She reached up and pulled his face down to hers.
"I love you, Barret."
Before he could respond, she pressed their lips together. Naturally, he quickly took over the kiss, holding her face in his strong hands as he devoured her mouth. She banished all thoughts other than her need for this one male. Craving more of him, she moved to straddle his thighs. With no panties on, her aroused flesh rested against the rather large bulge in his pants.
She ran her fingers into his hair then scraped her nails lightly over his scalp. A moan rumbled from deep in his throat so she did it again. His hands moved from her face down to the hem of the over-sized shirt she'd thrown on when a Vampire had arrived delivering their breakfast. Pulling away from her lips, he quickly removed it, leaving her bare before him. His fingers roamed her body, cupping and caressing her breasts, following the indent of her waist down over her hips. She rose up a little so he could move his hand between them. He took the invitation and covered her mound with his palm before he began teasing her.
~ * ~
All thoughts of lost children and asshole Nobles fled his mind as, through hooded eyes, Barret watched Sharon move against his hand totally absorbed in her lust for him. He slid a finger inside her slick sheath and found the magic spot behind her pubic bone. Her back arched and her lush breasts thrust toward his face. Unable to resist, he lowered his mouth to suckle on a nipple. She groaned as she continued to move against him.
"Oh, Barret. Hmmm, don't stop."
Like I'd ever do that.
As she got closer to the edge of climaxing, she clung to him tighter. He loved how she gripped his hair in her clenched fists.
Maybe I'll keep the long hair.
His dick was throbbing with the need to be inside his Bride and it was getting difficult to ignore. So he slid his hand away from her wet heat to grip the top of his pants. Totally on board with the plan, Sharon raised herself up to allow him to push the material out of the way and release his erection. Before he could take control, Sharon moved so the tip of his dick was pressed against her warmth. He gasped as pleasure shot through his body. She drove him nuts as she slowly slid down his length until he was fully sheathed within her. His head fell back against the couch as he gripped her hips to still her movements. He was so aroused he was on a hair trigger.
"Just give me a moment, love, or it'll be over before we begin. Damn, you get me so keyed up, love."
She giggled a little and leaned in to nibble up his throat.
"It's only fair. You get me horny as hell with just a glance."
She licked up the side of his throat, over his vein, and his skin became hyper sensitive. Bride's only had to feed that first time to form the bond, but they could take their Vampire's blood whenever they wished. The more they took, the stronger their bond would grow.
"I have the strangest urge to bite you...but I don't have fangs."
He groaned and eyed the breakfast tray sitting just out of reach at the table. Damn, it was too far away to grab a knife and he didn't want to leave her body to go get it.
"We'll have to be a little better prepared next time you feel the urge. You'll have to make do with my wrist this time."
He swiftly lifted his skin to his mouth and bit down, piercing it for her use. He pulled it away and watched as Sharon's gaze fixated on the two small puncture wounds now welling with blood.
"Quickly, love, or they'll seal over."
Removing a single hand from his hair, she cupped his wrist and brought it to her lips. She hesitantly ran her soft tongue over the wounds once before she hummed in delight and placed her mouth over them and began suckling. He knew once she got a taste she'd lose all inhibition. He understood that humans found drinking blood repulsive, but between a Vampire and his Eternal Bride it was a communion of souls to share each other's blood.
Barret pushed her hair away from her neck and lowered his mouth to her sweet flesh. He bit into her throat and swallowed more of his Bride's life force. The moment he formed the loop he began to climax. He could feel her muscles ripple around his dick as she cried out with her own orgasm. Once the storm passed, he nuzzled into her. She released his wrist and did the same, pressing her nose against his throat.
Even though he'd climaxed, he was still hard inside her, so Sharon made the most of it as she began to slowly glide up and down his shaft. He moved to cup her sweet bottom in his palms and helped set the speed as she rode him. For so many years he'd thought he'd never get to experience this ever again. To have his Sharon; his Eternal Bride in his arms making love to him.
"I love you, Sharon, and I'm so damn grateful we got free."
She stilled her movements and raised her face to gaze at him. Her eyes were glossy with tears.
"Me too, Barret. I love you so much and there is nowhere else I'd rather be than right here making love to you."
