The Sanction (6 page)

“
Get it over with,” she
rasped, hating that even as he leaned forward to take the lobe of
her ear between his dangerously sharp fangs, she shuddered with
anticipation. He tore the dress from her body and stepped back to
look at her. Amarinda never felt more ashamed in her life. Her very
first time and there she was, filthy, reeking and with a mate who
did not want her. She made to cover her breasts. He stilled her
hands swiftly.

“
Do not hide from me,” came
his guttural voice. Tears streamed down her face and stained her
chest. It was another moment before he spoke again. “Look at
me.”

She shook her head and closed her eyes.
His touch fell away and for a moment more, he said nothing. An
almost awkward kiss was placed upon her stiff lips. Her eyes darted
open in surprised wonder. That he would approach her with such
intent, only to kiss her…

The distance between their bodies was
but a breath, but the soft, tantalizing manner his lips danced upon
hers elicited a sigh from the depths of her being. A very wet
tongue teased her teeth, coaxing her to accept the invasion. Almost
instantly, she opened her mouth. He tasted of potent drink spiced
with herbs, and he drew on her tongue greedily for a long time,
contenting himself with simply instructing her. The teasing bites
and nibbles around her mouth prompted a moan, and even when she
leaned into him to wrap her arms around his neck and run her
fingers through the thick length of ebony hair that crowned his
head, he did not make to touch her – until she instinctively
pressed her hips into his and felt a very hard, incredibly large
part of him. Her panicked gasp almost forced their lips apart, but
he took full control then. She was tumbled onto the rumpled sheets
swiftly. Whatever resistance she may have voiced was drowned by the
intensity of his kisses and the near lethargic after-effect of his
hands running themselves about her agitated form. From the moment
his mouth left hers she gasped for air – and was all but breathless
again. One peeked nipple was being suckled, the other duly
assaulted by deft fingers. Amarinda arched her back and held him to
her form avariciously. Her soft cries he answered with a deep,
satisfied groan.

“
I bet my life you taste as
delectable as you look,” he rasped between kisses. His lips trailed
a blazing path down the center of her stomach. His seeking fingers
stroked the length of her legs and lingered for a fleeting second
behind her knees. She hissed in delight, catching his eyes for only
a moment before hers were closed in pleasure once more. This was
the reason females were created, she decided. This was what it
meant to be woman. Or so she thought, for the instant his light
touch stroked her heated core, she hollered. Awareness shocked her
in full force. Distraught, she attempted to push him away,
whimpering his name, mewling helplessly. Her reaction fueled the
passionate way he abused her lips. One large hand was wrapped
impatiently about her waist and she was pulled up higher to the
center of the bed.

“
Open for me,” he purred the
moment her thighs locked his hand in place. “Let me look at you…let
me…”

Her knees were pried apart, and the
moment his tongue replaced his swift fingers, she shattered. Fire
and ice swept her from head to toe, and she moaned an endearment in
unabashed pleasure. He trailed a wet line to the dip of her
stomach, to each very sensitive nipple, and finally paused to
nibble at her neck. Her sigh was one of contented
exhaustion.

“
It is not over yet leech,”
he purred, nipping at her lips. Basking in the after-math of
satisfaction, she did nothing but smile. There was a rustle of
clothing, and then the heat of his body returned. Her eyes flew
open immediately. He was poised above her, his naked form very
muscled and defined. The soft hair that matted his chest invited
her to touch him there, and she did so, curiously at first. Her
fingertips traced each cut and contour of his form, and lingered
upon his taut stomach before brushing the protruding member there.
Wide eyed and astonished, she wrapped her fingers around him. He
was like iron sheathed in satin. Her eyes met his in wonder. He
exhaled a strained breath, and it was only then that she understood
her inspection of his body had cost him much self-restraint.
Bravely, she touched her lips to his. For two full seconds his body
went taunt, and then all at once he fell upon her, ravishing her
lips once again as he sought the entrance to her body. Amarinda
lifted her hips and held nothing back. White heat seized her then,
and she stiffened in agony.

