Blood Father (Blood Curse Series) (30 page)

And it was all the invitation he needed.

Kagen withdrew his fangs, sealed the wound—if there was one—and gazed hungrily into her eyes, his breath coming in harsh, shallow pants. “I want you, sweeting,” he whispered, his eyes growing molten with need. “Like I’ve never wanted anyone, or anything, before. I don’t just want to taste you—I want to
feel
you. I want to bury my body inside of yours until it’s no longer clear where you begin and I end.” He groaned. “Great gods in heaven, Arielle; I want to devour your soul.”

She blinked several times, trying to process his words, trying to gather her courage, and then she opened her mouth and revealed her longing, as her heart gave way to his thrall: “Yes, Kagen.
Yes
.”

He shuddered before her. His chest visibly shook for a moment, and then his mouth descended upon hers and his kiss was like a wild desert wind, sweeping her up in unfettered passion, blowing away all previous resistance, whisking her away in a gust of desire.

His tongue swept over hers and he growled like an animal.

His hands clung, caressed, and cajoled with maddening expertise.

And his hips rocked forward, revealing his straining manhood for the very first time: He was hard, thick, and ready, iron wrapped in silk.

His left hand found a purchase in the thick of her hair, and he broke the kiss long enough to breathe her name before he bent once again to her neck. Only this time, he placed soft, gentle kisses along the slope of her ear; took harsh, teasing bites along the length of her throat; and swirled mind-numbing circles with the tip of his tongue, directly above her carotid artery.

And then he slid his hands over her shoulders, removed the straps of her suit, and lowered his mouth to her breasts.

Arielle trembled at the glorious sensation of moisture and heat as he teased her nipples, each one in turn, his tongue performing an intricate dance with her flesh.

She fisted her hands in his hair as he sealed his lips around a taut areola and drew her sensitive peak deep into the warmth of his mouth. He suckled like a man possessed; he nipped like a playful pup; he tormented her like a languorous lover who had nothing but time on his hands. And all the while, she trembled and groaned and writhed beneath him.

When at last he encircled her waist, drew her to his chest, and laid her gently back along the smooth, natural bench, she felt the first real pangs of fear. His shaft jerked against her belly, and she stiffened. “Kagen,” she whimpered, her voice betraying her angst.

He raised his head and smiled warmly, his eyes piercing deeply into hers. “Do not think, my love…only trust…
only feel
.” He slid his hand down her back to her hips and kneaded her flesh with his palms, watching attentively as she slowly began to relax…again.

He splayed his fingers over her stomach and simply held his hand there, resting in place, as he kissed her with feeling—slowly, tenderly, passionately—placing all the love he felt into the kiss. Finally, when she returned his passion, ardor for ardor, need for need, he slid his hand lower and began to tease her heat with his thumb.

She squirmed in response, and he added more pressure, kissing her deeper still.

She moaned, and her hips began to rock beneath his, as if on their own accord. The vampire responded with practiced skill, applying all the right pressure in all the right places, as if he knew her body better than she did—and truth be told, he probably did—because the more he stroked her, the more she ached. The more magic his fingers weaved between her sensitive thighs, the more she began to feel faint, dizzy, and light-headed, as if she were spinning inwardly, out of control.

Finally, when the pleasure began to approach pain, when the
want
in her belly grew to an unappeasable
need
, she arched her back, straddled his hips with her thighs, and moaned.

She didn’t know when
or how
he did it, but he somehow removed the rest of her clothes…

And his.

Their suits fell away, floating off into the swirling pool, and the deliciously warm water picked up where his hands had left off. He drew back and glanced at her, admiring her naked form beneath him like a tray of exquisite delicacies laid out at an annual feast, and his ragged breath hitched in his throat. “Oh…sweeting…” His voice was guttural and raw.
“My love
.
”
There was nothing—
and everything
—in those simple words of endearment: a request, a command…a plea. And all of it spoke intimately to the most feminine place in her soul.

Then just like that, he shifted his weight onto his powerful arms, lowered his hips to hers, and placed the tip of his manhood against her veil, pushing ever so gently into the threshold of her core.

