Sarim's Scent (14 page)

Could he already know? Victoria wondered. Could he smell his blood in her baby?

“You’re breeding, or what you call pregnant.”

“Damn,” she murmured. “That’s a wicked pregnancy test.”

“But effective.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. Lying back down, she was unable to continue facing him. She felt exposed and was too vulnerable to face him with her next question.

“So what happens next for us?” She didn’t know if she was ready for his answer.

“The Code of Ethics forbids any Taalib Duma child to knowingly be born to unmated parents or to parents not joined in a union.”

“But we are mated,” she interjected.

“Yes, but we are not blood-bonded mates,” he continued. “The law says we have to become blood bonded since we are bringing a Taalib Duma child into existence.”

“You mean we have to go through that ceremony you were telling me about? The ceremony that makes us have sex in front of your brothers and drink each other’s blood.”

He nodded.

“What happens if we don’t?” She wasn’t relishing the thought of being watched while they made love. However, in the back of her mind, a spark of excitement flared at the thought of being free of restraints and inhibitions, giving herself freely and completely to Khafil. The voyeur aspect might heighten the chemistry between them. Shocked at where her thoughts were going, she turned her attention back to the present conversation and the gorgeous creature in front of her.

“If we don’t, the penalty is death and the Brotherhood raises the child.”

A chill ran up her spine. These people weren’t playing.

“I guess there’s no choice,” she whispered.

“No, there isn’t.” For all his talk of wanting to start fresh and create a family unit for their child, he acted like he was going to his death. She watched him some time later after their conversation when he was sitting in front of the television in the living room, a brooding expression on his face. It was the same expression he’d been wearing ever since their heart-to-heart talk. He looked about as overjoyed as she currently felt. His solemn air had killed the happy buzz zipping through her at the thought of having Khafil as hers. Not a great way to start a life together. A life that would last how long? Forever? How long did Taalib Dumas live anyway? According to her limited knowledge of mythical vampires, they lived forever. She needed some more answers.

“What is it you want to know?” Khafil asked before she could form the complete question in her mind.

“What?”

“You’re forgetting I can pick up on your emotions,” he said, giving a low chuckle. “Right now they’re screaming burning curiosity. So I figure you must have some questions about things.”

“Right.” She’d forgotten about their unnerving ability to feel each other’s sentiments.

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask you this earlier.” She licked her lips, not missing the tightening of his eyes or the balling of his hands into fists. Maybe he wasn’t as morose about their circumstances as she thought. “Do you live forever?”

“I don’t know about forever but we live a very long time. My father is about six hundred and sixty-six years old.”

A picture of the coldly attractive Taalib Duma appeared in her mind. Khafil’s father didn’t look a day over forty. She didn’t miss the fact his age was the devil’s number. Not surprising considering the barely concealed threats he’d made toward her.

“I don’t know of any of us who have lived over a thousand years.”

“What about me?” she wondered aloud.

“It’s been a long time since a Taalib has married or mated someone with human blood or a human for that matter. Our mates usually live as long as we do.”

“How long did your mother live?”

Khafil’s closed his eyes as his face tightened.

“I’m sorry for bringing her up if it’s still too difficult for you to talk about her.”

“No, that’s not it.” He opened his eyes, which had brightened in their intensity. “It’s about time you were told about my mother and how she plays into the hatred between your father and mine.” He paused.

“Once upon a time, your father and my mother were going to form a union, or what you would call getting married.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, their families had sanctioned the union. My mother’s tribe was in need of the protection Sarim’s could offer. Once my mother formed a union with your father, her tribe would become Sogas and would not have to worry about being attacked.”

“What happened?”

“Well, obviously they didn’t join, or I wouldn’t be here.”

“Obviously,” she said dryly, hoping he’d get to the point sometime soon.

“My father met her one day and fell in love instantly.”

Victoria choked at the thought of Khafil’s cold father falling in love with anyone.

