Vampire Betrayed (Vampires Destined) (9 page)

Ariana couldn’t breathe, could barely move, and when Joaquin pulled her into his arms, she knew she was lost. She’d fought for so long, trying to avoid the emotions battering her soul. Resisting him now seemed laughable. Even a vampire knew how much her body betrayed her.

The will draining out of her body, she tipped her head back, her eyes meeting his with both a demand and a challenge. “Do you really want the one woman who wants you dead more than most?”

Joaquin’s fingers fisted in her hair. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ariana. You’re not my greatest enemy, but you are my biggest curse.” Pushing her back against the wall, he captured her face in his hands and fused his lips to hers. 

* * * *

Charon’s heart burned within her breast. “Stupid, stupid fool!” she screamed into the darkness. “You would fail me now after everything I’ve done for you!”

The birds of the forest scattered at her rage as she whirled her long robe in a vicious circle, the ray of light from her eyes glowing like hot beacons. “I will take you apart myself if I must, Joaquin Shepherd, but you will die this day, no matter who does the killing.” She rubbed her temples, willing the throbbing away.

“I cannot fail. Don’t you understand that, Ariana? Joaquin cannot live.” Her shoulders slumped, she surveyed the couple with a keen eye. Did the girl even know what she had given up with the failure of this one mission? “Ariana, you could have been so powerful. I would have given you the world as my assistant.” Her head drooped. “Now you, too, must die.”

As she spoke the words, Charon felt defeated. She’d grown to care for Ariana in her own way, but the girl had obviously made her choice.

Chapter Six

Joaquin read the challenge in those deep, violet eyes and felt the softness of her skin beneath his palms. In that instant, he was lost. He couldn’t take her life any more than she could take his. Would they be forever doomed then to loathe each other’s existence and remember the moments they’d shared?

Much more than emotion wouldn’t allow him to kill Ariana. He couldn’t imagine knowing she was no more, that he’d been the one to extinguish her life. Everything about her was sheer perfection, and he could no more keep himself from touching her now than he could dislike the taste of blood flowing over his tongue. He cupped her face and traced the fullness of her lips with his thumb.

“You’re as beautiful as I remember,” he whispered into her hair, the vibrant scent enveloping him.

Her hands clutched at his wrists. “Joaquin.” He heard the hesitancy in her voice, and it heated his blood.

He sifted his fingers through the silky length of her blonde hair and brought it close to his nose. It tickled his upper lip, and his body reacted in the most primal way. “I think about you day and night. You’re a constant craving, burning within my soul. Tell me you haven’t thought about me just as much. Tell me that’s not desire I see in your eyes.” He pressed the lower half of his body against her thigh.

She closed her eyes. “Stop.”

“Stop what? Wanting you? Craving you?” Her hand allowed his to dip into the vee neck of her blouse. “I could just as soon stop living as I could stop desiring you, Ariana. You are the other half to my soul.”

“Just words,” she whispered.

“Ah, but there is a powerful mystery behind those words.” He nipped at her neck, her collarbone, while his blood poured through his veins like warm honey. His hands took on a life of their own, travelling everywhere, moving over the course of her perfect skin, enjoying each dip and curve. “God, Ariana, I don’t think I can wait.”

She flattened herself against the brick wall, her breasts jutting forward as she arched her spine. “Then take me, Joaquin. Now.” As she spoke, her hands worked the zipper on her jeans, giving him a glimpse of white lace.

He shoved the swatch aside and slipped his hand inside to caress her. His reward was Ariana’s cry as she pressed upwards and into his thrusts. Reeling from the sensations, he shoved her jeans down to her ankles and threw off her shoes. The sight of smooth, glistening skin made his mouth water, and with a flick of his wrist, he tore the rest of her clothes away.

With frantic movements, Ariana tried to tug the zipper of his jeans now, but he batted her hands away and took care of it himself.

