«Ready for more, my lady?» he asked, moving closer. He laid the feather aside, using both hands to show her the strip of cloth. «I'm going to blindfold you, sweetheart. Is that all right?»
Her pulse leapt at the idea. Moisture flooded her pussy. She couldn't believe how quickly Sebastian had her ready for more. All with just a few words.
«Yes, Sebastian.» She raised up a little so he could put the blindfold in place. «Whatever you like.»
«Oh, I like the sound of that.» He kissed her, just once, as he lowered her back to the padded table. She felt movement at her side and knew he'd picked up the feather once more. A shiver coursed down her spine just thinking about the soft brush of that feather down her body, but Sebastian made her wait.
«You know,» even his tone teased her, «anticipation can be something of an aphrodisiac. For example, here you lie, ready and waiting for me to touch you, anticipating where I will stroke first. Will my touch be light or hard? Firm or soft? Feather or fingers…or something else entirely?» She was aware of him moving around to her side, but still he didn't touch her. «Tell me, do you want my touch, my love?»
«Yes!» Her voice was whisper soft, but she knew he heard. She could feel the satisfaction in his mind as he teased her. Knowing that he drew pleasure from her excitement only made the yearning rise higher.
«Where do you wish me to touch you? Here?» He didn't wait for an answer, stroking the feather over her waist, down one side and up to her arm. «Or do you prefer here?» He drew the feather down the outside of her arm, raising gooseflesh in the path of the soft tormentor. «Do you like that?»
«Yes, Sebastian. Yes.»
«Or how about here?» Suddenly the feather was at her ankle, rising up the inside of one thigh, sliding upward and leaving a wave of longing in its wake. He stopped just shy of the apex.
«Sebastian.» She panted as her stomach clenched. The feather followed the ripples of her abdominal muscles as the need rose and thrummed through her being. «Please, Sebastian.» The whispered plea moved him, she could tell from a hitch in his breathing. She felt the eager satisfaction race through his mind a moment before he stepped between her thighs and used the mechanism to lower the table, positioning her legs to his satisfaction.
A moment later, his cock filled her. He took her by storm, shoving home in one swift move. Then he stilled.
«Is that what you wanted, my lady?»
«Oh, yes.» She moaned as he filled her. He was hot and hard, long and perfectly formed. She loved the feel of him inside her, but she needed more. She needed him to move. «Sebastian, please!»
He withdrew and rocked home again. She could feel how close he was to losing all control. It would take very little to drive him over the edge. She needed to drive him to that point, but she was blindfolded and restrained, unable to move. Still, there was one set of muscles sure to drive him insane.
She clenched around him, pleased when he groaned deep in his throat. She released, then did it again, with even better results.
«Christina! Lord, what you do to me!» Sebastian exclaimed as he started to move faster and she knew he was ready to burst. So was she. All it would take would be a few hard thrusts and she'd be over the moon. Tightening on him as he thrust deep, she matched his rhythm somewhat, unable to concentrate at the last as sensation swamped her.
She cried out as the wave hit her, sweeping Sebastian along for the ride as he climaxed within her. He gripped her hips in his large hands, riding her deep and hard, pulsing hot in her depths as he came in spurts of creamy satisfaction.
Both of them were breathing hard as they crested the peak and started the lazy spiral back to earth. Sebastian stood over her, the wicked table cradling her still. Only then did she realize he hadn't fed.
In the aftermath, she thought through some of the things she'd seen in his mind. The knowledge he shared was plentiful, but she could only process a bit at a time and he had the ability to close off certain areas of this thoughts, which she considered a good thing. She followed his example and walled off the memories of violence at Jeff's hands.
She suspected Sebastian limited her access to things that he'd prefer to keep private. Past lovers, indiscretions, moments of violence, and the like. She didn't mind at all. She knew the measure of this man and she wouldn't change her mind about him no matter what he'd done in the distant past. She loved him for who he was now.
But the idea of other lovers still rolled through her mind.
«Sebastian,» she asked as they both came back to earth, «will you still need to feed from other people now that we're…um…together?»
Sebastian pulled free from her body and began to undo the restraints on her feet. «Not anymore. From what I understand, the passion and blood we share between us will be enough to sustain us both.»
«So I won't have to bite anyone but you?»
«Not if you don't want to. Now that we know for certain that we're mates, our love and the mingling of our blood will be enough to feed our souls and our bodies for the rest of our lives, barring some unforeseen circumstance.» He removed the bindings from her wrists, hitting the controls to move her into a more comfortable position on the naughty table. «The only time I can foresee a need, possibly, to feed from another would be in case of emergency.» He removed the blindfold and smiled down at her, leaning in for a languid kiss. The satisfaction in his eyes melted her heart.
The relief she felt at his words calmed her fears. She didn't want him biting other women any more than she suspected he wanted her to bite other men. What she'd learned of vampire feeding was both physical and psychic. At the moment of orgasm, energy flooded her system, renewing her life force with amazing power. The blood did the same, but in a different, more earthy way. With the psycho-sexual energy they generated between them and Sebastian's reassuring words – Christy believed they could sustain each other for all eternity.
He led her from the dungeon room back to their bedroom and they made love again, and fed from each other, just before the sun rose. They slept the day away locked in each other's arms.
CHAPTER 8
The days went by all too fast. Each night, the men gathered to discuss plans while Christy spent time with Hiro, learning the basics of self-defense with her new agility and strength. Sometimes Sebastian would join them, sometimes Matt, but each night after the training session and after the planners left, Christy would spend time with Sebastian. They'd sit and talk, or take a walk over the grounds and he'd teach her things she needed to know about being a vampire.
On one such night a few days after that first strategy session, they walked through the woods surrounding Sebastian's home. It was an estate, really, up in a secluded area of the hills. The place was a mansion, but not ostentatious at all. On the contrary, from the outside, the appearance of the house was very low-key, blending in nicely with the surrounding woodlands. Inside, of course, the house was a home. Comfy and lived in, she felt at ease there once she learned the layout of the many rooms in the vast space.
This night, Christy knew Matt prowled the woods. He'd stayed nearby more often since the news broke about just who might be gunning for them. Matt took the Venifucus threat very seriously and more were became involved in the case-at least those who would work with bloodletters. That was a term she'd heard them call Sebastian from time to time. It didn't sound very nice, but Sebastian seemed to prefer it to the word vampire. She didn't much care what word was used. Though «vampire» brought to mind Bella Lugosi and late night horror flicks, it was the word that sounded most modern to her.
Something the men had said the night before caught at her memory. She turned to Sebastian, gazing up at him in the dappled moonlight. He really was the most handsome man she'd ever seen.