BloodBound (7 page)

“Your body’s giving me a different message.” He caressed the soft swell of her belly, the curve of her hip. “I want to give you the sort of pleasure you need.”

“It’s just physical.”

He stilled and met her stormy gaze. “You know it’s not, but let’s not go there now.” Her hands twisted in his grip. “I’ll let go, but if you bite me, I’ll bite back…for real.”

Her nostrils flared as she stared up at him, her feral beauty sending a bolt of desire through his veins. He wouldn’t bite her, but he had to scare her into submission so he could pleasure her. When he released her hands, she made no move to attack.

Dex shifted lower and pressed his mouth to one inner thigh, then the other. Her muscles were lean and supple. He glided his mouth along her creamy skin, feeling the involuntary release of tension in her body. Her legs fell farther apart. As he neared her sex, he raised his head and cupped her. Her response was little more than a rasp as her luscious mouth parted.

Heat radiated from her flesh. He held her gaze as he caressed her with gentle strokes, heard the quick shift in her breathing. “Beautiful, baby.”

He pressed into the crease of her folds, moisture seeping through to his fingers. A groan of pleasure rose to his throat. He reached under her buttocks and pulled the underwear from her body. She made a sharp sound of protest and tried to bring her legs back together, but he held them apart. The scent of her arousal fired his blood. He didn’t touch her yet, taking a moment to enjoy her rosy lips, swollen and wet with arousal. Her skin was baby-smooth, which would enhance the contact.

He pushed her thighs wide and met her gaze, the latter hot with contradicting emotions. He knew she was fighting a battle with herself. Still holding her gaze, he flicked his tongue across the seam of her pussy. A raw sound broke in her throat as she arched her hips. Pleased with her reaction, Dex focused on her lovely flesh. She tasted of berries and an unusual sweetness that spiked his arousal. He pleasured her with languid strokes, beginning with her outer lips before moving toward her center. He used every skill he knew, teasing with light flicks before increasing the pressure, though careful not to scrape her soft flesh with his incisors. He moved up to her clit and freed it from its sheath.

She emitted a tiny cry as he circled over the swollen bud, alternating between quick lashes and suction. Her hips jerked as her fingers dove into his hair, pressing him closer. He eased one finger into her wet heat, then another, and pumped.
So wet.
So tight.
Her uninhibited sounds of pleasure increased and he kept a steady rhythm, sensing the contractions both inside her body and under her clit.

A strong tremor went through her as she climaxed, rasping something unintelligible. He continued until she caught another wave of pleasure. As it subsided, he raised himself and looked down at her limp body, her head turned to the side, chest rising and falling unevenly.

His cock throbbed in painful frustration. He longed to glide into her, feel her slick heat wrap around his flesh and milk him, but he shouldn’t tire her.

She stirred and met his gaze, dark brown eyes hazy with sexual gratification. A flush marked each of her high cheekbones and her long hair fanned across the pillow. Her beauty wrenched something deep in his chest.

She rose into a sitting position and placed her palm against his cheek. His breath hitched. Slowly, she glided it down his throat and across his left shoulder, making his skin erupt in a warm frisson. She continued her exploration, moving over his chest and his abdomen, dark eyes wide with erotic wonder. Dex’s control was close to snapping. His muscles clenched as she lingered an inch above his erection. Her tongue flicked across her bottom lip, making him bite back a groan.

When her hand inched toward the throbbing bulge in his underwear he grasped it before she touched him. He raised it to his mouth, kissing her palm, then her wrist.

“It’s a little too soon, sweetheart.” What he had in mind to do required energy she didn’t have after the transfusion.

There was a flash of disappointment in her eyes, which disappeared as she drew in a shaky breath. Her expression sobered and she slid her hand out of his. “I think you should go, Dex.”

He hesitated, unsure how to take the thread of irritation in her voice.
Was she upset because he didn’t go further or was it because she’d let him pleasure her?
A part of him wished she would pull him over her body, give in to the wild need that flared between them. But he had to get out of here.

“I’m going to make you a hearty breakfast and I’ll see you tonight.”

“I’ve got plans with friends.”

