased
the pressure of his arms around her, drawing her even closer against his body.
Her heart rate picked up and almost immediately, he buried his face in her hair
and inhaled deeply. With feather-light caresses, he kissed her neck, sending
goosebumps all over. She shuddered against him.

“Arabella,”
he whispered into her ear. As always, the sound of his voice as he whispered
her name did strange things to her body. She wanted him in the worst way.

But
insecurity coursed through her. She’d only ever been with one man in her whole
life and she was sure he’d been with hundreds of women. “Lynx, I…” she began.

“Shhh,”
he said against her ear as he nipped it with his teeth. A sharp shaft of
pleasure whipped through her at the sharp bite. He slid his hand up from her
waist, agonizingly slow up under her shirt. She gasped at the feel of his
fingers brushing against her breasts. She caught her breath at the touch of his
cool hands on her as he gently tugged against her suddenly sensitive nipples. He
nuzzled her neck and pressed slow kisses against her skin, calming her with his
gentleness.

“You
smell so good,” he murmured against his skin.

Slowly,
he allowed his hand to slide across her belly down to her panties. With a
gentle touch, he slipped under them and placed his hand over the most intimate
part of her. He seemed to hesitate and stilled both his hand and his kisses.

She
swallowed hard. “Don’t stop,” she begged quietly, feeling his complete
withdraw.

He
stayed perfectly still for so long, she thought he was going to ignore her. But
with a growl, he flipped her onto her back, and crawled over her. She felt his
pulsating hardness against her mound. “Please, Lynx,” she whimpered, when he
buried his face into her neck again. She was so desperate for him. She was
consumed by such overwhelming need. It was as if her body longed to be joined
with his… as if her very
soul
needed
to be joined with his.

He
rose up, his dark hair fluttering down to almost hide his gorgeous face,
looking wild and untamed. “Oh, Arabella, what are you doing to me? Huh? You
have to be sure this is what you want. You have to understand,
this
is what we will have. I’m not
looking for a relationship. You have to agree to that upfront. Once we start
this, there will be no turning back. If I do this, you are mine until I say
otherwise. You understand? There can be no others. You will be mine… for my
pleasures only… for as long as I say. Yes?” he bit out.

She
blinked at the harshness of his words. But it seemed nothing could dissuade
her. She wanted him desperately… wanted him now… needed him now. “Yes, yes,
yes,” she murmured.

He
contemplated her steadily for a long moment then with another growl, he lowered
his lips and ravished her mouth - that was the only way to explain it. He
tasted her as if he couldn’t and wouldn’t stop, no matter what. She went up in
flames, just from the kiss and his words. Words that for some reason held a
great meaning for him.

He
rose back up over her and studied her once more with his dark, sultry eyes,
looking like the devil incarnate. He rubbed his body suggestively over hers and
she begged him, “Please, Lynx.”

“Just
this once, I will do it your way… as it pleases me.”

With
those words, words that shouldn’t have satisfied something deep within her, but
did, he snatched her panties roughly from her body. “Are you ready for me?” he
asked with a devilish grin.

“Yes,”
she whimpered as she shifted her hips impatiently beneath him.

“Spread
your legs,” he demanded, as he unfastened, then kicked off his slacks and
boxers. She complied and was immediately rewarded when he slid his massive
length slowly and smoothly inside her. She groaned in pleasure. “Oh, my God,”
she whimpered. She was finally whole… complete… one. Tears slid from her eyes
at the ethereal peace which fell over her.

“God,
you feel like hot-buttered silk,” he growled.

He
plunged his tongue deep into her mouth as he pumped his body into her, over and
over again. He could hear her heart pounding and her blood coursing through her
body – the temptation to sink his teeth into her neck was almost too great. His
body warred within him. The scent of her blood and the feel of her body wrapped
around his were driving him nearly insane. He knew he could go ahead and drink
from her then haze her, but he didn’t want her to forget this… not one single
moment.

He
rose up on his hands to get away from the one pleasure he was going to deny
himself. Soon, he promised himself, soon, he would drink from her, but not now.
Smoothly, he continued to glide into her scorching hotness.

She
wrapped her hands around his biceps, loving the way they felt under her
fingertips, all cold, hard steel. The feel of him moving within her and the
beauty of his face and his body as he loomed over her, made her catch her
breath. The feel of him was almost more than she could bear. Sensation ripped
through her body and she whimpered, needing release - but not wanting it to
end. She felt desperate and consumed… nearly mindless. She began to quiver beneath
him and pawed at his chest. “Lynx,” she murmured incoherently, over and over
again.

“Arabella,”
he soothed. Without slowing his stride, he grasped first one hand, then the
other, and intertwined their fingers before raising them to either side of her
head. Knowing he’d regret being so close to her heated blood, he leaned down anyway
and licked his way into her mouth. She moaned and writhed beneath him. She felt
as if she were coming unglued and falling apart. Needing to hold onto to
something, she wrapped her legs around his pumping hips. The change in position
caused him to slide against a super-sensitive band of nerves. She began to pant
and tightened the grip of both her hands and her legs. She bucked up into him
then finally she crested the tidal-wave he’d had her on as she cried out his
name.