“Unbelievable, I know, but true.”

“Did your mother run away with him?”

“No, nothing like that. She was an obedient Taalib Duma. She was set to be dutiful and be with Sarim. My father wouldn’t give up, however.”

Now
that
she could believe. Zanhoden seemed like the type who would be ruthless and dogmatic if he wanted something.

“He followed her, trying to convince her she belonged with him and not in a loveless union with Sarim. He even snuck in her room one night, and that’s when things changed.”

“How?”

“She was attracted to my father, but believed her duties were with her family and not with her own happiness.”

“How tragic.”

“Yeah, but as the story goes, Zanhoden ignored her protests and kissed her. One thing led to another and after that night, they realized they were mates.”

“How?” she asked, not understanding.

“The infamous mate’s glow.”

“Oh.” She felt heat rush to her face.

“Once that was revealed, the council had no choice but to honor my mother’s request and her family’s that she be mated with my father.”

“Something tells me Sarim didn’t like that.”

“Not one bit. They had to go before the council because Sarim challenged my father for taking his intended. My father had to prove he and my mother were mates or face death.”

“Don’t tell me they had to do the ceremony in front of everyone...”

“At the council. Yes, they did. Afterward, the promised union with my mom and Sarim was dissolved.”

“Wow, no wonder there is bad blood between the two.”

“Yeah, we even think Sarim is responsible for my mother’s death.”

“What?” Do you think my father would really go that far?”

“Yes, he would. You forget I have worked as your father’s protector for decades. After what I’ve seen, he is quite capable of anything.”

Victoria shuddered. She didn’t want to know. But something in Khafil’s tone made her believe what he said.

“Do you think he will come after me?”

Khafil stretched out beside her and drew her in his arms. She tried to ignore the heat flowing through her at his nearness.

“Without a doubt, he is truly capable of it. That’s why you are protected at all times with guards. I shudder to think what you would go through if you ever fell into his hands.”

Khafil’s words warmed her. She felt safe in his arms and in his world. Snuggling in his arms, she felt his manhood harden and thicken against her. Almost by itself, her butt wiggled against him. She scooted back and felt his hardness between her thighs and against her vagina. Sparks went off in her body. Her lower body quivered and sexual hunger erupted.

Groaning, Khafil lifted her up and off his lap. He moved further over on the bed. Still in a sexual daze, she gazed at Khafil, hurt and confused.

He shook his head. “Not tonight.”

“Why?” she asked, her voice husky with need. The desire to mate was so strong she could taste the muskiness of it.

“We go through the ceremony tomorrow.”

“So what?” she said, frustrated. “It’s been days.”

Laughing again, he leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. Her vagina clenched, and Khafil groaned. The kiss deepened, and they both rubbed against each other, seeking relief. As they approached the point of no return, Khafil tore his mouth away.

“We have to wait until tomorrow,” he said, his voice rough with lust. “You and I can’t sleep in the same quarters tonight.”

As if on cue, someone began knocking insistently at the door.

“Come in.”

Victoria watched as her two day guards entered the room and stood silent, waiting. Her eyes went to Khafil and back to the stoic guards in disbelief.

“What’s going on?” she asked when Khafil made no move to explain.

“They are here to escort you to your preparation chambers.”

She looked back at the intimidating guards, not sure if she felt at all comfortable with them taking her anywhere.

“They are not going to hurt you,” Khalif reassured her. “They are just going to make sure proper Taalib Duma ceremony is followed.”

“They’re taking me to get ready for tomorrow night?”

“Yes, certain rituals must be followed in order to prepare for our blood-bond ceremony.”

Victoria’s gaze left the guards and turned to Khafil. She wasn’t sure if she trusted the wicked glint in his eye. The mischievous smile on his face didn’t make her feel reassured either. He said nothing, just continued to stare at her with that irritatingly sexy and mischievous look on his face.

“Go ahead.”

