“Did you have a nice talk with Silvie?” he asked, coming to stand beside her.
Kerstyn nodded, tearing her eyes from the window, she tilted her head up so that she could meet Dimitri’s gaze. Wrapping both of her hands about one of his large palms, she drew him down beside her.
“She is a great friend,” Kerstyn said as Dimitri began to stroke her hair with his free hand. “I think I will ask her to be my maid of honor.”
“I am sure she will accept.”
263
Kerstyn played with Dimitri’s fingers, tracing them with her own, drawing circles over his palm as they sat in comfortable silence.
“Do you think everything will change?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.
“Change?” he prompted.
“Yes,” she said with a nod. “Tomorrow night you will face your enemy and you will reclaim your throne.”
“Are you worried things will change between us?”
“No, but surely nothing is going to remain the same―”
“My angel,” he said, cupping her chin, his thumb caressing her soft skin, “It is as I said before, the first night we were together. I am who I am. Nothing is going to change that.” He closed the space between them. Freeing his hand from her playful fingers he slipped his arm about her waist, keeping hold of her chin. His diamond eyes burned with need, lust, and―“Kerstyn, my angel. I love you and there is nothing that will change that.”
Kerstyn felt the tears gather in her eyes as she gazed into his.
She could see straight through to his soul. Gone were the blocks and the guards he once used to protect himself. It was just him. Dimitri. The man who was trapped inside desperate to be free of the demon who possessed him even though he knew that could never happen. The demon was a part of him and it loved her as well.
And God, she loved them both. Dimitri was kind, gentle, and entirely genuine. Every moment they had shared together had been real, never had he tried to hide his emotions. He had revealed himself to her, sharing with her his most intimate and darkest secrets. For years he had carried his guilt, bearing the burden alone, afraid to speak of it to a single creature, but he had let her in, he trusted her.
Kerstyn’s lips began to tremble as he continued to hold her gaze. Her voice shook as she spoke, “Do you remember the night in your study? The first time the demon emerged?”
He said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
Kerstyn forced down the lump that had formed in her throat, choking back her words. She wet her lips and Dimitri’s eyes flickered to her mouth before returning to capture her gaze.
“I said I know the way I feel about you and that's all I need to know. That statement―” she swallowed hard as he moved in closer, his
264
large frame crowding hers and, God she wanted him to touch her, but he maintained his hold on her chin and his arm wrapped around her waist did not move. “That statement is as true now as it was then. I knew there was something special happening between us. I knew that the vampire within you would not harm me, though you and Silvie had warned me. When I look into your eyes I see you…Dimitri, you are the man and the demon, combined as one.”
His thumb brushed over her lips.
“I love you, Dimitri,” she whispered against the pad of his finger. “I love the man and the demon. I love
you
.” She felt the shiver that shook his body as her lips moved against his finger.
“My angel, nothing will change. We will remain who we are.
All that will change is the background and the scenery, nothing more.” His rough voice and his soft words sent delicious vibrations throughout her body and collected at her core. Her blood felt like thick lava coursing through her veins.
“I need you,” Kerstyn breathed.
Diamond eyes stared deeply into her sapphire gaze. Kerstyn’s delicate, pink tongue ran over the pad of his thumb before her lips closed on a kiss. The caress was gentle and light, but strong enough to break the spell that bound them.
Dimitri dragged her across his lap. His erection pressing against her hip as his hands lovingly cupped her face. Their mouths met, hot and searing, their lips parted and the kiss deepened.
Without breaking the kiss, Dimitri repositioned Kerstyn so that she now straddled him. He groaned as she began to move her hips against his, teasing him.
Kerstyn pulled away, trailing kisses over his jaw and down the side of his neck, licking and suckling. She nipped at his pulse and at that moment, Dimitri wished she had fangs. His erection swelled as he thought of her piercing his flesh as she took him deep within her body.
The fantasy fueled his lustful hunger. He needed to be inside her heat, he needed to feel the silky smoothness of her as he thrust.
Dimitri stood and turned, dropping Kerstyn on the bed. She landed on her back, her legs flopping to one side as she watched him pull his shirt over his head. His muscles flexed beneath her hot gaze as he slipped off his shoes and unzipped his jeans.
265
“Now me,” she said as Dimitri came to loom over her.
Though he was gentle with her body, he was not nice to her clothes. He tore her shirt, revealing her swollen breasts. His fingers made quick work of her bra before he undid her pants and pulled them down her legs. The sound of ripping denim went unnoticed as he lowered his chiseled body over hers.
Before he could lay claim to her mouth, Kerstyn took up what she had been doing before Dimitri had decided to change positions and get naked, not that she minded at all. Her lips moved back to his throat, she flicked her tongue over his pulse, and he cursed as his entire body quaked. She smiled against his neck and did it again.
“Bite,” he rasped, “bite me.”
She hesitated for a moment before giving in to his request and her playful wickedness.
Dimitri hissed, his body arching. He cradled her head, pressing her mouth hard against him. His shaft nudged against her inner thighs and brushed against her wetness.
“Again,” he growled.
Kerstyn bit him again and when his hips thrust forward, the head of him pressed against her and he slid in, nice and slow. His roar of pleasure drowned her small cry as their bodies came together. He was buried to the hilt, surrounded by her searing heat.
Kerstyn’s nails scored his back as he began to pump within her.
His muscles contracted and released beneath her hands as he found a rhythm, thrusting in and pulling back, thrusting in and pulling back.
She circled her legs about his hips, opening herself even more to him, allowing him to stroke deeper.
Dimitri’s fangs slipped from their sheaths and his lips pulled back. His eyes flashed between calm blue to raging white. His hands fisted on each side of her head as he pushed himself up, supporting his weight on his arms, his hips plunging.
