Blood Spirit (10 page)

"Tell
me you want me as bad as I want you. Please."

Flipping
her onto her back, he filled her again and moaned, "Yes," as he began
pumping into her. His mouth devoured hers, desperate to feel that part of her
open up for him too. He wanted to possess her, worship her, give her whatever
she asked for.

Her
hands pulled him to her, pushing hard on his lower back when he slid out of
her, as if she feared he'd leave her unsatisfied. Her legs wrapped around him,
holding him to her so the long strokes into her cunt were now replaced with
short stabs into that incredible wetness that threatened to envelop him.

Terek's
fangs pressed into his lip, tearing the skin, while he fought the urge to take
her blood. She was so close, so willing, maybe he wouldn't have to hypnotize
her.

His
body slowed to a languid rhythm, and he pressed his lips to her neck, waiting
for her response. The delicious fragrance of her blood teased his nose,
tempting him, but he waited. He wanted this, but he wanted her willing.

Every
muscle in his body ached from holding back. Ilona stilled beneath him, and
Terek rested his weight on his arms, silently waiting for her to realize what
he wanted and push him away.

In
his ear, she whispered, "Terek, I know what you want."

He
heard the hesitation in her voice. "But?"

"I'm
scared."

The
way she said those two little words made him want to hold her in his arms for
the rest of time. Through all her bravado and hurt, she'd given him the truth.

He'd
give her the same, the first of many gifts he had planned for her.

Her
eyes grew wide in anticipation of his response.

He
willed his fangs to recede and looked down into her beautiful brown eyes.
"Ilona, I would never hurt you. To hurt you would be to hurt myself.
You're a part of me as I'm a part of you."

Seconds
ticked by in silence, every nerve in his body screaming out in need for her,
but he wanted her to give herself willingly. Her eyes stared up at him,
frightened and looking for reassurance, but he said nothing more.

She
would either accept what the truth was or she wouldn't.

A
look of pain crossed her features and then she closed her eyes. Terek held his
breath, preparing for Ilona's rejection. A strange sense of loss settled into
his chest as he waited to hear her deny him again.

This
would be the last refusal.

After
tonight, she'd go to the house he kept in the hills. There she'd be looked
after by other vampires of his, kept safe until he willingly granted her
freedom. She'd want for nothing—he'd make sure of that—but she'd leave this
house.

Even
if it tore him apart.

Slowly,
she turned her face away from his stare. Terek sighed in disappointment and
hung his head. "Okay, Ilona."

As
he moved away from her, resigned to her choice, out of the corner of his eye he
saw her hand move to her neck. Thrilled, he watched as she pulled her hair
back, exposing the tender pulse beneath her skin that quickened with each
heartbeat.

Desire
coursed through his veins, intensified by a happiness he hadn't felt in so
long.

"Look
at me, Ilona."

She
didn't move, and Terek gently turned her head to face him, her eyes closed.
"Ilona, look at me."

Eyes
full of tenderness gazed up into his. Their soft brown color showed a warmth he
hadn't seen from her before. If only he could read her thoughts...

"I
won't take this if you aren't willing. If you're offering this for any other
reason than wanting to give me the most precious gift you possess, I don't want
it."

Tears
welled up in her eyes and sadness settled into her beautiful face. As she began
to speak, her voice caught, and Terek was struck at how vulnerable she was.

"You
act as if I have free will. Every inch of my body craves your touch. It's as if
my soul is crying out for yours to join it. I couldn't deny you this gift if I
wanted to. Take it knowing it's willing no more than it's forced."

Terek
froze as the last of her words hit him. She offered her blood because her need
to please her sire was stronger than her thought of denying him.

"You've
told me what your blood does for me—for all your vampires. What does our blood
do for our sire?"

Stroking
her cheek, he smiled. "Your blood keeps me connected to our world,
nourishes my soul. Without the blood of my vampires, I'd begin to fade away.
You're as important to me as I am to you."

