Nightfall (29 page)

Please, Mistress.
He swallowed back a groan as Dix
wrested a strong spasm out of his cock. Fuck, he was going to come in the guy’s
mouth before she brought her pussy any closer. Maybe that was what she
intended. He licked his lips, stared at it, inhaled. Focused. Not until he gave
her pleasure.

Finally, blissfully, she brought it down and covered his face
with the light fabric of her dress. He went on the attack, already too revved
up to take it slow, but he found her soaked through. His Mistress was highly
aroused by all this, and that made something click in his brain. He didn’t give
a damn if he was being sucked off by man, woman or a Hoover vacuum hose. This
was the payoff. Her arousal, her desire.

Her pleasure. That’s what she’d said, right? He licked,
sucked, bit her through the silky fabric. She ground against his face, cut off
his breathing, rubbed herself over his jaw, nose, cheeks, mouth, marking him
with her scent while she hummed in her throat and he felt her thighs tighten
against his head, clamping and holding him there in an excruciating heaven.

Dix, goddamn him, had brought his hands into it. He’d cupped
Quinn’s ass to lever him up deeper and his thumb was pushing into Quinn’s anus,
playing there. Fuck fuck fuck…

His Mistress was coming first, damn it all. There was no
other option he’d entertain. She was arched back, the straps of her dress
falling off her shoulders, the curves of her breast quivering, Butch probably
watching it all.

That would have distracted and angered him, but his Mistress
took care of that as well. Suddenly Quinn could see through her eyes and he
found Butch’s attention wasn’t on Selene at all. Sucking off Quinn had put Dix
on all fours. Butch had pulled his servant’s shorts out of his way and was
slamming into his ass like a jackhammer, was working him hard. Seeing the set
of Butch’s mouth, the vibrant lust in his gray eyes, feeling the spasmodic
clamp of Dix’s fingers into Quinn’s thighs, trying to hold on to his own orgasm
for his Master, shouldn’t have turned him on, but the overload of stimulation
was too much for Quinn.

Mistress…

She started to come then. Though her consent was almost
incoherent, it was enough for him. He exploded in Dix’s hard-pulling mouth,
driven by the force of her climax, gushing against his mouth and lips. He
plucked at her clit and swirled his tongue over her labia, making sure he gave
her the full measure of it even as his brain fragmented.

He heard Butch come, Dix falling right after. His come
splattered against Quinn’s thighs, his shins. He didn’t care. It was all about
Selene, as if this whole thing had been engineered by her, because her mind was
open, her unfiltered pleasure swamping him, making it okay. Making it all work.
This was a front-row view of what it was supposed to be, what serving a vampire
meant. The knowledge he’d seen in Dix’s eyes was starting to have a nascent
reflection in his own.

She’d been right. It was all in the approach. Earlier, it
had been just words,
I’m here to serve her however she needs me
. In this
moment, he actually understood what it meant, and he knew some part of him had
always wanted to serve a woman this way, this deeply. Those cravings he’d kept
shamefully hidden, trying to bury them in an alpha dominant mode, had come to
full, vibrant life. There wasn’t a single shameful, cringing element to them.
He was ready to tear the world apart for her, ready to kneel to her, ready to
endure anything for her.

Because it was the two of them together. Always.

She’d said so. She needed him as much as he needed her. No
matter what—vanilla, chocolate, kinky, straight or every flavor in between—that
was the way it was supposed to work.

At the conclusion of the evening Quinn expected to be
exhausted, worn out emotionally as well as physically. But by the time they
returned to the bedrooms his strength was already replenishing and it
astonished him.

The benefit of third marking.

Thank God for that.

Her light laughter sounded in his head like melodic chimes.
She insisted he shower again before getting into bed.

“I want to wash away everyone else’s touch.” She stroked his
arm. “You did very well tonight, for a first-time situation. You pleased me
greatly. But now I want every bit of you to be mine.”

Words that could make him suffer and survive anything. That,
and her joining him in the shower.

As he watched her create lather with the soap, she told him
to put his hands on the sides of the shower and leave them there. Then she
coasted her palms over every inch of his body. No area was left untouched. She
was meticulous with his arms and his legs, his cock and his testicles, even
soaping and rinsing the crack of his ass. She knelt on the tile to cleanse his
legs, then stood on the built-in seat to do his upper body. Her touch was as
much soothing as it was arousing, and he closed his eyes, enjoying her touch.
When they were both thoroughly rinsed, she shut off the water and dried him
with a big fluffy bath towel that she fetched from a towel warmer. Finally she
dried herself, took him by the hand and led him into her room. She hadn’t
allowed him to touch her at all. Not yet.

“I thought vampires slept alone,” he said.

“Sometimes we make special exceptions.”

A strange but intense emotion came over him. A sense of
belonging. His hard-ass father might have loved him. He’d always hoped he did.
His mother conveyed the sense of family to him and his brothers. He’d found
friendship in the rodeo, even though the faces of those friends changed
frequently. There was a certain camaraderie with the hands at the ranch. But
never this total sense of belonging. Of being a part of someone else.

