Scarlet Heat (Born to Darkness) (45 page)

“Wait. There may be
another way.”

I frowned. “You mean
another way to heal me?”

She nodded. “How much
do you know about the Crimson Debt?”

“Isn’t that some kind
of a vampire thing? Where you bite somebody at the same time you’re—”

“Making love. Yes,”
she finished for me. “It’s supposed to heal the one the Debt is paid to from
everything—all ailments physical and emotional.”

“But isn’t it usually
the vampire it’s supposed to heal?” I asked, frowning. “I mean, unless it’s two
vampires doing it. Then, I guess—”

“It’s another long
shot,” she said. “But I think it could work both ways. The person giving the
blood during sex is the one paying the debt—healing the one who is taking
blood. I don’t know if it will heal you or not but it seems to me if you bit me
and drank from me while…”

“While I was inside
you,” I said roughly. My cock surged again. “Yeah, I get it.”

“I mean, I can
understand why you might not want to try it.” She looked away, her cheeks
flushed. “We
are
broken up, after all. It might be…awkward.”

“It’s not that,” I
said. “Of
course,
I want to try it. But last time things between us
got…kind of rough. I don’t want to do it that way again.”

“Of course not,” she said
softly. “We can take it slow. And I think I’ll be able to be careful since
you’ll be biting me instead of the other way around. Of course…” she looked at
me anxiously. “You might be nervous that taking my blood would form a life-bond
between us—like the one Addison and Corbin have. But I promise you, that
wouldn’t happen unless I was to take your blood too. And I won’t—I swear I’ll
keep my fangs strictly to myself.”

“I wasn’t thinking of
that at all,” I said truthfully. And I hadn’t been—my mind was too full of
images of Taylor naked and open under me. Just the idea of holding her and
making love to her—not just fucking or breeding but actually taking our time,
taking it slow—was intoxicating. Almost more than I could stand.

“So…” She gave me a
shy, uncertain look. “Do you…would you like to try it? It might not work but I
think there’s at least a chance if we—”

“Yes,” I said, reaching
up to cup her cheek. I pulled her face down to mine. “Yes,” I murmured again,
brushing my lips to hers. “I want to try it.
God,
do I want to try it.
But are you sure? I mean before, you were so upset…”

“I know,” she said
softly. “But, well, I can’t say I’m over it—what happened in my life before,
with Celeste. But I feel better about it now. I feel…safe with you.”

I felt like she’d
reached into my chest and squeezed my heart.

“Thank you, Taylor,” I
murmured, really meaning it. “I don’t feel like I deserve that but well…thank you.”

“You’re welcome. It’s
true.” She kissed me back shyly, her lips feather light against mine. “So we’re
going to try it?”

“Absolutely,” I
growled softly.

“And…you won’t be
upset if it doesn’t work?” She looked at me anxiously. “Because I really have
no idea—”

“I gotta be honest
with you, baby—at this point, I don’t give a flying fuck if it works or not,” I
admitted, kissing her again. “I just want to hold you one more time.”

“Right,” she whispered
and I thought she looked sad. “One more time.”

“I want to do it right
this time,” I told her, brushing my lips against hers again. God, she tasted
sweet! “Wanna take my time with you. Treat you like you deserve to be treated.”

“Oh, Victor…” My name
on her lips was a soft, helpless moan. I kissed her again, more deeply this
time, enjoying the sweet taste of her mouth. I swore to myself then and there
that I would take it slow, that I would make love to her as gently and sweetly
as I possibly could.

That I would show her
how much I still loved her, even if we were destined to be apart the rest of
our lives.

* *
* * *

Taylor

My heart was pounding
in my chest. The slow, sweet kisses seemed to go on and on and on. Victor
hadn’t been kidding when he said he wanted to take his time. I already felt
like I was going to explode and he hadn’t done anything but kiss me yet. I felt
terrible that I hadn’t been able to heal his brand and I really hoped this
worked. But I had to admit, healing him wasn’t my only motivation. I wanted an
excuse to touch him one more time, to let him touch me before we went our
separate ways.

