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They were the true demons killing the Immortal race.

And because of the lessons she had learned about the Immortals, Richelle knew Valya was not trying to control her or hide her away from the world. Rather he was trying to save her from it in spite of herself. As much as she wanted to experience the world she had been denied, that was how much Valya was trying to protect her from it. She pulled her head back.

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“Valya, please,” she pleaded again. She looked into his eyes, glazed over with desire, with lust and something else—a longing hunger she had never seen in him before. There was no trace of the Valya she had come to trust and love in those black eyes, smoldering as they gazed down at her.

This was a Valya she didn’t know, and he was beginning to frighten her.

His nostrils flared, smelling the heady combination of fear, pheromones, and womanly arousal emanating from her. He drew his lips back and revealed his fangs, bared and ready to take advantage of that combination.

He wanted to hold back and not reveal his baser instincts. His Guardian training fought for control against the beast within battling for his freedom to claim what he desired. And the Guardian was losing.

She shivered in alarm and anticipation. She knew she had nothing to fear from Valya, but at this moment, this was not
her
Valya. She tried to pull her wrists away and was met with not only resistance, but also an escalating fortitude as he crowded her space, yanked her wrists, and dragged her into his arms. His head descended and took her mouth again, his tongue thrusting callously, demanding entrance.

As she parted her lips to accept and placate him, he swept in, his fangs brushing against her lips, nicking them and drawing blood. As she tasted the slight metallic taste of her own blood she whimpered, defenseless against the violent storm within Valya. She tried to press herself against him, mold herself to his body, and try to calm his inadvertent raging.

But the savage beast would not be calmed, did not want to be calmed.

The beast wanted to claim his mate, to mark her with his scent, to fuck her into submission, to obey his will. He crushed her to his body, renewing his hold on her so that she could barely move as he continued to devour her lips.

He tasted her blood from where he had nicked her. Blood, which should taste of metal and salt. But to him, it tasted of sinful desire, warm and delicious.

Valya growled as the minute taste lingered on his tongue, doing little to abate his ravenous appetite, threatening him with madness if he did not abide by the need, the craving to feed. At that moment, the beast attacked, demanding to be fully sated by her life’s essence, to fulfill the endless hunger that had gnawed at him over the centuries. Waiting. For her. The man tried to pull the beast back, but it was too late.

The beast was free and demanded blood.

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He pulled back, heaving as he tried to catch his breath. But all he succeeded in doing was inhaling more of her intoxicating scent, reminding him of the night air of the mountains in its freshness, its clean purity. It did nothing to still the fire that burned through his veins.

“Tell me you will obey me in this, Richelle. Tell me you will not leave this place until I have destroyed the Evil One,” he snarled.

Richelle tried to focus, but with her eyes glassy, glazed over with expectation and apprehension, she found it difficult.

Clearing her head so she could think was difficult.

Hell, breathing was difficult.

He had pulled his face away a scant few inches as he spoke, but he still held her body captive in his arms, her breasts cushioned against his steely frame, not allowing her any freedom to pull away. He held fast, as all Immortals did with their life mates.

He pulled her tighter into his embrace, closer, as if trying to absorb her into his body, taking all of her in, body and soul, where no one would be able to touch her and she would be safe.

“Tell me, Richelle! Tell me you will obey me in this!”

She stared at him mutely, unable to answer. She could only stare up at him, sea-green eyes large and unblinking, trying to form the words he wanted to hear. But she couldn’t say the words he wanted so desperately because she didn’t believe in them and didn’t think that she would be able to keep her promise to obey him.

She loved him with all her heart, but a gilded cage was still a cage. With a despondent expression, she shook her head.

Valya’s eyes narrowed for an instant, the blood-red changing to black before he threw his head back and roared, a roar that shook the walls and made her tremble. She gasped at his predatory rush as he closed the distance between them to capture her mouth. She panted as he thrust his tongue into her mouth, rubbing and caressing her tongue, thrusting harshly, mimicking what he would soon be doing with his cock.

