Dark Redemption (11 page)

The
overwhelming desire was stronger than anything she’d ever felt or even
imagined. Her fangs belonged in his skin. His blood belonged in her mouth, in her
system, and hers belonged in his. The drive to bond with her mate in every way
possible -- body, blood, and soul -- consumed her. It was the most foreign and
erotic sensation. And it scared the hell out of her.

Aching
with need, trembling with desire, and gasping from the exertion of painful
restraint, Kate pulled away from Dominic with all her strength. Dominic lay
there motionless, watching her face in silence. The heat of desire in his eyes
faded into concern.

“Are
you alright,
cara
?”

Kate
drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Resting her
forehead against her arms, she sucked in deep breaths and tried to clear the
tumultuous storm from her mind. 

“I
don’t know,” she whispered.

Dominic’s
warm hand gently stroked her back, caressing the bare skin there in soft
circles. She glanced up to find him watching her, a blend of helplessness and
heartache carved into his handsome features. “You know you can bite me, if you
want to, right?” he asked softly.

Kate
bit her lip and shook her head from side to side. “No, I can’t.”

“
Cara
,
I know
it’s
how your kind mates. It’s okay,” he
reassured her. A smile teased the corner of his lips into a hint of smile. “Who
knows? Maybe I’ll like it.”

“But
I could kill you,” Kate protested.

“Then
I’d die a happy man,” Dominic teased, flashing his dazzling smile.

“Be
serious, Dominic.”

“Alright,”
Dominic sighed, assuming a serious air. “You know I’d do anything for you.
Don’t you,
cara
? I would rip my heart out of my
chest and lay it at your feet if you asked me to.”

Kate
frowned at him. “But I’d never ask that of you. Nor am I asking for this.”

He
reached up to tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. His hand lingered,
caressing her cheek with tender adoration. “I know,
cara
,
but I can see the pain it causes you. It’s something I want to do for you.”

“But
what if I can’t stop?” Kate protested.  “I know you won’t stop me. You
could die.”

“You’re
stronger than you think, Kate.”

“Okay,
say I
was
able to stop,” Kate reasoned.  “That still doesn’t change
the fact that I’d be stealing a piece of your soul every time I fed from you.”

         
“
Cara,
you already own me, body and soul. You have since the day we met.
You can’t steal what already belongs to you. Everything I have, all that I am
and will ever be, is yours.”

“That’s
different,” Kate argued.  “I refuse to damn your soul with mine, just
because my self-control sucks. I want to be a part of you in every way
possible, but not at your expense.”

A
low growl rumbled in Dominic’s chest. “I want to be a part of
you
in
every way too.”

“Well,
then, less talking, more lovemaking,” she chided with a smile, brushing the
issue under the rug as she covered his mouth with hers. The elephant in the
room could go to Hell for all she cared.

“Yes,
ma’am,” Dominic murmured, cradling her head in his hands as he deepened the
kiss.

With
a playful shove, Kate pushed Dominic onto his back and straddled his waist.
Grinning, she slid his tie from where it hung loosely at her neck.  Dominic
cocked one dark brow at her as she wrapped the tie around his wrists and
secured them to the headboard. His brown eyes sparkled with laughter.

“It
seems I married a naughty angel, one with a dark side,” he chuckled.

“Sweetheart,
you have no idea,” she mimicked his response from their first date, wishing it
wasn’t the truth. Damn the darkness within her. 

Dominic
leaned up, using what little slack she’d left him to steal a kiss. Kate shook
her finger at him. “Uh-uh,” she scolded. “It’s my turn to pleasure you.”

Rising
to her feet next to the bed, she rolled her sheer stockings down one leg, then
the other, slowly, relishing the ravenous heat of desire in Dominic’s eyes as
he watched her. Her eyes locked on his, she reached back to unhook the
fasteners of her bustier at the small of her back, letting the heavy material
fall to the floor at her feet. With a soft, knowing smile, she slowly,
painstakingly inched the skimpy fabric of her panties down her hips and thighs,
tossing them in Dominic’s direction.

“Come
here,” he growled, his voice low and thick with need.

Kate
traced the lines of his gorgeous body with her eyes, drinking in the raw
masculine perfection of him. Kneeling on the edge of the bed, she crawled
toward him until her mouth met his. Caressing the corded muscles of his arms
above his head, she grasped his wrists and assumed control of the kiss. He was
hers to taste, hers to explore, hers to savor. Loving the taste of him on her
tongue, fresh and clean in a combination that was purely Dominic, she laid
claim to him with possessive, demanding kisses. Dominic responded with equal
fervor, returning her wordless declarations with his own.