Selene’s lips curved in a smile. “Because you do belong,
Quinn. To me. Forever. What do you do in return?”

He cleared his throat. “I serve you. I give you pleasure.
Always.”

“Very good. Right now it will give me pleasure for you to
lie with me, your arms around me as we sleep.” She gestured toward the bed.

What did it say that, even after watching the movements of
her slippery, soapy body in the shower, the simple intimacy of holding her in
her sleep was as potent a treasure to him as being able to thrust into her,
bring her to climax?

Tearing his eyes away from her naked body, he pulled back
the covers and arranged the pillows, then stood waiting for her to climb in
first. She slid into bed then held out her arms to him. In seconds he had his
body wrapped around hers, his arms cradling her. The raw flavor of the night,
the brutality, the violent sex, started to recede even further as he held her
close, felt her lips brush over his throat. He tilted his chin up and she
pierced him with sweet simplicity, taking just a sip or two, her lips moving on
him. Her fingers curled and uncurled on his chest, the nails scraping him.

It was a marking more than a snack or meal. While it made
his cock stir, it was his heart that did a full somersault, especially as she
let out a sleepy little sigh, her fingers drifting across him, her body
becoming heavier, melting into his. She trusted him to hold her as she faded
into sleep with the dawn.

He found it peaceful as a lullaby, the rock of a cradle.
Perhaps the first real peace he’d found in years. Everything as it should be,
crazy as that sounded. He followed her, drifting off into a dark velvet sleep.

Occasionally he stirred, but just as easily, finding himself
still in her embrace, he’d drop back into sleep again. They slept throughout
the day, undisturbed by light, for Butch had given them adjoining rooms on a
below-ground level of the house. Butch’s master bedroom was on the main floor
as well as other guestrooms, but Selene had told Quinn earlier in the evening
that the basement accommodations weren’t an insult. Younger vampires needed the
full darkness that only underground accommodations could provide.

“I can sleep aboveground in a place with the right kind of
curtains, but it’s not a comfortable sleep. Like being in a convection oven. It
shows Butch’s courtesy, that he accommodates his younger vampire guests.”

Yeah, he was a real sweetheart with that left jab. But
despite his sardonic thought, Quinn couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept
through a full day, and so peacefully, but that was just what he did. It wasn’t
until just after sunset that he roused, woken by her touch, the light brush of
her lips on his cheek, his jaw, his throat before she rose.

They each took their turn in the bathroom, and then shared
the space to dress, spruce up. Selene didn’t say much, but she had a tender
smile on her lips as she passed behind him in the bathroom, curling her arms
around him as he paused in his shaving. Taking the razor, she slid in front of
him to sit on the counter. She finished the job herself, her eyes monitoring
the track of the blade, her hand following it to stroke his smooth skin.

The look in her gaze kindled his lust, tempted him to go
right back to bed, but she slipped away when done, giving his ass a pinch
before she commanded him to get it moving so they could go meet their host for
“breakfast”. He was rewarded with an indignant squeal when he popped her ass
with his damp towel, and the promise of severe retribution. He looked forward
to it.

Fortunately breakfast was exactly that, just a light meal
with Butch and Dix. No ceremony or formality this time. No wrestling matches.
Just the four of them sitting at the table making small talk. Quinn thought
they could have been any four people socializing at a meal and the image made
him swallow a smile. Life with Selene had taken an interesting turn.

“I’ll set things in motion today,” Butch assured Selene as
she and Quinn prepared to leave. “I’ll be in touch.” Then he looked toward
Quinn. “She has her work cut out for her with you, but I believe you’ll suit.”

Quinn had the feeling he’d just received some sort of minor
blessing.

Once Jim dropped them off at the air field and they’d
boarded the plane, Quinn turned on his cell phone, which Selene had ordered him
to leave in the plane. The waiting message from Manuel informed him the bar had
had an outstanding night and both Maria and Carol were needed to handle the
crowd. Everything went well and the money was locked up. Another message from
Kevin said the cattle had all been moved and the pregnant cows separated from
the rest of the herd without any problems. And Annette would have coffee
waiting for them.

“I wonder if they need me at all,” he grumbled to Selene as
they took off.

“Feeling a little unnecessary?” she teased. “Don’t worry.
I’ll always need you.” She pointed to his wrist bearing the third mark, the one
shaped like a horse’s bit. “Especially now.”

He placed his hand on her thigh and gave it a gentle
squeeze. For the flight home she’d worn one of her flirty little sundresses. He
easily slid his hand beneath the light fabric to rest on her warm, satin-smooth
skin. Selene hummed satisfaction.

“I didn’t think I’d be interested in anything that had to do
with sex after last night.” He gave a low chuckle. “Apparently you gave me the
third mark just in time, Mistress.”

“It excites me when you address me that way, cowboy.”

“Strange, but it does the same to me.” Christ. What a change
he’d made in his life. But he couldn’t imagine it without her.

Which led to a different topic, one they’d broached before
but hadn’t pursued. He dug around in his mind for the right words, since he had
no idea how Selene would react to it. She might think he was out of his mind.

