Blood Judgment (Judgment Series) (26 page)

She nibbled his lower lip until he opened for her. Her tongue slid into his mouth and stroked in a slow, hot motion. Her honey flavor mixed with the taste of his blood filled his mouth.

His hands tangled in her hair and his kiss became more demanding. In an imitation of what he burned to do between her legs, he stroked his tongue along hers.

A moan slipped from her and her hand traced down his chest to the waistband of his jeans. Excitement zinged through him as her fingers wandered lower and touched him through the denim. His cock jerked under her hand and he shoved forward, seeking greater contact as she stroked over his erection.

Oh God, it wasn’t going to take much more before he would be all over her. He broke the kiss. “Are you sure? I might not be able to stop if you change your mind.”

“I’m sure.” She claimed his lips again.

He moved fast and Saranna lay on the sofa with him over her. His bigger body pinned her and he waited to make sure she was okay with it.

She pushed his hair back on one side, running her slender fingers through the long strands. “My sexy Julian.”

He kissed her, slow and teasing now. His hand strayed under her shirt and wandered upward, over her silky skin until he found and fastened on her bare breast.

She whimpered. The scent of lilacs intensified.

Taking his time, he stroked his thumb over her nipple and traced lazy circles around the hard little bud. He went slow, wanting her good and ready, even though his cock was so hard it hurt.

Moaning against his mouth, she arched her back, thrusting her breasts upward. He grasped the hem of her blouse, pulled it up and off, and tossed it on the floor. His gaze locked on her lovely mounds of perfection, devouring her in a hot sweep. “You’re so beautiful. So perfect.”

“Oh, Julian,” it came out in a choked whisper. “I need you. You don’t know how much I need you.”

“Saranna, I…” he wasn’t sure what he wanted to say. She made him feel things no one ever had. And he knew without a doubt he would kill anyone who tried to take her away from him. “I need you, too,” he said.

Burning with lust, he bent his head and sucked a pert nipple into his greedy mouth. She gasped and sank her fingers in his hair, hanging on to him and keeping him in place. He sucked and licked first one and the other until she whimpered and pushed her hips up against him, seeking the joining that would forever change things between them.

He needed to get inside her and make his claim. She belonged to him. But until his seed was inside her, she wouldn’t be his property. Marking her was more important than the pleasure of sex. Marking her made her his and off-limits to other males.

Her hand went to his jeans again, rubbing his cock in wonderful maddening strokes. He shifted, better aligning their bodies. Taking the cue, she opened her legs and let him settle between them. Fully clothed, he humped against her while devouring her lips in a blood-searing kiss.

The erotic scent of her desire shredded his last pretense of being anything but a wild, untamed animal who needed to mate and establish his territory. His need to ram inside her and mark her with his scent and seed overwhelmed him. He had to have her. Now.

He growled against her open lips and flicked his tongue in her mouth. She moaned and rubbed her crotch on him, seeking what he burned to give. He couldn’t take it any longer. His cock strained and his balls ached. He had to mate. He slid off the sofa and scooped her into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stretched up for more kisses as he carried her into the bedroom.

He yanked the comforter back with one hand, then laid her on the bed. Still dressed, he climbed over her and caught her lips, teasing them open. She stroked his back, drawing him down tighter against her. He wanted to feel her hands and the rest of her, skin to skin.

He kissed his way along her jaw and down her neck. He licked over the throbbing vein and sucked her silky skin. Gently, he pressed his fangs into her flesh without breaking the skin.

Moaning, she sank her nails into his back.

Instinctively, he bit hard. She cried out and arched up under him. He let go and licked the mark of his claim clean before kissing his way down her shoulder and on further to her breasts.

Her hands slid under his shirt and caressed his back in warm, silky strokes. Her touch was satin, soft yet strong. He reveled in the feel of her.

He latched onto one firm breast with his hand and the other with his mouth. His tongue laved one taut peak while his thumb caressed the other.

She groaned and shivered under him. “Oh, God, Julian. Please, I need to feel you in me.”

