Blood Spirit (17 page)

She
hung onto his neck and stared into his eyes as he slid into her wet cunt,
filling her completely until she cried out for more. Pressing her back against
the marble wall, he pumped into her, needing to feel every inch of her on him.
Her body hugged his like a glove, exciting every nerve ending in his cock with
each glide in and out of her slick channel, and her soft voice in his ear
pleading for him to give her the release she craved excited him even more.

He
knew how to take her over that edge like no mortal man could. Pressing his
fangs to her neck, he sank into her vein again and sucked from her, matching
the rhythm of their lovemaking. Soon her body told him she was close. One more
pull on her vein and one more thrust into her and she came apart around him.

She
was beautiful as her cunt quivered her release, milking his cock over and over
as pleasure wracked her body. She pulled at his hair, tugging his head close
with every ripple of her orgasm.

He
waited for her to settle, ready to bring her over that edge again. Quietly, she
whispered in his ear, "Your turn."

Rolling
her hips upward, she urged him to let himself go. "Tell me what you need,
Terek."

Closing
his eyes, he spoke the only answer to her question. "You."

"You
have me. I'm yours."

He
pressed his forehead to the cool marble wall and thrust as deeply as her body
would take him. She was tight around his cock, and he tipped her hips to allow
the last inches of him into her willing body.

Completely
inside her, he fought the urge to drive into her over and over as he sought the
sweet release he craved. What would push him over the edge might hurt her.

Somehow,
she sensed he was holding back and said sweetly, "I love how that feels.
Let's go to the bed so you can feel good too."

That
she thought he was getting tired standing up made him smile. He could have made
love to her like that all night.

On
the bed, he laid her down, but she climbed on top and began to ride him. In
this position, his cock easily found that spot that allowed him to be completely
buried inside her.

He
held her gently by the hips and watched in rapt attention as she rode his cock.
God, she was beautiful! Spreading his fingers, he opened up her pussy and
traced circles with the pad of his thumb over her swollen clit. He wanted to
see her when she came, wanted to see her eyes become all glazed over as he gave
her what she wanted.

Looking
up, he said, "Don't hold back. Come for me, Ilona."

He
knew she was close. Just a little more and she'd be there.

She
licked her lips and smiled down at him, showing the tips of her fangs. Running
her tongue over them, she said, "No, your turn."

Leaning
forward as she continued to ride him, she pressed her lips to his neck and
kissed him softly before piercing his skin. For a moment, he was stunned as she
pulled his blood into her. No hypnosis. Nothing. She was willingly taking from
him.

He
cradled the back of her head as she inched him closer with every tug on his
vein. She had no idea how she made him feel. It was like nothing he'd ever felt
in his time as a vampire. Every part of him felt her as if he'd been just going
through the motions before this.

His
body exploded into hers, and as they rode each other's release, Terek held
Ilona to him, reveling in how her body joined with his. She'd accepted the gift
of his blood—had accepted him and her life as his vampire.

Everything
he could want was his now.

Ilona
lightly ran her tongue over where she'd taken from him and sat up. Her lips
were stained deep red from his blood, and as she looked down at him, she was
the picture of sensuality.

One
drop ran down from the corner of her mouth, and he caught it with his fingertip.
Lifting his finger to her mouth, she smiled and took the last of his blood into
her. "Terek, I was able to refuse everything but your heart. Now I'm
afraid I can refuse you nothing."

"You
need only ask. There's nothing I would refuse you for the world, Ilona."

She
sat quietly on top of him as he remained inside her. Her face showed she wanted
something. Leaning down, she kissed his lips and whispered, "I have only
one request. No others."

Chapter Fourteen

Terek
sat on the balcony enjoying the last vestiges of the Moroccan night before dawn
took her place on the Earth. He'd always loved this country with its exotic
past. It had changed a lot since he'd first visited in the fifteenth century as
a young vampire. Then he'd been a willing pupil to his sire, newly named Terek
and eager to learn everything about his world—vampire and Muslim. Like the
world of the Christian monk, both had intrigued him to devotion, but it was the
world of the vampire that had won out in the end.

