The Mortal One (The Mortal One Series) (14 page)

Chapter 14

WE HAD TO wait until the next night because of the nearing daylight for the mark to be made. Last night, Nico stayed with me until the last possible moment for both of our sakes. The later he stayed, the less chance Olivier would still be out. He had refused to stay in the guest room and instead chose to go to his place. Regardless, I had fallen asleep in his arms and dreamed of how I was to be marked. I woke alone.

Nico had just stepped out of the shower and steam poured out of the bathroom. He was convinced that taking a hot shower would warm him up enough to make it more pleasurable for me. I wasn’t going to argue as long as I got to enjoy his body again, hot or cold.

“How should we do this?”

A towel wrapped low on his body barely covered what it was supposed to and left his groin just visible at the top. Droplets of water clung to his chest like morning dew on a leaf. His hair was spiked in a thousand different directions from the moisture, too.

“There’s different ways?” I asked, not sure what he meant. I couldn’t think straight with his body just a cloth away from being completely nude. I lay back on the bed and waited for him to make his move. I was hoping he’d just jump on the bed and ravage me because that was all I could think about.

“This is new to me, as well,” he smiled. He rubbed his hands in his hair while giving me a look that melted me to the core.

“We could….” I let the thought trail off.

“Yes?” He asked eagerly, as if he knew exactly what I was going to suggest.

“Make love.” It was a simple request, though I felt dirty asking for it. I was never in complete control of myself with him this close, I couldn’t think of anything else. Being near him was unlike any other experience for me. Sure there’d been other men, but Nico was different. He was intoxicating and an addiction was quickly forming.

“Excuse me?” A grin was tugging at the corner of his mouth and he fought hard not to let it spread.

“You heard me.”

I wanted him and the anticipation was building beyond my control. I knew the mark would hurt because he had warned me of it multiple times. I was ready for it, though, because the pleasure would outrank the pain, or at least that’s what I was counting on.

“Dylan, I left bruises the last time we….”

“And I told you I didn’t mind.” It was true, though. I had bruised in bright purplish-blue splotches along my inner thighs and around my shoulders where he had held me. The sheer strength of him left marks on my human skin, yet it had felt so good as it happened that I didn’t complain. His body didn’t give like mine and it was like pushing on a wall—no matter how much you pushed, the wall stood still. Making love to something that powerful was exhilarating and the souvenir marks were just a small price to pay.

His face showed some hesitance. I knew he didn’t want to hurt me, though I was counting on the notion that he wanted me just as much as I wanted him. A few bruises shouldn’t stop him, though I could imagine what it looked like.

I let out a soft sigh. “Please don’t make me ask again.”

“You’re impossible.” His tone was of disapproval, though his face said otherwise.

“Would you really have it any other way?”

“Vieni qui, mia mortale.”

I went to him eager and wet. It had been almost a week since the first time we had made love and I was ready for round two, especially since the bruises had healed.

His towel dropped at the foot of the bed and I took in every line of his body. His pale arms pressed into the comforter and I watched how the muscles in his arms tensed. I watched for the rise and fall of his chest but there wasn’t any.

“You’re not breathing,” I gasped. His glistening pectorals hovered above me, statuesque. His chest was completely and utterly still.

“Sometimes I forget to when I’m in highly emotional states.” He climbed onto the bed and inched closer to me. “Like now.”

I parted my legs, inviting him up the length of me. The corners of his mouth twitched into a smirk as he made his way up my body.

He laughed as he watched my face process the new information. “Why does it surprise you?”

“I guess nothing should by now,” I giggled.

Every two or three inches, he stopped to brush his lips against my skin. My hands played in the short curls of his hair, which was still wet from the shower. I let out a soft moan as he kissed my navel.

I felt his lips stop. “Dylan?”

“Don’t stop,” I found myself pleading. I knew he was questioning whether the sound was one of pain or pleasure. This time it was of the latter and I couldn’t bear the pause in our activities, no matter how brief.

“I’m trying to go slow and carefully is all,” he admitted.

“Don’t…just….”

He continued to slide his lips against me and up the length of my torso. When he reached my neck, he slowly made his way back down. He moved the fabric of my panties down to kiss the side of my hip.

My body quivered unexpectedly, and my spine bowed, bidding him nearer.

“Mmmm, that was nice,” he murmured against my navel. “Do it again.”

I laughed softly. His hands were moving up my thighs, circling more intimately to the ultimate place of desire. The coldness of his fingertips left goose bumps as he continued exploring. He was driving me slowly mad, toying with my warm-blooded cravings. His fingers looped over the elastic of my panties and tugged gently. I let him slide them down my legs, only to be tossed off the edge of the bed.

His right hand cupped the side of my hip while his left hand roamed lower and sent me closer to the brink of pleasure. I writhed in ecstasy and my hips rose off the mattress.

“I will be as careful as I can,” he warned against my ear.

I nodded. As my hips squirmed upward to meet him, Nico met me with his own excitement and pounded me back down flat against the bed. Over and over he drove into me while his own cries of passion escaping his lips. I raised my mouth to his to swallow some of the sound. I kissed him as if I was drinking him and consuming him in order to gain more pleasure.

“Careful,” he warned as my tongue traced along one of his incisors. His mouth moved down my neck, across my throat. I could feel my breath catch a little as he licked the skin which lay across my heavily pulsating jugular. I could see the grin on his face as my breathing got shorter and more labored. He moved back up the length of me, stroking my hair back from my face.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, coaching him further and deeper. He stared into my eyes, hypnotizing me with pools of sapphire blue. He stayed focused on me as he kept pushing me further over the edge. I could feel a smile spreading on his face as he gave me what I wanted and reveled in the pleasure. It was more than simple delight – it was maddening waves of bliss. I was surprised to find my body felt no pain from the hard flesh that rhythmically drove into me.

