The Timekeeper (19 page)

His growl resonated in the room as he gazed into my eyes, “Say my name again.” I grinned and breathlessly whispered
.

“Aldaren.”

His mouth encased mine, our tongues dancing in a rhythm all their own. His hands moved up and down my back, sending trails of electricity everywhere his fingers caressed me. This felt so right, it always did. The Vampire was just as possessive as my other lovers, but he would allow me something they wouldn’t. Freedom and power.

He rolled, taking me with him until I found myself positioned on top of him. He tried to push himself into me, and I squirmed to block him. He growled with frustration. I debated prolonging his suffering to exercise the control I rarely possessed with my partners, but I wasn’t interested in making myself wait
.
Despite my need to deny him what he wanted
,
I needed him now.

I slid down on to his throbbing shaft as a moan escaped my lips. I stretched to accommodate his enormous girth. He kicked his head back against the bed, closing his eyes in ecstasy. His fingers dug into my flesh as he grasped my hips, attempting to encourage my pace.

I drifted up and down, reveling in the pure joy of his large, pulsing member filling my small body. He guided my movements and once I’d met a rhythm that made my head spin, he moved his hands over my stomach and up to my breasts, pinching and pulling at my pierced nipples. The waves of pleasure ran though me and I prayed it would never end. I wanted him just like this forever. He brushed the hair falling over my chest back behind my shoulder to expose my naked flesh
.

“Azriella, I love you.” The simple words were so full of emotion I climaxed instantly. The euphoria swept through me like a tsunami, devastating and unstoppable, crashing into every nerve and throwing me into the abyss. As the last tremor passed, I collapsed, letting every muscle in relax.

I lay against his chest, enjoying his body and under my cheek. He wasn’t done with me quite yet, wrapping his arms around me, and rolling back on top of me. He never slid out of my tight hole and continued where I’d left off. My eyes closed and rolled into the back of my head and his pelvis slammed into my sensitive clitoris and he filled me until I thought I might burst. He growled again
.

“Look at me.”

I forced my lids open, letting a small cry escape my lips. He was so beautiful. The glowing adoration in his red-brown eyes caused my heart melt and I knew I’d made the right choice in partners. Azul was right
.
This man cherished me
.
I was the only thing important in the world. This was not going to be a political marriage, this was a union born of never ending adoration and trust. Dexter had loved his first wife, I had no doubt, but he had always cared for me so completely the feelings he’d had for her paled in comparison.

The brown of his eyes flashed red and I read his intention. He leered, fangs exposed. I grinned back at him and turned to expose my neck as he brought his face down to meet my willing flesh. I sucked in air as his canines pierced my skin, sighing once he had latched on and the pain had subsided. As he marked me as his, I found myself on cloud nine.

The Vampire’s natural drug made my head spin
,
I never wanted him more than I did right now. I climaxed again. He pulled his teeth out before he joined me. His mouth moved to mine and I tasted my blood on his lips, his fangs nipping at my tongue. I wrapped my arms around his neck to hold him, still in me and sharing the life force he’d taken from my vein. I would be his forever.

He rolled over, keeping me trapped in his embrace, clinging to his smooth body. Covered in sweat and smelling of sex and blood
,
there was nowhere else in the world I wanted to be right now, or ever. My fingers traced the tattoos on his chest
,
they stood out against his white skin. His Assassin’s Mark resided in the middle of his sternum
.

Like most women, I kept mine hidden in the tattoo on my hip swirled in the winged serpent’s tail. We’d joined the ranks of my mother’s top Assassins together
.
It had been one of the better memories of my young adulthood. We had received our marks holding hands.

“Stay the night with me.”

I inhaled, taking in the spicy scent of his skin mixed with sex, “I’m sure you have something to need to attend to. This is your day, and I’m aware I pulled you out of ambassadorial business.” He ran his fingers threw my hair
.

“Do you honestly think I wouldn’t cancel my meetings I have scheduled for the next century to spend time with you? I’d proudly tell every person upstairs to get fucked if you asked me to, it’s certainly what I want.” He still needed his position and career; otherwise he wouldn’t have anything to do. Boredom was old age’s worst enemy.

“You could, but I’d never ask you to. You need this occupation. It’s not about the money
,
but pushing away the emptiness of a long life. I’ll stay for a little while longer, then I’ve got to get home.” He chuckled
.
I would’ve stayed if he weren’t needed elsewhere. I wasn’t rushing back to my already existing husband
,
just being practical.

“Emptiness isn’t going to be a problem from now on, my love. You’ve always had your head in the game, Az, but sometimes I wish you didn’t. Just lay here a while and enjoy. I never know when you’re coming back. When you’re here, I feel like I have to try and hoard you, the thought of taking you captive is always on my mind.”

I chuckled, “Trust me, I’m not going to stay gone for long this time. Never again. I’m retiring from The Council after this lifetime
,
and things are going to change. I’ll be here a lot more often and we can work on starting our family.” He sighed
.
He wasn’t interested in prolonging this plan.

“I can’t wait that long. You’re coming back tomorrow night
,
correct?”

I nodded, “Right after my meeting with the Council. I also planned to announce our engagement to them. They aren’t going to receive the news well
.
Of course
,
any objections and I won’t say a word.” He moved my burgundy hair away from my face and walked his fingers down to my dragon-tattooed shoulder.

“I don’t object, but I’d like to accompany you. I don’t suppose there’s anyway you could get me in to the meeting?” The session would take place in the middle of the day.