He wanted to taste her, wanted to lick and suck the magic little bud hidden in her most secret place, but it was a want he wouldn’t fulfill. Not their first time together. He didn’t want to go too far and overwhelm her.

Her stroking hands abandoned his back and he nearly groaned at the loss of contact. But she had other ideas and quickly worked the button loose on his jeans. Heart pounding his ribs in an excited tempo, he shifted to give her access. With no hesitation, she slid the zipper down and grasped him, feeling his length. She reached the head. Her fingers traced over the top and along the ridge. “You’ve been cut.”

“What?”

“The head is bare.”

“Oh.” Understanding dawned on him. “Yeah, most human males have the foreskin removed. At least here in America,” he added.

“Why?”

He panted against her skin and his swollen cock jerked in her hand. He desperately needed the jeans removed before he sprang loose and injured tender skin on the zipper. “It’s just the way it is.” He silenced any more questions with a quick kiss.

Julian rolled onto his back and shoved his jeans down and off. Commando underneath, his cock stood at attention. She tugged at his shirt, pulling it off and giving it a toss over the side of her bed.

Before her questing hands had a chance to fasten on him, he slid her pants down her long legs, brushing over skin soft as silk. Black lace panties covered the place he wanted to go. He hooked his thumbs under the elastic and dragged them down her legs, dropping them on the floor.

She was pale perfection. Her legs were long and shapely and the small triangle of blond curls beckoned him.

“Beautiful,” he breathed.

He traced down her body, caressing between her breasts and over her flat stomach in one long stroke ending at the juncture of her thighs. He slipped his hand between her legs and pressed, asking her to open for him. She let her legs fall apart, exposing her center. Her eyes met his, and in that moment, as she lay vulnerable before him, he knew she trusted him completely. Warmth spread through him along with a need to take care of her and protect her.

Gently, his questing fingers slipped upward and touched her soft folds. She moaned and pushed into his hand, giving herself.

He stroked down the center of her wet heat, spreading moisture over hot flesh. His finger found her nub and caressed it, rubbing with just enough pressure to make her shudder under his hand.

“Julian.” It came out a moan. She thrust her hips forward.

The scent of her desire and arousal hung thick around the bed. He drank it in, breathing it deep into his lungs. His cock became harder, painful, his need more urgent.

Panting with anticipation, he pushed a finger inside her hot, soaked passage. He slipped a second finger in and pumped until she moaned and arched off the bed, more than ready to take him inside her.

He withdrew his fingers and slid down the bed to see her better. Her slick, glistening center made him ache to part the soft curls and kiss her hot flesh. He wanted to bury his tongue in her, to taste her and learn her flavor.

The scent of her filled his nostrils and he breathed the fragrance deep into his lungs. He slid his fingers back inside her and pumped until she rocked her hips, riding him. He worked her harder, intent on giving her pleasure. Panting hard, she grasped the sheet and rode his fingers faster. Stiffening, she threw her head back with a cry. She shuddered, then pumped her hips hard. She grabbed a fistful of his hair and tugged.

“Julian, please, I want all of you.” She pulled his hair again, urging him to come up over her.

When she stilled, he withdrew his fingers and licked them. Her flavor was clean, almost sweet, like a berry before reaching its full flavor. God, he wanted to lick her. Wanted to shove inside her and tongue fuck her. Instead, he moved up on the bed and slid over her, careful to keep his weight off her.

She drew her legs up further and spread them wide, ready to receive him within her. He grasped himself and rubbed the head of his cock against her slick skin. The sensation of wetness on his sensitive skin drew a hiss of pleasure from him.

She reached down between them and seized him. He let go, giving her control. Her warm hand gently squeezed him, then guided his swollen head to her entrance. “Julian, now. Please. I want you.”

His need and her pleas stripped away the last of his control. He pushed inside her with one hard thrust, sliding deep into her tight passage, filling and stretching her around him.

She cried out and dug her nails into his back, urging him into motion. To his relief, she wasn’t just handling it well, she was with him completely. He thrust into her, slowly at first, letting her get used to him. But his caution was unfounded. She met him with her own hungry motions, pushing up to him, rubbing herself on his cock, moaning her pleasure.

