BittenandDefiant (7 page)

“Frankie,” he whispered before lowering his mouth to her
neck.

She came just as he sank his fangs into her soft flesh. She
was already lightheaded from her climax when she felt the quality of the
dizziness changing. He continued to pump deep within her. She was coming again,
about to pass out when Kellen’s mouth released her.

Bracing himself on one elbow, Kellen lifted his wrist to his
mouth. He opened his own vein and pressed it to her lips.

“Drink,” he urged. “Drink from me. Drink and become mine.”

Frankie did as he instructed. She didn’t know what she was
expecting but the zing that hit her with the first taste of his blood was not
it. She felt electrified. She couldn’t get enough. Not of his blood or his
cock, which was still moving within her throbbing pussy.

“Gods,” Frankie exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed with the
sensations that were swirling throughout her entire body. “Kellen!”

“It’s okay.” He pumped harder, grinding his body against
hers as if he couldn’t get in deep enough. “Don’t stop.” He forced her mouth
back to her wrist. “Drain me. Make me come!”

Unbelievably Frankie felt her mouth changing, her fangs
elongating. He’d said every cell in her body would alter but she hadn’t realized
that it would be so quickly. When she dragged her mouth from his wrist, she was
certain he could see them. And now that he knew she had fangs he leaned closer
and offered her his neck.

“Bite me, Frankie. Now! Do it!”

Frankie instinctively knew just where to bite. Every fiber
of her being turned pure savage as her fangs ripped into his neck. It took a
second for it to register that the snarling she heard was coming from her.
Feral was the only way to describe how she was feeling. She bucked her hips up
to meet his and squeezed his cock with all she had.

Sex with Kellen had been unbelievably good before, but now
it was even more so. Every bit of her flesh was electrified. The sensation of
her pointed nipples rubbing against his chest heightened the pleasure his cock
provided. Everything was magnified. She felt greedy and out of control, as if
she’d never get enough of him, not his blood and definitely not his cock. The
last thing she remembered before she passed out was coming harder than she ever
had before, with Kellen coming with her.

Kellen was pacing, trying to remain calm. The first four
times Frankie had awakened she’d been out of control, her hunger for his blood
unquenchable, her lust insatiable. He was beginning to worry that she would
remain feral, stuck halfway through the transformation, a monster. If she did
he would have no choice but to destroy her. If his selfishness in wanting her
for his mate caused that to be necessary it would kill him. No way could he
continue on without her. He wouldn’t even want to try. The last time after she
passed out he’d gotten what he needed to end his existence before he fed.

The thought of actually needing to do away with her had him
edgier than he remembered ever being. He’d never transformed anyone before, but
others had spoken of it and she should have started to calm by now. He’d wanted
her so much and she’d sounded so positive that everything would turn out fine
that he let himself put the risk aside. How could he have been such a fool!

“Kellen?” Frankie’s soft voice interrupted his musings.

“Frankie!” Kellen scooped her into his arms and held her
tightly.

“What’s wrong?” She squirmed but he refused to release her.
“Hey.” Nothing. “Kellen, please. You’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just so relieved.”

“Why?”

“I was afraid you wouldn’t finish changing.”

“How long has it been?”

“A week. You’ve fed four times.”

“Four? You said it would only take two.”

“I know. That’s what I’d been told. Do you remember
anything?”

“No, not really. Just feeling extremely out of control. But
I knew you were with me and you’d make everything okay. I am okay now, right?”

“You seem to be. How do you feel?”

“Tingly. Hyper. Ravenous. Horny.”

“Here,” Kellen invited her to take his neck.

Frankie was much more subdued with this feeding than she had
been previously. She still tore into him, but he knew this time her saliva
would be enough to close the wounds without his needing to concentrate on
healing. Thank the gods she had been right about the transformation completing
properly.

“Mmm, so good,” Frankie whispered against his neck.
Surprising him with a quick twist, she had him flat on his back with her on
top. Kellen could see her desire as she asked,” May I?”

“Absolutely.” He chuckled. So polite when before she had
taken exactly what she wanted.

Frankie’s demeanor altered almost instantly once she
reclaimed his neck. It only took a minute before she was snarling. A moment
later she moved down his body, scraping him with her fangs as she went. When
she focused her attention on his cock he went wild. He wanted nothing more than
to flip them over and bury himself to the hilt as he feasted on her, but he
would wait. He would try to anyway. Frankie’s newly developed strength on top
of her boldness was such a turn-on that he didn’t know how long he could hold
out.

“Go on. Bite my cock. You know you want to,” he urged.

“Won’t I hurt you?”

Kellen laughed. He couldn’t help himself. “You haven’t the
other times so why would you now?”