His features were contorted with pleasure, his lips peeled back over his teeth, his neck arched back, and his brow furrowed. Everything from his lust-clouded mind to his unquenchable hunger for her blood and her body, to his rapidly beating heart was focused on his woman.
Kerstyn could feel his gaze locked on her pulse. Tilting her head to the side, she gave him a better view. Dimitri cursed and closed his eyes.
266
“It’s…okay,” she said between gasps.
“Too much,” he gritted out, “I took too much before.” Kerstyn reached up, tangling her fingers in the blond strands at the nape of his neck. Tugging, she brought him down, his body crashing upon hers, knocking the air from her lungs.
“I want you to do it.”
Answering with a snarl, the demon took control. As Kerstyn’s orgasm rocked her body, Dimitri’s fangs sliced her throat. His mouth pulled at her tender flesh as his own pleasure claimed him. Kerstyn cried out his name as she felt him jerk within her, releasing waves of heat.
Control,
he cautioned himself.
But damn! She is delicious.
He continued to pump through his orgasm, his hips thrusting and withdrawing as his mouth greedily worked at her throat. Another orgasm shattered her world as he kept going and going. Pulling away, he closed her wound and raised himself up again, his eyes still flashing between shades of color. Now his gaze was intently focused on her face and Kerstyn moaned as she felt her muscles tighten, her toes curl, and another quake of pleasure racked her body as he came with her. His massive frame shuddering as he released deep within her.
Her legs fell from his hips, her body drained of energy and completely sated.
“God, I would never have thought having my blood sucked while having sex would be so…explosive,” she sighed as he pulled away from her.
Dimitri’s smile was warm and…mischievous. Kerstyn shivered as he kissed his way over her breasts, suckling each nipple in turn before going further down her body. Lacing an arm under her lower back, he pushed her up the bed, her head resting on the pillows. He stretched her out beneath him as he slid down to her parted thighs.
Kerstyn’s breath caught in her throat as he dipped his head down. She screamed his name as his tongue came down on her sex.
Gripping the pillow, she ripped it with her nails as he teased her, bringing her closer and closer to yet another release. His mouth suckled as his tongue played and his name echoed through the suite as she came hard, her body arching off the bed.
Dimitri pressed his palm against her flat stomach, pressing her back down on the bed, holding her in place as he continued to torture
267
her with his mouth. He waited for another orgasm to grip her before moving his mouth to the inside of her thigh.
Kerstyn watch him as he drew circles over her soft flesh. When he turned his gaze up, she was shocked to find his eyes solid, glowing white. To her pleasure and her horror, his fangs grew even longer. His beautiful lips circled in a smile as he lowered his mouth to her thigh.
His strike was quick, smooth, and clean. Kerstyn’s body convulsed as ecstasy consumed her, sweeping her away to a realm where only she and Dimitri existed.
Control.
Dimitri’s own roar of pleasure shook the building as her smooth, spicy blood filled his mouth. With every orgasm, her blood grew more intoxicating. The perfume of her arousal mixed with his own, filled his lungs as he drank deeply. His shaft swelled and pulsed, longing to be inside her, but he could not pull himself away. He felt her pulse begin to grow weak, making her taste even sweeter. It grew slower and slower beneath his mouth, the demon loving every second, but the man in him quickly seized control.
Pulling away, he closed the pinpricks he had made and climbed up her body. Her breathing was labored as she floated back down to earth to join him.
“My mate,” Dimitri whispered in her ear as his shaft slid into place, stretching her. “My angel, will you come for me again?”
268
Kerstyn held her breath as the antique clock began to chime.
Midnight.
“It is time.”
Dimitri’s voice knocked the air from her lungs and she felt as if her entire chest had deflated. Despite Silvie’s assurance of Dimitri’s survival, Kerstyn’s nerves would not relax. Doubt had lurked in the back of her mind all day while unease knotted her stomach. She could sense something was going to happen, something that would change their lives forever. However, she did not share her feelings of impending doom with Dimitri. The man had enough on his mind and he needed to focus on the task before him. Killing Ven.
Kerstyn sighed and turned away from the windows.
The rain that had begun the night before still fell upon the glowing, neon city. She had been standing at the window watching the cars cruise down the Strip while people hurried from casino to casino, their brightly colored umbrellas held high.
“How are you feeling?” Dimitri asked.
Kerstyn shrugged. “Not the greatest. My fiancé is about to go and fight to the death and I must stay in this room.”
“I hope you do not feel as if you are a prisoner.”
“Prisoner? No. I’m just the girl stuck in the tower or rather a penthouse suite in the hottest hotel on the Las Vegas Strip,” she said with a strangled laugh.
Dimitri came forward, joining her before the window. Drawing her into his arms, he held her tightly to him savoring the moment.
Kerstyn wrapped her arms about his waist. “This is not goodbye,” she whispered against his chest, her voice muffled.
“Never will there be a goodbye,” Dimitri vowed.
269
Feeling the familiar burn of tears, Kerstyn forced a smile and took a step back, not breaking the embrace.
“You look beautiful, by the way.”
Dimitri smiled down at her. “Beautiful?”
“Yes, and sharp.”
“Beautiful and sharp?” he said, testing her words, his brows furrowing in thought. “No one has told me I was beautiful before.”
“Maybe not to your face,” she pointed out with a teasing smile.
“Nor has anyone said I look ‘sharp’.”
“It’s this outfit,” she laughed, “Why are you wearing white?”
“White will best display my enemy’s blood.” She cringed and his smile widened. “It is also the battle uniform customary for someone of my rank within vampire society.”
“All white, huh?”
He nodded. “Yes, kings wear white, nobles wear gray, while knights and soldiers dress in all black. It is an ancient tradition.”
“Sire,” Gabriel called from beyond the door of their bedroom.