Dayhunter (30 page)

“The blood was in gratitude for my life,” he whispered, his lips brushing against mine with each word. He moved his head, running his lips along my jaw as he spoke. “The sex is as much for me as it is for you. We’ve both had enough death and violence during the past few days to last a lifetime. And it’s not over, is it?”

His question gave me pause, waking me up from the spell his husky voice was weaving. I met his eyes and found those large copper-brown orbs asking me the same question I had seen in the eyes of Tristan, Sadira, James, Alexandra, and, for even a fleeting moment, Danaus. Were we going to survive? Was I going to protect them? Was there a hope to cling to? And for some reason, they all looked to me to be their savior. A pariah among my own kind. The Coven’s anathema.

Threading the fingers of my left hand through the golden wave of hair that cascaded down to frame his face, I pulled him closer so that my lips brushed against his. “It doesn’t matter. There is only now,” I whispered. Nicolai smiled against my lips as he leaned in to kiss me.

My eyes fell shut and there was only the feeling of his lips and his warmth wrapping around me like a wonderful cocoon, smothering all thoughts of the rest of the world. My tongue easily slid between his parted lips, and the taste of him reminded me of honey and fresh bread, memories of a home I was forced to leave years too early. My fingers left his hair to slide down along his massive shoulders, taking in skin that seemed impossibly soft. I turned my head and trailed kisses along his neck as I ran my hands down his back, lightly scratching him with my nails as I dragged my hands back up to his shoulders.

“Still looking for a bite?” he chuckled, nuzzling my neck before his lips finally settled on my earlobe. A sigh escaped me as the tip of his tongue ran along the edge of the sensitive piece of flesh. Tension that had hummed throughout my body for so many endless nights was beginning to unravel from each one of my muscles.

“Hmmmm…There are far more interesting places for me to snack,” I teased. Planting my heels in the bed and wrapping my arms around his waist, I rolled us over so he was lying on his back and I was straddling his hips.

Surprise lit his eyes, but he quickly recovered. He didn’t seem willing to relinquish control that easily. His hand shot out to snake around the back of my neck, pulling me back down so his mouth could reclaim mine in a long, deep kiss. His tongue slid along one of my fangs until finally pricking it. There was no fighting the moan that swelled up in my throat at the taste of his blood. Stretching out my legs on either side of him, I pressed the length of my body into his as I sucked blood from his tongue until the tiny wound finally healed on its own.

As a shiver ran through me, I broke off the kiss and slid my mouth down along his jaw near his ear. “You’ve done this before,” I purred.

“Been with a vampire?” he asked, running his hands down my back to cup my rear end. As he pressed my body closer to his, he arched his hips, grinding his hardened body into mine. “Oh, yeah. Surprised?”

“No,” I laughed, pushing up with my hands braced each side of his head so I could look down at him. But the laughter died when I thought about it. He had been held to Jabari’s side while at the court. I knew the horrors the Coven’s court were capable of. “While you were here?”

Nicolai cupped my cheeks with both of his hands and tried to pull me back down to him, but every muscle in my body had stiffened and he couldn’t move me. “No,” he said in a firm but gentle voice. “No one’s touched me while I’ve been here. My experience came well before Jabari.”

I sucked in a cleansing breath of air, trying to wipe away the moment of tension. I agreed that we both needed to heal, and sex would at least give us a moment of that. But doing something that mirrored anything he may have been forced to do with another nightwalker would not help him.

Nicolai pulled me back down and we got lost in another series of drugging kisses that only left us needing more, needing to be closer. The scent of his blood just below his warm skin beckoned to me. His blood was wonderful, better than pure human. It was richer and more potent, but my hunger for his blood was steadily being overpowered with the need to know every inch of his long body.

Nicolai had no problem with my intentions, and was already pulling my plain cotton shirt up and over my head as I sat up. Once again straddling his hips, I reached back to unfasten my lacy black bra. He snatched the opportunity and, sitting up, pulled the bra down to free my breasts.