Chapter Seven
Sharon paced across the living area of Darcy's large apartment. It had been a week since she and the others had been released and she was going stir crazy. The world had changed so much since most of them were captured, that the Old Ones decided they all needed to be educated about modern day Australia. There was so much to learn! Computers, mobile phones, the Internet... Even money looked different! Gone were the big paper notes and in their place were smaller plastic ones. However, she did have to admit fashion had improved. She'd never really liked those big shoulder pads, and she wouldn't miss having to tease her hair into a mess every time she went anywhere. Even though she'd loved her stonewash jeans, she quickly realized the current trend of 'distressed denim' was a vast improvement.
"Quit pacing, Mum. You don't need to stress over what Fiona's found. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it."
Fiona was one of the other rescued Brides, and she was on her way with some questions for her. Sharon guessed she'd discovered something relating to Toki and she was nervous as hell as to what it could be. Fiona had only been held for seven years, so she hadn't needed much help catching up with the times. Instead of attending classes with the others, she dove into sorting out all the paperwork they had confiscated before they torched the Noble compound. She'd been studying Journalism at University when she'd been snatched. Only a baby at twenty-two years old but thankfully unclaimed, she hadn't suffered the abuse Sharon had. Fiona had wanted to be an investigative reporter, so she was in her element with all this new stuff to sort out. Her Vampire, Orlando, who was part of the rescue team, was involved too. He was a wiz with a computer so he was going through the hard-drives they'd found.
A chime sounded and Darcy headed off toward the sound. Moments later, she returned with Fiona. When Darcy had been captured, she'd been stationed at the sewing machine next to Fiona and they had formed a close friendship. Fiona was carrying a box, as was Orlando who followed her into the room. The load was deposited onto the coffee table. Fear froze Sharon when she saw what lay on top. A leather-bound tome with one word imprinted in the leather. Toki. Her hand flew to her throat as her lungs began to burn. She tried to step away but stumbled.
"What's wrong?"
Barret's cool arms gathered her up and he sat on the couch with her propped against his chest. She glanced back at the table and only saw the throw rug Darcy had tossed over the boxes.
"Sitting on top was a book. With the name 'Toki' on the cover. I wasn't expecting it and it threw me for a moment. I'll be fine in a minute."
She closed her eyes and curled into Barret's embrace. She took deep breaths of his scent into her lungs.
I'm safe. Toki isn't here. I'm here with Barret now.
After repeating the reaffirming mantra, that the therapist had suggested she do a few times, she felt calmer and ready to face Fiona and her questions. She slowly uncurled herself and Barret allowed her to move so she sat beside him.
"Ah, I'm sorry. What did you want to ask me, Fiona?"
Fiona gave her a very sympathetic look and it just about brought her to tears all over again.
"I'm sorry to upset you. It wasn't my intention."
She waved away her concern. "It's silly, a book shouldn't cause me to react the way I did. It's just while I'm still adjusting to being free… Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I think is what the therapist called it. Random things will trigger reactions for a while." She hoped it wouldn't take long to get over all her triggers but she doubted after twenty-seven years of captivity, it would be fast.
"Well, the book you saw, with 'Toki' on the cover? It's old. Like ancient. I've worked out the language is Nordic, the language of Vikings. But to translate it will take a serious amount of time. I was wondering if he ever spoke of the book to you? Maybe mentioned a translation somewhere?"
Sharon took a deep breath and folded her hands in her lap. Her insides were in such a mess, she needed her outside to look in order. This story was one Toki had bragged of regularly.
"He spoke of it often. He did mention he had translated the book, but not if he'd kept the translation. But he knew the story by rote. I should be able to tell you most of what it contains. If you want?"
She hoped she could anyway. With Barret by her side, even if the story did drag her back into her time with Toki, he'd make sure to keep her grounded in the now. Sharon continued to focus on her breathing as Fiona took out a pen and notepad.
"If you could, that would be great. I want to gather all the histories I can find of both Nobles and Vampires and put them in one place. Darcy and I were chatting about it earlier and neither of us could believe how little Vampires know about their own creation and history."
Okay, she could do this if she focused on the purpose. It was for a good cause, the world at large needed to know how the Nobles were created. Barret's arm slipped behind her back and his hand gripped her outside thigh as she began to speak.