Ariana murmured her approval and closed her fingers around his length. “You feel like silk,” she whispered in a dreamy voice.

His hand captured her wrist. “You can’t do that. I want to be inside you.” Wrapping her legs around his waist, he plunged into her then held himself perfectly still.

“I still remember this,” he whispered against her hair. He knew he wouldn’t last long once he started thrusting into her, no matter how much he wanted to extend the few minutes he had with her.

“Move with me, Joaquin. Let me feel you,” she commanded, her nails scoring his shoulders. Her hips began to move, impatient for his participation. “Now, Joaquin.”

He didn’t have a choice. His body took over, demanding the release. His hips began to pump, and he thrust in and out of her while Ariana screamed his name and writhed against him.

His vision greyed, his body tightening in anticipation of the impending release. Ariana tipped her head back, and the golden expanse of her throat and the pleasurable little sounds she made proved to be his undoing. He sank his teeth deep. Her spicy blood spurted over his tongue, and his climax broke free almost immediately, his body thrusting one last time as his cries mingled with hers.

He bumped his forehead against hers. “I’ve missed this.”

She touched her hand to her neck. “Well, that was a definite first.”

As realization dawned, Joaquin withdrew, the taste of her blood still clinging to his lips. “Ariana, I...” He broke off, his gaze riveted to her face.

Her hand went to the wound, her fingers covering the tiny pinpricks. “Don’t look so shocked. It didn’t hurt,” she whispered. “Actually, it felt kind of erotic.”

He blinked at her. “What?”

“When you took my blood, it didn’t hurt.”

Joaquin’s hands clenched into fists. How could she not know? Was it possible for Charon to have kept her in the dark for the past months? If so, the sorcery he’d suspected was stronger than he’d imagined.  

* * * *

He dressed too quietly, and Ariana’s insides quivered. She couldn’t imagine what was going on his mind, but in hers, questions catapulted over questions. Not only had her inability to kill Joaquin surfaced, but her desire to do so had faded. And that had her asking why. 

 She straightened her clothes before asking, “So what’s next? You try to kill me since it’s obvious I can’t make the kill?” When he didn’t respond, nerves gnawed at her stomach. “Isn’t that what you came here for? Has one bout of really good sex changed your mind? I didn’t think vampires were so choosy about where their next meal came from.” She began to pace. She always paced when she was confused.

“I had not intended to eat you, Ariana, but if you’re offering, I won’t turn you down.”

Heat slammed into her. Had he any idea how erotic his words were? She looked up to see his face and noticed the grimness fading. Apparently so.

He had enough sex appeal for ten men. Did he know about his power over women? How enticing he could make ordinary words sound or the way the touch of his palm felt like soft silk? Swallowing hard, she shifted her stance, willing her nipples to soften, but instead, they only grew harder, punching against her shirt.

“Ariana?” He waved his hand in front of her face, making her realize she was staring into space.

The blood rushed to her face. “You know I was talking about food. Not about sex.” 

“You’re embarrassed.” The smug grin he wore helped lower her temperature.

“I’ve never been embarrassed at what we’ve done between the sheets. I was just as involved as you were. Don’t try to play games with me. It won’t work.”

“Oh, I can assure you I’m quite serious.” His voice, smooth as baby oil, poured over her, both enticing and detrimental.

Her cheeks heated to an unbearable level, and she cooled them with her palms. “Were you not just listening to me when I said that was the final time? I answered your invitation to end this part of my life not to continue our affair.”

He chuckled. “I wouldn’t really call it an affair. It was more like an explosion. Every night we were together was like the first…even the last.”

Joaquin was almost as good with words as he was in the bed. And he knew it.

“Joaquin, don’t.”

“Don’t you remember that night, Arianna?”

How could I forget the last night we spent together?
They’d been swept up in the moment, a night rife with moist heat and rising passion. He’d taken her in a fury of thrusts, claiming her as his own, promising her they’d be together forever. And she’d believed him, taking him at his word, only to discover the depth of his deception.