“Admittance into the chamber isn’t an issue. Getting you in the building in the daylight hours posses more of a challenge.” I listened to his breathing, watching the rise and fall of his abdomen as my head moved with it.

“My dear, do you really think the Council never catered to its Vampire associates? I can find my way there with little problems. The catacombs run under this building for a reason, we built them after all, for moving about the city in the day. I’ll sense when you arrive, I’ll meet you in the main hallway.” I let my arm fall over his chest, enjoying the sensation of his cool skin under my hand. I closed my eyes, trying to stay awake.

“I will see you there.” I managed to whisper before I yawned.

He ran his hand threw my hair again, “Sleep, beautiful Princess. If you wake and I’m not here
,
you can either come looking for me, or leave as you wish.” I nodded, and quickly drifted off, knowing I would wake back up in the mortal world as Ilana Rose. I was only an astral being here, and chances were good I’d fade away as soon as I fell asleep.

Thank the Goddess I had the day off. I woke up in the mortal world, in the bed Darius and I called our own. I’d always found a little sleep could do amazing things for a person. I’d been grateful for the rest, and thrilled to spend most of the night with Dexter. I crawled out of bed, over Darius, and hopped in the shower.

I didn’t bother to glance at the clock
.
My body told me it was before ten. I needed to be at the bar at noon for my powwow with my cohorts, and my torture session with Dexter and the Council had been scheduled for a while afterwards, so I had plenty of opportunity to screw around.

I took my sweet time, taking extra care to shave everywhere and pamper my skin. Winter in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado meant dry and flaky dermal conditions
.
I’d been convinced for years the freezing arid climate kept the lotion and lip balm companies in business. I hated the cold winters.

The summers were wonderfully hot, raining every evening, nature’s way of cooling the land down and keeping the plant life green and alive. Winter seemed to be the planet’s way of achieving revenge. She was a cruel thing. As of late, the snow pack had been terrible
,
and the threat of fire increased in the summer. Just another example of the Green Mother giving us lowly creatures inhabiting her space the finger.

Echo would be so excited when she found she got to be the commander and chief of a royal wedding, again. For some bizarre reason, my partner in crime and trusty servant, best friend and Assassin colleague, adored events planning. A good thing, since I seemed to be in need of a ceremonial planner more frequently than most women.

Echo’s ditzy behavior might’ve been the only thing I couldn’t stand. She acted like a kid in a candy store, and I loathed the idea of being stuffed into a swanky dress
,
adorned with irritating flowers and forced to cope with relatives I didn’t want to
.
I thought of Dexter, how happy he appeared to be about our soon-to-be marriage, everything seemed worth it.

I stepped out of the shower, dressed in leathers and applied my makeup
.
Time to raise Darius. If he insisted on driving me then he’d better get a move on. I had no intention of waiting for him. Even if every creature in Heaven sought my blood right now, I refused to be held up by Darius
.
If that meant venturing out by myself, so be it. I was a big girl, despite not possessing all of my powers in this fucked up world, I could hold my own fairly well without him
.

I crawled onto the bed, up his body, when he woke up he would find breasts in his face, and muscular legs straddling him.

“Darius, baby. Time to get up.” His eyes opened, wide-awake. He’d already gained consciousness
,
not surprising. I’d probably woken him when I got out of bed. My husband had a habit of lying around for as long as possible, asleep or not.

“Oh, trust me darling, I’m up.” I laughed as he pulled me down on top of him, and then rolled me on to my back. Hovering over me
,
he tipped his head down to kiss me and I felt his erection pushing against my feminine parts
.

“You came home late last night
.
I missed you. I didn’t expect you to early, but I’d hoped.” No one mentioned the reason.

He was well aware of where I’d been, and guessing what I’d been doing wouldn’t be difficult
.
He didn’t ask. Darius tended to be possessive
.
Sharing me with someone else wasn’t a topic of conversation he planned to discuss. He loved me and wished for my happiness
.
As long as I remained content, he didn’t need the details.

“Did you come to a resolution?” His eyes slid their way up from my chest to my face, and back down.

“Yeah. Details are in the process of being worked out. He doesn’t want to wait for me leave this life, although it’s going to take time to get things prepared.” Darius nodded in agreement. Weddings took serious planning. Marriages with political implications drug out even longer.

“You’re happy then?” Hope lingered in his voice.

“Of course, minus the fact I’m obligated to suffer through yet another miserable ceremony.” A half-cocked smile crossed his face
.

“You’ve never been big on weddings, especially not as the bride. I assume Echo’s the one who’s doing all of the planning?” I rolled my eyes at the stupid question.

“Duh. If I tried to deny her the opportunity she would kill me. It’d be like telling her she can eat the cake
,
but not to touch the icing. Besides, I wouldn’t want to insult her by having someone else handle it
,
and she does a wonderful job of pulling everything together.” The only thing I could do without, her attitude while she insisted on running around like a chicken with her head cut off. Echo had earned the nickname ‘Wedding Nazi’ for a reason.

He leaned down to kiss me again, rolled off of me and out of bed. He obviously started paying attention to the time.

“I’m gonna get in the shower, eat something, then we’ll leave.” I watched him walk away, admiring his muscular rear end. Oh, thank heavens he slept naked. Though he didn’t say anything, and he fronted this was okay, but I couldn’t believe that for a second.

Why would he be? His wife for the past eighteen hundred years was preparing to marry another man. How he’d be expected to share me for the rest of his life would be the only thing on his mind.