My eyelids fell shut as his tongue slowly circled the left nipple before taking it into his mouth. The fingers of my right hand fumbled with the clasp twice before I finally used both hands to undo the bra. The wonderful moist heat on my left breast and his strong, kneading fingers on my right had successfully scattered my thoughts to the wind. My hands fell to his shoulders, then of their own will slid into his hair, holding his head gently imprisoned as I arched my back, pressing closer to him. Lifting his mouth from my breast, his breath skimmed over the damp flesh, sending a chill dancing over my whole body before he shifted to the other breast, his tongue briefly dipping into the valley between them.

A soft sigh whispered past my parted lips. There was only Nicolai and his gentle hands and seeking mouth. How long had it been since I had last been touched like this? Weeks? Months? For a heartbeat the memory of the last time I’d had a moment like this drifted through my brain, but I quickly pushed it aside. So many mistakes made. So many lies and denials that only ended in death. I needed this now, a break from the ghosts that haunted me, to escape the pain that waited for me. To bask in gentle hands that didn’t want to hit, stab, or tear.

Forcing his head up, I kissed him deeply as I pushed him back to the bed. “I need another snack,” I murmured when I finally lifted my mouth from his. Inching my way lower, I kissed and licked a long trail down his chest to the waistband of his pants. I kissed the hard bulge at his groin as my fingers pulled at the button of his jeans. I kissed him again, but this time my teeth lightly scraped against the thick fabric. I wouldn’t dare bite a man there. Any sane man would faint dead away in a heartbeat, but the tease had been enough to increase Nicolai’s heart rate again.

“Mira,” he said in a husky voice edged with warning.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I whispered, unzipping his pants. “I’ve got another place staked out.”

Slipping my fingers inside the waistband of his pants and boxers, I slowly pulled them down, climbing down the bed as I went. I paused long enough to strip off his shoes and socks before letting my eyes travel back up his body. Nicolai now lay stretched out before me, all golden skin and hard muscle. Little blond hairs curled along his legs, and I ran my hands up his calves as I settled between his thighs. I kissed his right inner thigh, drawing an infinity sign with the tip of my tongue.

“Mira.”
My name escaped him in a breathless whisper, holding an almost pleading tone. He knew what I was looking for; the large vein that ran along his inner thigh, pulsing with life. As my fangs pierced his skin, I wrapped my fingers around his hard length, stroking him as he arched against my hand, keeping him rock hard as I took a quick drink.

Closing the wound after a couple of seconds, I moved higher. I kissed the inside of his hip, running my tongue over the soft tender flesh there. I was drunk on the power I had over him. For once, it wasn’t about physical strength or the power I had gained as a nightwalker. It was solely about being female and Nicolai wanting me as a female the same way I wanted every inch of him, because he was a very handsome male.

He allowed me to run my tongue along his engorged penis before entwining his fingers in my hair and hauling me back up to his mouth. Clamping his mouth on mine, he rolled me onto my back so he could more easily kiss me while pulling off my pants. I had no clear memory of it, just his tongue thrusting into my mouth as he fumbled with the button. In the next second, I simply wasn’t wearing pants any longer. There was only his hot soft skin rubbing against mine, his hard body nudging against the entrance to mine.

“Mira?”

I blinked and forced myself to look into his eyes, which were now more copper than brown. His voice was thick and husky, but I didn’t miss the question there. He was holding himself perfectly still, waiting for me. I wasn’t sure if he was giving me one last chance to back out or if he needed to know if I was ready. It didn’t matter. I was well beyond such thoughts.

“Please. Now,” were the only words I could manage, and they escaped me as a shaken, desperate plea. It was enough.

Nicolai thrust into me, tearing a cry from my throat. He was larger than I expected, and my body hadn’t been as ready as I thought, drowning me in equal parts pleasure and pain. It didn’t matter. By his next thrust I was arching my hips to meet him, taking every inch of him I could get. We were beyond soft touches and gentle caresses. Now it was rough and fast, with strong, hard hands pushing and pulling us closer to that oblivion of pleasure that lay beyond the horizon.

My mind was overloaded with sensations. His heartbeat was pounding in my brain, mixing with the sound of his heavy breathing and a so-soft grunt as he thrust into me. I breathed him in, drawing his unique scent along with the smell of his sweat and sex into my lungs to hold him there as well. I leaned up and ran my tongue along his neck and up to his ear, needing the taste of him imprinted on me.

