Up in a Blaze (18 page)

He released her nipple with plop. “Are you in pain,
cariño
?” he breathed in her ear as he nibbled on her earlobe. He didn’t want her in any pain, and he’d damn sure find another position if this one was causing her problems.

“No,” she replied a bit breathlessly, as she ground down on top of him. Shit she felt like heaven. It took him a few seconds to remember to read her mind to assure himself she wasn’t fibbing to him. When he did, the only thing he picked up on was her mounting frustration over wanting to climb that peak again, and needing to move to achieve it.

He slid his hands up under her arms, staying far away from her bullet wound. He showed her how to lift up and then back down, he surged inside of her as she came back down on top of him. She quickly picked up on things, and added a swivel of her hips on the way down that felt better than anything he’d ever felt in his long life.

He let her go her own pace, watching in rapturous wonder at his writhing mate above him. She was
hermoso
(beautiful).

Cassie worked herself up and down his long, thick cock, swiveling her hips on the way down, enjoying that little zing of pain that came when she was fully seated on him. She climbed that peak, reaching for another orgasm, but couldn’t seem to reach it.

“Donte, I’m so close, I just need… I just need a little more,” she breathed a moment later as her eyes met his.

He wrapped his arms around her as he said, “Hold on,” before flipping them over with her on her back and he on top of her. How in the hell he managed to do that move with his cock still buried tightly in her, she didn’t know, nor did she care at the moment. He braced his upper body on his hands, making sure no weight was on her side where her wound was. Then he took over.

He pulled out only to slam back into her a second later, that delicious friction even more so when he swiveled his hips as he came down and hit her clit. She sucked in her breath. “Hmm, I take it you like that move, yeah,
cariño
?”

She moaned her approval as he reared back and did it again. He stopped for just a second, gazing into her eyes as he took her mouth in a possessive kiss. Their tongues dueling, he wrapped his around hers as he pressed inward and nipped her bottom lip.

He broke off the kiss to sit up on his knees. Hooking both arms around the back of her knees, he brought his arms up and outwards, opening her up even further for his pleasure. He then set a fast pace of tunneling in and out of her that left her immediately breathless. He waited, knowing she was climbing, higher and higher, drawing closer to the peak at the top that would send her over the edge.

“Come for me,
amorcito
, come for me
duro
!”

As if her body wasn’t her own anymore, it followed her mate’s demand for her to come. The floodgates opened, pouring a zinging warmth over every inch of her body as she rode the tidal wave of bliss. She was still screaming his name and riding her own release when she felt him thicken within her, his release poured into her channel. He reached down and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, lifting her up, so she was splayed over his lap. She felt her hair being moved out of the way, then a few seconds of white hot pain as he bit into her shoulder blade. The pain was extremely short lived though, as yet another orgasm rippled through her, her mind fighting her body as to whether it had enough strength to go through another mind-blowing orgasm. In the end, her body and that of her mate’s actions overruled. Each draw of his mouth as he sucked her blood sent shivers running through her body. It was as if her shoulder and her clit were suddenly tied together, because with every draw he took, the euphoric feeling traveled straight to her clit, sending her over again, as she writhed on Donte’s lap.

When he did slide his fangs out of her shoulder, she felt his tongue lap at the small puncture wounds. She watched in morbid fascination as he brought his own wrist up to his still fully extended fangs and sliced it open, quickly bringing it over to offer it to his mate.

“Drink,
amorcito
, so we can be one.” She looked down at the blood bubbling out of the cut, starting to run down his arm and onto their bodies below. If someone would have told her a few short weeks ago that she would be entertaining the idea of drinking blood, she’d have told them they were crazy. But this was Donte, her mate. The man who had done nothing but take care of her, open himself up to her, protect her, and pleasure her. This was the one thing he asked for in return. The exchange of blood so they could be fully mated. She could do this. She glanced into his eyes, hoping her own showed her love for him.

“I love you, Donte.” She bent her head to his offered wrist, and lapped at the blood running down his arm. She was shocked that she didn’t find it offensive like she thought she would. Her mouth came up to the cut, and she suctioned her lips around it sucking in a mouthful.

As the full flavor of his blood hit her taste buds, she found herself suddenly craving more.
What?
She wasn’t the vampire in this mating! Her mate, sensing her sudden nervousness, ran his free hand down her naked back, murmuring in a calm, reassuring voice. “That’s it,
amorcito
, that’s it. Take what you need. Damn, baby, you feel so damn good. Your little mouth feels like it’s on my dick, making me hard again. This is the way of mating,
amorcito
, you are doing so good.”

She could feel his semi flaccid cock roaring back to life within her, two more times of sucking down his blood and he yelled out her name as he ground inside her, exploding within her pussy for a second time, hot jets of his cum coating her inner walls.

By the time he ripped his wrist away from her mouth and used his tongue to finish closing up the wound, she was so weak and worn out that she crumbled and slumped down on him. He gently tilted her head back to reach her lips, kissing her tenderly. “I love you,
amorcito
, I love you with everything in me.”

Cassie opened her glazed eyes and gave him a lopsided grin. “Who knew I was coming to Texas to fall in love with a vampire?”

He chuckled as he gently lifted her off him. He lay her down in the bed, helping her stretch her legs out that were protesting after being in one position for so long. It felt like every bone in her body had liquefied, every muscle disappeared. He propped himself up on one elbow next to her, stroking her hair, leaning over and placing gentle kisses on her forehead.

“Sleep,
amorcito
, I can see I’ve worn you out. How’s your wound?” he inquired out of concern. Up until he mentioned it, she hadn’t even thought about it.

Struggling to move an inch, she shook her head as she realized she couldn’t feel it at all. “I don’t know. I can’t feel anything. Is that good?” She looked up at him with uncertainty in her eyes.