Avoiding
the tempting pulse at the side of his neck, Kate trailed kisses down the front
of Dominic’s throat. Her tongue traced the rise of his Adam’s apple and swirled
in the small indent at the base of his throat.  Tasting and teasing, Kate
showered kisses over the scarred, hard muscles of his torso. She gently nipped
at his small male nipples,
then
softly blew on them
until they puckered in protest. She ventured lower, tracing the hard ridges of
his ribs and abdomen with her tongue as she explored.

Dominic
let out his breath in a low hiss when her tongue followed the slant of muscle
that disappeared beneath his waistband. Kate chuckled, relishing the power she
had to make this great warrior tremble with need. With an evil grin, she
unbuttoned his slacks and
shimmied
them down his hips.
His arousal strained against the fabric of his form-fitting boxer briefs. Kate
cupped him through the fabric and a sound of pleasure rumbled through Dominic’s
chest.

Kate
pressed her fingers to her lips then touched them lightly to the hard bulge
between his legs. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered to the neglected area.
Brushing her lips down his thighs, Kate kissed the lines of strong muscles in
his legs. Peeling the black dress socks from his feet, Kate pressed a gentle
kiss to the top of each foot. Dominic gasped in pleasure and surprise when her
mouth closed around his big toe. Kate teased and sucked the digit, chuckling
when Dominic squirmed.

“Are
you ticklish, my love?” she asked.

“No,”
he lied with a grin. “I just don’t like the idea of you eating my toe jam.”

Kate
rolled her eyes. “You don’t have
toe
jam,” she said,
flicking the sensitive skin between his toes with her tongue. “And if you did,
I would still kiss your feet. I worship the ground you walk on, Dominic
Ridolfi.”

Dominic’s
face
softened,
his dark brown eyes warm and bright.
“And I you, Kate Ridolfi.”

“Good.
Now shut up and let me worship you,” she teased, delighting in the involuntary
shivers of his body as she took another toe in her mouth.

After
giving each toe the same teasing treatment, Kate traced the arch of his foot
with kisses and trekked back up his legs. Kate dragged the shorts down his
legs, caressing his skin as she went, and returned to kneel between his legs.
Nuzzling the vee of muscle slanting down his pelvis, Kate brushed teasing
kisses everywhere but the area straining for her attention.

***

Dominic
thought he might explode if Kate didn’t touch him soon. Oh, she touched him
alright, just not where he needed it most. Every touch, every kiss, was one of
teasing arousal. Dominic released a low moan when at last she closed her hands
around the length of his erection and lowered her mouth over the velvety tip.

He
changed his mind. He’d probably explode either way.  The feel of her mouth
on him drove him wild. Kate’s tongue swirled circles around the head of his
shaft and Dominic closed his eyes to the pleasure.

With
one hand gripping the base of his arousal, Kate began to suck on him. Drawing
him deep into her mouth, she let the length of him slide over her tongue and
lips before sucking him back in again. Her mouth was warm and wet on his
erection as she simulated copulation with her mouth. A sharp gasp escaped his
lips as she sucked in the full length of him, his head kissing the back of her
throat.

Dominic
wanted to bury his hands in the satiny black tresses at the back of her neck,
but his hands were restrained by the knots of his tie. Sure, he could easily
break free, but he didn’t want to ruin her fun. His little dark angel enjoyed
her illusion of control. So, he arched and bucked against the sweet suction of
her mouth, prisoner to her touch, until he neared the edge of release.

“Kate,
stop,” he gasped. “I want to come inside you.”

Kate
drew back to give him a Cheshire cat grin. “You were inside me.”

“No.
Inside
you.
Let me make love to you,
cara
,” he pled, his voice raw with need. “I want to
give you pleasure as well.”

Crawling
up to straddle his hips, Kate grasped his erection and rubbed it against the
moist entrance to her heated core. She was so hot, so wet. Dominic strained
against her, aching to sink into her sweet depths.

“Do
you see what you do to me?” she purred, rubbing the tip of him against the nub
between her slick folds. He loved the way she involuntarily shivered in
pleasure.

“Pleasuring
you gives me pleasure.”