Nicolai reached down and cupped my bottom with both of his large hands, changing the angle slightly, grinding his body deep into mine. Pleasure finally edged ahead of pain in their battle for my body. One last scream was torn from my lips as my body imploded with the force of the orgasm that tightened every muscle. For a moment there was only blinding starlight and an intense pleasure that filled all of my pores.
Dear God, never let this end…

It was minutes later when my brain started to function enough that I realized Nicolai was lying on top of me, his body still shivering inside me with the aftershocks of his orgasm. A silly grin lifted my lips as I briefly wondered if it was possible to destroy brain cells with a really good orgasm. Probably not, but I certainly didn’t feel all that intelligent as my brain struggled to pull together a string of coherent thoughts.

Slowly, he began to stir, burrowing his face in my neck. He nipped at my earlobe, earning a chuckle from me before he finally lifted his head. His large eyes had returned to their normal shade of brown, with only a faint hint of copper. Staring at the shadows clinging to his smiling face, I realized neither one of us had bothered to flip on a light. Of course, we both had the night vision of cats, so why bother?

“Feeling better?” he inquired, a cute smugness filling his tone.

“Much.” I smiled, pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” he replied, kissing me back. “We make a good pair.”

“You mean when you’re not trying to kill me,” I teased.

The easygoing smile slipped from his full lips. “I didn’t have a choice,” he firmly said before rolling off me. Then he lay on his back in silence, roughly running his hands over his face a couple times, as if it could help clear his thoughts. He finally dropped his hands back to his sides, staring up at the ceiling. “Besides, I’m apparently not the first murderous stalker you’ve tamed.”

“Don’t misunderstand my truce with Danaus,” I said, turning onto my side. Leaning on one elbow, I brushed a lock of hair behind my ear. “If he gets the chance, he means to kill me when this is all over. That hasn’t changed.”

“Despite the fact that you’ve protected him?”

“It’s a special relationship we have.” I flashed him a wide smile, letting my fangs poke out from beneath my upper lips before I rolled off the bed.

“Like this?”

I couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up as I snatched the black silk robe that lay draped over one of the chairs in the bedroom. “No, we’ve just called a truce until we can find an appropriate time to kill each other.” I pulled the robe on as I strolled over to the window and jerked open the heavy curtains. The window faced San Marco Piazza and the Grand Canal. The large
campo
was aglow with lights, while stars winked in and out overhead. The waves in the Lagoon had grown during the past several minutes and were beginning to whitecap as a storm blew in.

“Speaking of special relationships,” I slowly began, not bothering to look over at my companion. “What hold does Jabari have over you?” I waited for his answer, but there was only silence. With a frown, I turned away from the window and walked to the end of the bed with my arms folded over my chest. Nicolai lay as still as death, his golden body gilded with starlight that leaked through the window.

“Before the Coven, I took you into my keeping. I claimed you from an Elder,” I said, stressing each word. “I have promised to protect you from any and all who would harm you, including the Coven. I don’t know if lycans have an equivalent of such a vow, but it is not something to be taken lightly among nightwalkers. When Jabari comes to claim your head and I sacrifice myself to stop him, I would like to know exactly why he is ripping my heart out.”

When Nicolai finally spoke, his voice was low and void of emotion, but his words nearly brought me to my knees. “Members of my pack were aiding the naturi.”

“No,” I gasped, my voice going hoarse. My mind stumbled forward, struggling to understand the concept. Why would anyone assist the naturi? They were horrid creatures whose only goal was to destroy anything that was not of their kind. “
Willingly?
Were they willingly helping the naturi?” I asked, grasping at my last few desperate straws to understand what he was saying. Maybe they had been forced, mind-control wiping away all choice.

“Yes.”

I was moving without a thought. One second I was standing at the foot of the bed, and the next I was kneeling beside him, my hands reaching for his throat, my fangs bared. Nicolai caught my wrists at the last second and was struggling to hold me back. “Were you? Were you helping the naturi?” I snarled.