“Have your memories stolen your voice?”

She had to get away from him. Just to stare into the depths of his eyes unleashed a primitive feeling inside, a power she didn’t think she could control much longer. She took a step back, almost stumbling over an exposed tree root. Her jeans were still unzipped, and she quickly fixed the problem, feeling Joaquin’s eyes on her nether regions.

His hand snaked out and captured her wrist. “Such a shame to cover up now,” he whispered, turning her hand over in his palm. “You have such beautiful skin.”

Mesmerised, Ariana couldn’t pull her hand free as he brought her arm to his lips and gently licked the exposed area just below the wristband of her watch. An erotic pull enveloped her body. Would she ever be free of his spell?

“Let me go.” The words sounded broken even to her ears.

Joaquin lifted his eyes and met her gaze. “Perhaps we should continue our conversation elsewhere.”

No
! She couldn’t go anywhere with him. They’d come together in a frenzied mating in the middle of an alley which was open to a very busy street. She didn’t have to imagine what they could do alone. “If you don’t intend to try to kill me, and I can’t kill you, we have nothing to discuss.”

One eyebrow lifted in a sexy, challenging manner. “No? You know as well as I do that you should have felt the pain of my branding. Aren’t you just the least bit curious as to why you didn’t?”

She stared at him as her fingertips rubbed the spot his teeth had marked. “No. My body heals very quickly, and no doubt, I was simply caught up in the sexual experience.”

“Do you really believe that’s all there was to it?”

“What difference does it make? We hate each other.” Desperation clogged her throat. “You do hate me, right?”

He inclined his head shortly. “Yes, I would imagine I did at one point.”

“You did? What do you mean you
did
? Surely you’re not saying you don’t hate me now? That’s impossible.” Hearing the words, she knew she was really as hysterical as she sounded. “What could possibly have changed your mind?”

She barely blinked and he’d returned to stand before her, powerful and sexy, his eyes haunted. “Now I find myself wanting to kiss you again and again, just to savour the taste of your lips.”

Ariana couldn’t think of one reason to deny him. She made the first move by standing on tiptoe. Easing into him, she allowed her lips to barely caress his. A taunt more than a kiss. Were a vampire’s lips supposed to be this soft? She’d always wondered that about him.

Joaquin cursed softly and snatched her closer to his body. “I am not supposed to want you. Yet, whenever I’m with you, I only want more. Each night we’ve spent apart damned me to a miserable existence.”

Common sense slipped away, and the creature in her arms segued into a living, breathing man with every intention of taking her again. And she had every intention of allowing it. Damn the consequences. “Kiss me again, Joaquin.”

“Did I kiss you?” His voice rumbled next to her ear. “I thought it was you who had kissed me.”

Ariana didn’t waste time arguing. She simply hooked her fingers behind his head and dragged his lips down to meet hers. Only he could make her feel so alive. He invaded her senses, her mind, her soul. And she wanted him to stay.

He lifted her hands and secured them against the bricks, his mouth leaving damp impressions against her neck. Ariana gasped and arched her spine. When his teeth went deep again, she cried out from the sheer pleasure before pushing back against him.

She took the upper hand, her strength matching his as she shoved him against the far side of the opposite building. He ripped at her clothes in a wave of frustration, but the burning feel of his skin intoxicated her too much to help.

Their scents combined, a heady reminder they’d shared so much more than words this night. Her ears picked up the sound of rushing blood, and it pulled her closer, drawing her head to his neck.

How could she have missed this before? The steady thrum of warm blood flowing beneath his skin. The veins on the side of his throat pulsed, and she rose up on tiptoe to lick the skin.

Joaquin groaned and cupped her head with obvious encouragement. Following her instincts blindly, Ariana kissed a warm patch of skin before sinking her teeth deep. His blood spurted over her tongue, and she moaned at the intoxicating rush. She’d never tasted anything so divine.