Faith Revisited (12 page)

The next drawer contained nothing but a small wooden box free of any adornment. Faith held it in her hand, contemplating whether she had the right to open it. Finally her curiosity got the better of her, and she popped up the lid.

Staring at the contents in surprise, Faith took the box with her and sat on the edge of the bed. Inside was a man's ring, slightly tarnished with age. It was old…really old. After carefully removing it, she studied the design. Its heaviness indicated it was solid gold, and the same bird that resided on Bale's headboard wrapped around the band, a large sapphire in place of the phoenix's eye.

Wondering about Bale's obsession with the phoenix and the significance of the ring, she placed it back inside the box. As she did so, her finger grazed a lump in the lining. Realizing something was hidden beneath, Faith gently raised the black silk, and her heart sank when she uncovered an exact replica, only substantially smaller. A woman's ring.

Suddenly ill at ease, she snapped the box shut and returned it to the wardrobe. Curling up into a tight ball on top of the comforter, she tried to force her mind to forget about the ring's meaning and get some sleep.

“Faith…honey, are you all right?” her twin asked, smoothing her hair back from her forehead.

She opened her eyes with a start, not having heard Hope enter the room. Grasping her sister's hand, Faith intended on asking Hope's opinion, to find out if she knew anything that might help explain, until she spotted one of the males behind her twin.

“I'm fine,” she replied quietly, removing Hope's hand from her face and brushing it aside.

“Look who I found in the hallway.” Hope glanced over her shoulder and smiled at the male. “Kash was able to repair my blade. You should see his shop. I was in heaven.”

“So you bonded over sharp, pointy things?” Faith glanced over Hope at Kash. That at least explained Bale's weaponry. They had someone in-house.

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Kash grinned broadly. “You bet. Your sister has excellent taste in steel. I might just have to marry her.”

Hope snorted in disbelief. “Sorry, bucko. You could be the epitome of super fly, and still I wouldn't marry you. Or anyone else for that matter. Ever.”

Kash arched a brow at her response. “Got something against matrimony?”

Hope's hands settled on her hips. “I refuse to associate with anything that can be described as an institution.”

Kash chuckled softly. “Good point.”

“So who wants to play some cards?” Hope pulled a deck out of her back pocket. She looked at Kash as she began to shuffle them. At his nod, she began to deal. “Five-card stud.

Jokers are wild.”

* * * *

The only highlight to Bale's night so far was making some headway on tracking down Faith's Lilu demon. He was pretty sure he had found the bastard's lair. While no demon had been found in the apartment, Bale felt certain he would return before sunset. And Bale would be waiting.

His good humor fled when he entered his room and found Faith sitting cross-legged on the bed with her sister and Kash. He kept his temper checked, though he couldn't prevent his fingers from clenching tightly. He thought he had been pretty explicit when he'd told Faith to turn to Arak if she needed anything. But apparently he had not been clear enough.

“Stop it,” Faith said with a laugh as she swatted playfully at Hope's arm. “I know you are cheating.” Then she pointed a finger at Kash. “And you are helping her.”

She lifted her gaze and rested it on Bale, and her entire face lit up, a soft smile of greeting taking over her features. Bale's heart skipped a beat. If not for the fact that Kash's presence froze his insides, he would have greeted her properly. Instead a frown marred his face.

“What the hell is going on here?” He crossed the room to the wardrobe, opened the door, and removed the strap holding a dagger on his inner thigh before placing it in a drawer. “I thought you had a job to do,” he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Kash.

“Lost my mark, so I decided to join Hope in a friendly little game of poker,” Kash stated, watching Bale with an amused grin. “And on that note, our welcome has officially worn out.” He grabbed Hope's hand, giving her a gentle tug to her feet. “Come on, doll. I've got work to do anyway. You can help me.”