"The book is a diary written by the original Noble. His name was Toki. The current Toki was named after him, a fact he took every opportunity to boast about. The diary details how a Viking by the name of Njal stole an Eternal Bride named Sif. Sif had been claimed and her Vampire, Jorvik, came searching for her. I guess Vikings were convinced they were the toughest things out there so didn't exactly hide their tracks. Jorvik found and rescued Sif. Apparently the diary didn't detail how. I'm guessing Njal panicked and ran for the hills when he had a pissed off Vampire come at him.
"Unfortunately, all this happened around the twenty-ninth of February. Njal impregnated Sif in the short time he had her. Sif birthed a healthy son nine months later—without gemstone eyes. According to Toki Senior, Jorvik never forgave his Bride for bearing another man's son. He treated her poorly and forced Sif to abandon her son as soon as he was of age. Back then that was young. Toki found himself on his own at the tender age of twelve. Sif confided in Toki the name and location of his biological father before he was sent on his way."
Sharon paused a moment and took up the drink of water that Darcy had brought in for her. Retelling the story was surprisingly easy. Maybe it was being surrounded by friends and family or maybe it was because once she told the story, Fiona would have it recorded. She would be free to forget it and move forward. Maybe she should start a diary of her own, to release all the horrors she'd suffered.
After placing the glass on the table, she leaned back into Barret before continuing.
"Toki's father, Njal, was overjoyed to welcome his son into his home. Toki was taught the way of the Vikings and became a hardened warrior. Njal noticed as Toki aged past maturity that he'd remained the same physically. At this point Toki concluded he had to tell his father the truth about his mother. He told Njal everything he knew about Vampires and their Eternal Brides. Toki was certain he wasn't a Vampire but had noticed his stamina lasted much longer than his fellow Vikings and, as his father had noticed, was no longer aging. His father quizzed him about his mother, apparently the old man still held a torch for Sif. When Toki told Njal how poorly he'd seen Jorvik treat his mother, Njal was enraged. He hated that he was the cause of her being mistreated. He wanted to go raiding and capture her again but Toki stopped him to tell him about the blood bond between a Vampire and his Bride.
"As you can guess, the two of them soon devised a way to trap and weaken a Vampire. Then they began to go raiding, searching for women with gemstone irises and Vampires alike. This continued for quite a while. Their band of Vikings earned a reputation for 'saving' women and somewhere along the way they were given the title of Nobles for their cause was noble. Well, in their minds it was anyway.
"Things took a turn for the worse after Njal died. Toki's ego grew as did his loneliness. In the diary he speaks of how unjust it was that no human woman would touch him because he didn't age, but he wasn't a full-blooded Vampire either so he didn't have an Eternal Bride. So, he took it upon himself to claim a Bride anyway. He only chose from the Claimed Brides, although he never explained why from what I know. After a number of cycles, Toki discovered the sons he had with the Brides were like him. Not Vampire but not human either. The Brides he raped wanted nothing to do with the children so they were taken and given to men in his team to have their wives raise. Eventually his team was made up of only Nobles who had no wives. From what Toki Junior told me, it was at this point the levels were created within the society."
~ * ~
Barret ran his hand over Sharon's back as she took another drink. The manner in which Nobles were created made so many things fall into place. He could see how a power hungry man who felt he'd been ripped off by fate could create a legacy such as the Nobles. Before Sharon finished her water, Orlando took over telling the story time.
"I've found a classification of their levels. It took some doing. The Lower Level Nobles are basically brainwashed. They're not told of anything that happens with the Brides. They are generally the younger generation and are out in the world. All they know is that Vampires are evil and women with gemstone colored eyes need to be protected from them. There's a sub class in this level who are responsible for raising the sons from the breeding program, I have no idea what they get told of how the boys are conceived. Now, if they are lucky enough to find an Eternal Bride, they get elevated to Guardian level. This level is removed from the general public. They live in compounds like the one we raided. These guys still believe we Vampires are evil and they are protecting the women in their care. They look after everything the captured Brides need, without actually touching any of them. There seems to be a sub class in this level too. These are the ones who would—sorry to speak of it Sharon—prepare the Brides. I don't need to explain more on that one. Pretty sure we all know what the Elder level is all about too."