“
Relax…I will make it
better…trust me.” True to his word, the pain subsided and was
transformed into immeasurable pleasure. Never before had she
experienced this closeness. He stretched and filled her until she
felt herself bursting. He moved faster still and not once did he
tear his lips from hers. The moment he stiffened, Amarinda felt him
pulse deep within the furthest reaches of her stomach. Instinct
made her wrap her legs around his waist and hold him to her chest
when he collapsed upon her breasts. He was heavy, and his heartbeat
thundered wildly, vibrating even throughout her very
being.

He made to move then, but she tightened
her legs around him and could not meet his eyes when he looked into
her face. She released him slowly, her gaze focused on the ceiling
directly above her. He would leave her side now, and would return
her to her Coven. Amarinda was not fool enough to believe the
emotion that swelled in her heart was love, or even a liking for
this Were, but he was now and forever would be, her
mate.

Chapter Five

Graeme considered the dark forest from
his perch upon the battlements. At his side, Rhys shifted
impatiently. Neither man spoke. Hunters were scented by a few of
the scouts. The evidence of their presence did not sit well with
Graeme. They had never attempted to venture this close before. For
a long time he listened to Rhys council. The envoy had returned
shaken, but alive and unharmed, with news that his ransom would be
met on the date demanded. Still, they would try to rescue her. Why
else would the Hunters risk death by crossing the boarder-lands and
coming onto his territory? Even now he suspected that they hid in
the dark foliage below, waiting for an opportunity to breech the
walls. If that was indeed their plan, it was a foolish one. A Were
could scent a vampire from a distance.

All of this for her, his vampire mate.
He locked his jaw, mind racing. Oh, but how he had wanted her! He
had prepared himself mentally to take from her until she was aching
and sore, had kept himself away for as long as it took before she
finally agreed to feed from his veins. Graeme heard desperation in
her voice each time she cursed him to hell, but he had been patient
– then finally, she had agreed. He had expected the pain when
bitten. What he had not expected was the heated desire that whipped
like a furnace within him at the texture of her mouth against his
skin. No, Graeme had not expected to want to be tender with her, to
want to discover all the sweet crevices of her beautiful body, to
want to taste her, to feast on her like a voracious wolf. She had
given herself so innocently, so generously, that unfortunate for
him, he was tempted to be drawn into her arms more often that he
cared to admit. The mere thought that in three weeks she would be
gone left him unsettled. Still, he could never commit himself to
her. No matter how delirious he imagined himself to be in the heat
of passion, he would never bind himself to her. She was a vampire.
His plot for vengeance must be carried out. He would not allow
himself to feel any affection toward her simply because he enjoyed
a tumble. He was not some whipped pup, and she was not his first
lover.

He snorted loudly and turned to Rhys.
The man had not spoken since he informed that the envoy had
returned, and he awaited instruction. They had become good friends
since Graeme had taken up his fathers’ mantle, and he honestly
believed that no one could have done a better job of rallying the
men. His advice was infallible, but this time, Graeme knew why he
did not listen to the general’s counsel. He had wanted to sample
all the lustful delights of the vampire’s flesh. Now that he had,
he did not want to leave it at that just yet.

“
We should increase the
scouts,” came Rhys’ drone voice finally.

“
That will not prevent them
from intruding,” he responded.

“
Then we send them a message
– one that makes it clear trespassers are not welcomed.”

A tight frown brought his brows
together. His sigh was deep. The vampires were conniving. Until he
held the security of their very heads in his hands, he suspected
they brewed a plan. “Have the men cut and burn the trees within
half a mile in every direction. I want the guards doubled at night
along the walls and torches lit several yards out in the fields.”
He leaned against the cold stone and held the furs close to his
body. “I do not want the Hunters attempting to breech these walls.
Although we are many, we would suffer great loss at their
hands.”