We fell into a crumpled, sweaty heap on the bed. I curled into the side of him, tired and suddenly sore. Truthfully, I was in agony, as though my entire body had been in a fight I wasn’t a part of. It was a pain I didn’t mind dealing with as the final waves continued to pulse through me, though another part of me argued otherwise.

“I didn’t even feel the mark,” I commented, letting my fingers trace down his chest.

There was silence on the other side of the bed. I waved my hand in front of his face and concentrated on him.

“Nico?”

He let out an exasperated sigh. “It isn’t my fault. You distracted me.”

“You didn’t mark me?”

“Dylan, when I mark you, you’ll know it. For one, you’ll be bleeding and secondly, I am sure you will be in an extreme amount of discomfort.”

I was sore now, so I didn’t know what he was holding back for. There must have been something in my face that made him suddenly concerned.

“I hurt you, didn’t I?”

“The good kind, I promise,” I answered with a bright grin. I wanted to sound as convincing as possible because I truly enjoyed myself too much during to give him a reason to stop.

“Dylan, we can’t keep doing this. I am trying to hold back and be careful, but it is so difficult. You give yourself so freely that I simply cannot focus on anything but the pleasure.”

My cheeks burned crimson as I listened to him talk. “Sorry,” I apologized. “I just can’t help myself.”

“Neither can I,” he pulled me closer. “Why didn’t you tell me I was hurting you?”

“There wasn’t any pain
during
it.”

“Perhaps I shouldn’t shield you so much then,” he figured, more to himself than to me.

My eyebrows rose. “How do you mean?”

He wore a pained expression and it was obvious he did not want to explain himself. “It isn’t mind control,” he said quickly. “Well, perhaps it is, to an extent, but I’m able to absorb some of the pain you feel. It is something I was doing without really thinking about it.”

“Oh.” What the hell was I supposed to say to that?

If I was still experiencing the pain while he was shielding, I was glad to know I hadn’t felt the full extent. If it had been too much more, it would have outweighed the waves of pleasure. If only the aftermath could be shielded as well – I knew I’d have a new set of bruises, but I didn’t mind. Making love to him was like making love to a God, and the marks were just something that came with the territory. The levels of ecstasy were too high to deny just because of some pain.

“You’re not upset?”

“No, I’m relieved you’ve been doing it.”

He shook his head and made a face at my naivety. “You don’t mind I’ve been using mind control on you just so we can…”

“No,” I interrupted. I leaned in to kiss him on the lips before continuing, “I don’t mind. What’s the alternative? Wait a year to continue this? I’m not willing to wait, unless you’re saying you are?”

He shook his head. “I suppose not, though I worry I’m doing more harm than good.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. The bruises heal. It’s not like I’ve got broken bones or anything.” I stared into his face and while he seemed satisfied with what I was saying, there was still something on his mind. “What now?” I asked while adjusting the sheets across me.

“We still have the concern of the mark.”

“Yes, we do,” I agreed. I had almost forgotten about it until he brought it up.

A brief knock and the sound of the apartment door opening brought us both back to reality. I grabbed wads of sheets to cover myself as Nico jumped off the bed in an attempt to throw some clothes on.

Costin turned the corner into our bedroom. I was wondering why we even bothered with a front door if he was going to walk in whenever he pleased.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Costin greeted us as his eyes took in the scene. I could only imagine what he thought of the two of us by now.

I held the sheets in front of me, sitting up in the bed. “Hi.” I knew my face was bright red as there was no hiding what had just transpired. Costin’s mouth twitched in a grin as he looked at us.

“Marking?” he asked, looking at Nico.

I looked away, not wanting to be the one to break the news. The room smelled like sex and I wished we could have been given some kind of notice we were going to have company. Nico could read minds, so wasn’t he able to tell when Costin was coming?

“What brings you over?” Nico asked, trying for a nonchalant subject change while buttoning his shirt. He exited the room with Costin and allowed me a chance to get dressed.

“Damn it,” I heard Costin say. I knew he was scolding Nico for not marking me. I wondered if Nico was telling him exactly why that was, though I figured Costin was pretty well clued in. “The two of you have to stop being so reckless. You know you could seriously injure her, right? I mean, either through the act or by not marking her, you’re taking chances.”

“I know, I know. But can we focus? What’s going on?” Nico asked, trying to get Costin to the point of his visit.

“We have some problems. Henri will be joining us in a few minutes to discuss everything, but Olivier is stronger than any of us anticipated. For someone who has only twenty years, he is a force to be reckoned with.” Costin spoke loud enough that I could hear as I frantically looked for my shirt in the pile of discarded clothes on the floor.

“What does that mean exactly?” I asked after I stepped out of the room. I had a few ideas running around in my head, though none of the conclusions sounded very positive.

Nico was leaning against the back of the couch, his arms crossed over his chest. I could tell he didn’t like Costin barging in on us, especially with bad news. I walked over and stood beside him.

Costin glanced over at me. “It means Henri isn’t able to handle him. Olivier is quite powerful and does not follow the rules as he should.”

I looked at the two of them as if they were speaking their own language.

“If Olivier battles Henri and wins, he will become the new sovereign,” Costin explained. “Olivier will rule Paris and it’s likely that he will he not follow rules and he won’t expect any of his subjects to, either.”

“We can’t let that happen, obviously,” Nico interjected. “So what do we need to do?”