She moaned as he crushed her, covering her mouth with his in brutish abandon. As she struggled against his grip, he growled and seized her tighter, kissing her harder. She knew her struggling was in vain, but she had to try, had to reach him before he did something he would regret. But she could already sense the change in him and knew it was far beyond too late.

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Valya did not suppress his superior strength when he took her to the floor, cushioning their hard landing with his knees before he pressed her to the floor, his body covering hers like the dark covers the land on a starless night. His hand enclosed her already aroused nipple, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger as he rolled the tight bud, taking the moan he elicited into his mouth.

She pressed against him harder, trying to push him away. But the only response was Valya pushing back, forcing her down against the hard floor as he covered her, acting upon his core passions and commanding the possession of his coveted woman. He didn’t ask her permission nor did he request her submission. He would accept nothing less than her complete surrender, and he grunted, grinding his body against hers. His chest rumbled as he scraped her lips, her throat with his fangs at her resistance.

Ancient callings screamed to the beast to restrain her, for her safety. For her pleasure. But the man wanted her acceptance in her acquiescence. He didn’t want her restrained. He wanted her unbound and free. He wanted her to accept him, openly and willingly.

Richelle realized that he was not going to relent, so she gave her assent to his insistent caresses. She opened her embrace and welcomed him into her life, into her love. The more he took, the more she gave, with no hesitation. Her body trembled at the power he exuded and how he made her body respond despite her fears. He was neither man nor beast at this moment. He was an Immortal, her Guardian. And despite her worries, she loved and wanted him…all of him. Desperately with all her heart.

With the hardwood behind her providing resistance, he groaned as he sank into her lush body. She lifted her arms, circling her hands around his neck, and he growled with animalistic satisfaction but was no less demanding for her surrender. He pressed against her, pinning her beneath him where she had no room to move, nowhere to run.

She felt his rock-hard cock pressing against the apex of her thighs through his tight leather pants. His buttocks clenched as he pushed against her, the button bearing down near the top of her mound. She moaned against the pleasure/pain of his assault, and he took advantage, thrusting his tongue between her parted lips, delving into every recess. It was a sensual exploration brooking no refusal as he touched and tasted what he wanted, as he wanted.

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He pulled away, breathing heavily as she gasped for her own breath. She was not allowed any before he let loose with a hungry growl and rushed in to devour her mouth again. He nibbled on her lower lip, soothing it with his tongue before nibbling again, his fangs causing nicks and cuts he healed as he licked the tiny droplets of blood to whet his appetite.

But it made no difference how much he touched, or tasted. When it came to Richelle, his hunger was insatiable. He would never be able to stop the burning desire that filled his loins with a scorching heat whenever he looked at her. He would never be able to slake the unquenchable thirst, leaving him feeling as if he had crossed a thousand deserts without a drop to drink.

He growled into her mouth, pressing harder against her. His hand roamed between their compressed bodies to grip her breast. Snarling his satisfaction when she responded with a low moan, he took advantage of her open mouth. His tongue thrust in and out, mimicking his hips undulating against her pussy. Her body responded by creaming heavily, trickling along her thigh.

His body responded to her wetness, and his cock surged in his pants, as if reaching for her through the supple leather. He shifted, trying to ease the tightness of his groin as his cock lengthened and stretched. The taut constriction from his pants around his erection was far from the velvety firmness of being enveloped by her snug pussy that he craved, that he needed. He needed her as he needed the air he breathed, the night in which he hunted, and the blood he fed upon. All was life to him.

And she was life. His life.

He couldn’t get enough of her, couldn’t get close enough to her, couldn’t form her body against his tight enough to satisfy his obsession. If he could, he would absorb her into his body, to hold her with him forever.

For that’s where he wanted to hold her soul, within him forever. Loving, touching, feeling, tasting her, it wasn’t enough. He wanted to take her in until there was no separation of where he ended and where she began.

