Zane’s Redemption (27 page)

She stroked down its entire length. “Hard.”

His ragged breath bounced against her. “Fuck, Portia.”

His hand clamped down over hers, stopping her from repeating her movement. “If I take your blood, I won’t be able to stop.”

“When,” she corrected him. “When you take my blood, we’ll both make sure you won’t hurt me.”

***

Zane closed his eyes, the sensations coursing through his body too intense to bear. “Portia, are you sure you want this?”

Had she really offered him her blood or was he hallucinating because he needed blood so badly? After everything she knew about him now, did she still believe him worthy to take this gift, to allow him this ultimate intimacy of feeding from her?

The last twenty-four hours had depleted him. He could barely remember when he’d last fed, but he knew it had been too long ago. Making love to her all night and day had robbed him of his reserves, and now he was wiped. If he didn’t get blood in the next six hours, his hunger would grow to frightening proportions, and his control would snap. Hell, he’d probably even attack the dog to feed, even though animal blood would provide him with little nourishment.

Knowing how close he was to giving into the bloodlust that hovered just below the surface, how could he accept her offer? What if he couldn’t stop?

His dark side reared its head. She would taste delicious, better than anything he’d ever tasted. To fuck her at the same time would make it all the better.

“You want it,” her voice repeated.

“But do you?”

“I want what you want. When I drank from you, it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Zane’s eyes dropped to her throat where her pulse jumped against her skin.

“The best thing I ever felt,” she continued, her voice a mere breath. “I want you to feel the same.”

It wouldn’t be the same. It would be much more. Her blood was so much more potent than any pure vampire’s blood. Hers was laced with the sweetness of human blood. Not only would it nourish him and strengthen him, it would make the connection that already existed between them more pronounced.

He’d felt it instantly the moment Portia had taken his blood, and then again later when they’d made love again and again. There was something between them that couldn’t be denied, even if he wanted to. He wanted to claim her as his, damn the consequences, and she would agree, he read that much in her expressive face. But it wouldn’t be right. She was young and he was her first experience. He had no right to bind her to him when this was only a temporary infatuation on her part.

“Portia, don’t tempt me any longer.”

She brought one hand to his lips and brushed her index finger over his fang. A flame of desire shot through him.

“So you
are
tempted.”

Despite the hand he’d clamped over hers that clasped his cock, she managed to move it to stroke his shaft.

“Fuck!” he hissed.

“Bite me. Take my blood.”

Ah, fuck it! Even he didn’t have enough strength to resist. In one fluid motion, he lifted her off her feet and carried her to the sofa, letting himself fall onto it as he positioned her in his lap. Her legs spread, and the t-shirt that she wore rode up, revealing her lack of panties. He let out an appreciative grunt.

The scent of her arousal instantly wrapped around him, only intensifying his hunger.

“This won’t be gentle,” he warned before he rammed his shaft into her soft core. Liquid silk engulfed him, the warmth and wetness of it intoxicating.

Her head fell back, exposing her neck to him in all its vulnerability. The ivory skin beckoned him, the pulse that beat against it acting as a countdown to his approach. Tap-tap-tap, it called, but his eyes drifted lower.

He’d had his teeth in so many necks in the last decades, that he wanted something that would set this time apart from all the other times. His hands came up to grip the collar of her t-shirt. He ripped it, tearing it into two right down the middle.

Portia gasped, her eyes widening as understanding bloomed. “What—?”

“Too late, Portia.” Too late to protest now.

His action couldn’t be stopped, not by her, and certainly not by him. With one hand, he cradled her full breast, enjoying its weight in his palm. Underneath the pale skin, his keen eyes noticed the blood vessels that sat close to the surface, close enough for him to smell their sweetness.

His throat constricted and his cock jerked inside her.

“Ride me,” he ordered gruffly.

She lifted herself onto her knees, making him withdraw, then came back down, impaling herself again.

“Harder!”