“Kagen!” she gasped. She felt like she was falling.

“It’s okay, sweeting,” he murmured. “Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“I feel…
I feel
…I feel like I’m falling.”

He chuckled deep in his throat. “It’s okay, baby. That’s what you’re supposed to feel. I need you to trust me, Arielle. I need you to just…let go and follow my lead.”

She tried. She really did. With everything she had inside her, Arielle tried to relax and let go, just like Kagen had instructed. But she couldn’t help but think about the massive erection straining against her core. She couldn’t help but calculate the length and the width of that flesh-and-blood
s
pear
in her mind, and the moment she did, she was assailed by terrifying images of…impalement.

Kagen Silivasi wanted to put
w
hat
…

W
here
?

Everything inside her said
no
.

Th
at
was not going in.

No way. No how
.

It simply wouldn’t fit.

In fact, it seemed like a biological impossibility, and
ancestors help her
, as much as she wanted him, the thought made her queasy: She would never be able to please this male—or to take pleasure from him—her body was simply ten sizes too small. She gritted her teeth, winced, and held her breath, turning her head to the side. “Go ahead.”

“
Arielle…
” Kagen’s voice was practically dripping with honey…and mild alarm.

She blinked up at him, feeling utterly foolish and hopelessly desperate, feeling like she just might pass out.

“Oh, baby, just breathe for me.
R
elax
.
I am not going to take you like this.”

She thought about the Curse, the conversion, the necessity of a pregnancy—at least, before the end of the Blood Moon—and she nodded blankly as she forced her next words: “It’s okay, healer. It really is. I’m ready.” She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. “Go ahead.”

Kagen laughed, almost unconsciously, although there was no real humor in the sound, no mockery or disrespect. He raised his hips, rotated his pelvis to the side, and gently settled the massive erection
against her hips, instead. “Look at me, Arielle,” he entreated. His eyes were virtual pools of compassion.

She opened her left lid and slowly peeked up at him through her peripheral vision, allowing him the corner of one eye. “W…w…why?”

He smiled endearingly and murmured: “Because I’m going to help you through this, and for that, I need you to look into my eyes.”

Kagen kept his voice steady and his expression calm, even though his body was about to explode.

Arielle was as tight as a drum, as frightened as a mouse, and it didn’t help at all that they were immersed in a pool of
water
. He knew that he could spend the night, a week—hell, a month if he had the time—on foreplay and her arousal, yet none of it would be enough. The demons she had inside were internal, not physical. They were based on a lifetime of knowing only fear and brutality; terror and angst; self-reliance and independence. She simply did not know how to give her well-being over to another person, let alone how to submit her body to a man.

He sighed in contemplation: He had promised her he would never use coercion—and he wouldn’t—but that did not preclude making full use of his powers in order to see to her comfort, in order to tend to her soul.

He said a silent prayer, asking for guidance, self-assurance, and wisdom. It would take all of that and more to bring the two of them together. In fact, at this point, he was even willing to rely on a little plagiarism if it helped, maybe a well-placed verse from a song or a famous poem, something that he couldn’t mess up.

“Look at me, Arielle,” he said. He hoped his eyes were brimming with compassion.

“W…w…why?” she said, reluctantly.

He smiled and murmured, “Because I’m going to help you through this, and for that, I need you to look into my eyes.”

With that said he began to sift through his memory, searching for the perfect poem or song, scanning for just the right stanza or melody with soulful words or a soothing pitch; until, at last, he retrieved an old Bob Dylan tune from his subconscious and began to hum the refrain…

Both of Arielle’s eyes blinked open—and wasn’t that a vast improvement in and of itself?—and then they slowly alighted with curiosity as the melody began to drift to her ears. Kagen added a deep, haunting resonance to his voice, cocooned her body in the vibration of the song, and began to
sing
warmth into her soul, using his tone to gently caress her skin: “
When the rain is blowing in your face; and the whole world is on your case; I could offer you a warm embrace, to make you feel my love…
”

