Chosen by Sin (16 page)

Dex glared at the guy until his hand fell.

Jes stood. “We’ll talk when I get back, Dex. I’ll return in a moment.”

“No.”

Equally startled, Jes and Raul stared at him.

“Excuse me?” she asked faintly.

“You don’t need to drink from him. You can drink from me.”

Her eyes rounded with shock, her pupils expanding so they shone like
the moon, wiping out nearly every trace of her dark irises. She blinked, but
she couldn’t disguise the glitter of her desire. Desire for him. It took her
several tries before she could speak. “For nourishment, vampires need pure
blood. Blood from humans or animals. Can’t be anyone with Otherborn heritage,
not when I’m weak and hungry, or else it’ll make me sicker than I am now.
You’ve dated many vampires. You’ve got to know that.”

How the hell did she know he’d dated many vampires?

And why was that the part of her statement he’d focused on?

Fuck.

He swiped his hands over his face. He knew she needed human blood. It
had been stupid for him to suggest otherwise. But the idea of her feeding from
this man—Raul, he thought nastily—made him want to howl in rage.
“You’ll drink from his wrist?”

Raul, Dex noted, looked thoroughly amused. Lucky for him he kept his
eyes downcast.

Not Jes. She raised her chin, her eyes flashing. “What business is it
of yours?”

“I’m here, aren’t I? You asked Cy to bring me here. And the only reason
I can think of is because you want to continue what we started in the States.
Or am I wrong?”       

She glanced at Raul while once again blushing an endearing shade of pink.
He hadn’t noticed that before, but she tended to blush a lot.

“Right now I want to get my strength back.”

“Then tell me you’re going to drink from his wrist. Because that’s the
only way I’m going to let it happen.”

They stared at each other, with her looking as shocked as he felt, but
he meant every word he’d said.

He didn’t know what was driving him to make the demands he was making.
All he knew was he wasn’t backing down until she gave him the answer he wanted.

Finally, she nodded.

Reluctantly, he released her.

She left the room with Raul, leaving Dex to stare out the library
window.

A vampire feeding was a private thing, and he’d have to be given
certain privileges before he was allowed to watch it. That was the only reason
that he hadn’t insisted she drink from Raul in front of him. It would have
suggested an intimacy that he couldn’t afford to foster, not given how damn
obsessed with her he already was.

Several minutes later, he heard the library door open.

He turned.

Jesmina stood in the doorway.

She looked healthier already. Her skin looked pinker. Her cheeks
slightly fuller. Her eyes sparkled in a way they hadn’t before. Better but
still not fully recovered. Maybe it just took awhile for the full effects of
the feeding to settle in.

“He—he’s gone.”

Dex walked up to her and rubbed her cheek with his knuckles,
deliberately caressing her where Cy had touched her, as if he could wipe away
the other man’s touch. “Did he taste good?”

She bit her lip, as if she knew it was dangerous to answer.

He rubbed his thumb over her lip until she loosened the plump flesh.
“Did he?” he demanded.

“Yes,” she breathed.

He stared at her consideringly. “I want you to taste me. I want to
eradicate the taste of him from your lips.”

Her eyes flared. Then, although she hesitated, she leaned up to kiss
him.

He pulled back and shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about my lips.”

Jes’s shocked gaze dropped, causing his muscles to tighten with
anticipation. He loved shocking her and making her blush. It was quickly
becoming one of his favorite things.

But not his favorite, of course.

He clearly remembered the feel of her sweet mouth wrapped around him.
She’d made him feel like a fucking god, one being pleasured and worshipped by a
goddess.

He wanted to feel that way again. Right here. Right now. But first…

“But first you need to tell me, Jes. How did you know I was in France,
and why did you bring me here?”

***

Jes heard Dex’s question but didn’t immediately answer him.

She couldn’t.

Joy at seeing him competed with the knowledge that she felt better than
she had in days. More alive. Healthy. Powerful. And the same was true for the
life inside her.

And it wasn’t because of Raul. Not completely.