“I did this before?” She sounded amazed.

“Oh yeah. Tore right into me as if you’d never let go.”

“Cool!” Frankie declared, claiming his shaft with her fangs.
“Gods, no wonder,” she said a few minutes later. “You make me feel so primal.”

“Don’t hear any complaints, do you? Never hold back, Frankie.”
Kellen resisted as long as he could and then startled her by tossing her from
him. “I won’t be.”

The statement caused her to giggle. “Good.”

Immediately he pounced, burying his face in her pussy. After
spearing her with his tongue he sank his fangs into her mound and drank,
holding her in place so he could suck her clit while he feasted on her blood.
He refused to release her until she came.

It was her turn to flip him to his back again. Before he
could react she impaled herself on his rock-hard cock. She rode him
relentlessly, which caused Kellen to grin. Up and down his shaft, over and over
she devoured him with her pussy. Oh yeah, his mate was as incredible as he’d
expected.

“Fuck me,” Kellen demanded, pumping up to meet her.
“Harder.”

“More,” Frankie ordered in return, squeezing his rod tight
with her newly developed pussy muscles.

When Kellen felt her spasming around him, he yanked her
forward, holding her against his chest with his cock in deep. He pressed her
mouth to his neck. As soon as her fangs claimed his throat he sank his canines
in to her neck as well. The rush he got when her blood flooded his mouth sent
him over the edge. He felt the walls of her pussy contract with every burst of
his cum. Gods, if it was this good now he couldn’t begin to imagine how intense
it would become over the next few hundred years.

As soon as Kellen started licking the punctures Frankie did
the same. He smiled. She would take care of those she fed on just fine.

Frankie curled into Kellen’s side, lazily tracing patterns
on his chest. “So what did you do all week?”

“You mean besides let you have your wicked way with me, feed
so you could do it again and worry that I’d fucked up by trying to change you?”

“Was I really that bad?”

“Bad, no. Completely out of control feral, yes. But as I
said, I’ve never done this before or seen anyone in the midst of being
transformed. Perhaps this is how it is.”

“I’m glad it worked.”

“Once again you are the master of understatement.” He kissed
her forehead. “But I did manage to do one other thing that should please you.”

“Oh?” Kellen’s grin had her on full alert. “What?”

“I was sorting through some mail that I’d been ignoring and
found an invitation to the mayor’s fundraiser.”

“Ah, okay. Did you go?”

“Yes, for part of it. I didn’t want to leave you alone too
long even though you’d just fed.”

“What, Kellen? Why do you look like the cat who swallowed
the proverbial canary?”

“Guess who one of the speakers was.”

“No! Valdez? He couldn’t have been.”

“He was. Apparently he is one of the major contributors to
the mayor’s reelection fund.”

“No wonder the law looks the other way all the time.”

“I had the same thought.” His grin grew.

“What did you do?”

“Well…”

Frankie knew it had to be something spectacular with how he
was building anticipation but the suspense was killing her. “Tell me.”

“Since I was sure there would be some sort of program, I
made up inserts for it. With a revised biography for Valdez on it.”

“Oh, Kellen!” Frankie was thrilled. Sure they’d been
interfering with his street-level dealers over the past month and she had done
things to poke at the man personally but this had the potential to impact
public opinion. Surely the mayor would at least need to disassociate himself
now. And there had to be some sort of press coverage at such an event. The
inserts would have caused a buzz that the reporters would notice, drawing
attention to them. Even if the media did take a wait-and-see stance they
wouldn’t completely ignore it.

“Wish you could have been there. The looks on people’s faces
were priceless. You could see the disbelief and then horror as it spread around
the room.”

“Did you save one for me?”

“Of course.” Kellen disengaged himself to retrieve one of
the programs from his desk. He settled back in beside her as Frankie read.

She was smiling by the time she’d finished. Everything
Kellen had written was entirely true and exactly what Valdez wouldn’t want the
world in general to know about his secret business. It was perfect. If only
she’d been there to witness it.

“Did he stay? And speak?”

“He had to. Naturally he denied all of it with the
appropriate amount of outrage. If he’d taken off it would have been admitting
his guilt.”

“So it won’t really make a difference,” she concluded sadly.

“Oh I don’t know. No matter what he said while there I’m
willing to bet that’s the last time he and the mayor are seen in public
together. I expect there are now reporters trying to verify everything so they
can print it. Yes, I’d say the image he portrays will take a hit with this
one.”

“Thank you,” Frankie whispered softly.

“That mean it’s okay I interfered without consulting you
first?”

“Absolutely! My gods, Kellen! How can you even question
that?”

“I promised not to do anything other than torment his crew.”