The
feel of her body writhing beneath him, then pulsating and clenching around him
was going to be the death of him, he just knew it. He growled into her mouth
and began to pound, seeking his own release. When it came, he reared back his
head and roared his pleasure, his mouth watering, and the need to sink his
teeth into her delicate flesh nearly overwhelming. But he once again denied
himself. He continued to move slowly within her silky depths extending this pleasure.
He looked down into her flushed face, a small, secret smile on her lips. He
held her gaze as he lowered his head and kissed her gently, almost reverently.

When
their bodies quieted, he still remained buried inside her, not wanting to break
the connection. He released the hold he had on her hands and leaned down to hover
over her, propped up by his forearms. He raised a hand and brushed his fingertips
lightly over her face. She stared up at him so trustingly… so adoringly. “You
are so beautiful,” he murmured.

She
swallowed and a blush rose up over her face. “You’re supposed to use flattery
before
sex,” she said with an
uncomfortable smile.

“Oh,
Arabella. What am I going to do with you?” he said as he ran a finger across
her bottom lip.

She
swallowed at the intensity of his stare. “Lynx, I…” she began

“Mine,”
he whispered as he kissed her again. “You’re mine now, Arabella. Mine until we
get this out of our systems. Mine to touch,” he said as he clutched her breast
in his hand. “Mine to taste,” he said as he sucked against her neck. “Mine to
possess,” he whispered as he licked into her mouth for a lush, wet kiss.

His
mixture of tenderness and demand were doing strange things to her equilibrium.
She lifted her hands and buried them in his luxurious mane, tugging him closer,
kissing him just as deeply, falling further into him. Slowly, he drew back and
disengaged from her body, the feeling of withdrawal making her feel bereft.

He
rolled onto his back, dragging her into his side, her head pillowed against his
chest. He pressed his lips against her brow. Warmth flooded her at his almost
absentminded touch. Following the warmth, fear and uncertainty trailed. She
knew so very little about him, and here she was, entering into a relationship
with him. No, not a relationship, he was very clear… clear except for, what
this
actually was.

Now
that the fires of desire had begun to wane, she wondered if she could actually
be involved in something that was this uncertain… unsafe… unsure. She shivered.
If she were running from her previous life with Drew, she’d just won the race,
as this couldn’t have been any further away from it. But on the other hand,
she’d always thought Drew was safe and look where that’d gotten her. Her heart
ached, her old life seeming farther and farther away. But she couldn’t stop
herself from wanting to be here, with him. She knew she’d never be the one to
end it… it would be him.

Lynx
tugged her hand drawing her attention back to him. “What’s going on in that
pretty head of yours?” he asked.

“I’m
thinking we don’t really know each other very well.”

He
stared off for a moment before saying, “We know enough.”

She
nodded slowly and was silent for a while. “I don’t know what to do about Drew,”
she said softly.

“That’s
over!” he said roughly and possessively.

She
sat up and threw her legs over the side of the bed, her back to him. She pushed
her hair away from her face. “I know,” she replied softly.

“Then
what’s the issue?” he asked.

Not
wanting to discuss her scattered thoughts about Drew with him, she just
murmured. “There’s no issue.”

Lynx
sat up and moved her hair from her neck before pressing his lips to her nape.
“Arabella, you need to know that I’m very possessive. I keep what’s mine. For
now, you are mine. You agreed to that.”

She
shivered at the touch of his lips against her skin. “Everything is just moving
so fast,” she said softly.

“I’ve
wanted you from the moment I saw you. So I don’t find this fast enough.”

“I
just got out of a relationship. I’m scared of this… of you,” she said.

He
stilled at her words. “What are you scared of
exactly
.”

“That
you’ll hurt me,” she said just above a whisper.

Pulling
her back down, he crawled over her and nudged her legs apart as he wallowed his
body between them. Slowly, he pushed her jersey up and over her head. With
deliberate slowness, he pressed his lips against the skin between her breasts.
He cupped them within his hands and stroked them gently. “I probably will,” he
said as he licked across her chest.

She
inhaled deeply and ran her fingers into his hair. It was becoming to be one of
her favorite things to do.

“And
when I do,” he continued, looking up to catch her eyes, “You’ll come to me and
tell me, okay? Promise me that one thing – you’ll come to me. As long as we are
together, you’ll come to me with your concerns.”

“I
promise,” she said softly, wondering why this was so important to him. The
thought of it though, flitted from her mind when he slipped back into her body,
inch by glorious inch.

~X~

They’d
finally managed to get out of the bed, but the shower had taken them longer
than usual. She was deliciously sore in places. He was sitting with a towel
wrapped around his waist. His bare-chest and well defined muscles did funny
things to her stomach. Wanting to have him wrapped around her still, she’d
slipped on his white dress-shirt, which hung sexily down to her mid-thigh.
No panties
, he’d told her. She squirmed
a little at the remembered demand.

“Tell
me about your family,” he said as he sipped coffee. The fork she was lifting
paused in mid-air. “What do you want to know?” she asked cagily.

He
tilted his head at her evasion of his question. “I’m trying to get to know you.
This is how people do it. It has three parts: I ask questions; you answer; and
I listen intently,” he said with a smile.

She
placed her fork back down without eating the eggs on it. She blinked at him for
several moments. She liked him not knowing things. She felt free for some
reason. Besides, they weren’t in a ‘relationship’ and she didn’t have to tell
him anything. “There’s not really anything to tell.”