Losing control, he drove into her, hard and fast, until sweat slicked his skin and her moans became cries of ecstasy.

Panting for breath after long minutes, he slowed, pumping with practiced rhythm and making as much contact with her most sensitive places as possible.

Her muscles contracted around him and she shattered. Her hot passage squeezed and released him. He picked up his pace again, wanting her orgasm to finish before he lost it.

His balls tightened and he growled. He thrust deep and exploded. Driving hard again, he shot jets of hot fluid inside her. He roared in triumph and dipped his head, fangs bared. With raw aggression, he bit into her throat and held her still as he spurted into her.

She whimpered and dug her nails into his back.

Growling against her skin, he pumped into her.

Finally, he slowed and stopped though he still held her pinned in a show of male domination and possession. Saranna was his. His property. His mate.

Slowly, he realized he had her trapped beneath him.
Holy hell
. He’d acted like an animal. He’d intended to be gentle and make it easy for her. Instead, he’d lost control.

Thankfully, she didn’t seem upset.

He released her from the grip of his teeth and licked the bite clean. Entwined, his cock still buried deep inside her, he rolled them onto their sides. Drawing her possessively tight against him, he said, “You’re mine.”

The scent of sex, along with their unique blended scents, hung thick around them. She drew her leg up, placing it over his hip, keeping him lodged inside her. “I want to be yours.”

She was now his property, marked, claimed, owned. He’d never experienced such intense sex. As a wave of possessiveness gripped him in an iron fist, he wanted her again.

WHEN JULIAN woke, their bodies still lay tangled together. Saranna would wake soon. His senses told him darkness hadn’t fallen yet, but soon would. The musk of sex hung in the air. He inhaled it with relish.

He needed to relieve himself, but didn’t move. He wanted to be with her when her eyes opened. Making love to her had been a revelation. There’d been no violent urges to harm her.

He’d only wanted to mate again and to mark her as his property. Her neck bore the proof where his fangs had slashed into her during the next two bouts of heated coupling.

He was no danger to her. Perhaps the human blood he now loathed kept her safe. Maybe being a mutt had some redeeming qualities after all. They might not be bonded, but they could enjoy each other, which was more than enough. Besides, he didn’t have a right to anything more.

Chapter Twenty-four

VALI SWAM from sleep. The scent of disinfectant hung heavy in his room. He stared at the colorless wall and wished he still slept. He didn’t have a single reason to remain awake.

He still wasn’t able to walk. His legs refused to move. They would bear his weight, but wouldn’t budge, not an inch.

Jason had given him a set of crutches, but he never voluntarily left the bed. He preferred staring at the wall to dragging his dead limbs around. He was officially a worthless piece of shit.

And his problems didn’t stop there.

He was sick, but not from infection. Jason had filled him with antibiotics until the infection gave out under the power of the drugs. Perhaps things would have been better if the infection had won out.

Black, overwhelming depression had become his constant companion. And something worse, something he kept secret. Something beyond depression was wrong with him and it scared the shit out of him.

He plucked at the thin blanket covering him against the too-cool temperature Jason insisted on. He would be going home, probably tonight. He would prefer to stay there, but Jason didn’t have beds to spare on someone who didn’t need to be there.

He shoved lank hair from his eyes. It made no difference, his life was over. And hadn’t life been grand to this point?

Too bad he didn’t have the guts to go outside and greet the sun like his mother had. He’d heard the sunrise was a beautiful and wondrous sight. But the idea of burning to death was too frightening for serious consideration.

Jason came into the room with a chart.

“Ashton will be here in an hour or so to pick you up.”

Vali nodded.

“I know you’re feeling down, but you’re fortunate to be alive and to have your leg. And with time, you may be able to walk again.” He ran a hand through his short, brown hair and focused on the chart, avoiding Vali’s eyes.

Vali didn’t need Jason’s evasive body language to detect unadulterated horseshit, but he didn’t call the doctor on the lie. And never mind that he’d overheard Jason’s phone conversation with Ashton as he spelled out in detail why Vali would probably never walk again.