Victoria slowly walked toward the guards. When she reached them, they got on one knee and bowed to her. She turned back to Khafil and raised a brow. He gave her a sexy wink.

“I leave you in very capable hands.”

The preparation chambers looked like something out of a harem movie, Victoria thought as she wandered into an area resembling a scene from
Arabian Nights
. She was instructed to remove her shoes when she entered the room. The soft lush carpet massaged her feet. Her attendants were dressed in brightly-colored billowy gowns with a head garment covering half their faces, leaving only their eyes revealed.

They bowed and walked her into the wash quarters and stopped at a tub the size of a pool. Staring at the pool in amazement, Victoria gave a small shriek when she felt tugs on her shirt.

“You must undress,” a diminutive woman about thirty or so with shoulder length black hair said, tugging insistently on her shirt again.

Stunned, Victoria stood still as the four ladies deftly removed her clothes. Giggling, they led her naked body to the wash pool and firmly pushed her in.

“What the ...?”

She yelped in surprise as her head went under. When she raised her head, her two attendants were naked in the water with her and proceeded to wash her. They scrubbed her with a gel that smelled like fresh peaches. One of the attendants lifted her arms while the other scrubbed them. Tingles flowed through her body as they both scrubbed her back and then they scrubbed her legs.

Closing her eyes, Victoria allowed herself to relax and enjoy the firm wash and massaging. Her eyes opened as a pair of hands on her shoulders turned her around. She whirled to see both attendants staring at her. One of the attendants pointed at her breasts while the other indicated the V between her legs and slowly licked her lips. Victoria took a step back, sloshing water over the side of the pool, trying to ignore the tingly sensation forming in the juncture between her legs.

“I think I can handle it from here.”

They both nodded and watched her closely as she washed her breasts. Embarrassed, Victoria turned her back on the intense stares and bent down in the warm water to wash her suddenly sensitized private area, all the while feeling their eyes on her. She cursed when she realized her hands were shaking.
Why were they just standing there watching her wash her body and looking at her like they were fat kids and she was a piece of cake?

After stalling as long she could, she turned around.

“I’m ready.”

They handed her a large fluffy towel. She was then led out into a bedroom and rubbed briskly with another soft towel. While she was still slightly damp, the attendants rubbed a cool creamy peachy lotion onto her skin.

Victoria blushed as they began caressing the lotion onto her butt. Yelping, she knocked one of the attendant’s hands away when her soft hands slipped between her legs and rubbed the creamy lotion onto the sensitive area near her vagina. Heat blazing, she glanced up and spotted one of her attendants smiling at her with laughing eyes.

The woman knew she was turned on. “I’ll finish rubbing it in myself.”

The attendants looked at each other and shrugged. They walked to the bed and pulled down the silk sheets and indicated she needed to get underneath them. She did as they asked, then watched as they left the quarters. The sheets felt as soft as cotton candy. She pulled them completely down and climbed under them, enjoying the firm mattress, and closed her eyes. When would Khafil and their audience show up? Would she be ready when they did? Surprisingly, she relaxed, not at all alarmed at what was about to take place. Darkness started to close in when suddenly she got the sensation of being watched. She opened her eyes and her heart shot to her throat. One of her attendants stood beside the bed.
Where did she come from
?
She wasn’t here a second ago.
Shaking her head, Victoria tried to clear her suddenly cluttered head, but all she could think about was how relaxed and calm she felt. She smiled at the attendant, who said nothing and handed her a glass.

“Drink.”

Victoria wasn’t sure if the attendant spoke the words aloud or if they just formed in her mind. She looked the attendant in the eye and obeyed the request, drinking all of the sweet liquid down.

Tasty.
With a sigh, Victoria put the glass down on the dresser and turned to thank the attendant, but no one was there.

