Feral: Part One (20 page)

“Are you sure?”

“Mia Sofia,”
he chuckled, “the incident is already gone from her mind, and I know this because she is on her phone, talking about getting pizza with some gentleman named Dylan.”

“Oh!” Well, this was news to me. “She’s going out with Dylan? She never told me she was interested in him.”

“Not to sound boastful,
mia diletta,”
he drawled while he offered his arm to guide me out of the university, “but I dare say she probably felt her impending date seemed a little less extraordinary compared to the dramatic happenings of the professor and college student.”

I laughed as I followed him out of the cafeteria. “You make it sound like a soap opera.”

“No,” he countered, “your acquaintance Miss Kinley is responsible for the seeming theatrics of our otherwise mundane lives. Although, were I a mere mortal, I suppose I might find such excitement interesting, not to mention entertaining.”

I gaped for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. “Mere mortal?” I teased in a hushed voice when I had regained my breath. “So that’s how you see me, huh? A tiny, little human?”

“No.”
He paused us in one of the empty halls and clasped my chin in fingers.
“No, cara mia.
You are far, far from such a description, because you,
amore mio
, are the most marvelous being I have had the good fortune to meet. I am amazed by your inner strength, how you try to avoid confrontations, but will defend yourself and those you love when lines are crossed. Your intelligence and wit, your concern for and kindness to others, your humor, your smiles and your laughter all have brought me unparalleled joy. I told you this once, and I will tell you until the end of our days, there is no single thing about you which I do not adore.”

His fingers began to trace over my jaw then slipped behind my neck to entwine in my lose curls. “Such a magnificent creature you are,
mia cocca.
It is no wonder I love you so.”

Love.

It was the first time he admitted to loving me.

While it was true there was an undeniable bond which seemed to enhance the attraction we’d felt upon first sight, love was an emotion I had yet to acknowledge aloud, unsure as to what my mate’s reaction would be and if such an admission would be reciprocated. It appeared now, though, that my feelings were most certainly shared, and for a moment, I could do nothing but grin while I stared at him in fond wonder.

Stretching up on my tips and not caring that we might be seen, I brushed my lips against his in a brief kiss. “Simon—”

He reclaimed my mouth in a much more passionate kiss, only releasing me when I needed oxygen. The slightest rumble issued from his chest, and as I glanced around, I was exceedingly grateful the corridor was still deserted. “We should leave immediately,” he growled, “before I lose control and claim you right here.”

We barely made it through the front door of the spacious manor before he pinned me to it. "I need you,
diletta,
" he whispered harshly, his lips and teeth covering every inch of my neck.

My mind was clouded with lust, and I rubbed my hips encouragingly against his. "Then take me."

"No. I
need
you." He released a pain-filled sigh as his hands began to wander over my body, which responded automatically to the inviting caresses. "I need to touch you—" he pulled off my sweater— "kiss you—" he unwrapped his scarf and his lips found my pulse— "to be inside you." He swiftly removed my jeans and slipped a hand beneath the moist lace of my hipsters. "I need to taste your blood."

Without warning, I was lifted into his arms, and before I could blink, he was braced above me on the soft bed, gazing down at me with dark eyes. "I wanted this to be different," he murmured as he traced every line of my face with his fingers. "I wanted it to be perfect,
amore mio
."

"Maybe I don't want things to be perfect," I responded softly, reaching up to play with the brown locks at his nape. "Maybe I just want them to be
right."

Those words seemed to break his restraint, and all of the intense emotions that had been driving his instincts poured out of him as he stretched himself over me, claiming my lips firmly with his own and grinding his erection between my damp thighs. "Tell me to stop,
cara mia
. Make me to stop, because this is the only time I will be able to."

"I can't.” My voice was calm and gentle while I undid the buttons of his shirt. "I can't tell you to stop when I don't want you to." I shoved the shirt down his arms and smiled when he shook the material away from his body. "If I’m your mate, it means
you
are
mine
, and I want you to claim me."