Terek
cradled her face and was touched when she leaned her soft cheek into his hand.

"Why
my blood? You have thousands of others, and ten right in this house. Why
mine?"

She
wanted to hear she was special. What woman didn't? Terek silently cursed his
blindness to her feelings. It had never occurred to him that a woman might feel
uncomfortable being part of this household of women he considered his family.

Ilona
was so different from the women he made his vampires. All before her had been
willing, even eager, to join his world. But Ilona had never wanted this life.
He needed to remember that above everything else.

"You
are precious to me, no matter how you came to be part of my world. I yearn for
your blood because you are a part of me. When a sire turns a vampire, they take
a piece of the sire's soul. We're connected, Ilona, but if I'm denied your
blood so soon, that connection will fade. You will remain my vampire for as
long as you walk this Earth possessing that piece of my soul, but without your
blood now..."

Ilona
pressed her fingertip to his lips. "Terek, all of this scares me, but what
scares me more is never feeling the need to have you near me, the need to feel
your kiss on my lips. Take from me."

Terek
looked at the angel in front of him with awe. Even frightened and vulnerable,
she chose to give him honesty, a gift almost as dear to him as her blood.

Leaning
in toward her, he trailed his lips across her skin, adoring the softness that
caressed them. He reverently touched the column of her neck near her collarbone
and slid his fingertip over where her pulse gently pounded in her skin.
Pressing his lips to that spot, he felt the rhythm of her heart speed up at his
touch.

He
grappled with control of his desires, forcing his fangs to lower slowly so as
not to frighten her with a vicious click of his teeth near her ear. Extended to
their full length, they just touched her skin.

Next
to her ear, he said quietly, "I honor the gift of honesty you've given me
and the gift of blood I receive."

Her
gentle cry as he pierced her skin faded to a tender moan as her blood touched
the tip of his tongue. It was warm and sweet and he had to fight the urge to
take it too fast from her. She clung to his neck, her fingers pressing hard
against the base of his skull as he pulled gently on her vein.

Habit
made him search her thoughts for her true feelings, but as always with her, he
heard nothing. Over and over, he reached out to hear even a fragment in her
mind, but there was nothing to guide him, no clue he could use to tailor his
own response as he had so many times over the centuries.

For
the first time in seven hundred years, he couldn't hear another's thoughts.

As
he reveled in the joy of her blood entering him, Ilona's tension ebbed from her
body and Terek felt her legs wrap around his waist. Instinct took over and he
pressed his cock into her until he was fully nested inside her again.

The
sensations of her blood on his tongue and his cock sliding against the tender
walls of her cunt made his head swim. She seemed to be everywhere around him,
enveloping all that he was.

In
his ear, she whispered his name as if she were calling for him from miles away.
With every thrust into her, she drew closer until she was once more under him,
giving him what he craved more than anything else in the world.

As
his body sent its pleasure into her and her body joined his in sweet release,
he gently closed the holes in her neck and held her to him in a feeling of
contentment he'd thought only existed in his memories until that moment.

There,
as they remained joined as one, he knew she'd found her way into his heart.
He'd accepted her, but now it remained to be seen if she'd accept him.

Chapter Nine

Ilona
silently noted every spot on her body Terek's touched. Her shoulder, where each
breath he took puffed gently against her collarbone. Her left breast pressed
against his chest and his heartbeat. Her stomach, covered by his powerfully
large hand as it rested lightly against her skin. Her left hip, where his still
hard cock rested heavily against her. Her thighs covered by his muscular leg.

She
stroked his jet black hair that fell to right above his shoulders, running her
fingertips through it to the ends and noting how soft it felt against her skin.
As he remained still in her arms, she pressed a kiss onto the top of his head
to feel that softness against her lips.