“I’m in your mind, cowboy, so I know you’re there.” Her lips
quirked.
Your brain is in such turmoil. What’s bothering you?

An idea. I’m not sure if you’ll agree to it.
“I want
to prepare a room at the ranch where you could sleep during the day. So you
don’t always have to hurry back to that cave at After Hours.”

She was silent for so long he wondered if he should have
brought it up at all.

Yes, you should have. I’m thinking.

I’m not sure if this being in each other’s heads is such
a good idea after all.

Deal with it, cowboy. It’s there for eternity.

He swallowed a laugh. Had he ever in his life thought he’d
be discussing things that stretched out timelessly this way?

“There would be problems to deal with,” she said at last.

“I’m aware of that. But go ahead. Tell me what occurs to you
first?”

“Your housekeeper. What will she think of a woman who sleeps
all day while you’re out working the ranch?”

He shrugged. “You run After Hours. When else would you
sleep?”

“But all day?” she persisted. “You’d be answering a lot of
questions.”

“Annette doesn’t ask many questions,” he told her. “I don’t
get in her business and she only marginally gets in mine. Usually because she
has an uncanny way of figuring it out without ever having to ask me.”

He reached out, caught her hand. “She has a respect for
things that can’t be explained, as long as they’re not hurting who she loves.”

A troubled look crossed her face at that and she looked out
the window. “All right. But before we move forward in that direction, we’ll
wait and see what kind of success Butch has with Laurent.”

Laurent. Yeah, the asshole. Quinn wished he could just beat
the lousy shit to a pulp.

If you did you would only cause more trouble for your
Mistress. Remember, all the rules have changed.

He squeezed her thigh again. “Whatever you say. But let’s
keep it in mind, okay? If Butch can get things straightened out for us, I don’t
fancy having you spend the rest of eternity sleeping in one place while I’m in
another.”

“Let’s see what happens. Then we can discuss our options.”

“I don’t like being away from you,” he growled, aware of how
petulant that might sound.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. As long as you remember
who’s in charge.”

“As if I could ever forget.”
Or want to.
He knew she
liked saying things like that, because it aroused her as much as it did him.
“But you didn’t hook up with a lapdog, honey.” Sliding his hand farther up her
thigh, he reached the smooth skin of her pussy. He sucked in a breath. “No
panties?”

“A treat for you.” She laughed. “If you’re up to it.”

At her words his cock swelled and pressed against the rough
denim of his fly. “Oh, I think every bit of me is up to it.”

“I thought of ordering you to keep your jeans open and your
fly unzipped, to forget about underwear. Then I remembered we would be
thousands of feet above the ground and what I had in mind might be a little
dangerous.”

“You don’t think tempting me with your naked pussy is
dangerous?” he snickered.

She was silent. He tried to reach into her head, find what
she was mulling over so quietly, but he found he hit a wall.

“I didn’t know you could do that. Shut me out of your head.”
He wasn’t so sure he liked it either.

“A third mark isn’t a two-way street, Quinn. Only when the
vampire desires it. There are times my thoughts must remain my own.”

“But I don’t have the right to do the same with mine.”

“No.” She was brutally honest, he gave her that, though she
had the grace to flush a little at his look. “I’m still close enough to my
human origins that I’ll try not to abuse your privacy without good cause.
But…you’re my first full servant, Quinn. I find I like the freedom to move in
and out of your mind. It makes me feel like you’re even more mine. In a very
primitive way that I know should be offensive.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m not so
close to those origins as I like to believe.”

The pain on her face suggested Selene was no less brutally
honest with herself than she was with him. There was an odd sort of
quid pro
quo
to that. While he wasn’t sure what he felt about her admission that she
liked thinking of him as her property, whenever she expressed such thoughts,
the emotions she radiated included an intriguing vulnerability, a deep need for
him. Maybe he didn’t need to be in her mind. Just her heart.

He curled his fingers over hers once again. “Okay, Mistress.
But I like it when you let me in. It causes me some problems when you don’t as
well. It makes me think you don’t trust me. Or that I might be failing you.”

She shook her head. “I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted
anyone, Quinn. Sometimes the mind blocking is necessary. Please accept that has
nothing to do with you and everything with who I have to be. All right?”

He thought it also had to do with her protecting him, and he
didn’t much care for that. She gave him an even look, didn’t respond. But it
made him wonder if her next subject change was nevertheless an answer to his
thought.

“You did well at Butch’s,” she said. “In spite of
everything, you listened to your Mistress.”

His hands tightened on the controls. “I didn’t like him
hitting you.”

“I know.” She clasped his wrist, fingers tightening. “But it
had to be done. I told you. Violence is a part of this life. It’s something we
accept. Fortunately, we all heal fast.”

“Yes, but I don’t have to like it.”

“But you do have to control yourself and you did it
admirably.”

Her praise warmed him, even as the issue clawed at him. He
wasn’t going to get the image of her going down under Butch’s blow out of his
mind any time soon. “Well thanks. I guess.”

“Since you did so well, I thought you might like a bit of a
reward.”

His cock flexed again and his mouth went dry. “What might
that be?”