Darkness Awakened (20 page)

Lyra wanted to force her daughter to stay close to her, to tell her to take it easy, but she was a teenager and meeting her father’s pack for the first time. Vega had a right to be excited and Lyra didn’t want to steal any of her daughter’s joy. Plus, she didn’t seem to be focusing on all the horror she’d endured. Lyra was worried it would come back to haunt Vega later, but she also knew that kids bounced back from traumatic events a hell of a lot faster than adults. “She said you gave them bodyguards?”

Finn grinned at that, stepping closer, his earthy scent invading her senses as he practically circled her. Like he was a predator and she was his prey. Butterflies danced in her stomach. “Drake and Gabriel are with them so that should be interesting.”

“You trust him?” She didn’t need to specify she meant the unique dragon shifter.

Finn nodded, taking another step closer. Her heart drummed out of control. “I trust my gut and he seems almost reverent of all females. I know he’d die before he let anything happen to either Victoria or Vega.”

“Yeah, he’s insanely protective.” The physical desire she felt for Finn was so strong it made her dizzy but she forced it back. She wanted him to want her because he loved her, not just because he wanted sex. “I like him.” It was clear that what Drake felt for Victoria was very different for his feelings for Vega, but Lyra could see how protective he was of her daughter. Maybe it was because they’d been in that prison cell together. Over the past couple days she’d watched with interest as he growled at anyone he thought got too close to either female. Lyra could tell it was driving Vega a little crazy, but it was fine with Lyra. She couldn’t protect her daughter 24/7 and while she might have to accept that fact, it was a hell of a lot easier to live with when a powerful shifter had decided to look out for Vega.

“I’m still trying to figure out where the hell he came from and what his lineage is,” Finn muttered. “And he’s not much help.”

Lyra wasn’t surprised about that. She didn’t respond; she couldn’t find her voice as Finn slowly peeled his T-shirt off. The way he did it was almost like a challenge. And if he was challenging her to jump him, she had no problem with that. The moonlight illuminated the cut lines and striations of his impossibly beautiful chest and abdomen. Her mouth watered as she imagined licking and kissing a path down all that expanse of skin.

“I found out something interesting today,” he said as he reached out and tugged on the tie of her robe.

How was he thinking, much less talking right now? She pushed out a long breath as he slid his finger down her chest, opening the folds of the robe. It fell open in the middle, revealing her bare mound, but still covering her breasts. Cool air hit her skin, doing nothing to bank the heat burning between them.

Finn’s eyes went pure wolf as he drank her in, but he didn’t make a move to do anything else. It was driving her crazy. “Turns out Vega’s not the only hybrid born this century.”

His words managed to penetrate her lust fogged mind. “What?”

“There’s a jaguar shifter in Alabama who has—had—a vamp mother. She doesn’t drink blood though and seems to be completely a shifter, but she holds a recessive vamp gene. I’ve asked her Alpha if we could introduce Vega to her. It might help Vega to not feel so different.”

Lyra blinked at his thoughtfulness. Vega could walk in the sun and didn’t have to drink as much blood as Lyra did to survive, but she still needed to imbibe it. And she had both her parents’ abilities. She could turn vamp or shifter at will. It sounded as if she was different from the other hybrid, but Lyra was glad there was someone else out there her daughter could relate to. “Thank you. That’s very thoughtful.”

“Vega wants to start looking at colleges around here,” he murmured as he reached up and pushed at the shoulders of her robe.

She shivered at the feel of his callused fingers gliding over her skin. The material pooled at her feet on the luxurious Persian rug without making a sound.

His gaze zeroed in on her breasts and his breath hitched a notch. The only sign he was affected. Well, not the only one. The visible bulge in his pants had her lower abdomen tightening with need. Why was he insisting on talking right now? She didn’t want words. She wanted his face between her legs. “Okay,” she rasped out.

Meeting her gaze again, he cupped one of her breasts gently and flicked his thumb over her hardening nipple. But he still kept distance between them, as if he didn’t want her touching him just yet. Maybe he wanted to tease her before they got to the good stuff. That, she could handle. Even if her body was primed for him right now.