A
sweet, spicy smell seemed to emanate from his skin, and she inhaled deeply,
wanting more of the fragrance that seemed so foreign, yet so familiar. It
reminded her of something she'd smelled as a child, but there was something
different beneath it—something of a foreign land unlike anything else she'd
ever experienced.

Terek
shifted slightly, melding his form to her body even more as he pulled her
closer to him. His body fit her every curve perfectly. The feeling thrilled and
confused her, as virtually everything about him had.

Closing
her eyes, she replayed his taking her blood and the profound excitement it had
stirred in her. A searing hot pain had been quickly replaced by the purest
pleasure she'd ever imagined possible. Carefully, as not to rouse him, she
touched where his teeth had penetrated her skin, feeling only a tingle where
holes had been.

"Are
you in pain?"

His
voice was low and full, as if heavy with satisfaction.

"No.
I was curious to feel what was left behind."

"There's
nothing left behind if it's done right."

From
another man that may have sounded egotistical and arrogant, but from Terek it
simply came across as a statement of fact. A statement of fact said in possibly
the sexiest voice Ilona had ever heard.

A
chill skittered over her skin, and Terek squeezed her to him. "Cold?"

No,
she wasn't cold. How could she be with his body pressed against her like they
were one being?

"I'm
fine."

That
wasn't exactly the truth. Something in his voice had excited her deep inside.
The chill was just the evidence of it. But Ilona was glad he didn't know the
true meaning of why she'd shivered. She'd already let him get too close too
soon.

Who
was she kidding? They'd moved past too close the second she'd admitted the
effect he had on her. If she didn't rein herself in right now, she was looking
at a future like the rest of his women.

Kept.
Entirely devoted to him. Adoring and adored.

Maybe
that's not such a bad life. No! I'm not like those women, no matter what my
heart, body, and... No! Get your head on straight, Ilona! This man will never
be satisfied with just one woman, so you better set some boundaries right now.

Leaning
back slightly from him, she said, "Terek, maybe it's time we got dressed.
I'd like to hear about when you were made vampire."

He
looked up at her with a grin that made her insides feel like they were molten
lava.

"I
don't need to be dressed for that."

Rolling
over, she freed herself from his hold and scanned the room for her clothes.
Gathering them up, she quickly dressed and turned to find him sprawled out on
the bed in all his masculine glory.

"Would
you like your pants?" she asked, trying to avoid staring at his gorgeous
body. His skin was a warm tan and seemed to accentuate his muscles, especially
his abs. Just lying there, he had an effect on her that raced straight to
between her legs.

"Would
you be more comfortable if I wore pants?"

Ilona
met his gaze and was struck by his eyes. Emerald green, they were stunning
against his tan skin and black hair, creating an exotic look that bordered on
wild.

"Yes.
Yes, I think pants would be good."

Ilona's
head swiveled left and right searching for his pants, but she saw none.

"Over
there. I tend to throw them pretty far when I use my power."

Looking
up, she saw him lift his chin in the direction of the corner of the room.
Hurrying, she grabbed the pair of black pants and tossed them onto the bed.
"I'm eager to hear about how you were turned."

As
he slid into his clothes, he lifted one eyebrow at her. "It seems like
you're eager to see me dressed."

Ilona
stood with her head turned toward the wall, avoiding the sight of him standing
naked just feet away from her. "I don't want any distractions. That's
all."

And
you naked would be very distracting.

"Happy
now?"

Turning
back toward him, she smiled. Not that he didn't look gorgeous standing there
shirtless in just a pair of pants, but at least now he wasn't naked and so
close to her. Embarrassed at her inability to control her urges around him, she
nodded. "Thanks. That's great."

Terek
sat down on the bed, leaned back against the headboard, and stretched his long legs
out in front of him. Crossing them at the ankles, he gazed up at her.
"Come. Sit down and I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

Ilona
looked over at a chair on the other side of the room. Best if she wasn't
anywhere near him or his shirtless body. Walking toward the chair, she
murmured, "This is fine."