Her insides melted, her nipples tightened, and a throbbing pulse beat between her thighs. She arched her back, offering her breasts, and he lowered his head, took one swollen peak between his lips, and suckled. The pleasure shot straight to her groin and a small gasp escaped her. She threaded her fingers through his long, silky hair and held him close as her kissed her other breast. Her thighs fell open, and he shifted so one knee slid between and pushed up against her. The sensation was indescribably good, but she needed more, and she needed it soon.
If she didn’t have him inside in the next few seconds, she would go seriously insane. Might even bite him. She fisted her hand in the hair at the back of his head and tugged, and he raised his head so she could stare into his face. The expression in his eyes nearly made her come.
“Okay, enough foreplay,” she muttered. “I need you inside me.” He chuckled, and she tugged at his hair again. “Are you going to bite me?”
“Would you like me to?”
Roz had a flashback to coming apart in his arms. She wanted that again while he was deep inside. She nodded, and he smiled, revealing his fangs, as though to let her see exactly what he was. No secrets. No nasty surprises.
Then he was kissing her cheek, her lips, her ear, licking, tasting, nibbling his way closer to her throat, and despite the fact she knew there would be no pain, every nerve was taut waiting for his bite.
“Relax.” His soft voice sent shivers rippling through her. “I’ll tell you when.”
He shifted so his hips rested between her thighs, and she could feel his erection nudging at the core of her body. Her breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, and she fought for control. His hand moved between their bodies, and he opened her with skillful fingers. The tips slid over her swollen clit, and she let out a little yelp. His hands moved to grip her shoulders and hold her down—was he expecting her to fight?
“Now,” he said and in one fluid move, he pushed inside her, filling her. At the same time, he lunged, his fangs piercing her throat. And she came.
She arched her back and screamed but was held in place by his firm grip on her shoulders, his mouth at her neck, his cock lodged deep inside her.
He started to move, withdrawing almost all the way before thrusting hard into her, and all the time she could feel the dragging pull of his fangs tugging at places low down in her body.
She was out of control. Her hips thrusting with his, her legs wrapped around his waist, and she lost all concept of time and place. The pleasure was building again, spiraling.
He raised his head, releasing her throat, and his eyes glowed crimson, his mouth stained with her blood. Holding her gaze, he thrust into her, his hips grinding against her sensitive flesh, and she came again.
Each time she came back to herself, he repeated the action, spilling her over the edge. Finally, almost with relief, she felt him tense above her as he found his own release.
Afterward, he rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so she lay sprawled over his long, hard body, totally boneless. She might never move again.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Oh yeah. Let’s do that again sometime.”
“Whenever you’re ready.” She could hear the grin in his voice, but she ignored it, too sated to be bothered to answer back.
Piers stroked her shoulders and back, drawing lazy circles on her skin, soothing her, and she drifted off into sleep.
…
“Tell me everything,” Roz said.
He rolled onto his front, rested his chin on one hand, and smiled. “Everything?”
“How you became a vampire? Why Andarta wants you so badly…?”
“Well, obviously because I’m irresistible.”
“Obviously,” she said dryly.
Actually, he was pretty irresistible, but she wasn’t going to agree with him; he was already big-headed enough. “Tell,” she urged.
After studying her for a minute longer, he shrugged his agreement. He pushed himself up and bunched the pillows behind him, then sat back and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her against his side.
“A long time ago, in a faraway place…”
“Where and how long?”
“Actually not that far away. Northern France, and just over two thousand years.”
“Wow—you’re old. And French. Double wow.”
“I was a priest, a druid—”
“A priest?” She sounded incredulous. “You were a priest?”
“Yes, I was a priest, and the most powerful druid of the time. I worshipped the Goddess Andarta, and she answered my prayers and came to me in human form.”
“Ha. I’m betting Andarta was never human.”
“In ‘human form’. I never believed she was anything other than a goddess. You could say I worshipped her. And she came to care for me.”
“Aw—that must have been sweet.”
He grinned. “Sweet it was not. But she loved me, and I…”
“You?”
“I loved her, as much as I was capable of loving. Anyway, she loved me, and she hated the idea of me growing old and leaving her. Do you know anything of druid beliefs?”
“A little.”
“I believed that I would be reborn, and if I lived by the proper ways, I would be reborn stronger and more powerful, until my powers would rival the gods themselves. Andarta didn’t want me to die. She sought to give me eternal life.”
“How?”
He cast her an amused glance. “How do you think?”
“She wanted you to become a vampire? But how could she do that? I thought you had to be bitten by another vampire; or is that just myth?”
“No, it’s true. And that’s where Jack comes in. Jack was indebted to her, I’m not sure how or why. But he also loved her, still does…well did, probably right up to the moment I pulled his head off.”
“Aw, poor Jack.”
“When I refused her offer of eternal life—I had no wish to become a drinker of blood—she trapped me, and Jack changed me by force.”
“I guess you weren’t too happy about that.”
“I wasn’t. But I got my own back. I couldn’t destroy Andarta, but I made sure she was out of action for a long, long time.”
“And Jack?”
“Yes, I gave them a nice cozy space together.”
“And they’ve been there since. So I’m guessing she’s not too fond of you anymore.”
He gave her a look she couldn’t quite identify. “She wants me back.”
Shock hit her in the gut and her gaze flew to his face. “She what?”
“She sent Jack with a message, telling me there was a place by her side.”
“And were you tempted?” She gave him her best evil-eyed stare. “Think carefully what you say here.”
“Tempted? Hmm, what was the offer? Consort to a goddess, rule at her side for eternity. What do you think?”
She thought Andarta had better keep out of her way. “She’s not really a goddess, any more than I’m a witch.”
“But you are a witch—you just didn’t know what one was before. In truth—I feel nothing for Andarta now. Except maybe a little grateful. I’d be dead long ago if it wasn’t for her machinations. And all-in-all, I’ve enjoyed what I am.” He turned to her and appeared serious for once. “I was never a good person.”
“Not even when you were alive?”
“Maybe less so then. If you’ve read about druids you must know something of what we were like, what we did.”
“There is very little substantiated evidence for what they actually did—maybe you could write a book on the subject.”
“Perhaps. Anyway, we believed human life was sacred, so what better way to honor the gods than to take that life?”
“Ugh. You performed human sacrifices—like the wicker man?”
“Just like. They were usually criminals, people who had been sentenced to death, but I wasn’t too fussy.”