He began to trail his fingers along her stomach in slow, hypnotic strokes, first the pads and then the backs, each touch, each caress, each note infusing more warmth and comfort. “
When evening shadows and the stars appear; and there is no one there to dry your tears; I could hold you for a million years, to make you feel my love…
”

Her breath hitched and her stomach quivered, even as her eyes grew molten with desire. When her tongue snaked out to wet her bottom lip, it took all the self-possession he had not to bend over and taste the offering, but he managed to maintain control. Trailing his fingers along the ridge of her pelvis, he twirled a gentle circle just above the apex of her soft curls and pressed on. “
I know you haven’t made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I’ve known it from the moment we first met; no doubt in my mind where you belong…
”

His hand dropped lower and his pressure grew more insistent as his fingers began to arouse her peak. Still, he held her gaze with his, sending wave after wave of unconscious reassurance into her spirit, funneling her fears into fantasies, weaving her dreams into desires. “
I’d go hungry; I’d go black and blue; I’d go crawling down the avenue. There
is
nothing that I would
not
do
…
to make you feel my love
.”

She reached up to cup his face in her hands, and then she strained to kiss his lips. As tears of joy—and blissful release—began to roll down her cheeks, he devoured her mouth with his. When, at last, she pulled away and tilted her head ever-so-slightly forward, as if straining to hear more words, he deepened the thrall of the song and obliged her, singing directly into her ear. “
The storms are raging on a rolling sea; down the highway of regret. The winds of change are blowing wild and free; you ain’t seen nothin’ like me yet…
”

She slid beneath him, almost unconsciously, her beautiful thighs wrapping around his waist in escalating need, and he shuddered, then rotated his hips to the side so their bodies were perfectly aligned.

“
There is nothing that I wouldn’t do; go to the ends of the earth for you. Make you happy, make your dreams come true…to make you feel my love.”

He slid his body into hers and groaned with deep contentment. “
To make you feel my love.
”

Arielle felt her body stretch impossibly.

She felt her core yield to Kagen’s invasion, and she felt the walls of her sheath tighten around the staff that still felt ten sizes too big—but there wasn’t an ounce of pain.

Kagen watched her like a hawk as he began to move his hips. He controlled his thrusts, adjusted the pressure, and slowly pulled back—or gently pushed forward—based upon her every response.

And still there was no pain.

At least not in her.

Though stoic, his face reflected the truth of what he was enduring: Kagen was shielding Arielle from pain by taking all of the unpleasant sensations into his own body. He was experiencing her discomfort so she didn’t have to.

Slowly, gradually, he began to move more freely, and her body began to adjust to his: to stretch, to open, to take him in…as if he had always been there. As if he somehow…
belonged
.

His face eventually relaxed.

His brow finally smoothed.

His tense shoulders became pliant, and Arielle shuddered with relief, pleasure, and anticipation.

As sensation began to return, one small ache, one tantalizing current, one surprising twinge at a time, Kagen dropped his head forward and moaned—it was a deep groan of pleasure, his hair falling into his eyes.

Arielle arched her back at the sound. Her thighs drew back, as if by their own accord, and she wrapped her legs, seamlessly, around his waist.

He took the invitation as the signal it was, meeting her entreaty with his first, hard, uninhibited thrust.

She gasped. “Oh, gods!” Her womb felt like it was on fire, but it was not a painful, searing blaze; rather, it was a slow, burning ember…about to ignite.

He thrust in and out several more times, pulling back so far he almost withdrew, then plunging forward with the same amount of force, burying his body to the hilt. Her stomach quivered; her womb contracted; the muscles in her thighs grew taut. She grasped at his shoulders for purchase, trying to ride out the strange sensations…and he thrust again…and again.

Only this time, he clenched his fists and arched his back.

And then he picked up the pace and changed his motion,
his rhythm
: He rocked his hips and rubbed against her, rotating in smooth, maddening circles until Arielle thought she would scream. He alternated between fast, hard thrusts and long, smooth strokes, all the while, reciting her name.

Arielle bit her lip and dug her fingernails into his powerful, masculine shoulders.
“Kagen!”
She threw back her head and moaned.