He closed his eyes and his firm body trembled with desire.
"Cara
," he purred, "if I claim your body, I will claim your blood." His plum gaze was hungry and adoring at the same time. "I can assure you,
la mia
, once I have tasted your blood, I will crave it more strongly and need it desperately for years to come."

I rocked my hips against him once more, urging him to let go, and reached up to pull his mouth back to mine, barely brushing my lips against his while I held him tightly to my warm body. "I told you before I wouldn’t deny you, and I meant every word. So taste me.”

The same hands which in decades past had skillfully handled some of the finest works of art were the same hands that could take down any predator or prey with only the slightest exertion of strength. And now those hands moved over my body with reverence, the cool pads of his fingertips ghosting over the delicate skin of my throat, down the valley of my breasts to the clasp of my bra. He flicked it open and purred as my breasts spilled out beneath his heated gaze.

If someone had told me a year ago about everything I’d experienced these last few months, I’d’ve laughed. The idea of meeting vampires was ludicrous, and even more so was the idea that I would allow one them to claim me as their mate. I would’ve scoffed that such a connection could possibly exist, that there were feelings of love so overwhelmingly powerful that it would have affected me to my core in such a way.

But it had. I belonged to this exquisite creature, and I felt him in every fiber of my being. When he was near, I felt cherished, loved, safe; when he was apart from me, I felt as though my spirit was incomplete and sick.

My thoughts abandoned me the moment he took the weight of my breasts tenderly in his hands, and my breathing became rough and shallow when he leaned down and latched onto one nipple, the cool touch of his lips pebbling the sensitive flesh. "Simon."

His free hand slipped over my hip and grasped the lacy fabric in his dexterous fingers before ripping it away from my flesh easily. He made no move to enter my aching heat, but simply cupped my swollen flesh for several long moments before teasing me mercilessly by letting one fingertip trace my slit so lightly it felt as if air were caressing my skin.

I shivered and tried to bring my hips even closer his hand, moaning in frustration when it glided away to stroke up my side. "Please… please, Simon.”

Let it never be said I was above begging.

Still he denied me, moving off the bed and smiling when I attempted to growl in annoyance.
"Pazienza, tesoro mio.
Patience,” he purred reassuringly.

When he grasped his belt and slowly removed it, the sharp sound of the buckle being removed filling my ears, I felt my face bloom with heat. My lips parted with a soft sigh when I realized I was about to see my mate completely nude for the first time, and a part of my mind briefly wondered if I was ready for this or not. The moment he popped the button from its confines, I knew I most
definitely
was.

I was his mate, and he was completely incapable of causing me harm, only able to bring me happiness and pleasure, and while we had indeed bonded more quickly than some humans would find acceptable, the connection was undeniable.

Beautiful couldn’t even begin describe the sheer magnificence of him, and before I could stop myself, I moved off of the bed to stand directly in front of him. I whispered his name in awe and timidly raised my hand to touch his face, caressing from his cheek to his jaw before standing on tip-toe to press a chaste and adoring kiss to his pale, coral lips.

He patiently allowed me to explore his body, only turning his head so he could follow my movements and watch me as I moved both hands down the planes of his neck and over those broad shoulders I loved so much. The dense muscles of his arms tensed and flexed involuntarily when I smoothed my palms over them, before raising my hands to his chest. I stepped forward and pressed a tiny kiss over the place where his heart rested in silence.

The first time I’d laid my head there, it had been a bit disconcerting to not hear the distinct dual thumps I was accustomed to as a human. However, I’d long since grown familiar with the silence, and instead took solace from his steady breaths when I rested in his arms.

"It doesn't have to beat," I whispered, turning my brown eyes up to meet his deep purple ones, "You have mine."

"And when yours ceases to beat?"

"Then you’ll know the last one was yours and that you'll forever be frozen there."

He ran a thumb slowly over my cheek before pushing a fallen curl from my eyes.
"Cara, ti amo.”

I smiled. “I love you, too.”