His body tensed, welcoming her movements. He’d hoped to savor this moment, but his control what shot to bits. Without another coherent thought, he sank his lips onto her breast, pulling the nipple into his mouth. As he licked over it, his fangs drove into her flesh to either side of it, drawing the blood from her tit.

Portia jerked under his hold only for an instant, before her breathless moan drifted to his ears. Her rich blood ran over his tongue and down the back of it, trickling down his throat, different flavors bursting on his taste buds. Spicy and sweet at the same time, it was everything he’d ever dreamed of and more.

He groaned, his hips thrusting in synch with Portia’s movements as she continued to ride him, her tight muscles clenching around him on each down stroke and releasing on each withdrawal.

When her hand cupped the back of his head to hold him closer to her breast, Zane’s heart jumped with joy. He felt accepted and wanted by a woman who could have anybody. Yet, she’d chosen him to show her what pleasure and passion meant. Would she want more from him? Could he hope that despite her youth and inexperience, her heart could feel the same as his did?

He shook the thought of it off, not wanting to taint this experience with the inevitable disappointment that would follow. All he could ask for was this moment, the moment of total possession, of acceptance, of surrender.

Portia was in his arms, moaning out her pleasure, riding him hard and fast, urging him to take more of her blood. Only the present counted. There was no past, no future. Only the here and now.

With her blood filling him, reaching every cell in his body, he felt like the richest man on earth, a man who had everything, who lacked nothing. And at the same time, he had nothing to give her, only his body, only the love that was inside him, bottled up and hidden. He could admit it to himself now, but he could never tell her. It was the one secret he had to keep from her. Because if she knew his feelings, she would feel obligated to offer him more. She was too sweet to leave him. She would confuse her own feelings with love, when the things that she felt were merely desire and lust for something she’d only just discovered: sex.

To burden her with his own feelings was wrong. Yet it didn’t stop him from hauling her closer to him, from digging his fangs deeper and drinking more of her sweet essence. And it didn’t stop him from thrusting harder into her, filling her tight channel with his hard length that was ready to burst.

And it didn’t stop him from wishing to leave something of him behind, of wanting his seed to take root in her. To create another life. At the same time he knew it was impossible: only blood-bonded couples could conceive, and he would never force this bond on her. If he did so now in the heat of passion, she would never forgive him for binding her to him for eternity.

“More,” she whispered and lowered her head to his ear.

But he knew he couldn’t take any more. Already, her movements had slowed and her voice sounded lethargic. He dropped his hand between their bodies and rubbed his thumb against her clit, stroking first gently, then harder.

Zane removed his fangs from her breast, licking over the incisions his teeth had left. His saliva closed them instantly and mended the skin.

“Oh, God!”

He felt her orgasm rock through her body and let go of his control. His release went through his cells like an atom bomb, obliterating everything in its path.

Portia collapsed against him. He discarded the torn t-shirt and cradled her against his chest.

“Baby girl,” he murmured into her hair. There was so much more he wanted to say but couldn’t.

Her breath hummed against his neck. “Promise me to always feed from me.”

Zane’s muscles tensed. He could make no such promise as much as he desired what she was offering. “I can’t.”

She pulled herself away from him, and her face told him everything he needed to know. She was so easy to read, and in this moment, he wished it were different. But he saw what was written there: hurt that he was rejecting her. And like a stake, that same kind of hurt drove into his heart.

Portia shifted to get out of his lap, but he captured her arms and stopped her, moving his hips at the same time to drive himself back into her.

“You don’t understand, Portia.”

She lashed an angry glare at him. “Oh, I understand. You’ve had enough of me already.”

Zane bared his teeth. “You’re wrong!”

She struggled against his hold. Angry at her defiance, he flipped her onto her back, and braced himself over her. There was no escape now, even though she pushed against him.

“It’s not I who doesn’t want you.” Why was he even telling her that? He owed her no explanation. However, his stupid mouth didn’t get the message and kept on moving. “It’ll never work between us. You have your entire life ahead of you. Why would you want to chain yourself to somebody like me?”

She shook her head, her body suddenly going soft beneath his, molding itself to him. “But I want you.”