His mouth descended upon hers as he continued the erotic assault.

He dipped to taste her breasts and to suckle her nipples. He slid his hand above her belly and began to delve into her curls, caressing her heat with his thumb. He raked his fangs beneath her ear and, finally, sank them deep into her jugular, teasing the wounds with his tongue.

Arielle squirmed like a worm beneath him.

She clenched her hands into fists and tried to control her breathing.

Her eyes shot open, and she stared at the brilliant night sky, trying desperately to find something to focus on, to grab hold of,
anything
to keep her from spiraling into the cosmos in a startling wave of flight. She ground her hips wantonly against his pelvis and drew back her legs…further…wider…begging, pleading, needing him to fill her deeper…

N
ow
.

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she whimpered in utter helplessness and confusion. Every nerve in her body was alive, singing, and weeping.

It was excruciating, overpowering, and exasperating…all at the same time.

“Kagen. Kagen!
Kagen
.”

He withdrew his fangs. “That’s it, baby. Just let go.” He growled like an animal in her ear, and she thrashed wildly in reaction. He grasped her hips and held her firmly beneath him, restraining her fevered need for movement, even as he continued to thrust.

Unable to take a moment more, she began to sob. “Kagen, I…I can’t…I’m going to break…I can’t take it.” She nearly screamed.

He growled deep in his throat then, a lion’s purr of dominance and satisfaction. Rising up onto his arms, he gazed down into her eyes and met her frantic gaze with a carnal stare of his own. He was magnificent, beyond imagining, stunning beyond compare, with his ivory fangs gleaming in the moonlight, and Arielle felt her body begin to take flight.

“Don’t fight it, Arielle,” he groaned, his voice nothing more than a guttural rasp. “Come for me, sweeting. Give me all of you.” He dropped his head to her neck, ran his fangs along her jugular, and whispered in her ear. “I want to hear you cry out my name in pleasure.”

Arielle scored his back with her nails.

She fisted his hair in her hands and screamed his name as her body came apart in violent waves of ecstasy.

And Kagen quickly followed suit.

He bit her again, his fangs sinking deep into her throat as he trembled—his thick, pulsing manhood pumping stream after stream of passion deep into her womb.

When, at last, it was over, Arielle tried to stop her heart from racing. She tried to stop her body from trembling. She tried to catch her breath.

Hell, she would have tried to catch her heart, but it was much too late for that—it was hopelessly and eternally
gone
. It belonged to Kagen Silivasi, every chamber, every vessel, every strong, steady beat. Who knew that making love could feel
like
that
?

Rolling onto his back, Kagen sank down into the pool and pulled her gently on top of him. He enfolded her in his arms, nuzzled her sweat-dampened hair, and kissed her softly on the forehead. “Penny for your thoughts?” he whispered in her ear.

She smiled inwardly, trying to think of a way to respond to his query:
P
enny for your thoughts
…
She couldn’t help but remember the last time she had seen Keitaro Silivasi in the slave hut in Mhier; the ancient vampire had used the exact same phrase to get her to talk. Apparently, the leaves didn’t fall that far from the tree.

She smiled and opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out. How could she possibly express her thoughts in mere words, the feelings that were swelling in her heart, the contentment that was coursing through her veins? She shook her head and peeked at him through the corner of her eye, and then a sheepish smile crossed her lips. “Can we…could we… possibly…”

“Yes?” Kagen prompted, his right eyebrow raised in question.

She giggled like an impish child. “Could we possibly do that again?”

The Ancient Master Healer drew in a sharp intake of breath. His eyes turned positively molten with desire, and his lips turned back in a devilish hiss. Finally, he smiled like the glorious, mischievous vampire he was and groaned deep in his throat. “Oh dear goddess,
yes
!” He nipped her behind the ear and purred like a satiated cat. “Yes.” He placed a soft, tender kiss on her lips and repeated it a third time: “
Yes
.”

And then he laughed with utter male satisfaction and gathered her deeper into his arms.

“Yes, Arielle, the answer will
always
be
yes
.”