The Sanction (8 page)

The tension seeped out of her body and
through his, and she buried her head in the crook of his neck. One
leg was flung over his stomach, and her fingers tentatively began
their exploration of the texture of his skin. The steady beat of
his heart was constant and powerful. His embrace tightened ever so
lightly. She sighed. She felt protected with him. Safe. The thought
forced her to pause. She should not allow herself to want him, to
want to be with him. This was nothing more than a romp. How many
others had lain here, in his arms? How many others had experienced
paradise at his touch? The pain in her chest could not be compared.
She did not love this Were, but love him or not, he was her mate.
She was joined to him now. When he returned her to the Coven, she
would be unable to survive. It would mean her death. He did not
want her. Amarinda did not know what hurt more.

These were the only moments she would
have with him. These were the hours she would have to remember for
the rest of her life. There was no one else for her. Even if she
took another lover, he would never make her want to yield, or want
to give of herself the way he could.

Through a bout of hot tears, Amarinda
lifted her head and kissed him passionately. She buried the gasp in
his throat and demanded his tongue. He allowed her access to
explore there, to draw him into her as he had so expertly done many
times before. The warmth of his hands stroked her body. She became
alive at his touch. She would remember this kiss, she vowed. She
would remember the smell of his skin and the way his lips felt on
hers, the callous of his hands and the way it near bruised her
tender flesh when he took her passionately, the flicker of amber in
his eyes when anger fought his control, and the tiny dimple that
hardly ever showed, for he was not wont to genuinely smile very
often.

She needed him again. Needed him more
than she needed the blood that sustained her. Amarinda understood
then what it meant to be mated. Had it anything to do with love?
How could she love him? There was nothing he had done to deserve
her love. But how she needed him!

She straddled him without breaking away
from the surrender of his lips and pressed her forehead to his. He
would never mark her. He admitted as much. But he boasted her mark
all the same. And whether he wanted her or not, she would ensure
that he would never forget her.

Graeme’s eyes darted open in wonder as
she explored his body with much more than curiosity – but
determination. Every caress seemed calculated, executed with the
intent on delivering much pleasure. He combed his fingers through
her mass of hair, body burning with the effect of her kiss. The
expression on her face was a mixture of stiff resolve and agony.
Somewhat confused, he pushed aside the heat that laced his belly
and gripped her arms to haul her to his chest once again. Her eyes
darted open. He noted the moisture of her lashes, clumped and dark.
He searched her eyes for a long time, somewhat undone by the
passion that swirled there. Something else haunted her orbs,
something he could not quite place. She lowered her gaze to hide
the emotion and slid her seeking hand along his stomach to
disappear beneath the furs.

It slipped his mind to probe her with
questions. The tender ministrations of her hand and the heat of her
lips that blazed a moist trail from his lips to his chest and
further south extinguished all forms of doubt from his mind. The
scent of his seed mixed with her oils still stained her skin and
the furs he was near buried in. His nostrils flared. In the nights
gone by, he had allowed himself every imaginable pleasure at her
hands. Every position had been explored, and the more he taught
her, the more eager she was to learn.

This morning was a pleasant surprise.
She looked at him with much more than longing. If Graeme was a man
who believed in love, he might have used that word to accredit the
depth of emotion that swirled in her eyes. But he was not fool
enough to think that this sweet, beautiful vampire should love him.
They were natural enemies. Why the fates had mated them was beyond
any reason he could think of. Why each day he grew more possessive
of her was something he did not want to contemplate.

Her heated mouth covered his throbbing
member, the suction created there firm and slow. Graeme near bolted
off the bed. Bliss. This was what she brought to him. Her breasts
were crushed to his thighs. Deeper still she lowered her mouth. His
eyes rolled back. The almost reverent way she caressed him might
have been disconcerting, but at that moment, he did not care. The
growls that reverberated at the back of his throat were meant to
encourage her. His fingers sank into her silken locks. He bobbed
her head, creating a rhythm that forced a husky moan from his lips.
He felt himself build, felt fire threaten to consume him and pushed
her away swiftly. The cry on her lips died beneath his
kiss.

“
Please,” she said thickly.
He did not pause, not as he pushed her back to gain her footing,
not as he continued to taste her tongue. Naked, they stood on the
cold stone. Graeme pulled away long enough to move the strands of
hair from her face. He looked at her. What he saw was suddenly more
than just a vampire. He saw her. When had she denied him herself?
When had she started looking at him as if the sun rose and set in
his eyes? When had her kisses started to taste so sweet?

Confused, he frowned. What the hell was
wrong with him? She was no different. It had to be the magic of the
moon. The full moon was tonight. Mature Weres had a hell of a time
controlling their baser instinct on nights like this. He would have
to do her a kindness and stay away. If he hurt her, or killed her,
they would have an all out war on their hands.

Her feathery touch jerked him out of
his musings. Her lips were swollen and parted – and she panted. He
inhaled the thick air between them. The scent of her full arousal
momentarily scrambled his senses. He pulled her against his desire
and lifted her slowly.

“
Wrap your legs around
me…”

She obeyed. Graeme slid into her tight
entrance and watched in interest the flush of her cheeks and the
emotions that fluttered across her face. His steps were purposeful
when he made his way across the room, moving her light weight up
and down all the while. The mewling noises she made stroked
something very primal within him. Her back to the wall, he adjusted
her again. This time when he moved, it was with slow, tantalizing
motions. Blood heated, he captured her lips. Each time he slipped
within her, she expanded, gripping onto his erection like a vise.
Hot and sleek, her body worked like a vise. It occurred to him then
that if he moved just so, she gasped. Again, he experimented. Her
whimper was a welcomed one. Their bodies joined, he introduced his
fingers to her swollen nub just above his entry point. Shudders
raked her body violently, so much so that the instant her eyes
opened, they blazed quicksilver. Her hips bucked uncontrollably.
The swift contractions around his own need prompted his kiss and
the acceleration of his hips, and before long, he stiffened,
releasing his seed into her belly, and leaving with her another
piece of himself in the process.