Dominic
groaned as his hard, aching flesh sank slowly into her soft warmth, as she
gradually, inch by painstaking inch, impaled herself on the length of his
arousal. Satin-smooth heat, wet and warm, Kate moved against him,
undulating
her hips in slow circles.

He
ached to reach up and cup the round curves of her breasts as they arched
forward with her movements. He longed to take the pert, pink nipples in his
mouth and tease them with his tongue. He yearned to cover her lips with his
own, to explore her sweet mouth with his tongue as his cock invaded her heated
depths.

Kate
thrust against him harder, driving the length of him deeper into her depths.
Dominic loved to watch her move above him, her eye sparkling with passion, her
cheeks flushed with pleasure, smooth skin gleaming with the dew of exertion in
the firelight. Never was there a more beautiful woman than his Kate. She was
his everything, the only heaven he would ever need.

Unable
to restrain himself a minute longer, Dominic broke loose of his restraints,
tearing free of the fabric that held him captive. He sat up to cradle Kate’s
face in his hands as his mouth claimed hers. Arching up to meet her thrusts, he
sank his tongue into the sweetness of her mouth, devouring her as she rode his
hips. His fingers tangled in the satiny tresses tied back at the nape of her
neck as his mouth slanted over hers in kisses of fiery passion.

Brushing
his lips downward, he cupped the full curve of her breast and drew its pink
nipple in his mouth.  He worked the tender peak with his tongue, swirling
and sucking as he teased her with his tongue and teeth. Kate moaned, arching
her back and grinding her hips harder against him.

Dominic
nearly lost it.

With
a low growl, his mouth moved back to hers, kissing her hard with all of the
desperate need he felt for her. His fingers explored the moist junction of
their joined bodies, searching until they found the sensitive nub in her
moisture slick folds. With light flicking movements, he played her body like a
fine string instrument, teasing the bud as she quivered against him. Kate rode
him harder, faster, driving him deep, pleasuring her body with his as he
pleasured her with his touch.

Kate’s
breathing became ragged, each breath coming in a soft pant as she thrust
against him. Dominic arched his hips to meet her efforts and she gasped in
pleasure. His heart thundered in his ears as his release built, the pressure
building deep within him. Kate arched above him, her body clenching in a series
of spasms around him as she found her release.

Though
Kate’s efforts waned beneath the waves of ecstasy, Dominic continued to drive
himself up into her, higher, deeper, faster, relishing the feel of her body
tightening around his. With a low groan, he found his own release. Heat washed
through him as his body seized with pleasure and filled his mate with his seed.

The
wolf within him rumbled in satisfaction.
Mine.
She was his. And he was
hers.
Body, heart, and soul.

Chapter
10

         
Honeymooning in Paris was everything Kate dreamt it to be and more. From their
honeymoon suite in the former palace of Prince Roland Bonaparte to the
extensive itinerary Dominic had constructed for the two of them. There, wrapped
up in the city of love, it was all too easy to forget the potential danger
lurking around every corner. True, the fear of recognition by the French
immortals lingered. But it was easy enough to ignore in their current state of
bliss.

         
Every detail had been planned with careful consideration and forethought.
Special black-out curtains had been hung in their suite to ‘protect their
privacy’ at Dominic’s request. As far as the French were concerned, he wasn’t a
werewolf mercenary protecting the vampire princess he loved. He was a very
private, wealthy, young businessman honeymooning with his wife. His every request
was accommodated with eager determination. Of course, the power of compulsion
eased the way whenever money could not.

         
The combination of Kate’s necessary avoidance of the sun, Dominic’s limitless
financial resources, and their supernatural powers of persuasion, provided the
perfect opportunity for the two of them to soak in the Paris sights alone.
A private, after-hours tour of the colossal Louvre museum.
An intimate night swim
in the glass-walled pool afloat the
Seine.
A visit to the Centre Pompidou, taking in the
priceless view as they drank champagne at its rooftop bar.
Slow-dancing
atop the vacant Eiffel Tower observation deck as Dominic sang ‘La Vie en Rose’
softly in her ear…

         
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Arc de
Triomphe
,
Les
Invalides
, shopping in the Marais, the Place de
la Bastille… It was a whole new world of history and culture and Kate loved
every minute of it. She’d always planned to tour Europe, but her wildest dreams
couldn’t imagine experiencing it all with Dominic. Not only was he great
company, but he was a walking, talking encyclopedia of European history.