“I know but that’s not what I really meant when I asked you
for that. I just didn’t want you going after him yourself.”

“Which is what I did. But I know you meant physically since
he’d have no idea why if I suddenly showed up in front of him. For all he knows
you are behind this. And you would have been had you not been otherwise
occupied.”

“Exactly! This really is brilliant,” Frankie stated.
“Perfectly done,” she said, reading it again. “I’m so glad you’re the vampire I
decided to approach. For many reasons.”

“Me too.” Kellen returned her hug. “So you feel up to going
out?”

“You mean it? You think I’m okay?”

“I think you’re perfect. Come on. I want to see your
reactions to your heightened senses and I’ll get distracted if you keep
touching me as you are.”

She laughed, kissing the middle of his chest before bounding
out of bed. “Can’t have that.” As they both dressed Frankie caught him watching
her. “But once we’re back…” Frankie let her statement hang, looking at him with
all the desire she was feeling.

* * * * *

Kellen stood behind Frankie, his arms wrapped around her
waist. She leaned back against him and sighed.

“I’m not sure I would have stopped,” she stated. “If you
hadn’t urged me to let go I might have killed him.”

“Maybe this time. But I don’t think it’ll take too long for
you to rein yourself in. You didn’t fight me when I interrupted you.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely. Don’t worry. I won’t let you feed alone until
we’re both positive you can restrain yourself.”

“Thank you, Kellen.” She tilted her head for a kiss. “He
tasted so different from you.”

“That’s how it is. Just wait until we travel. You’ll notice
all the different spices people eat when you taste their blood.”

“I never even thought of that.”

Kellen chuckled. “Why would you? After all, you didn’t
really intend on sticking around so I doubt you got as far as thinking about
feeding.”

“You’re right. I didn’t.” She was quiet for a moment,
staring at the house across from them. “I hate him!”

“I know. You do realize you could get away with killing him
now, don’t you? If you wanted to. It would be perfectly understandable.”

Again she was silent. He was right. She could do that. Kill
him and then vanish from the area for a hundred years or so. Now, thanks to
Kellen, that was truly possible. “No,” she finally responded. “Not that he
doesn’t deserve to die. Still, even with all the pain his drugs have caused me,
I’m not a killer. Is that wrong of me?”

“Not at all. It’s what I thought you’d say.”

“And if I’d said I would see him dead?”

“I’d have loved you the same and helped you any way I could.”

“Kellen.” She turned in his arms to hug him tightly, unable
to continue speaking.

“Shh. It’s okay. I understand.” He waited for the tension in
her body to diminish. “Tormenting him, making him live with himself, could be
that much worse.”

“He’s going to shoot me.”

“Remember everything I told you. Yes, it’s going to hurt
like hell and you’ll probably pass out. It’ll make you appear to be dead. But
I’ll be close and I’ll get you home so you can heal. As soon as your mind
begins to function concentrate on where it hurts. I showed you how fast you’ll
mend. I’ll be right there with you, helping talk you through it.”

“I trust you.”

“You sure you don’t want me to go in with you? Just to be
there with you. I won’t interfere.”

“You can’t, Kellen. It’ll get to him more if I’m there
alone. I think he’d make excuses in his mind if you’re with me. You know, a big
strong man breaking in and facing him down is one thing, me on my own is
another.”

Kellen hugged her hard. “I know. I agree. Can’t help hoping
you’ll change your mind though.”

“I can’t.”

“I know that too.” He sighed. “Okay, I’ll drop it. But I
will remain close. And I will come after you if something goes wrong, say, for
instance, they figure out you’re a vampire and know how to destroy you.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

“Well I sure as hell am!”

“No, wait.” She cut him off. “That came out wrong. I’m not
ready to give up the future with you. I meant that I’m not worried that they’ll
know I’m not going to stay dead after he shoots me.”

“Ah. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t, Kellen. I promise I won’t drag this out.”

“Stop. You take as long as you need. We have forever.”

Frankie smiled. She felt loved as never before. What a
strange turn her life had taken. She was conflicted. No, finding Kellen was not
worth losing her family. But keeping her family wouldn’t have been worth never
being with Kellen either.

Kellen interrupted her thoughts. “It’s going to be fine,
Frankie. Accept things for what they are and leave it at that. You didn’t make
this choice so don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“So you can read my mind now?”

“At times. I didn’t mean to but you were broadcasting that
last bit quite loudly.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“You’ll learn to shield your thoughts when you want to.
You’ll also learn how to call for me within your mind. You’ll get used to
silent communication. For now don’t worry about it. I won’t say more about what
I hear unless you initiate it.”

“I wouldn’t have ever said that.”