Were they male friends? Damn, he wasn’t the jealous type.
He nodded. “I’ll call you later to see if you need anything.”

He got up, his stubborn erection making him wince. The woman would be his undoing.

Chapter Seven

Stephanie didn’t have plans with her friends. She just needed to stay away from Dex Mason, at least for a day, which would give her enough time to come to her senses. If his goal had been to take her this morning, she would have let him…
hell
…welcomed him eagerly into her body. There was something about the man that called to her most primitive nature. She’d been in lust with other men, but they never fired up her blood with one touch. Worse, she’d lost a significant defensive barrier—she didn’t dislike him anymore. She had no clue how this had happened. But her decision to date humans only was absolute.

The long walk in City Park had helped clear her mind and had given her the time to reflect on the kindest thing she’d ever done—the blood transfusion for Ray. His doctor was confident that a second transfusion would destroy the illness. The glow of hope in Ray’s eyes had filled her with an emotion so special she knew she’d carry it inside her for the rest of her life. Regardless of the circumstances, she’d never regret doing this.

As she came within several yards of her apartment building, she froze. Kyle was standing at the entrance.
Oh, shit.
She knew that call from him was bad news, but she’d forgotten about it. Stephanie hesitated, her warning system urging her to slip into the side street. But with a resigned sigh, she continued walking, figuring she might as well get it over with.

His frown deepened as she climbed up the two steps and onto the landing. “You don’t answer your phone anymore?” he grumbled.

Stephanie schooled her face, already having decided on her position. “Sorry, Kyle. I lost my phone at the gym and recovered it only today. I was going to call you.”

He gave her a doubtful look before saying, “We need to talk.”

“Oh, okay. Want to come upstairs?”

“No. I don’t have time.”

She waited for him to continue.

“Look, last week Patrick and I got an unexpected transfer out of our department, plus an official warning about our professional conduct.” He injected some sarcasm into the last two words. “This happened soon after the Polasky raid and I want to know straight up if you had something to do with it.”

“What—the transfer?”

A muscle in his jaw began ticking. “Yeah.”

She put on a baffled look while praying he hadn’t seen those pictures. “Of course not. How could I?”

His eyes narrowed. “Because you seemed to be too curious about Jason Kelso and our mission.”

“And my curiosity led to your transfer?”

His look was long and hard. “Stephanie, I’m no idiot. You’ve always had an issue with our job, though I have no idea why since we bring fugitives to justice.”

She returned the hard look. “You know it’s not your
job
I have issues with.” She fished her key out of her bag. “Is there anything more?”

He scowled. “I don’t have proof, but my instinct tells me you had something to do with it.”

Stephanie let out a tired breath. “I swear I didn’t have anything to do with it.” It was the truth.

He seemed skeptical, but then he raised an accusing finger. “You’ve always been hiding something and I’m going to find out what it is, big sister.”

She felt the heat of his glare before he turned around and crossed the street to his car.

Spurred by the unpleasant emotions building inside, she almost ran up the three flights of stairs to her apartment, not bothering with the elevator. Mechanically, she drank a full glass of water, then dialed Maryann’s number, but hung up seconds later. She stared at her phone for a long moment then accessed her call log.

The angry restlessness that coursed under her skin needed a different kind of outlet…in the form of a certain hunky vampire.
It was foolish… yeah…colossally foolish.
But she’d deal with the consequences later.

Her teeth sank into her lip as Dex spoke to her on the phone. The deep velvet of his voice was a magnet to her senses. The need to see him, touch him, intensified with every passing second. Once she’d mentioned that she wanted to come over to his place, it set off a battery of questions, which she answered with thinning patience.

“Yes, I’ve been eating properly…no, I’m not dizzy.”

Finally, she cut him off. “I just need your address, Dex. There’s something I want to…discuss.”

It was a short drive to his place, which was in the same building as his brother’s. Except Dex’s condo was on another floor. She ignored the concern etched on his handsome face as she walked past him. Stephanie glanced around as she went deeper into his home. It had the exact same layout as his brother’s place, which was expected. The decor here was more masculine, darker tones and leather furniture. She dropped her jacket and her bag on one of the armchairs and turned to look at him.