He'd
always believed he'd been a good vampire. He'd protected his race by siring
thousands of new vampires, doing what he could to ensure it wouldn't die out.
He'd been a good sire, or at least he'd always told himself he was. His
vampires were cared for, protected, and he personally saw to it many of their
needs were met.

But
he'd been fooling himself. Sure, he took care of them, but it was care borne
out of selfishness. He'd sired females almost exclusively to replace Eva, but
he'd never let them in. They'd loved him and he'd pretended, not out of
hurtfulness but selfishness.

He'd
made sure he'd had his cake and ate it too.

Ilona
sat down in the chair beside him. "What are we thinking about?"

Terek
smiled at the question. "How beautiful this country is."

"I
don't read minds, but I'm willing to bet that's not what you were
thinking."

Terek
said nothing but continued to stare at the Koutoubia, a minaret built in the
twelfth century. It was majestic the way it stood so proudly for hundreds of
years, bearing up against the changes time and people threw against it.

"What's
it like knowing what others are thinking?"

"At
first, I almost went mad hearing what everyone around me thought."

He
thought back to those first days after Eva and their son died, how dealing with
the loss of them was compounded by this new ability to hear what people
thought. They pitied him, wondered why God had forsaken him, looked at him as
something unfortunate or worse, evil.

"I
believed it was a curse, Ilona. I had just lost everyone I loved in the world
and now had to hear what everyone around me thought. I became a monk as much to
find peace as to devote myself to God for showing me there was still a reason
to live."

Ilona
brought the back of his hand to her mouth and kissed it. "I'm so sorry,
Terek."

"I
found that peace I was looking for as a monk. I know it sounds strange, but I
could have stayed at the monastery for the rest of my days. God hadn't forsaken
me there."

"Do
you believe he's forsaken vampires?"

Terek
turned his head and saw the look of concern on her face. "No, Ilona. We
aren't the hated creatures so many believe we are. God, whoever one believes he
is, hasn't left us. As long as there's love in a heart, God can be there
too."

"Terek,
what do you think that man meant when he said I'm not meant to be heard? Is
there something wrong with me?"

He
saw the insecurity in her eyes and hated it. "I don't know, but I don't
believe there's anything wrong with you. I'll just have to accept that the one
soul on this Earth whose thoughts I want to know are the only ones I
can't."

Ilona
stood and knelt between his legs. When she looked up at him, it was with a
kindness that touched his heart.

"You
can know any of my thoughts, Terek. All you have to do is ask."

"And
you'll tell me?"

"All
you need to do is ask."

"What
happened the night I met you?"

Ilona's
brow knitted, and Terek saw sadness in her eyes. He'd wanted to know about
Sampson since that night, but now he regretted asking. "I'm sorry. I
shouldn't have said that."

"No.
I haven't told anyone and it's probably healthier that I do." Taking a
deep breath she began.

"I
was stupid. I knew better than to be alone at night, even in Cocentaina. But
I'd been at a party in the hills, and my friend had left early to go home. I
should've gone with her, but I was having too much fun. We broke the girlfriend
code, and I paid the price."

She
was trying to be lighthearted, but he sensed sadness beneath her words.

"That
guy who attacked me caught me on the road to my house. One minute I was alone
and the next minute he had me."

"Ilona,
we aren't all like that. In fact, my kind hates vampires like Sampson."

"I
know. I don't think he meant to hurt me. I know that sounds like I'm suffering
from a serious case of denial, but now that I'm a vampire, I get a sense of
what we're all about. He didn't want to rape me or kill me. He just wanted to
make another vampire."

It
bothered Terek to hear her rationalizing Sampson's behavior. Keeping their race
alive was one thing. Attacking women on dark country roads was another.