I wasn’t in heat
anymore—at least, I didn’t think I was. But I was already feeling the familiar
rush of need and desire as Victor deepened our kisses and stroked my hair. His
tongue was hot and his mouth tasted faintly of cinnamon and some wilder flavor
I couldn’t name. Maybe it was just him. He licked me slowly, teasing me into
following him, drawing my tongue into his mouth so he could suck it gently
until I felt like I was going to explode.

“Victor,” I whispered
when the kiss finally broke. “Please…I need more.”

“Me too.” His voice
was a soft, deep growl. “But I don’t want to rush you. Need to know you’re
ready every step of the way.”

“Ready for what?” I
whispered breathlessly. “Tell me what you want to do next.”

“Mmm,” he murmured.
“You want dirty talk, baby? Is that what you want?”

I bit my lip. “Maybe,”
I confessed.

“Well, the first thing
I want to do is get you naked. How does that sound?”

“Good…it sounds good,”
I whispered.

“Let’s do it then.” He
pulled off his t-shirt, baring his muscular chest. I ran my hands over the
smooth, warm planes eagerly, enjoying the feel of him. I loved relearning his
body.

Victor groaned softly.
“I love the feel of your soft little hands on me. You mind if I return the
favor?” he asked, tracing the buttons on my blouse.

“No, not…not at all,”
I managed to say.

“Good.” Slowly, he
unbuttoned my blouse and pulled it apart, baring my breasts in the white lace
cups of the bra I had on.

“Love you in this.”
Victor traced the lace that framed my breasts with one gentle finger. “Sexy and
sweet at the same time. It fits you.”

“I’m glad you like
it,” I whispered.

“More than like it,”
he growled, pulling me down and kissing the tops of my breasts. “I fucking love
it.” He looked up at me. “Can I suck your nipples, baby? I really want to taste
you again.”

In answer, I reached
back behind me and unhooked the bra. I shed it and the blouse too, leaving
myself bare from the waist up. The cool air made my nipples into stiff little
peaks and I felt a shiver run through me as his eyes devoured me hungrily.

I was still straddling
him while he lay back against the arm of the couch. Victor reached up and
pulled me down until my breasts swayed in front of his face like ripe fruit.
For a moment, he simply cupped them in his hands.

“So sweet,” he
murmured as he stroked me up and down, teasingly avoiding my nipples. “So
fucking hot and sweet.”

“Victor…” I gasped
pleadingly as he rubbed his scratchy cheek against my sensitive slopes.

“Just taking it slow,
baby.” He gave me a little half smile as he brushed a soft, barely there kiss
over one aching nipple. “Just showing you how I feel.”

How do you feel?
I wanted to ask, but I was afraid to. I wished
he would say that he still loved me, that he needed me back in his life. But so
far he hadn’t said anything like that. Maybe he thought it was better that we
stayed apart. In which case, this was my last chance to show him how I felt
too…

Oh Victor,
I thought as he licked me gently, tracing my
nipples with the hot, wet tip of his tongue.
I love you so much. I wish you
still loved me…

“You okay, baby?” He
looked up from his licking for a moment. “Am I moving too fast?”

“No.” I carded my
fingers through his thick, wild hair. “No, not at all. Not fast enough,
actually.”

“You want me to step
it up some?” His eyes flashed wolf gold and he captured one of my aching peaks
between his lips and sucked hard, pulling as much of my breast into his mouth
as he could.

I moaned and pressed
up against him, giving him better access, offering myself shamelessly. Victor
growled low in his throat, clearly more than ready to take me up on my offer.
He sucked even harder at my first nipple until I swore I could feel every
sensation in my tight little nub as a tingle of electricity that went straight
to my throbbing clit.