Standing
together on their balcony beneath the stars, looking out over the city lights,
Kate listened in wonder as Dominic recounted his memories of the French
Revolution in hushed tones of quiet reverence. A newly-turned wolf in his
twenties at the time, he’d helped secretly evacuate members of the French
aristocracy, rescuing them from the guillotine. It was such a time of intrigue
and passion, one which had enthralled Kate for as long as she could remember.

         
“Good grief, I married the Scarlet Pimpernel,” Kate joked.

         
Dominic chuckled.
“Hardly.
He was a great man though.”

         
Kate turned to gape at him. “He was real? You met him?”

         
“Yes and yes,” Dominic confirmed with a smile. “Not all legends are fiction,
cara
.
Oftentimes, there’s a very ordinary man behind such a story of heroism.”

         
Kate couldn’t contain her curiosity. “What happened to him?”

         
“Nothing.
He still lives in England and is just as
wickedly diabolical as ever,” Dominic said, fondness evident in his tone.

         
“So he’s…?”

         
Dominic nodded.
“A wolf like me.”

         
Kate scoffed.
“Hardly ordinary then.
You, my love are all
kinds of extraordinary.”

         
“But at the end of the day,” he said, taking her hands and kneeling before her,
“I kneel at your feet as a mere man, with love and desire in my heart.”

         
Kate sank to her knees to come face to face with him, cupping his jaw with the
palm of her hand. “But then you take me to your bed. You touch me, kiss me, and
make love to me. You make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.
Dominic, you are every kind of extraordinary.”

         
“I have to be extraordinary if I ever hope to keep up with you,
cara
,” he murmured as his lips covered hers.

         
Kate kissed him back with all her heart. Dominic scooped her up in his arms and
carried her inside to their bed. With painstaking care he laid her down and
made slow, tender love to her. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he truly
was extraordinary.
From the gentle heart beneath his
warrior’s soul, to the raw masculine perfection as he loved her with every
ounce of his being.
Everything about him.

         
When at last they found completion, they lay together in a tangle of sheets and
limbs. Kate rested her head on Dominic’s chest, listening to his heart thrum.
The warm, wet sound made her throat burn.
Damn it
. Even then, she was
thirsty.  

         
“Are you alright,
cara
?” Dominic asked. The sadness in his eyes told her
he sensed the change in her.

         
“Yeah, just thirsty,” she admitted with a sigh.

         
“Well, I’ll go get some more blood for you,” Dominic said, rolling up to sit on
the side of the bed. “I scoped out a local blood bank while you were sleeping
today. It should be pretty easy, so I’ll be back before you know it.” He
pressed a kiss to her forehead and rose to dress.

         
“I’m going with you.”

         
Dominic shook his head. “That’s a bad idea,
cara
.”

         
“Really?
If it’s so easy, then why can’t I go with
you?”

         
Rubbing his jaw, he met her gaze. Worry clouded his dark eyes. “It could be
dangerous.”

         
“I thought you said it would be easy. It can’t be both.
Either
it’s easy and
no big deal or it’s too dangerous. Which is it?” Kate
argued, crossing her arms over her bare breasts.

         
Dominic sighed. “Both. It
will
be easy. I can get in, get the blood, and
get out.
But…
We’ve been lucky so far,
cara
. We haven’t come across anyone from our world,
but they’re out there. All it takes is one wolf or vampire to recognize either
one of us and we’ll have a whole army to contend with.”

         
“Either way, I’m the one who needs the blood, so I should help get it. You are
not my errand boy and I refuse to treat you as such,” Kate argued, setting her
jaw.

         
“No, but I am your husband,” Dominic countered quietly. “It’s my job to take
care of you. So let me do it.”

         
“You always take care of me, Dominic,” Kate said. “
Which is
why I am confident that I will be safe with you.
”

         
He let loose a frustrated growl before conceding.
“Fine.
You can come with me, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea.”

         
Kate grinned. “Yeah, but I distinctly remember you promising to always let me
be right in your marriage vows.”

         
A bark of laughter rocked his chest. With a cocked brow and a grin, he tipped
his head to study her sideways. “Did I really? I don’t remember that part.”

         
“Yup, ‘to love, honor, and always let be right,’” Kate joked with a mischievous
grin.

         
“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that?” Dominic asked, a reluctant
smile teasing his lips.

         
Kate laughed. “Ah, but you’ll die a happy man.”