Weird.
Dropping her head back on the pillow, Victoria closed her eyes. She felt warm, relaxed and ... She couldn’t think of another word, but
delicious
to describe the pleasant bubbly feeling inside her. She pulled the silk sheets off her body and lay on the bed uncovered, the gentle breeze blowing felt wonderful, like gentle feather tips on her warm aroused body. Her breasts felt heavy and she reached up without thinking and began to gently massage one with one hand. It felt good. She never realized how good her body felt. She lifted her other hand ran her fingers down her stomach. Suddenly realizing what she was doing and stilled right above the black patch of hair below her navel.

“Don’t stop.”

Lifting her head, she opened her eyes when she felt the gentle brush of Khafil’s lips against her forehead. He sat beside her on the bed, naked. Instead of the anger she expected to feel emanating from him, she felt arousal. His hazel eyes were shimmering with intensity. He gave her body a slow appraisal, looking her up and down. Victoria felt her body stir at the predatory look in his eyes. She waited, wondering what came next.

“First we have to make love to prove we are mates.”

Nodding at his words, she was prepared for this opening part of the ceremony.

He leaned and captured her face between his hands. His lips covered hers in a deep kiss. Delicious shivers ran down her spine when he broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. She grabbed hold of his shoulders as hands slid down her back, cupping her butt. Pulling her up against him, his thick manhood was pressed against her stomach, reaching well above her navel.

“Are you ready?” he whispered.

She shivered as his lips touched the sensitive skin below her ear. She nodded and in one swoop he lifted her up and laid her down on the bed.

His hazel eyes had become dark and hooded as he watched her. Lowering his head, Khafil drew one breast into his mouth and suckled it before gently tugging on her nipple. Sensations shot from her womb and her vaginal walls clenched in anticipation. He moved to the other breast, careful to lavish a similar assault on the gentle flesh. She groaned in pleasure. Her hot, needy body could not take too much more of the sensual attack.

“Please,” Victoria begged as her vaginal muscles tightened again.

She was suddenly pulled up and flipped over. A strong hand pushed her face down on the bed and lifted her so she was on her knees. Gaining her balance, she looked up to find several pairs of eyes staring back at her. The bodies they belonged to were so close she could touch them if she stretched her arms out. Drawing back in shock, she looked around the bed. She was surrounded. Before she could voice her concern at their unexpected proximity, she felt soft caresses on her breasts. Her nipples hardened before the fingers trailed lower to the soft curls covering her wet, clenching femininity. She gave a low cry as Khafil stroked her throbbing neglected clitoris until all thoughts of their audience left.

Dripping with need, she began to move restlessly against the hand wreaking havoc on her body. She whimpered while grinding against it and began begging Khafil for his possession, uncaring that she sounded raw and vulnerable to his watching Imvura brothers. She thought she would die from the sensations running through her when she felt Khafil move his hand and reposition himself. He eased his thick length in her and her body stretched to adjust to his size. He felt thicker than the last time they had had sex.

A sexy chuckle came from her as he said, “I am.”

Victoria’s eyes became large dark orbs and her mouth formed an O as he slowly filled her. She took a deep breath and balanced herself as he began to move. She started in surprise as he grabbed her hips and thrust deep. Her body vibrated as he deepened his strong strokes. Lifting her butt up, she became greedy, wanting to catch each sensation as he continued to move deeply into her, her vagina grasping for more. Her begging became more demanding as she pleaded with him to go deeper and harder.

“It feels so good,” she whispered.

Lifting her head, she opened her eyes and stared at the Council members, smiling. She didn’t care that his brothers were witnessing her total depravity.

“What are you doing?’ she protested as Khafil slowed before stopping completely. He attempted to pull out, but she began to move, backing up on him, desperate to keep him inside her still needy vagina. She slowly worked his thickness inside of her until her buttocks touched his stomach. The sensations and his size were too much for her and she begged him to help her. Hardening, Khafil began moving again, giving her slow, deep thrusts before moving faster. Pleasure rippled through her and she felt her body begin to vibrate again.

Looking down at her arm, Victoria gasped in surprise as she watched her hands and arms begin to glow.

