Eternal Breath of Darkness (19 page)

Arching her body, breathing
heavily, she tangled her fingers in his thick hair, holding him to her,
pressing her breast against his mouth.

Sucking her nipples, taking
them between his teeth, he pushed slowly forward, burying his erection deep
inside her body. She closed her eyes and moaned huskily, head thrown back,
savoring the sensation of him stretching her.

Hesitating, he looked down
at her for a moment to make sure she was okay. It was easy to enter her mind.
Every block was removed, leaving her thoughts completely open to him. For the
first time, her violent past was a forgotten memory. Her only thoughts were on
the physical, spiritual pleasures of their joining. She was focused on the
glorious sensations racing through her body, igniting wild, unstoppable flames,
driving her insane, devouring her natural defenses.

“Look at me.” He kissed her
lips, softly. “Open your eyes, little love.” He wanted to see her hunger for
him, but holding his breath, he hoped to see her love for him.

She opened her eyes and
smiled. Her eyes were so wide, gazing up at him, her love for him obvious. She was
so damn beautiful beneath him, too beautiful, her pale flesh flushed and long,
dark brown hair cascading over the pillows. Moving slowly, maintaining a
steady, erotic rhythm, creating delicious friction, he made love to her gently.
He had hoped for this moment for so long, never fully able to imagine it. How
could he? He’d never loved a woman. He’d never cherished a woman. And he’d
certainly never needed a woman to make him whole. She was a priceless miracle,
an entirely undeserved miracle, one he would never relinquish.

The sensations of pleasure
grew in each of them as they stared into each other’s eyes. He instantly knew
she was far better than just okay. Every trace of her fear was gone. She was in
the same state of complete enchantment he was experiencing. The sensual and
spiritual pleasure was shockingly more than he’d ever dreamed it would be. The
combination of the heat of her body and taste of her flesh was completely
overwhelming to all of his senses, unleashing his dark nature. No longer in control,
he began to thrust deeper. Harder. Faster. His pace was as ferocious as his
need for her. There was no past to contend with and no future problems to
solve. Only the present mattered. Feeding the hunger and fanning the flames of
their desire was all that mattered.

In the past, she’d often
imagined the way he would feel and the hungry, passionate look in his eye, but
she was far from being prepared for the pleasurable sensations that were
riveting throughout her entire body. Gasping, struggling to catch her breath,
she called out his name, her voice desperate and hungry. Her body gripped his
cock, mercilessly squeezing it, as he entered her again and again, thrusting
deeper and harder, creating the most delicious friction as it stretched her.
Arching her body, meeting his every move, her body was on fire. He whispered
her name in her ear, along with many indiscernible endearments, his voice a
raspy, barely audible whisper.

The pleasure was too much;
it was too great, bordering on pain. He felt his control slipping away. He
struggled to catch his breath, his pleasure growing with every thrust of his
hips. Her fingernails were digging into his back, scraping his hips. He slowed
the pace, wanting to draw it out. He finally had everything. He was finally alive.
They were finally one. He would never allow anything to come between them. He
kissed her deeply, putting every ounce of his love for her in to it. For
several moments time stood completely still.

Feeding on his love, she
returned the kiss, and all of her love for him, so pure and abundant, poured
into it. Her thighs quivered against his sides as she met his powerful thrusts
with her own.

Suddenly, she went
completely still, shocked by the fire burning in her core. He kept moving,
creating hot friction, building the fire, pushing her further, taking her far
past pleasure.
Don’t leave me, little love.
Rejoining him, she
frantically met his thrusts with her own, holding onto him, her nails biting
into his shoulders, terrified she was going to shatter into thousands of tiny
pieces. The explosive climax he brought her to was alarming, but so wonderful.

He felt his body quickly
losing all control, his erection swelling, growing impossibly hard. He couldn’t
succumb to the pleasure before her, but the more he fought the more he was
desperate to succumb to it. Just in the nick of time, he heard her cry of
ecstasy muted against his chest. Her body tightened and released in powerful
spasms around his cock, pushing him far past the point of control.