“Yes, it probably means my blood is doing what it is supposed to do and accelerating the healing of it. You will be surprised at how well you feel by tomorrow morning.”

He dropped down to lay on his back, grinning when she cuddled up to him, placing her head on his shoulder. He lay there while she slept, thanking fate for giving him such a wonderful mate. He also vowed to himself, and silently to her, to remove the danger currently dogging her every move. There was now solid proof that Gregory was in Texas, and one way or another, that
bastardo
was going down. Donte now had a precious mate to protect, and nothing was going to stand in the way of making sure no more harm came upon her.

*****

Donte’s cell phone jerked him out of his euphoric state as he laid quietly watching his mate sleep. He glanced at the time as he reached for his phone. Three a.m. Nobody ever called at this hour unless it was an emergency. Walter’s name was on the caller ID when he flipped his phone up to answer it.

“What’s up, Walter?” There was little sense in pleasantries as far as he was concerned. If Walter was calling at this hour, something important was going down.

“Hey, Donte. I hate to call so late, but I need you and Cassie to come to your house.”

“My house, why?” WTH? As far as he knew, having Cassie at his house wasn’t safe, that’s why they were holed up here in the medical department in a tiny ass apartment.

“I’m sending Kade back to the office to pick you two up. Donte,” he could almost hear his boss gulp before continuing, a sudden feeling of dread hit his stomach. “They tried burning your house down.”

“THEY WHAT??!” Donte roared into the phone, causing Cassie to sit straight up in bed, eyes wide in panic, clutching the sheet to the front of her as she tried to come out of her sleep-fogged state to access the newest danger.

He held the phone away from his mouth for a moment, his attention going to his mate. “I’m sorry I panicked you,
cariño,
but I need for you to get dressed quickly. Kade is on his way to pick us up, someone set our house on fire.”

“Omigod, Donte,” her eyes were huge with fright as she turned to face him, but she stopped and placed her hand on his arm, giving him a little squeeze. “We’ll get through this, together.” It hadn’t missed her attention that he had said “our” house was on fire. He was so good to her, already welcoming her into his life. The least she could do is try to be there for him, especially when this was her fault to begin with. Well, hers and Betty’s. But still, if she hadn’t come here, Gregory might not have come here looking for Betty…

“Don’t,” Donte reprimanded and she was taken back for a moment thinking he didn’t want her support. Nothing was further from the truth. He placed his other hand on top of hers, cradling the phone in his shoulder blade and neck. “This is not your fault, Cassandra. If it wasn’t for Gregory, we would have never met, and finding my mate trumps anything that man can throw at us, including burning down my house.” He wrapped an arm around her to bring her up against him, giving her a quick kiss. “Now go, we need to move as soon as Kade arrives.”

Once he had Cassie on her way to getting dressed, he got back on the phone with Walter. “How bad?”

“Well, the structure is still standing, but there’s a lot of smoke and water damage. The fire is out. Now, I do have a bit of good news to tell you.”

“There’s good news to be had in light of my house burning down?” Donte asked incredulously.

“Yep, we caught the two that set the house on fire and we know they’re also the same ones that shot Cassandra. I’ve already sent Adam and Lucas where Gregory is supposed to be hiding, but I bet a month’s paycheck he’ll be long gone by now.” Walter hesitated a second before continuing, “Listen, I know you two are either just mated or getting ready to. Let the rest of the team handle the legwork on this one. With both Betty and Cassie involved, this case is top priority. We’ll get him, Donte. Have no doubt. That sonofabitch’s days are numbered.”

A knock on the apartment’s front door drew Donte’s attention away from the phone. Cassie hurried out of the bathroom and headed to the door. Donte took a quick second to sniff the air, letting his guard down when Kade’s scent hit his nose. “It’s Kade, babe, let him in. I’ll be ready in just a minute.”

He went to inform Walter they would be on their way momentarily, when he realized his boss had hung up on him. Donte quickly shut his phone and reached for his pants. He was extremely thankful that not only had they not gone home this afternoon, instead, Walter had sent Lucas and Meredith with a list of personal items to bring back to the tiny apartment for them.

Truthfully, it was going to be more of an inconvenience than anything. All of his valuables were locked away in a vault off the property, so they were still safe and sound. No, his main worry was Cassie. He wanted her to have a home. Over the past two weeks while they’d had many late night talks, she had started to open up to him, giving him a glimpse into her life. She had worked hard, done everything right, and life had still been determined to take her down. Well no more.

As his mate, there would be nothing she would want for. Donte yanked on his shirt and stuffed his feet into his shoes. The hell with the house. It was insured. They would go pick out another house together, one she’d consider just as much hers as his. Yes, that’s exactly what they would do. Just as soon as the threat currently hanging over her head was eliminated.

One month later
…

Cassie sat back in her chair at work. Glancing down at her watch, she noted that Donte should be coming in shortly. He told her last night he had something special in mind for tonight. She couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

The last seven weeks had been some of the most terrifying, yet best moments of her life. She still occasionally pinched herself, thinking it all couldn’t be real. But real it was. The team was still actively searching for Gregory, but it was the general consensus that he had probably skipped town and was laying low in another state. Samuel had the Oklahoma State Troopers on the lookout for him, just in case he showed up there. Unfortunately, it seemed he had disappeared into thin air. But they all knew better. He wasn’t about to let up, and sooner or later he would show back up to cause more trouble. That was fine, The Texas Vampire Rangers were ready for him.

Donte had pushed himself hard right after the house fire, wanting to find Gregory and eliminate the threat hanging over both Betty and her head, but when the team had combed over the city multiple times and come up empty handed, he’d been forced to take a step back and wait for Gregory to strike again. It was just a matter of time.