Know Thine Enemy (31 page)

Yet she didn't want to confess it now. Now she wanted to taste. Therefore, Izzie ignored him, instead sucking him hard and holding him at the back of her throat. And then she swallowed. She swallowed again and again, caressing him with muscles she'd never known could hold such power over men. She watched him dissolve from one extreme to the next, her fingers settling over her clit and rubbing fast as he came apart.

Then finally she felt him explode. Felt the ropy strands of his release spill down her throat as his body broke in trembles. The roar of her name split the air like thunder, and before she could even decide whether or not she liked his taste, Ryker had jerked her to her feet and was staring her down with that gorgeous, endless gaze of his. And then they were caught in unfamiliar waters
—Izzie panting heavily, trapped in his grip but without want of escape, Ryker's chest heaving as his eyes searched hers for an unnamed
something
.

"
Izzie," he whispered, staring hard at her. But not as hard as the force of his lips as they came crashing down on hers. Not as hard as the way his tongue fought its way into her mouth, thrashing her tongue with his.

He gave a deep, sensual purr
that made her bones vibrate and sent a fresh wave of lust crashing over her veins. She was still pooling with need, her body melting into him like a heated candle. His mouth ripped at hers with ferocity which should have frightened her, but it did little more than fan the flames roaring closer to explosion.

He tasted of sin, and she inhaled him. She had no desire to return to the ways of virtue
—not when the wicked felt this good. Not with the soothing rumble of his purrs against her chest. Not with his erect cock rubbing her belly. Not with the way he almost subconsciously whispered against her mouth, telling her things that tore down all past insecurities and built her up in a rush of womanly pride.

S
he'd never been kissed the way he kissed her. Shit, she'd barely been kissed at all, but those few times had never been like this. Like she was an elixir of all things pure and desirable. Like she was anything beyond a girl. Ryker might be growling into her, his teeth might be nipping at her, but the strokes of his lips were damn near reverent. He consumed her, devoured her, crawled inside her and made himself at home. He sucked her tongue and imprinted himself on the building blocks that made her who she was.

"
Can you?" he asked between kisses. "Can you again?"

Her tone didn
't match her bravado, but Izzie sensed with him, she could do anything. "Can you?"

"
Vampire, sweets. I can go all day."

"
So can I," she shot back.

He grinned and kissed the corner of her mouth.
"No you can't. You're hurting now, aren't you?"

"
Just a little."

"
Then I—"

"
But I want it." Izzie lowered her face to his shoulder and softly sank her teeth into his skin. And she knew she had him. With vampires, biting was an invitation for sex, though she couldn't recall when she'd learned that at the moment, or if she was just making it up.

Either way, it seemed to work. Ryker trembled hard and his voice lowered an octave.
"Wrap your legs around me."

Izzie obeyed blindly and gasped into his mouth. The head of his cock slipped between her pussy lips and proceeded to torture her into an early grave, dancing up and down her slit. He swirled his hips once, twice, taking himself into his hand and directing his
silky tip to her clitoris.

"
I'm gonna fuck you," he told her. "You asked for it."

"
I did."

"
Even if it hurts?"

"
I don't care. I just want you."

He pressed his brow to hers.
"I want you, too. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. I want you to come until you can't come anymore. Until you can't say anything for screaming my name. Until you don't remember what it's like to not have me inside you."

Izzie gasped, leaning in before she could help herself to steal a tender kiss from his lips. The look on his face sent her to the stars.
"I think I'm okay with that."

"
That's not all," Ryker said. "I want more from you than you can give."

"
Don't know until you ask."

"
Even if it's forever? Even if it's you and me . . . forever?"

The reality of his question weighed upon her without warning. The line between death and eternity, human and nonhuman, choice and design. For the first time she had a choice
—a voice in her fate, in her future.

"
You might not want me forever," she reasoned.

"
I do."

"
How do you know?"

"
I love you. Told you plenty."

"
But what if you don't always love me?"

Ryker shook his head.
"Doesn't work that way."

"
It works that way
every day.
I've seen it."

"
It doesn't work that way with me."

She frowned.
"How do you know?"

"
I just do. And I want you forever." He stared unblinkingly into her eyes. "If I asked for forever, would you give it?"

"
I don't know," she replied honestly. And she didn't. She hadn't the slightest idea—she couldn't think now, on virtually no sleep and a body aching from and desperate for sex. The words she spoke came fast and unfiltered, but she believed them wholly, even before she knew what they'd say. "But I want to say yes."

Whatever else, Ryker had
clearly not expected that. "Izzie."

His voice was a whisper as he surrendered, his cock pushing within her pussy, the cool column of steely flesh rubbing her soaked insides. He buried himself deeper, deeper, spreading her so wide she thought she would rip down the middle
—and were it not for the pleasure numbing her mind and attacking every vital nerve in her body, she was sure she would be in pain.

"
God, yes."

She clutched the back of his head as her own fell helplessly against the wall.

"I've never felt anything so hot," Ryker murmured, his lips fluttering across her shoulder. "Not until you."