He released a roar, his body
shuddering, every muscle tightening to the point of pain that turned to
intolerable pleasure, as his orgasm violently ripped through his entire body.
In a very strange state of shock, his focus remained fixed on the sensation of
his cock pulsating, jetting his seed into her body. He’d never seriously
entertained the thought of having children, but he wanted his child inside her
body. He tried to stop the thought, knowing his kind had control over whether
or not they reproduced, but it was too late. He knew a child had been conceived
by their lovemaking. His arms buckled, and he fell full weight, in a helpless
state of awe, on top of her.

She wrapped her arms around
him, trying to hold him even nearer, her legs trembling against his body. His
flesh was damp and feverish, droplets of sweat covering him. After several
moments, he lifted his upper body and looked down at her. Perhaps he should
warn her. Better yet, he was still hard and swollen; there was no reason to
deny either of their bodies any pleasure. He decided it would be better to
wait. There was no reason to tell her now. It might dampen her mood.

Smiling, she reached up and
caressed his face. “Why do you look so guilty?”

Lowering his head, he kissed
her. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes and trickled down the sides of her
face. “Are you okay?”

“I never imagined it would
be so wonderful.” Blushing, she giggled. “And I’ve imagined it many times.”

“Me too.” He leaned down and
kissed her as the intensity of his desire grew once again. “I love you,
Caylee.” He would never get enough of her. He wanted and needed to make love to
her again and again.

She kissed him deeply. “I
love you with all of my heart and soul, Haden.”

Rolling off her and onto his
back, he sat up with his back against the headboard. “Come here.” He reached
for her and encouraged her to sit over his lap. Tilting his head back, he
looked up at her.

Feeling shy, she crossed her
arms over her breasts. “Forget it.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her arms
to her sides. “I want to see you.” He framed her face with his hands and drew
her nearer. “You’re absolutely beautiful.”

Looking into her eyes, anger
filled him. He would seek justice for her. He needed to kill the men that had
hurt her.

“You look mad.” She leaned
back. “What’s wrong?”

Laughing softly, he pulled
her closer. “Everything is finally right.”

They kissed. It was a deep,
sensuous kiss that went on and on. She wasn’t sure when it ended, but she
became aware of it as he kissed the warm, soft flesh of her breasts and drew her
nipples in his mouth. Her body tingled in response to his mouth and tongue on
her sensitive flesh. Reaching around her hips, he lifted her and then lowered
her until the heat and tightness of her soft sheath enveloped his cock. They
made love for hours, worshipping each other, until they collapsed in each
other’s arms.

~
Twelve ~

CAYLEE STARTED TO fall asleep, but then she panicked. It was too
late to leave Haden. Opening her eyes, she turned and looked over her shoulder.
He would never allow her to leave. Not now. Not after they’d made love. Oh God.
He was going to discover her secret.

Haden knew why she was
panicking. He slowly allowed his hands to slide down her arms.

Savoring the flicker of hot
desire racing through her body, her breaths came in short gasps. What was wrong
with her? Her life was about to be ruined, and her flesh was tingling and her
sensitive breasts ached, craving his attention.

He turned her around. He
looked so sexy, wickedly hot, his sensuous lips curved in a naughty smile. One
thing was for sure: he was pure sin, she was addicted, and no patch would ever
get her through the withdrawals. “You have nothing to fear.” He gently pulled
her against his body. “I’ve allowed you to keep a secret from me for a very
long time now, but I’ve decided it’s time for you to tell me about it.”

She bit her lower lip,
chewing on it. “When you discover the truth you’ll never look into my eyes as
you do at this moment. Your love for me will be replaced with disgust.” She
looked down to hide the shame in her eyes. “You will never forgive me.”

He lifted her face, but she
directed her gaze away. “Look at me, Caylee.” Whimpering, she met his gaze with
tears streaming down her face. “My love for you could never turn into disgust.
Trust me.” He kissed her. “Tell me your secret.”

Taking her life was the only
plausible way to end the agony. It was too painful and exhausting, always
knowing that each second they spent together was a second closer to the moment
she would lose his love.

He held her against his
body. “Don’t even think about it.”

She needed to get out the
bed. She tried to get free, but it was no use. His arms were like steel
bindings, holding her captive. Desperate, she whimpered. “You’re hurting me.”

“I’m not hurting you.”

She buried her face against
his chest. “You’ve no idea what I’ve done.”