Rhys nodded understanding and turned
away. Graeme listened to his footsteps until they faded. Above, the
first quarter moon waned. He made his way along the battlement and
down the winding staircase, his destination the woman who was now
mated to him. Shadows danced along the walls as he swept past. The
heavy echo of his steps lingered in the dark. He sniffed the
stagnant air at the end of the hall. Even from this distance he
could smell her there, awaiting his company behind the barred door.
Slowly, he advanced. Images of their time together clouded his
mind. It took no further prompting to heat the member below his
waist. The heavy door was pushed open; he caught sight of her
before the window. She was dressed in nothing but a sheet wrapped
about her body. The room was as cold as the night outside. Her
length of hair reflected the moonlight. She was hauntingly
beautiful, this vampire. Graeme slammed the door louder than
intended, and when she glanced over her shoulder to look at him, it
was with bright sliver eyes that shone unnaturally. Fire coursed
through his blood and a breath caught in his throat. He tossed the
furs from around his shoulders in a heartbeat.

“
They are out there,” she
informed. “I feel their presence…”

He moved passed her, scowled at the
darkened forest and closed the window. “Then they are fools. I will
not take lightly their trespassing onto my territory.”

She swallowed hard. “They worry for me.
Wouldn’t you have done the same had it been your loved
one?”

He thought about her, being snatched
from beneath his very nose by the Hunters that lingered amongst the
trees. The wave of anger that accompanied his controlled panic at
the initial discovery of their presence was not present this time
around – this time, with her standing next to him draped in nothing
but a sheet and trembling lightly in the cold, he was alarmed. If
the shoe had been on the other foot, the Hunters would not have
gotten past the main gate as far as he was concerned. The hills
would have been bathed with their blood for even attempting to tear
her away from him.

Stunned, Graeme scowled at the mere
idea of it all. Hadn’t he not more than ten minutes ago remind
himself that she was just a pawn? His nostril flared when he ran
his fingers through the length of her hair. “For a loved one, yes.
But not for you.”

She blinked. Her eyes shone like liquid
gems in the darkness, flooded with tears of hurt. He yanked her
body against his and rocked the evidence of his desire upon her
stomach. She whimpered like a wounded animal. “When will you
release me?”

“
When I’m good and
ready.”

“
You said you would release
me when you have claimed me.” Her voice was coarse and almost a
whisper. “You do not want me, and I am worthless to you. Why am I
still being held?”

“
I may not want you, but
what I want from you is another matter completely.”

Something very close to anger glinted
beneath her tears, but when she spoke her voice was trickled with
askance. “Am I to be fed tonight?”

His tongue found her ear. Her fangs
shone pearl in the night. Graeme touched the scars on his neck and
frowned. He had a hell of a time keeping the evidence of her feed
hidden from the others. “Somewhere less visible this
time.”

His clothes fell to the floor in a
heap, and moments later he had duly pulled the sheet from her body.
By all the gods, she was something to look at - all long-limbed and
full in all the places his hands itched to caress. He made to reach
for her. She stepped forward and pressed her soft breasts to his
form. Taken quite by surprise at her boldness, something akin to a
grin pulled at his lips. Her fingers poked his chest and pushed him
back. He obliged, settling himself on the bed, looking at her in
anticipation. Her pebbled nipples were directly before him, and
when he moved to capture the hardened peeks between his lips, she
caught his face between her hands and pressed her lips there. He
gripped the softness of her hips and marveled that his blood had
done wonders to her half-starved form. Undoubtedly after tonight,
she would be fully healed.

“
Straddle me,” he commanded
softly. A blush stained her cheeks, but she obeyed. The heat of her
center was pressed against him, and he caught the full scent of the
musk that wafted between them. His nostrils flared and despite
himself, the need to bury himself within her, to become one with
her, was almost overwhelming. He pressed his lips to her neck. From
the moment his tongue darted out to taste her, she hissed. He
pulled her closer still. She fell against him and forced him back
even further. Upon the warm furs, knees bent at the edge of the
bed, Graeme’s eyes flamed amber as he considered her hungrily. Her
tongue darted out and traced a heated path from the scars that were
almost healed from the night before upon his neck, to his throat,
then down his chest.