“The Mate’s Glow,” she whispered to herself.

Before she had time to think about it, she felt fingers on her sensitive clitoris. Arching up helplessly, sensation after sensation exploded through her lower body, each one more powerfully pleasurable than the last as he drove his full length inside her. She felt so wonderful she almost passed out.

Khafil grabbed by her waist and continued stroking her as her vagina convulsed over and over, greedily trying to grasp him. She screamed out uncontrollably as her body began to shake and a powerful orgasm consumed her.

Unaware of the nods of approval Khafil’s Imvura brothers gave him, Victoria put her face down on the bed, exhausted. Her body had encountered two of the most pleasurable experiences of her life. If she never had sex again, she would still be satisfied.

She was lifted up and placed gently on Khafil’s lap, still in a daze.

He looked deep in her eyes and began talking.

My heart is yours,

Your soul is mine,

Together we become one,

Until the end of time.

Let no Taalib Duma come between us,

This path I willingly take to become your one and only blood mate.

Instinctively she knew she was to repeat them
.
As she repeated the words, she felt a crash of emotion slam into her. She gasped as intense feelings raced through her. Shivering, she was barely able to ask Khafil what was happening before pain like she had never felt seized her chest. Crying out, she collapsed, weak, barely able to catch her breath.

“What is going on?” she whispered to Khafil who seemed to be in equal pain but managed it with eyes closed and his mouth set in a grim line. He was sweating and agony was etched in the lines on his face.

“It’s our souls.”

“Our what?” she gasped.

“Our souls,” he continued with effort as more beads of sweat popped on his forehead. “A part of my soul is entering your body and a part of yours is entering mine.”

Further questioning stopped as a sharp stabbing pain to her heart caused her to scream in agony. When the pain diminished, her forehead was bathed in sweat and her breath came in short gasps. Sitting up, she noticed the onlookers were quiet and watchful, gauging her reaction to the soul exchange. Turning, she looked at Khafil who was also sitting up, looking as weary as she felt.

What in the world would be next?
“The Blood ritual will complete the ceremony.”

Did I say that out loud?

“No,” Khafil interrupted her private conversation with herself. “I can read your thoughts.”

She let the weight of his statement roll through her mind while they stared at each other, each becoming accustomed to the new emotions rolling through them. For the first time she felt the truth of his regret at having to deceive her for so long and the burden of his responsibility as Visdan. She gasped in wonder at the depth of feeling he had for her, his mate and the unborn child she carried.

With tears in her eyes, she looked at him.

“You really do care?”

Emotion glinting in his eyes, he nodded.

Seconds went into minutes as she lay in his arms, savoring the feeling of being truly accepted and cherished as she was.

Khafil broke the silence. “We have one more part of the ceremony to complete.”

Victoria looked up in time to see Khafil’s canines lengthen and become sharp. She gasped in pain as she felt hers lengthen as well. “This will be the only time they do that.” His words entered into her mind, and she calmed, a little.

Bending his head down, he ran his lips gently along her neck.

She felt a gentle kiss before he pierced her skin with his fangs. She jumped from the pain, then felt gentle sucks as he drank from her. Her mouth suddenly became dry and she formed a sudden hot thirst. She automatically grasped the arm Khafil had thrust near her mouth. Intuitively she lifted it up and placed her mouth on his wrist and bit down.

He tasted slightly musky and masculine. His blood quenched the thirst, and she felt sexual pleasure coiling in the pit of her stomach. Her vagina clenched again as another orgasm ripped through her. She held onto his arm and continued to suck as her hips rode through the pleasure. When her body had finished quivering, she moved her mouth off his arm, surprised to find no bite marks on his wrist. He laid her down gently and placed a soft kiss on each cheek.

“Rest now. We are one, and I will not let anyone harm our family,” he whispered as her eyes closed.

Victoria fell asleep with a smile on her face, feeling whole and complete and confident for the first time. She had truly found her other half.