She clung to him, trembling like a
leaf. Soft and pliable, he did not release her. Still impaled upon
his shaft, he felt the first teardrop upon his shoulder. Fingers of
steel gripped onto her thighs and took her to a large chair to one
side. He sat, and did not allow her to move. She contracted around
him again. His lips found hers. The tears she wept were very salty
and very warm. They streamed down her face and mingled in their
kisses. For a long time he held her like that, unwilling to release
her just yet. She did not make a protest. When at last he pulled
away and leaned back, it was to simply look at her.

“
Feed,” he said tenderly.
She nibbled her plump, cherry lips and cast her gaze aside. “Are
you not hungry?”

“
No.”

She lied. He knew it to be so. A heated
cloak descended upon his orbs and he leaned forward to nibble the
lobe of her ear. Lower still he went. His teeth pinched at her
exposed neck. Her nipples went rock hard. He grinned wickedly. When
he spoke, his voice was laced with temptation. “Bite me, vampire.
You know you want to…” His lips danced upon her flesh. She
shuddered in delight. And moved away. The scowl on his face matched
his confusion well.

“
I – I cannot.”

Graeme considered her in silence as she
pulled the tapestry away from the window. Sunlight bathed her form.
Peeked, dusky nipples shone a reddish mahogany. Her skin was still
very much blushed with the afterglow of his touch. “What do you
mean you cannot?”

She blinked away the last of her tears
and met his eyes. There was a new determination there now, and
Graeme did not like the way she jutted out her chin and stood there
so defiantly. His eyes narrowed. One week she had given of her
unselfishly. One week he had come to her night after endless night
to find her ready and waiting and as eager as he. Now, she would
fight him again. The thought was a maddening one.

“
I do not wish to feed from
you again.”

Her words washed over him like a dash
of cold water. Stunned, he stood his full height. On his body he
boasted several of her bites – on his chest, on his inner leg, on
his back. There was not found a place on him she had not marked.
The pleasure he received from the sensation it evoked brought him
to the peak of sexual fulfillment every time. And now, she did not
wish to feed from him again?

“
What nonsense are you
talking about, leech?” he snapped impatiently. “You are a vampire.
You drink blood. It is by your own tongue you have admitted the
need to feed each day. Now come here.”

She stepped back. Tension whipped at
his core.

“
I – I want to,
but…”

“
But what?”

She turned her back pointedly, whether
in defiance of him or to hide the hurt he glimpsed in her eyes, he
did not know. “If I am to be ransomed soon, it is in my best
interest to stop strengthening the bond.”

His glower deepened. “What
bond?”

“
You are my mate. Each time
I feed from you, the more of myself I want to give to
you…”

He snorted. “I do not feel such a
bond.”

Her shoulders slumped forward. Her
whimper was laced with agony. “It is because you have not marked
me. You have said it yourself – you are my mate, but I shall never
be yours.”

I shall never be yours. Hearing her say
the words forced his chest to constrict agonizingly.

But you belong to me. The fates have
decided! He hesitated. His plan was already set in motion. He had
to ransom her. His duty to the horde was more important that this
vampire – more important than how he fancied he felt in her arms.
He stiffened his resolve and observed her from the
distance.

A bond. He sniffed. Marked or no, if
there was indeed such a bond he would have felt something by now,
wouldn’t he? So what if at times he had considered keeping her? It
had nothing to do with this so-called bond. Was she playing some
kind of a game then? Did she mean to starve herself? Graeme had
seen the desperate measure she had taken to ease her hunger. It
made no sense.

He eyed her intensely. That was the
truth of it then - she was being bonded each time she fed. The
thought that she would never want another more than she wanted him
made his chest inflate considerably. He near burned to touch her
again. Nostrils flaring, he approached. “You need to
feed.”

“
I will not take from
you.”

He cocked a brow. “Will you
not?”

“
No.”

“
Exactly how long do you
think this resolution will last?” His mouth found her ear. She made
to scramble away from his touch. He caught her around the middle
and tumbled her upon the bed.

“
Let go of me,” she demanded
softly. Graeme parted her thighs and captured her lips. She kissed
back just as fervently.

“
Never.” Fingers linked
through hers, he nibbled the outskirts of her mouth and grunted
impatiently when she pulled away. “If you do not feed now, I will
wait. I have done it before.”

She gasped. “I am not asking to be
starved – only that another comes in your stead.”

He froze instantly. Amber burned in his
gaze. His body was whipcord above hers. “If you want to assign
yourself to a swift death, mention it again.”

She swallowed hard. “But -”

“
No!” He made to capture her
lips once more. She turned away. He shifted, irritated. “You are
not allowed to take directly from another. It is considered sacred.
Or have you forgotten your laws?”

“
You are not vampire, and I
am to be released in a fortnight. You are not bound to me. Our laws
say nothing about being mated to a Were.”

He sat up on his haunches, furious. “I
do not care what your law states, leech. My decision is final. You
will not feed from another.” He pushed away the jealousy that
squeezed at the pulse in his chest. Her bite was intimate, not only
to her, but to him as well. Her mouth, her tongue on another man
would send him into a rage of bloodlust. A vein rose across this
forehead at just the thought.