"The
fact that he didn't want to rape or kill you doesn't make what he did
right."

"I
know. You don't have to put on the Alpha male protective voice," she said
with a smile.

"I
just don't want you thinking you're somehow to blame for his actions. We have a
choice in how we increase our numbers. As far as I'm concerned, his method is
cowardly."

"Not
every man looks like you do, Terek. I doubt Sampson was ever able to convince a
man or woman to become a vampire with his good looks and charm."

"Don't
joke about this. The man attacked you," Terek said far more sternly than
he intended.

Ilona
rested her cheek against his thigh and closed her eyes. "I know and I'm
not joking. I just don't get the point in hating the guy." Looking up at
him, she smiled. "Maybe I should thank him."

"Why?"

"Because
if he hadn't dragged me to that fountain to get away from that man, I wouldn't
have met you."

Smiling,
Terek caressed her cheek. He appreciated strength, but Ilona's seemed
incredible. But her mention of Sampson's hunter reminded him of the
all-too-real problems he needed to get back to.

"Ilona,
about that man. There's something you don't know."

Her
eyes closed again and she traced a figure eight with her fingertip on the
inside of his leg. "Like what?"

"Ilona,
I'm not just some ordinary vampire. I'm a member of a group of vampires
responsible for making sure something called the Prophecy of Idolas never comes
to fruition."

Her
finger stopped its movement on his leg and she remained silent for a minute
before she looked up at him, her eyes wide with amazement. "Are you saying
you're some kind of vampire superhero?"

He
couldn't help laughing at the thought of him or any of the Sons as superheroes,
although sometimes it seemed Dante already saw himself as something like that.

"No.
I'm one of the Sons of Navarus. There are eight of us chosen by the Order of
Macaria and our job is to make sure the Archons don't take over our
world."

"You're
serious, aren't you?"

"Yes.
The man who attacked you—Sampson—was killed because the Archons mistakenly
thought he was a Son."

"Who
are these Archons and why would they want to kill one of you?"

"They're
the law and order vampires. They can't sire, by law, and are chosen by the
magistrates, who are their sires. They can't take over if the Sons stop them."

"Who
are these magistrates?"

"That's
a little trickier. They're vampires who are liaisons between the Order and the
Archons. But they're more partial to the Archons since they choose them."

"And
what prophecy?"

"The
Prophecy of Idolas, the youngest son of Navarus and Macaria, the first
vampires. Do you know any Greek mythology?"

Nodding,
she thought a moment and said, "Those names don't ring a bell."

"Macaria
is the daughter of Hades. You know, the god of the Underworld. She's the
goddess of the blessed death."

Ilona
sat back and stared up at him with a confused look. "Terek, are you in
danger?"

The
truth is he wasn't sure. He'd believed this time might come while he was a Son,
and he trusted his fellow Sons with his life. He wouldn't be caught off guard
like Sampson, who didn't know better, but the chance something could happen was
there.

"Not
if I remember who I am and what my job is," he said hoping she didn't see
through his half-lie.

"Job..."
Ilona's voice trailed off as she lowered her head. "In all this, I forgot
about my job."

Suddenly,
Terek realized he knew very little of the woman who sat in front of him other
than what his heart had told him. Maybe that was all that was important between
two people, but the loss she obviously felt told him that part of her was
important too. "What did you do as a human?"

"I
wasn't a superhero or anything like that. Only an administrative assistant, but
I liked my job. I was good at it. My boss relied on me."

Once
again, he saw sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ilona. I'm sorry for the
life you left behind, but I promise to give you anything your heart desires.
Maybe someday you'll think this life is one you'd miss."

"I
guess vampires don't need assistants?" she asked with a cute smile that he
couldn't help but love.

Terek
smiled at her innocence. "Vampires do many of the same jobs humans do. If
you want to do that job, I'm sure you can find a position."

She
twisted her face into the sexiest grimace. "And if I don't work, what do I
do? Wait around for you to finish your superhero work?"