She’d barely given herself time to take what she needed from Raul
because she’d been so anxious to get back to Dex. Seeing him in her own private
sanctuary was surreal and combined with the shock of pregnancy, part of her
still wondered if she was dreaming. But if she was dreaming, they’d already be
naked and some part of him would already be in some part of her. Right now, she
wasn’t particular about what parts went where, only that it happen. She took a
step closer, but her lust-induced haze must have been evident to him because
Dex shook his head and took a step back.

“Not yet. How’d you know I was in France, Jes? Have you had someone
watching me?”

He looked extremely pissed off at the thought. If he only knew
everything she’d done, he’d be rabid with anger. The knowledge tempered the joy
and the lust she was feeling.

What was she going to do? How was she going to explain the powerful
connection they now had, the important connection he had to the baby growing
inside her, when she didn’t even understand it herself? If she told him basic
facts, that she was pregnant and he was the father, what was to stop him from
freaking out and leaving them?

What if he thought she’d lied about being able to conceive? What if he
thought she’d deliberately gotten pregnant to trap him? Granted, it would be
hard for him to blame her given the fact he’d used protection, but what
if—

Dex lightly grasped her arms and gently shook her. “Damn it, Jes.
What’s going on? Answer me. Were you having me followed?”

“No,” she said. Or at least, that’s what she meant to say. Her mouth
opened and closed but she didn’t hear any words escape her lips.

He glared down at her, his eyelids heavy, his lips flat, his nostrils
flaring.

He looked so angry, she thought once again, but she didn’t care.

She didn’t care!

Right now, none of it mattered. Her quest to prolong life. The gift he
might possess. The duty she owed Bodin and Dex’s contrary intent to kill him.
All that mattered was Dex.

He was here. When she’d thought she’d never see him again. He was
touching her. He’d given her what she’d always longed for, a baby. One more
chance to love and be loved by a child of her very own flesh.

And she was acutely aware of what else Dex had given her.

What he could give her again.

Pleasure.

Sheer ecstasy.

The ability to momentarily forget everything else and focus purely on
her own carnal needs.

She licked her lips, remembering how he’d tasted. How much she’d wanted
to bite him. How, even when she’d been gulping down Raul’s blood, she’d
imagined the sweet nectar flowing from Dex and—

He growled. “Jesus, you’re incredible. You want me, don’t you? You want
me so fucking bad you can’t even answer my question. Can’t wait.”

He pulled her against his chest and slammed his mouth down on hers. His
tongue thrust between her lips, penetrating her so thoroughly that she
whimpered with relief. As soon as she made the sound, he tore himself away from
her and sucked in several breaths.

He looked as shell-shocked as she felt.

“What the hell is going on?” he muttered, but he didn’t wait for her to
answer. He swept her up into his arms, marched to the chaise lounge on the
other side of the room, and spread her out like she was a five-course gourmet
meal and he was absolutely starving for her.

Dex covered Jes’s body with his and stared into her dark midnight eyes.
Electricity crackled between them, causing warmth to infuse his skin. That
warmth grew sizzling hot wherever their bodies touched. She whimpered and the
sweet feminine sounds soon became a steady chorus, ratcheting up his desire
until he felt dangerously poised on the edge of sanity.

Closing his eyes, Dex took a deep breath. It was amazing, this
connection he had with her. Proximity was enough to make his head spin with
desire but actual contact? As it had in the States, touching Jes resulted in a
feeling of intense relief that immediately skyrocketed into a desperate,
mind-blowing need. He’d never needed anything like he seemed to need her. Not
sex or food or companionship. Hell, not even revenge.

His eyes popped open and he furiously tossed his head as if he could
shake that errant thought out of his mind. Her cool smooth palms stroked his
back and thoughts of revenge were swept away. Lust surged through him,
concentrating in his groin until he couldn’t help but thrust his hips, notching
his thick aching flesh into the cradle of her hot center. The way she strained
to get even closer to him took his breath away.

Yes, he thought. Need me. Need. Me.

He framed her face in his hands and took her mouth with his. Groaned as
their tongues butted and battled for dominance. He held himself back as long as
he could before wresting it from her. His tongue was aggressive in a way his
body wanted to be but couldn’t manage, given the clothes they were still
wearing. He penetrated her mouth with a thoroughness designed to both satisfy
and entice. At the same time, he pushed himself slightly up on his knees and
began tearing at her clothes, hungrily taking in each patch of pale creamy skin
as it was exposed.