Bale ignored Hope's response. He returned to removing his weapons, but not before he caught a glimpse of Faith. She was staring down at her hands, her bottom lip wedged between her teeth. Feeling guilty as hell that he had obviously upset her, Bale sighed. However, he didn't turn from the wardrobe until he heard the door close behind Kash. Then he studied Faith for a moment. She looked well, maybe a little tired. Kash's visit with her appeared to have had no negative consequences, and he released a ragged breath. Until he was certain Kash, Raym's best friend, had not been involved in the attacks, he would not feel Faith was safe in his presence.

“How are you feeling?”

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“Okay, I guess,” she replied quietly.

She wouldn't meet his gaze. Concerned, Bale sat beside her on the bed and grasped her chin gently, bringing her face up for his inspection.

“Baby, what's the matter?”

“Nothing,” was her whispered response.

“It is not nothing.” His tone held a warning. Bale couldn't fix what he didn't know was broken.

She sighed, lifting her shoulders marginally. “I'm just tired.”

Bale suspected fatigue was only a part of the problem. He'd done something, of that he was certain. But what, he didn't have a clue. He'd thought for just a brief moment that he had caught a glimpse of heart-wrenching sadness in her eyes. But she'd either covered up the emotion quickly or he had imagined it completely.

“You'll feel better once you feed,” he stated, his thumbs caressing her jawline tenderly, his fingers gliding across the slope of her neck. “I could get so used to coming home to you every night, to finding you waiting for me here.”

“Don't say something you don't mean,” she whispered, her voice laced with desperation.

Her hands rested on top of his, the slight bite of her nails digging into his skin.

“Oh, I mean it. Damned if I don't. And that is killing me, knowing I can't have you.”

Bale slowly brought her lips closer to his, giving her ample opportunity to pull away. A flame of desire sparked in her eyes, and he growled in approval as he captured her mouth in a devastatingly thorough kiss.

Faith did not understand the meaning behind Bale's words. But before she could question him, he was plundering her mouth, his tongue an invading conqueror, dulling her senses to everything but his mastery. She forgot about the rings in his wardrobe and what she feared they represented. She no longer recalled anything but the memory of how he felt when he was deep inside her.

His massive arms enfolded her in a crushing embrace, and her nipples tightened in response. She rubbed the erect tips against his chest and clutched the hard steel of his biceps as Bale captured her whimper with the sweep of his tongue. Faith moaned in protest, her nails digging into his flesh when she felt him start to pull away. She was already burning for his touch.

“Shh. I'm not going anywhere,” Bale murmured, pushing Faith flat on the bed and settling on top of her.

He thrust her shirt up, and his teeth gently tugged a turgid peak before sucking it into the hot cavern of his mouth. A soft cry escaped her lips as she arched toward his, her fingers burrowing into his scalp in a desperate attempt to get closer to him.

“Oh God,” she whimpered as his tongue flicked against her skin before drawing on her nipple. Her body spasmed in delight, light tremors tingling along her spine as she wrapped her legs around his hips, thrusting up to meet the hard line of his cock through their clothing. Her nipples had always been sensitive, but with Bale, it was like they had a direct connection to her clit, and pressing against him only made the ache between her thighs intensify.

Bale chuckled, blowing moist air on the tight pink nipple inches from his lips. Then licking softly over her pebbled flesh, he drew a senseless murmur from Faith as his questing fingers 50

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unzipped and dipped into her jeans. He slowly slid down the expanse of her stomach, her flesh quivering under his touch as he teased a finger beneath the elastic of her panties.

“Bale, please.” Faith grasped his hand, pushing it toward the spot she needed him to touch.

Bale stilled on top of her, raising his head. “What do you want?”

When she tried to force his hand between her thighs, he lifted both of her arms over her head, holding her wrists with one hand while returning the other to caress her belly. Faith shook her head, her lips clamping shut as she elevated her hips in a silent plea.

“Say it.” Bale bathed her nipple, drawing a sob from Faith as she struggled against his hold. “Tell me what you want.”