“You say that now. You say that because we have great sex. That’s all this is. You’re confusing love with lust.”

Her eyes focused on him, and something lit in them, a flicker of understanding. Maybe he’d finally gotten through to her.

“And you, are you confusing lust with love? Or do you know the difference?”

Her challenge was clear, and hell, he should be wiser than to accept it, but whatever it was—the aftermath of his orgasm or her blood pulsing in his veins—he couldn’t resist answering.

“Of course I know the difference!” he bit out between clenched teeth.

“Then tell me, smart ass! Tell me that it’s lust for you and I’ll leave you alone. In fact, I’ll pack up right now and go home. And you’ll never have to set eyes on me again.”

Never see her again? His heart clenched painfully at the vile thought. He searched her face to discover if she was bluffing, but nothing gave away what she was thinking. Was she giving him a way out, a way to make a clean break without losing face?

“Tell me you don’t love me.” At the last two words, her voice trembled.

He closed his eyes, trying to fight against the feelings that her demand conjured up. He should lie to her, lie and be done with it. But that final tremble in her voice had driven too deep into him, demanding he’d be honest with her.

Without opening his eyes, he admitted what he should have kept to himself. “I love you.”

As he made a motion to lift himself off her, she hooked one leg around his, holding him back. His eyes flew open, and he pinned her.

There was a warm smile on Portia’s face. “I think I should explain the rules to you again,” she said softly.

“What rules?”

“As long as you love me, you don’t get to leave.”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised at her easy tone. “Does that rule go both ways?”

Her finger swiped over his lips in a slow and lazy stroke. “Why don’t you ask what you really want to know?”

He suddenly felt lighthearted, her playful attitude helping him relax. Maybe he could give this a try. “Tell me you don’t love me and I’ll let you go now.”

“When I’m near you, I can feel you in here.” She pressed her hand against her heart.  “And when you’re gone, there’s an emptiness there. And it hurts. And the pain only goes away when you’re close again. Tell me, Zane, tell me what that is.”

Her eyes were round like saucers and as beautiful as he’d ever seen her. Laced in those eyes was the knowledge that she knew the answer to her question, but that she wanted him to acknowledge it. She wanted him to accept it.

“Does it feel like your heart will tear into pieces at the thought that we’d never see each other again?” Because it was what he felt. And the pain was unbearable.

Portia nodded.

“Baby girl,” he murmured and brushed his lips against hers. “Are you sure?”

Instead of another nod, she pressed her lips against his for a slow kiss. Her breath bounced against him when she parted her lips to speak.

“Have you figured it out yet?” she mumbled against his mouth.

Zane drew back a few inches so he could look into her eyes. “You love me.”

How, he didn’t know, but in her eyes shone the love he hadn’t wanted to see at first.

“I love you, Zane.”

Would he ever be worthy of it? He tried not to think of it, not to worry that she would change her mind and walk away from him one day. He wouldn’t survive it, because losing her would rob him of the last piece of his heart and turn him into the monster that lurked in the shadows.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Gabriel had expected the call, but not so quickly. But when he heard Lewis’ voice asking about his daughter Portia, there was no doubt that the shit would soon hit the fan.

As discussed with Samson earlier, he quickly patched him into the call. This situation needed to be handled with care.

“It’s Robert Lewis, Portia’s father.”

“Damn!” Samson cursed. “Have you told him anything yet?”

“No. But we won’t be able to stall him.”

“I know. Get him on the line.”

Gabriel pressed a button and heard the other man’s breathing on the other end. “Mr. Lewis, you’re on the line with Samson Woodford, the owner of Scanguards.”

“Where is my daughter? She’s not answering her cell, and nobody’s picking up the phone at home.” There was a good deal of impatience in his voice.

Samson cleared his voice. “Let me assure you, Mr. Lewis, that your daughter is well.”

Well? Gabriel felt the urge the scratch his head at Samson’s conversation starter. How could Portia be well with Zane? His fellow vampire and second in command was a raving lunatic! He’d kidnapped his charge. Didn’t that sum things up nicely?