Dex watched her with those smoky, investigator eyes, dark brows knotted above his nose. He’d changed into a different t-shirt, same jeans, she guessed. She let her gaze move over the basic male assets of his appearance, the rugged face, the broad muscles of his upper body, the distinct bulge in his crotch and the lean length of his legs.

Her blood pumped faster and her skin tautened with anticipation. This time, she welcomed her body’s response to him.

“What happened, Stephanie? And don’t bother lying,” he finally demanded.

He was too perceptive. “Family shit. Don’t want to talk about it.”

His frown deepened and he took a step closer. “Your brothers?”

She couldn’t wait any longer. She closed the distance between them and put her palm against his chest.

“Don’t talk. Don’t say a word.” She could indulge in him a few times—satiate her physical craving. A brief affair would surely flush him out of her system. People did that all the time.

His breath shifted as he covered her hand. “I think it’s too soon…” he replied, a deeper, coarse note in his voice.

“I’m well.” Stephanie lifted her gaze to his. “Take me to your room.”

A low sound curled in his throat as a flame flickered in his eyes. He looked like he was about to protest so she went up on her toes and nipped his lip.

“Now,” she purred.

He exhaled a raspy breath and lifted her into his arms with hardly any effort. Stephanie wrapped her hands around his neck as he marched down the wide corridor and into a large bedroom. When he lowered her feet to the carpet, he cupped her face, the dark intensity in his eyes snatching her breath. Desire crackled and circled around them.

There was no going back now
.
His thumb flicked over her lip before his mouth claimed hers. And she was lost. She barely remembered Dex removing her clothes or her hands pushing his shirt off. Her fingers dug into his midnight hair as his tongue invaded her mouth. She returned the kiss with equal passion, arching into him as the weight of his body pressed her onto his bed. She flicked her tongue boldly against his incisors, uncaring if they cut her. He pulled his mouth from hers and traced a path down her throat to the vein. They shared a moan as his incisors teased the spot, sending thousands of goose bumps across her skin.

“The scent of your blood drives me crazy,” he growled softly.

The need to exchange blood with him was stronger than the first time he’d kissed her. If she did, she’d give more of herself than she’d planned. But there was little control here. Some insane force had her in its grip from the moment she’d met him.

His hands swept over her, barely missing an inch, while his mouth trailed behind at a more leisurely pace, tasting, teasing, devouring. And—
ooh!
—nipping not so gently where it could. The wicked sensation made her blood surge even faster. Her sex dampened.
God, how she ached for him inside her.

Ripples of pleasure danced through her as he filled his hands with her breasts and loved her nipples for so long her head fell back and a frayed sound broke free. Finally, he raised himself between her legs, one hand gliding down to her needy flesh. When his fingers swept over her folds, her hips jerked with wanton need.

“Mmm…so wet, baby…”

Stephanie propped herself higher on her elbows and bit her bottom lip as she looked at his erection. She’d imagined what his cock looked like, during those unwanted fantasies that crept into her mind at night. And she’d pictured it something like this—long and thick. But fantasies were one thing and this was…
so hard and so real.
She moistened her lips. There would be time to indulge in that later.

The heat of his gaze drew her eyes to his. The smoky depths had turned charcoal. She ground her hips in silent demand.
Take me, Agent Mason.
Her breath caught as he angled his cock and eased into her folds. He stretched her a bit at a time without taking his eyes from hers. The feeling was achingly erotic. He gave a firm thrust and filled her completely with a raw moan that echoed hers.

He closed his eyes for a moment, a look of sweet tension on his face. Then he leaned over her with one hand hooked under her thigh, and began moving inside her. Long, slow strokes at first, then long, fast ones.

“Ohh!”
Coils of pleasure multiplied and tightened inside her. She felt her muscles contract and grip his hard flesh, wrenching a hoarse sound from his throat. She wrapped her free leg around him, holding him closer. His corded muscles rippled, taut with strength and control. Her fingers curled into the bed sheet as he pushed her toward the edge.