Reveling in his reaction, Jaxon forgot she was deliberately seducing him, the haze of his pleasure echoing in her own mind. She wanted him so much she couldn’t think clearly. This was no longer a ploy to distract him but a necessity.
“Are you ready for me? You have to be ready for me,” he bit out between clenched teeth.
She lifted her head slowly and smiled at him sexily. Very deliberately she slid her hand down her body, drawing his attention to her breasts, her narrow rib cage, her stomach. She heard his breath catch as he watched her fingers disappear between her legs. She moved, a sensuous ripple of her body, then withdrew her fingers to hold them up to him. Glistening. Hot.
Lucian bent his head and drew her fingers into his mouth, his black eyes burning over her. Without any further preliminaries, he simply lifted her into his arms. Jaxon wrapped her legs around him and began to settle over him, taking him into her body inch by exquisite inch until he filled her, stretched her. “All of me, honey, take all of me,” he whispered in encouragement. Her breath came in small, needy gasps as she took him into her sheath, hot and slick and so tight he was shuddering with pleasure. It was her desire, her need, that drove them now, and Lucian let her set the pace.
He watched her ride him, her body supple and strong, her arms around his neck, her skin, caressed by the firelight, glowing. She began to hasten the rhythm, tightening her muscles, clenching and gripping until he was as breathless as she. One hand caught her small bottom, pressing her to him as he began to move, thrusting into her again and again. Fast. Furious. Hard, hot sex. Just what she wanted, what he wanted.
He caught the back of her head, brought her face to his, thrusting his tongue wildly into her mouth. His mind thrust into hers, sharing his excitement, the taste of her, of him, sharing the intense pleasure and passion of her body, of his. They moved together in perfect unison. The firestorm burned hot and bright through both of them, sending them soaring, clutching each other, hearts nearly exploding with the shared pleasure.
Jaxon laid her head on his shoulder, holding him deep within her. “I love you. I know I do. Let’s just run away together, disappear for a while, Lucian, just the two of us, like it was in the cave.”
Very carefully he lowered her to the floor, separating their bodies. His hands framed her face. “You really are afraid of marrying me.” He kissed her gently, tenderly.
Her long lashes swept down to conceal her expressive eyes. “It isn’t marrying you, Lucian, it’s the wedding. It’s turned into such a big deal!” she wailed. “Everyone’s going to be looking at me. And I don’t even know half the guests. You have all these big shots attending. Aidan Savage from San Francisco. Desari, the famous singer, singing at my wedding. How did that happen?”
Almost automatically, without any real thought, Jaxon cleaned and clothed her body in the way of Carpathians. She was still struggling to regain her breath and lower her heart rate.
Lucian’s eyes lit up with pride. She had accepted her new way of life as she did everything—embracing it quickly, passionately. He matched the rhythm of his breathing and pulse to hers and easily regulated them. Then he responded mildly to her concerns.
“Desari’s lifemate is Aidan’s twin brother, Julian. When I asked Aidan and Alexandria to attend, along with Antonio, who is practically a member of the family, Aidan asked if we would like Desari to sing. Apparently she and Julian were visiting. From what I understand, she is very nice.” He added his own clothes, then smiled when Jaxon raked a hand through her hair, once more tousling her short, silky cap. “And you do have most of the police force attending.”
“I’m certain Desari is very nice, Lucian, but she’s
famous
.” Jaxon tried not to kick him in the shins. He was being far more difficult than usual. And he looked gorgeous—someone who deserved a tall, elegant, beautiful woman. “And it isn’t most of the police force, just my coworkers and friends. I don’t want strangers looking at me.”
“You will be beautiful in your wedding gown, angel. A dream.” He said it sincerely. “My dream. I find you very beautiful and incredibly sexy.”
She glared at him. “I have never worn a pair of high heels in my life. I’ll trip and break my neck.” She wrung her hands.
He shrugged with his casual grace, took possession of her left hand, and turned up her palm to place a kiss in the exact center. “Why would you wear something uncomfortable? Your gown is long. Wear whatever you like beneath it.”
“And when you take off my garter in front of the entire crowd, they can all see my elegant tennis shoes.” She pulled her hand away and nibbled nervously at her nails.
He sensed she was close to tears. His arms circled her small body and brought her into the protection of his chest. “Honey, there is not going to be a problem with your shoes. Wear your tennis shoes until we need to remove the garter, and I will ensure you have on your elegant high heels when the time comes.”
“What if you forget?”
He bent to brush her temple with the warmth of his mouth. “I never forget anything important to you, Jaxon. You must have learned that by now.” His mouth found the pulse in her neck, felt it leaping beneath her skin. “You must know that.”
She was nodding, her face buried against the heavy muscles of his chest. “So who else is coming to our wedding?”
“The mayor. A few others you know.”
“I wasn’t asking about them. I was asking about
your
friends. Our wedding is taking place in the middle of the night to accommodate your people.”
“
Our
people,” he insisted. “Naturally, Desari’s brother and his lifemate are attending, and another member of her band—Barrack and his lifemate, Syndil, who is also in the band. The only other person whose name you might recognize is Savannah Dubrinsky, the magician. She is the lifemate to one of our greatest healers and vampire hunters and the Prince’s right hand man, Gregori. They might attend also.”
“I’m
not
doing this. I’m not. Those people are famous. And what’s this about a right-hand man to the Prince? He sounds important. Why would he come?”
Lucian laughed softly. “Angel, I am considered rather important in our world. Gregori is of my lineage, and he is attending our wedding out of respect. The Prince would have come, also, but he is not in the States at this time. Naturally Gregori would represent him if they can make it here in time. Savannah, by the way, is Prince Mikhail’s daughter.”
Jaxon was shaking her head at him. “Don’t tell me any more. I can’t take it. You really do have all that money, don’t you?” She made it an accusation.
“Money means nothing to our people, Jaxon. It is used only to make things run smoothly in the present time period.”
She thumped his chest with a clenched fist. “Still, all those people sound so important. Why are they coming? You need to tell them to stay home.”
“Actually, I am interested in meeting Desari and her brother, Darius. I am related to them. And it just so happens that Gregori is my younger brother by a thousand years or so. I gave him much advice when he was a fledgling and would very much like to see how he turned out.”
“Your relatives?” she said accusingly. “They’re all related to you? Your family? Really, Lucian, I don’t think I can do this.”
“Of course you can, angel. I will be right there beside you. Together. In your mind, in your heart. And, technically, we are already married, so they are all related to you, too. When this is over you will
feel
that they are your family. You will know that
we
are family. You will love this, angel. It’s your dream wedding.”