He switched to the
other breast, torturing the first nipple sweetly by pinching me as he did so.
God…
I writhed against him, unable to sit still. I could feel myself getting
wet, getting ready for him. I wanted his hands and mouth all over my body—never
wanted this to end.

Victor shifted under
me and I could feel the hard ridge of his cock rubbing against me through both
our jeans. There were too many clothes between us. Way too many. I needed his
skin against mine. Victor seemed to feel the same way.

“You need to take
these off.” He rubbed my jeans restlessly. “They’re getting in the way.”

“I know,” I murmured.
But even though I wanted to be naked with him, I still felt shy about stripping
down in front of him. Victor seemed to sense my hesitance.

“Only if you’re ready,
baby,” he murmured, stroking one big hand over my thigh. “Take your time.”

His thoughtfulness and
patience gave me confidence and made me feel more comfortable—more secure.

“I’m ready now,” I
told him. “To take off my jeans, at least.”

“Take them off, then,”
he said softly, his eyes hot.

I got up for a moment
to peel off my jeans and then I had on nothing but my silky white lace panties.
I was embarrassed to see, though, that they didn’t cover nearly as much as I would
have liked. I was so wet that my juices had saturated the white silk, making it
transparent as it clung to my mound. The soaked fabric outlined my pussy lips,
which were already so swollen with need they were opening on their own, showing
just a hint of my clit.

Victor groaned and his
eyes flashed gold again at the sight.

“God, baby, you’re so
fucking
wet.”
He reached up to cup my pussy and I rubbed wantonly
against his palm, my need overcoming my embarrassment. I wanted more—more of
his hands on me, more of his body pressed against mine—more of
everything
.

“Victor,” I whispered,
pressing my mound into his hand. “Victor, please…”

“What do you need,
baby?” he growled softly. “Need me to touch your hot little pussy? Like this?”
His big hand slid up and found the edge of my waistband and then his fingers
were dipping inside, sliding into my panties to cup my naked pussy in his big,
warm palm.

“Oh!” I threw back my
head and rubbed against him shamelessly. God, I
needed
this. And not
just the way I had needed to feel him touch me while I was in heat. I needed
his hands on me because I loved him, because I longed for the touch of a man
who wanted to give me only pleasure, never pain.

“So slippery and hot,”
he murmured and I felt his thick fingers parting my pussy lips even more,
sliding gently but firmly against my aching bud. “Does this feel okay, baby?
You like it when I stroke your sweet little clit?”

“Y-yes,” I managed to
say. “God, yes, Victor.”

“You know what this
reminds me of?” he growled softly. “The first time I ever touched you.”

“When you were trying
to help me back down the heat,” I whispered.

“Uh-huh.” The blunt
pads of his fingers slid over my slippery folds, caressing me gently but
firmly, slowly driving me crazy. “I wanted to taste you so bad, wanted to lay
you down and lap that sweet honey right from the source but all I could do was
finger you.”

“I love it when you
touch me,” I confessed.

“I love the soft
little noises you make when I pet your hot, slippery little clit,” he rumbled.
“And I fucking love the way you taste, baby.”

“It’s that good?” I
asked breathlessly, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Taste for yourself.”

He pulled his hand out
of my panties and ran one wet finger around my mouth, painting my lips with my
own juices. I gasped, uncertain how to react. I had tasted myself on his mouth
before but I had never expected him to do something like this. It was strangely
erotic but completely unexpected.

“Now, kiss me,” he
growled, pulling me down as his hand plunged into my panties once more.

I moaned as our lips
met and his fingers entered me at the same time. His tongue plunged into my
mouth as he thrust deep inside me, penetrating me slowly and thoroughly, making
me crazy for him, making me need to come.

I tasted so good on
his mouth—salty and hot—and the slow pumping of his fingers inside me was
driving me over the edge. I was getting close…so close…and then suddenly he
stopped.