“Touch me,” she begged, her voice hitching on the words as Bale sucked her nipple back into his mouth.

“Where?”

“Damn you.” Faith hissed harshly. “You know where.”

“I want to hear you say it.” Bale drew on her flesh fiercely, and Faith tensed under him, her thighs gripping his hips tightly as she cried out. He lifted his head in surprise and stared down at her. “Christ, baby, did you just come?”

Bale didn't wait for her response. He plunged his hand into her panties, growling in approval as his fingers encountered her slick folds. Brushing his thumb over her clit first, he teased her opening before thrusting two fingers deep. His lips caressed hers, and his tongue mimicked the glide of his fingers inside her pussy.

Her muscles rippled, and Bale knew she was again close to orgasm. He pressed his thumb to her clit just as his finger curled, rubbing against her G-spot. Faith dragged her lips from his, turning her face into the pillow and crying out as another orgasm exploded through her, leaving her cream dripping onto his hand.

Bale lurched up and struggled to get her pants off before ripping at the laces of his own. He was so hard he hurt, and he had to get inside her before he came in his pants. Once nude, he fell back onto Faith and wrapped her legs around his waist. With his forehead touching hers, he groaned as he slowly sank his cock into her pussy.

“Damn, you feel so good.” Bale fought to keep from hammering deep, forcing himself to maintain a steady, gentle rhythm.

“So do you,” Faith whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Never before…”

He captured her lips in a deep kiss to prevent the words he felt bubbling up inside him from bursting forth. He was home in her arms, buried deep inside her. But he couldn't reveal that to Faith.

As his orgasm approached, he thrust faster, harder. His balls drew up tight, and the tingling at the base of his spine signaled the end was imminent Unwilling to reach that peak alone, he nudged through her folds until he found her clit. He pinched the pulsating button between his fingers, and her pussy clamped down hard on his cock. The milking of her muscles drew a harsh groan from his lips, and Bale thrust deep one last time, tensing as semen erupted from the tip of his cock, bathing her womb with his seed.

He collapsed on top of her, his hips still involuntarily pushed forward as he kissed her softly. For the briefest of moments, Bale wished for the possibility of impregnating Faith. His The Watchers: Faith Revisited

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arms tightened around her as he heaved a heavy sigh. Even if he didn't have a traitor to worry about, that hope would never be allowed fulfillment. He was to never again feel his child move within his mate's womb or hear the laughter of his child at play.

Desperate to chase away those thoughts, he turned his head, then drew her face into his neck. “Baby, feed.” And much to Bale's surprise, with the first pull of her lips to draw his blood, he hardened inside her.

As the delicious taste of mocha slid down her throat, Faith murmured in approval, and she arched to meet his sudden downward thrust. Curling her limbs around Bale, she drew on his blood in unison with the frantic driving of his hips. She knew she shouldn't be feeling the same lust spiking through him, but apparently her body had not received the memo.

When Bale hooked her legs over his elbows, opening her up wide for his deep, driving thrusts, she had to disengage her fangs for fear she would rip the tender flesh at his throat. She clung to him, lost in the frantic race for the orgasm Bale was driving her toward. Burying her face in his neck, she cried out as her body quivered around his plunging cock. Growling in her ear, Bale tightened his arms around her, and Faith felt him erupting deep inside her.

“Jesus,” he mumbled, rolling off her and pulling her into his arms.

As the afterglow slowly began to fade, Faith was left with a sense of unease. While feeding could be a sexual experience for the individual they were feeding from, it was not normally a turn-on for the vampire. She had attributed her desperate need for him to her Transfiguration.

Now she knew better. She could try to convince herself that her orgasm was due to the fact that Bale had still been inside her, but Faith knew it would be a lie. Before her Transfiguration, she'd never been able to have more than one orgasm, and she'd come three times with him. Now the question was, was it Bale? Or was she just an aberration? The only way to tell would be to feed from someone other than Bale. And that thought sent a sense of panic shattering over her.