This time when she whimpered, he thought he heard fear in the sound. He
froze and raised his gaze to hers. She looked drugged, her pupils so dilated
now her eyes were almost completely silver, with only a thin black ring of her
irises showing. He saw his own reflection in the shimmering silver globes and
shock jolted him. He looked more animal than human with his brows furrowed, his
skin pulled tight over his cheekbones, his lips pressed back from his teeth to
reveal his canines in all their glory.

Shit. No wonder she’d sounded scared.

Trembling, he released her. “I’m sorry. Fuck, I didn’t mean to go at
you so rough. I know you’re not feeling well.” He tried to move off her, but
she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking him in place.

“No.
S'il te plait.
Don’t go. I
want you. Just—can you slow down? Touch me a little…softer?”

Softer? He was so hard he could hammer nails with his dick and she
wanted…soft? But as he looked down at her, noted her flushed skin and the
vibrant light in her eyes, he wanted to give her anything and everything she
wanted. She looked even stronger than she had after drinking from Raul, and
that made him feel possessive all over again. Possessive and satisfied.

She was a vampire but he was feeding her with nothing but his kisses
and touch.

Outside, wind buffeted the lead paned windows. He took another deep
breath and shuddered. It was touch and go for a second, but he managed to push
back the need demanding he get her naked and get himself inside her. Gently, he
cupped her breasts, stroking the soft, dainty globes as if he was cherishing
them. She bit her bottom lip and he groaned, wanting to suck the pink plump
flesh for all he was worth. Hell, he wanted to eat her up. Gulp her down until
the gnawing hunger he felt was appeased. Instead, he swiped his thumbs over the
hard, needy points of her nipples, drawing a whimper from her that no longer
held a trace of fear.

“I can give you soft,” he said, as much to reassure himself as her.
“With my hands. My lips. My tongue. But…” He reached down and eased one of her
hands to his crotch, where his dick jumped and quivered in protest at what
wasn’t happening. “Not with this.” Easy boy, he thought grimly, groaning when
her fingers stroked him, exploring his length through his pants as if she was
blind and committed to memorizing every detail.

“I don’t want soft here,” she breathed. “Never here.”

He gave a bark of laughter. “That’s good. Because I can’t control
something like that. Damn it, even though I know I shouldn’t be, I’m glad you
sent for me. I look at you and I’m hard.”

She smiled, pleased by his statement, and released him to relax back
against the chaise. She extended her arms over her head. “Then look at me, Dex.
Look at every single inch of me until you’re so hard you can’t think of
anything or anyone else.”

I’m already there, he thought, but didn’t say it. His hands returned to
her clothing, this time unbuttoning and slipping and tugging rather than
tearing. Even though he clenched his teeth so hard they should have cracked, he
kept his touch gentle.

When she was completely naked, he knelt back on his haunches and took
her in. Abruptly, he scrambled off her until he stood at her feet.

She lifted herself up on her elbows. “No! Where are you—”

“Shhh,” he soothed. “I want to touch every inch of you, from your toes
to the top of your head.” He gave her a devilish grin. “Think you can handle
that?”

Her eyes narrowed as she absorbed his challenge. Even so, she shook her
head. “
Je ne sais pas.
I don’t know.”

The honesty of her response had him scrambling on top of her again,
bracing his weight on his hands and knees so he didn’t touch her but merely
hovered over her, teasing both of them with his closeness. He brushed the
lightest of butterfly kisses against each of her cheeks before sipping at her
lips, lifting away when her tongue tried to tangle with his. “I think you can,
Jes. I think you can handle anything I can give you.”

He gave her another brief, close-mouthed kiss before moving off her.
Once again, he stood at her feet. Bracing a knee on the chaise, he lifted the
foot closest to him and kissed her big toe. He did the same to the next
adorable digit, and then the next. Then he returned and nibbled each of the
toes he’d kissed. Then returned again and licked them.