THIRTEEN

I stared at him for a few moments more before I let my hands continue their eager journey, my fingers fanning out and tracing the firm lines of his abdomen. I smiled internally when the muscles contracted and relaxed beneath my touch when I moved further down his body.

He drew in a sharp hiss of air when my fingers, warm in comparison to his skin, wrapped around him, and while I was certainly pleased with his length, I was more impressed with the strain on my fingers to keep a firm hold as I stroked him leisurely.

I gazed up at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Do you have any idea just how gorgeous you are, Simon Treviso?"

Without warning, he swept me up into his arms and laid me down in the center of the bed, spreading himself over me. "A beautiful goddess that I am well acquainted with keeps informing me of this, but I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, the claimed attractiveness of my body and soul pales significantly in contrast to hers."

He pressed a kiss to my forehead, then he kissed my lips with such tenderness that I lost my breath for a moment. He moved to nibble the corner of my mouth before trailing his lips to my throat and licking the vein on each side, and I shuddered in delight at the knowledge of what was to come. I was lost, though, when he worked slowly down my body, each brush of his cool flesh causing goose bumps to bloom on my skin.

The attention he gave to one nipple, then the other, was remarkable. He suckled with varying degrees of pressure, then flicked his tongue over the tight buds, swirled and lapped. My whole body seemed to tingle with mounting anticipation, and my mind was hazy with overwhelming feelings of love and lust.

He continued his journey, pausing for a moment to dip his tongue into my navel, and I squirmed feverishly under his administrations. He teased me until I thought I would scream in frustration, and when his mouth moved lower, I knew I couldn’t possibly survive the near-excruciating pleasure that was beginning to flood my core. Using his thumbs to open me to his gaze, he blew a strong, cool breath on my sensitive clit, grasping my hips and pinning them to the bed as my body instinctively thrashed.
"Rilassati, tesoro mio
. Easy, pet,” he purred calmly before dragging his tongue over my soaked slit, lapping up my juices greedily.

I whimpered helplessly, not knowing how much more I could stand, when his cold tongue pushed deep inside my wet heat. His feverish pace, every single stroke seemed to drive me further and further into wanton insanity. "Fuck!"

I thought, when he was finally finished torturing me, that he was showing mercy, but realized the mistake in my thinking as he ever so carefully pulled the swollen bundle of nerves between his teeth. While he teased the tiny button, he gradually slipped his middle and ring fingers into my dripping pussy, thrusting slowly in and out, his pace quickening as I quivered around his hand. He suckled the bead of flesh, and his tongue flicked back and forth at the same inhuman speed he used to pump me hard and fast.

In moments, I clenched around him, keening rapturously, and as I floated on a cloud of intense pleasure, he appeared over me. His lips, coated in my juices, claimed mine, and using the combination of my afterglow and the distraction of the kiss, he slid the head of his cock inside, the delicious thickness stretching me wide.

I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment when I felt the deep pressure inside me. While I was by no means a virgin, Cole was the only guy I’d ever had sex with. It had obviously been a
long
time since that happened, so my body was struggling to adjust to the intrusion.

My eyes must have betrayed my emotions, because he lowered his face to my ear, nuzzling and purring. "
Diletta
," he murmured, "
ti amo tanto.
I love you,
cara,
so very much. Take a deep breath for me and try to relax. It will take a few minutes for your body to stretch. Just relax." He licked the shell of my ear, still rumbling softly while he slipped a hand between us, using his speed to brush over my clit.

After several minutes, my body began to loosen and accept him more quickly, and the marvelous friction from his steady strokes had me writhing under him in pleasure. My fingers fisted in his silky mane as I met him thrust for thrust. "Simon…
Cazzo!
Oh god…” I soon lost the ability to speak, my breath coming out in uneven pants as he pounded in and out of me, over and over, more rigorously with every jerk of his hips. But my senseless moans and cries seemed to be all the invitation he needed, and I felt the sharp points of his fangs pierce the flesh low on my neck, sinking deeply to a vein beneath.