         
Dominic grinned. “Yes, yes, I will.
A crazy, but insanely
happy man.”
       

***

The
blood bank of Paris was situated on the outskirts of the city, in an area that
made Kate want to reach over and hit the lock button on her car door, just to
be safe. Dominic pulled to a stop behind the plain, nondescript brick building
and turned to her with a cocked brow.

         
“Ready,
cara
?” he asked, cutting the engine and
unclicking
his seatbelt.

         
“Yeah, I wish we didn’t have to steal it though,” Kate sighed.

         
“I know.” Dominic gave her a reassuring smile. “If it’ll help, I can make a
sizeable donation to their foundation in your name.”

         
Kate laughed. “That’s the last thing I need, more notoriety. Thanks, but no
thanks.”

         
“It’s up to you,
cara
. They could have an
entire branch of blood banks in your honor,” Dominic offered with a wolfish
grin.

         
“I think I’m okay,” Kate giggled. “Let’s just go get the goods.”

         
“As you wish,” Dominic agreed with an incline of his head.

         
They climbed out of the car and rounded the perimeter of the building, sticking
to the dark shadows of the night. Kate stuck close behind Dominic. He came to
an abrupt halt before a steel door on the side of the building and she slammed
into his back. She whispered a hasty apology and rubbed her throbbing nose.
Dominic touched a finger to his lips, brushed a kiss to the bridge of her nose,
and turned back to the door.

         
Kate nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other as he drew a tool
from his pocket and proceeded to work the lock. The door opened noiselessly
beneath his ministrations and Kate followed him through the opening.

         
The room was dark and still, but dimly lit with the bluish light of LED
emergency lighting. They stood in a supply room with neat rows of rolling wire
racks bearing boxes of medical supplies. Kate inhaled the familiar, anti-septic
smell of healthcare.
Home, sweet home.

         
“This way,
cara
.”
Dominic indicated a door to
the left with the jerk of his head.

         
Kate followed him across the room and through the door. The next room appeared
to be where blood collection occurred. Plastic-covered recliners with flat
arm-supports lined the room, all aimed at the massive black television set
mounted on the wall. Though the room appeared clean and sterile, Kate detected
the slightest hint of blood on the air. The sweet aroma was just enough to fill
her mouth with saliva and make her throat burn.

         
Oblivious to her plight, Dominic led her into yet another room, this one a
reception area, with worn couches and a curved desk. He led her past the desk to
an elevator. The ‘up’ button glowed yellow in the darkness when he pushed it.
With a whir, and the occasional muted ping, the elevator made its descent. The
silver doors split down the center with a cheerful
bing
-bong.
  
                

         
Dominic punched the button for the third floor, the doors closed, and they were
on the rise.

         
“How do you know where we’re going?” Kate asked Dominic with a sideways glance.

         
“I asked.”

         
“Of course you did,” Kate laughed. “I can hear it now. ‘Oh, you need to steal
blood for your vampire wife? Sure, help yourself.
Third floor
and to the right.’”

         
“Something
like
that,” Dominic chuckled. “Or, you
know, I could’ve come during business hours and introduced myself as a wealthy
businessman, interested in a philanthropy opportunity involving renovation and
expansion of their facility. That might have earned me a tour.”

         
“I like my version of events better.”

         
“So do
I
,” Dominic agreed with a chuckle.
“Although, it might have resulted in a few raised eyebrows.”

         
Kate grinned.
“Or a padded room and straight jacket.”

         
Dominic rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his full lips curved into a smile.
“Maybe.”

         
The elevator doors opened with their chipper
bing
-bong
and Dominic stepped out ahead of Kate and into the darkness.

         
Pfoot
.

         
The unmistakable whistle of a gunshot, muffled by a silencer, split the air.
Dominic’s body jerked back and to the left as a bullet tore into his left shoulder.

         
Everything moved too fast, yet felt as though in slow motion as bullets
ricocheted around them.

         
Diving to the floor and drawing his own gun from the holster at his side, the
movement fluid enough to put a Hollywood stuntman to
shame,
Dominic dodged the onslaught of bullets and shouted, “Get down, Kate!”

         
Kate dropped to the floor, shielding her head. She waited for the sting of a
bullet, for that first sharp stab of pain, but nothing came. A glaring
realization dawned. None of the gunfire was directed at her. Whoever waited for
them on that floor wanted Dominic dead, but not her. They
had
to be
vampires or their compelled human minions.