He wanted to spend the next century exploring every emotion she felt, every myriad of taste she offered. He needed to learn anything and everything that made her happy. He sought to discover her every dream, her every desire, her every fantasy. And when he learned all he could, he wanted to spend the rest of eternity fulfilling them. For as isolated and

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distressing as her childhood was, that was how much joy and pleasure he wanted to fill the rest of the days of her life…their life, for eternity.

He pulled back to look down at her face.

Her lovely, beautiful, trusting, innocent face. She stared up at him. Her fathomless green eyes were turbulent, like a stormy sea. Filled with trust.

Filled with desire. Filled with love. She touched his lips with her fingertips, stroking them over his chin and back up to touch his cheeks. He leaned down, gentling his approach as he took her lips, softly with reverence. Her soothing touch had tamed the beast momentarily with her acceptance and love.

For the briefest moment, sanity crept into his fevered mind as her soothing pets gentled his tortured soul. But it lasted for only the briefest of moments.

As her hips shifted, his body fell atop her, pressing her breasts into his bare chest. Her hardened nipples offered a teasing massage into his smooth pectorals, their nipples brushing briefly against each other, causing both of them to groan in pleasure. In an instant, he reared back and, with several sweeps of his arms, ripped the remainder of his offensive clothing from his body before he fell back on top of Richelle.

Heaven.
That’s what he found as he squashed her—full body contact.

To feel the suppleness of her contours against his solid frame as he stroked his open palms over the fullness of her breasts was no less than paradise.

Pressing high against her mound, seeking out her feminine secrets, his cock slid easily along her slit, the lips warm and slick from her arousal. He grunted as her body rose up to meet his, forcing her breasts deeper into his waiting grip, his fingers lingering over her pert nipples before tweaking and twisting them, her unbidden responses feeding the beast’s need to dictate his mate’s pleasure.

She twisted her hips repeatedly, trying to force his cock into her aching cunt. Her eyes were brimmed with unshed tears at the sexual frustration, her silent plea for Valya to fulfill the escalating need starting between her thighs, leaving an empty twinge deep in her womb. His response was to pull his hand from her breast with a growl and place it upon her hip to still her movements as he continued to rock his penis along her slit, rumbling each time the mushroom head of his cock rubbed against her engorged clit.

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So little was his control at this point, he couldn’t help when he spurted a bit of his cum. It leaked onto her erect nubbin, causing her to moan. She raised her hips to rub her clit against the plum-like head of his cock, smoothing his essence across the engorged crown. It was when she pressed her clit into his leaking slit that the last remnant of his civilized façade disintegrated.

With a howl, he tore his lips away to stare down at her. Her chest was heaving, and her eyes widened at the stark and feral expression on his face.

He could feel her apprehension at the almost instantaneous change in his demeanor, the fire that crackled around them and threatened to burn them alive. He could feel her confusion, thinking she would be able to calm the beast into submission, to lead him back quietly to his cage to stomp and paw the ground while she made love to the man.

But she would be the one to submit, as the beast fucked his mate, claiming her in every sense, in every way, using every orifice. No man would ever come near her again. He would mark her with his scent. On her.

In her. Never again would she defy his will, for his will would become hers.

For their lifetime. Forever.

She whimpered, wanting more, needing him as he aligned the broad head of his penis with her dripping pussy. He stilled for a moment, willing Richelle to look at him. The restrained, sane part of his mind, the one belonging to the man, wanted that connection when he joined with her. He wanted to show her, to let her feel the love he had for her.

When she did, the look of adoration and complete love ripped away his steely control as he lunged deeply, filling her to the hilt as his mouth crashed down on hers, taking her yell of dominated pleasure/pain into his mouth. He continued to power into her slick channel as he subjugated her mouth, his tongue thrusting and exploring every corner, every moist recess, and accepting her moans of pleasure into his soul.