“Look at me.” He wanted to
tell her he knew everything, but he knew it would devastate her. She needed to
trust him. She needed to tell him. She needed to have absolute, blind faith in
his love for her. There could be no doubt in her mind when it was time to give
her immortality.

She met his gaze. “Please.”
Gasping for a breath, she sobbed desperately, her eyes pleading with him to
stop. “Don’t try to see it.” Tears streamed down her face. Heartbroken, he reached
up and gently wiped her tears. “Please,” she gasped, her throat closing. “I
can’t tell you.”

“Breathe.” He wrapped hands
around her throat. “Nothing will ever come close to destroying my love for
you.”

“Please,” she pleaded,
“don’t make me tell you.” She knew in her heart he would never let her go until
she told him. Taking a deep breath and holding it, she looked up at him for a
few seconds. Ashamed, she turned her head to look away from him.

He waited for a few moments,
and then he turned her face toward his. “You can tell me.”

“I lived in Portland with my
father. He was a very cruel man, worse than my uncle. I tried to run away. I
never made it very far out of the city.” After a few moments of silence she
looked up at him and shook her head. “Please.” She paused for several seconds.
“Don’t make me tell you.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“It was late,” she said, her
voice weak, “but I kept going through the night. I wanted to get as far away
from the city as possible. My father would come after me in the morning. My car
broke down. I was in the middle of nowhere. My first thought was to go back to
the city. But I couldn’t. My father would’ve kept such a close eye on me.”

Pausing for a moment, she
took several deep breaths. “I kept walking until the sun came up, and then I
left the road. I didn’t want my father to find me. I walked several hundred
yards into the forest, and then sat down and leaned against a tree and waited
for nighttime. I fell asleep. I heard their voices. When I opened my eyes they
were standing over me.” She buried her face against his chest and wept heavily.

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe he
should’ve never hidden from her that he’d known all along what had happened.
Taking a deep breath, he tightened his embrace around her and caressed her
back.

“You’ll despise me once you
learn the truth.”

“No.” He leaned back and
held her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him. “I’ll love you
forever.”

She whimpered, her body
trembling, as she took several rapid breaths. “You don’t understand. Please
don’t make me do this. I can’t live through it again.” She paused for moment.
“Not with you.” She shook her head. “I would rather die than watch your love
for me vanish.”

“It will never happen. I
will always love you. You need to tell me.” His voice was calm and soothing. He
felt her body tense, as she struggled with the past. He waited, holding her
against his chest.

The tension in her body
eased up as she listened to his steady, strong heartbeat. She closed her eyes
and thought of the love they’d shared in his bed. He was right. She needed to
tell him. She owed him the truth.

“I knew they intended to
harm me.” She paused for a few moments, gathering enough courage to continue.
“I tried to run away, but they chased after me. Someone hit the back of my
head. I lost consciousness. I woke up chained to a stone altar. My head hurt. I
couldn’t see straight. I kept going in and out of consciousness. Eventually, I
remained conscious and I was more aware of my surroundings. I tried to get free
of the chains, but it was impossible. The chains were so tight. They dug into
my flesh.”

She was thankful for the way
he was caressing her back, quietly allowing her to take as much time as she
needed. “They raped and beat me so badly they thought I would die. Before I lost
consciousness, I heard them discuss what they should do with me. They planned
to bury me. But when I woke up I felt the warmth of the sun, of your touch. You
were holding me, healing me, whispering to me, willing me to live.” She was
silent for several moments. “At first I was so very angry with you. I wanted to
die.” Biting her lower lip, she frowned. “I knew you wouldn’t allow it.”

He’d made sure she’d never
learned she had been buried in a shallow grave when he found her. He gently
lifted her face to his.

She closed her eyes to avoid
the anger and disgust she was certain to find if she met his gaze. Bending his
head, he kissed her lips tenderly. “Look at me, little love.”

She opened her eyes. Tears
were streaming down his face. Shaking her head, she reached up and placed her
hand on the side of his face. “I’m so sorry, Haden. Now you know why I never
wanted to tell you.” She sat up. “I’ll go home.”

He captured her arm. “You’re
not going back there.”

She looked up at him and saw
no sign of anger or disgust in his eyes. Instead, she saw love, sadness, and
pain.