“I heard that Justus asked you to visit their coven.” There was a strange note in his voice.

She nodded as her gaze fell to Finn’s full lips. Her former coven member wanted to speak to her about joining in the peace treaty that so many shifter packs and vampire covens had signed a year ago. Since she’d been out of touch with the supernatural world she hadn’t even known about it until Justus had told her. But she knew Finn would be more than happy to include Justus’s coven now that he’d proved himself. With Claudius dead, Justus would be taking over.

Finn’s eyes glowed bright blue in the dimness. “You are
not
joining his coven. You. Are. Mine.” His voice turned almost guttural, hungry.

Surprised, she met his heated gaze. “I know.”

“You know what?” he demanded.

Seriously,
why
did he want to talk? As he increased the pressure on her nipple she had to force herself not to press her legs together. “That I’m not joining his coven. He wanted to talk…” She shuddered when he cupped her other breast. “To talk about signing that peace treaty. I told him…” Crap, what had she told him? What were they even talking about?

Closing the distance between them, Lyra slid her hands up Finn’s chest and clutched onto his shoulders. “Quit teasing me. I’ve been dying for a taste of you for
three
days.”

His big hands moved to settle on her hips. He tugged her closer so that his erection pressed insistently between them. “So when are you moving here permanently?”

She stilled at his question. “You haven’t asked me.”

“I told my pack I was claiming you,” he growled.

“Yeah, you told
them
, but you never discussed anything with me. Never talked about the future. It’s been
three days
, Finn. I was worried you just told them that because you wanted Vega in your life. You don’t have to take me as a mate to be a father to her. She clearly already loves you and I would never do anything to come between you two.” Though it hurt Lyra to say the words, she wanted it clear that he had no obligation to be with her.

His jaw tightened as his fingers clenched harder into her hips. He pulled her closer and even as she cursed her weakness where he was concerned, she rubbed her breasts against his chest, needing that connection. The friction sent a spiral of hunger through her. Her fangs ached to be unleashed, to sink into his neck and bond with him. She wanted forever. Had never stopped loving the sexy, dominant, and arrogant male. But she wasn’t ready to say the words yet because she wouldn’t be an obligation to anyone. Her heart couldn’t take it.

He leaned down until his lips brushed her ear. “You will move here, stay under my roof and protection, and we will have the family we both deserve.”

Though she wanted to lean into him and kiss him senseless, she pulled back. As she looked at him she could see a stark fear she’d never witnessed from him before. He might sound arrogant, but it slammed into her that he was nervous. But she still needed to hear the words. “Why should I?”

He cleared his throat, looking suddenly tense. “I love you, Lyra. I never stopped. When I thought I lost you in that cemetery, I wanted to die with you. I want you by my side forever and I refuse to live without you. If you run from me, I’ll follow.”

His words rushed over her, filling her with an intense peace she’d only ever dreamed of. This is what she’d wanted to hear for so long. “Things won’t be easy for us,” she whispered, almost too afraid to accept the truth of his words. A female vampire as an Alpha’s mate was going to cause waves no matter what they did.

“I don’t want easy. I want you. And it has nothing to do with you being Vega’s mother. You’ve always belonged to me. Time and distance didn’t change that. My feelings refused to fucking die. And what I told you before was the truth about not taking other lovers. But…I did try. I thought if I could take someone else I could move on, fill that hole in my chest. I couldn’t though. My wolf refused to let me even touch another female.” Blunt words. True words. She could scent it coming off him in potent waves.

She rarely cried, but tears sprung up at his words. They still had a lot to discuss and she had so much to figure out, like whether she wanted to sell her bookstores or run them from a distance after she moved here. None of that mattered right now though. “I never stopped loving you, Finn. Even when I wanted to hate you, I just couldn’t. Not truly. You stole part of my heart, damn you. And I don’t want it back. I don’t care what we have to face as long as we have each other’s backs. I want to move in with you, create a family together, mate with you, and—”

Her words were lost as he crushed his mouth over hers on a low moan. Giving in to her hunger, she let her fangs descend as their tongues and bodies meshed. Arching into him, she reached between their bodies and tried to unbutton his pants. When she couldn’t get the button free, she just ripped the material apart.