Izzie liked to think she would have said something moderately coherent, but the next second, he was moving inside her. Pulling her apart and piecing her together again with the slow, tortuous thrusts of his hips. Her jaw fell slack and a long, wordless sound fell through her lips. It didn
't help when his mouth began showering kisses along her collarbone, nor did it help when his teeth scraped hotly against her flesh. Nothing helped—her senses were consumed entirely in him.

In this.

"Fight me," Ryker said, a hand dropping to her ass to angle her into his thrusts. "Every time I sink inside, you push up, yeah?"

"
Against the wall," she said breathlessly, "is different for me."

"
I know."

"
And if I fall—"

"
I'll catch you," Ryker growled, drawing out of her body slowly before sinking in again, a pleasured sigh tearing through his throat.

"
What if you fall, too?"

"
We fall together."

Izzie sucked in a breath, her hips pushing forward to recapture his cock as he pulled back again.
"I want more."

"
Don't wanna hurt you."

"
I don't care."

"
I do," Ryker replied. He surged within her, and sucked her lip between his teeth as he pulled away again, his grip on her hips commanding her forward so that her pussy dragged with him. The wet suctioning of her flesh fighting to keep him locked inside her struck a primal nerve deep within her body. It was so bare—so open. He had her nailed to the wall with his erection, and he was determined to drill her so good she forgot how to walk.

"
Tell me again," Izzie said softly. "Please."

"
I love you."

She could have melted, then. Withered away happy. The power the words had over her should have terrified her, but it didn
't. At least not enough to cut herself off. "Ohh. Yes."

"
Fuck, the sounds you make." Ryker shuddered and grunted, his pace beginning to harden.

And though it hurt a bit, her body demanded more. Needed more. She wouldn
't object. She just wanted to keep him moving. Wanted to keep the slick feel of him gliding in and out of her body. Her skin was hot and clammy, her nerves buzzing so hard she was astonished when they didn't blink out on overload. All she knew was she had to keep him. Had to fight. Her hips surged upward every time he dared try to escape her. Every time he fell back.

The shower water had long ago lost its heat, but even the liquefied shards of ice couldn
't help to quell the steady grow of the fire in her belly. There was nothing but Ryker—nothing but the naked feel of him plunging into a part of her that had too long felt open and bare. Vacant. Her pussy clenched him hard every time he sank home, her hips battling his incessant need to pull away from her.

"
So good." He growled, and dipped his head to tease her nipple. "Nothing's ever felt so good."

"
You're—lying."

Ryker
's brow furrowed. "Does it
feel
like I'm lying?"

"
Ryker, please—"

"
Please. What?"

"
I need. I need—"

"
You need to come?"

The illicit smacks of his flesh hitting hers were making reality blink out again. Her vaginal walls clenched and her skin about melted off.

"You need it?"

"
Yes. Yes." The words were out before her mind could catch up. "Yes, God, Ryker."

"
Tell me."

"
I need you. Ryker, please."

Something behind his gaze changed, baring him open to her, and she drank everything in. Ryker murmured and moved hard, again, again, his thrusts anxious, feverish, pushing into her with desperation. And with every plunge inside, she squeezed, the slippery slide of his flesh driving her into a new form of insanity, her pussy tightening and grasping him so hard the moans he gave her were almost riddled with pain.

His fingers kept busy at her clit, rubbing her fast but softly. His hungry eyes devoured her, swallowing every pleasured gasp, every euphoric sigh. He was so beautiful, and hers. He had become hers at some point. Perhaps they had been designed this way.

And she wanted to keep him forever.

Izzie made a decision then—a fast one. One she didn't question and knew he couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to.

"
Bite me." The words rode out on a gasp. "Bite me now."

Any sign of resistance was fleeting. Then there was a flash of fang and a sting at her throat, and ecstasy so raw exploded that the blackness behind the fireworks consumed her, and the world fell away.

* * * * *

Ryker performed a cursory sweep of the cabin, checking for the last time for anything they had left out of place. It wasn
't as though the owners wouldn't realize someone had broken in—the front lock was now useless, a good amount of the canned goods were gone, and Izzie had packed about every article of clothing she found in the bedroom. She'd also helped herself to the stock of toiletries in the bathroom, and he didn't ask why. The life she'd led up until a few days ago hadn't allowed much room for luxuries, and the only possessions she was allowed were what she could carry.

"
That's it," Ryker said, approaching the front door. "All clear."

Izzie crossed her arms anxiously. She hadn
't slept much, as the second dose of his bite had fueled her with nervous energy. He'd held her to his chest while the worst of it passed to keep her from accidentally breaking a dresser or taking a door off its hinge. The second stage for transitioning vampires was the worst in most cases, and typically led to a junkie-like need for another taste of death before a day had passed. If he'd been thinking clearly, he wouldn't have bitten her at all. Not without explaining again that she was on the path to becoming a vampire, and that where the first stage had brought about energy and strength, her body chemistry was too exhausted by the second bite to predict how she'd handle it.

The worst seemed over now. Izzie looked tired but at least her eyes were back to normal.

It'd be easy. It'd be so easy to take her in his arms and finish it. The third bite would render her unconscious, and he'd be with her all the way. Driving them somewhere nice and cozy, and when she awoke, he'd help her adjust to her new life. To start planning an endless future with the woman he loved.