He leaned toward her and
gently kissed her lips. “I’m deeply, completely and forever helplessly in love
with you.” He gazed into her eyes for a few seconds. “I’m afraid you’ll be
stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

“How can you still love me?
You’ve made love to a woman that has … oh, Haden.”

It was time. She needed to
face the truth. “Deep down, you know I’ve always known what happened. I found
you. I healed you. I let you pretend I didn’t know. I knew you weren’t ready
for me to know. I knew we belonged together.” He paused. “Caylee, I made love
today to the only woman I’ll ever love.”

“You knew?” She shook her
head. It couldn’t be true. She got up from the bed and paced back and forth.
“You’re lying.” She sat down on the floor. Leaning her back against the wall,
she rested her forehead on her knees. “How could you want to be with me?”

He knelt down in front of
her. “None of it was your fault.”

“I should’ve known better. I
never should’ve tried to do it.”

“You were trying to escape
abuse.” He pulled her up with him as he stood, and then he gently wiped her
tears.

Perplexed, she looked up at
him. Was it pity? The thought frightened her. His attitude was completely
opposite to what she expected. “Why are you doing this?”

“What do you mean?” Reaching
behind her and pressing her body against his, he leaned down and kissed her
deeply and passionately.

Pulling away from him, she
stared at him for a moment and shook her head. “What are you doing? I was raped
over and over again by group of men. How can you act as if the thought of being
with me doesn’t make you sick? Tell me you resent ever knowing me, but don’t
you dare do this. I don’t need you to feel sorry for me. Don’t pretend it
doesn’t matter.”

“I love you, Caylee. You’re
everything to me. I can’t image a woman more beautiful than you. I can’t even
begin to imagine a life without you.” He took possession of her mouth roughly,
passionately pouring every ounce of love into the kiss. “I can assure you my
love and desire for you has nothing to do with pity.”

Waving his hand, he caused
flames to ignite in the fireplace. “I need you more and more with each breath I
take.” Kissing her deeply, he wedged his body between her thighs. “I could
spend the rest of eternity making love to you and still need and want more of
you.”

A fire spread from her
breasts to her most feminine place between her legs where his cock was pressed
so snugly. She arched her hips in invitation, her body weeping for his to wash
away the pain and loneliness she’d endured for her entire life. She needed him
to take her farther away from her past. Only he could heal every wound that her
mind and body had sustained since her conception. Her flesh tingled. Her
breasts, overly sensitive, ached for his touch.

His lips brushed her breast,
his tongue swirled over her nipple, sending fire blazing through her body.
Flesh to flesh, he was so hot and hard, pressed against her opening. She
wiggled restlessly beneath him, arching her body toward his, needing him to
fill her. Starting from the center of her throat, he rubbed his calloused
fingertips down the center of her chest, down her tiny flat belly, and lower to
the soft mound between her legs. Savoring the satiny texture of her warm flesh,
he parted her feminine folds, and then he pushed the head of his cock inside
her.

Cupping her breast, he
swirled his thumb over her nipple. He took her mouth, his passionate kiss
driving her insane. She wanted more. Needed more. Her nails dug into his
shoulders, her body trembling with the fiery sensations racing through it. She
tried to arch her hips to get more of him inside her, but he captured her hips
and pinned her down. “I love you, Caylee. I will love until the end of time. Do
you believe it now?”

She reached up to his face.
“I know it now. I know you love me. I know you’ll always love me, no matter
what.”

He bent his head and kissed
her. “And?”

“I will love you forever,
Haden.”

“Good.” His fingers digging
into her hips, he pulled her closer. “Now, wrap your legs around my body.”

The moment she locked her
ankles around his body, he slammed deep and hard. She cried out, her body
tightly, mercilessly clamping down on him. He thrust harder and faster,
stretching her tight muscles, filling her, creating the most sensational flames
of pleasure. She moved with him, lightning ripping through her body, as she
took pleasure from his fierce lovemaking. She loved that he was wild and out of
control. He continued to pound into her over and over again, thrusting wildly.

Finally, after hours of
lovemaking, they collapsed in each other’s arms and slept in front of the fire.
It was the end of life as she knew it and the beginning of a new, eternal life.
Together until the end of time they would share a love too few would ever know.
Very soon, she would be ready and he would take her last mortal breath and
replace it with his immortal breath.