Finn chuckled, the deep sound spreading to all her nerve endings as he reached around her body and grabbed her ass. Hoisting her up, he moved them until they reached his massive bed.

Not quite gently, he tossed her onto it before stripping off his pants and shoes. By the time his cock sprung free she was on her knees, lunging for him. She felt consumed with the need to be filled by him. She forced her fangs back.

Grasping his hard length in her hand, she bent down and took him into her mouth. He sucked in a deep breath and slid his fingers through her hair as he cupped her head. She savored the way he shuddered each time she took him deep in her mouth. She loved that she could always get this reaction from him. That she could literally bring him to his knees.

It was the same for her. Finn completely owned her.

“Lyra,” he groaned, his voice trembling.

She ignored him until he tugged on her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. The love and hunger in his eyes floored her. When she saw his canines peeking out from his lips she realized what he wanted.

To mate. Now.

Releasing her own fangs, she went with her instinct and kissed him. She knew how wolves traditionally mated, with the male taking the female from behind in a submissive gesture while the male pierced her skin with his canines. But that didn’t feel right for them.

As she pressed her chest to his, sliding her fingers together behind his neck, he moved with incredible speed and repositioned them so that she was on her back and he was on top of her. She didn’t have a chance to miss the feel of his body on hers.

With supernatural speed he covered her once again, his hand cupping her mound as their tongues danced together. When he slid two fingers inside her, she arched into him, loving the feel of his thick digits inside her.

But it wasn’t enough. She needed everything. And she didn’t want foreplay. Not with mating on the line. She wanted to be bonded to him, to be linked until one of them died. Her most primal side cried out for it.

Letting her head fall back against the soft sheets, she bared her neck to him. “Mark me, Finn. Make me yours.”

Her words unleashed something inside him. Growling, he’d barely removed his fingers before he thrust inside her in one long stroke. She sucked in a deep breath as she adjusted to his size, her fingers curling around his shoulders. Her inner walls molded around him. He cupped her breasts, strumming her nipples in a way he knew drove her crazy with pleasure.

When he started slowly thrusting, she clutched onto him, pulling him closer to her. Each time he drove into her, she felt it all the way to her core, her inner walls growing slicker. His spicy scent wrapped around her, embracing her, making her lightheaded with primitive need. Feathering kisses over his chest, then shoulders, she stopped when she reached his neck. She raked her teeth over his skin, savoring the salty, earthy taste of him. Hers. He was all hers.

She was going to claim him in the same way he claimed her. Without pause she sunk her teeth into him. He shuddered in pleasure as she bit him, his body jerking against hers with no restraint. The instant his blood coated her tongue, she surged into orgasm. It took her completely off guard, the intense sensation of pleasure shooting to all her nerve endings like a shot of pure adrenaline.

“Lyra!” The way he shouted her name was so primal, she felt it all the way to her core.

As she drew his blood into her mouth, she felt his canines piercing her in the sensitive area right where her shoulder and neck met. There was no pain. Just pleasure as he sank deep in her neck, marking her for the world to see. His big body trembled against her, all those beautiful muscles rippling under the onslaught of pleasure. As quickly as she’d climaxed, he did too. His entire body jerked with the intensity of his orgasm, his thrusts wild and unsteady as he released himself inside her.

Though she hated to pull away from him, she licked the wounds she’d made, watching as they started healing, and let her head fall back. Her body was still humming, a delicious lassitude stealing through her. She cupped the back of his head. “I love you, Finn.” The words didn’t seem like enough to convey just how much.

He nuzzled her neck gently and let out a satisfied rumble. “Good because you’re never getting rid of me.”

She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but eventually he pulled back and rolled off her. Instantly she missed the heavy weight of his body covering hers.

“I’ll be right back,” he murmured before sliding off the bed. As he turned his back to her, she frowned.