“That was the whole idea. No one’s going to forget any of what happened. Every vampire who wasn’t there will hear the tale – it’ll most likely be exaggerated ten-fold, but that can only be a good thing.” Fisting his hand in my hair, Jared rested his forehead against mine. “I swear I almost died when you told Imani to cut the bond. You can’t ever do anything like that again, Sam. You can’t sacrifice yourself for other people – not even for me.”
“You would have died,” I softly pointed out, trailing the tips of my fingers up and down his back.
His smile was sad. “I wouldn’t have survived the breaking of the bond, baby. Not here.” He took my hand and held it over his heart. “I’d have been a fucking shell without you.”
“But at least you would have been alive.”
“I’d have been breathing, sure. But I’d have been dead inside.” Though his voice was still low, it had turned gruff as his tightly controlled anger began to seep to the surface. “I’d have stuck around long enough to avenge what had happened to you, but that’s all. You wouldn’t have saved me by having Imani cut the bond. And if you think the others would have wanted you to sacrifice yourself for them, you’re wrong.”
I remembered the others objecting. Even Antonio, who had had a knife to his throat, had been angry with me for doing it. “You wouldn’t have offered your life for everyone else’s?”
He pinned my gaze with his. “No. Dying would have meant being without you. I can’t do that. If that makes me selfish, there’s not a lot I can do about it. I’ve told you over and over, Sam, you come first. I know that no one’s ever put you first before so you just can’t grasp that or understand it. But you come first to me.”
It was bewildering, scary, and yet also sent a blaze of warmth shooting through me.
“You don’t need to keep risking yourself to feel worthy of everyone’s loyalty – and don’t say that’s not part of why you do it, I know you.” With his eyes still holding mine, he absentmindedly began tracing my collarbone with the tip of his index finger. “You are worthy. You’re worthy of everything that you have. The people here, the squad – they’re all loyal to you because they respect you and they care for you.”
“They shouldn’t. I’m stubborn, sarcastic, so direct it’s”
“You’re you – that’s all it takes for people to like you and respect you. A lot of people who are straight-shooting…they’re only happy to be so blunt when talking about others. They’re not so upfront about who they are, what flaws they have, and what their issues are. But you don’t hide who you are. You don’t act. You don’t play mind games. People always know where they stand with you.” He slid both his arms around me and held me tight, lightly nipping my mouth. “It’s part of what I love about you. It’s what drew me to you in the first place. Of course your husky voice and your delectable body had a lot to do with it too.”
I smiled against his mouth. “That’s because you’re a randy bastard.”
“I don’t hear you complaining.”
“Why would I complain? I highly benefit from it.”
He fell silent for a minute, studying me intently. “You know, the idea of dying hadn’t really bothered me much before I met you. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t suicidal or anything, but I was fine with being rash and impulsive. The things I’ve done with my life since becoming a vampire – joining the legion, becoming a commander, being appointed as Antonio’s Heir – I’d always thought of it as making the best out of a bad situation, out of a life I’d never wanted. That was why I was never what anyone would call ‘happy’. You changed that. You made me like this life, made me want it, and made me glad to have it. You made me want more.”
“Same here.”
“Then don’t even consider leaving me again. Not for any damn reason.”
Wanting to calm his mood, I lightly raked my nails down his back, shooting him a teasing smile. “But if I’m a good girl all the time, you’ll stop tying me up and torturing me with orgasms.”
Grinning crookedly, he rolled us so that he was draped over me. “Unfortunately, I can’t do that right now because I have nothing to tie you up with. But we can definitely do everything else.”
I chuckled. “No, we can’t. There’s no way that we’ll manage to keep quiet. The mansion is packed full of people and I’m not sure if the walls are vampire-soundproof.”
He began slithering down my body. “Then don’t forget to comment on how big my dick is.”
Laughing quietly, I reached down and cuffed him over the head. Then his mouth was on me, toying with my clit, and my laugh turned into a moan.
“I love how you taste. I want more.” He spread my legs wider, opening me fully to him. Then his talented tongue was doing all sorts of things – each move was sensual and teasing. Swirl. Lick. Stab. Flick. The rotation changed each time, building the friction, winding me tighter and tighter. Finally, I imploded. Of course he didn’t stop. Not until he’d pulled another two orgasms from me with just his tongue and fingers.
While I was quaking with aftershocks, he crawled up my body, and rested himself on his elbows. Then he did the strangest thing. He slung the pillows and duvet on the floor and tucked the fitted bed sheet around me. “What are you doing?”
His devilish smile made my stomach quiver. “Just hold on tight.”
No sooner had my arms circled his neck than there were familiar flutters in my stomach as he teleported us to…oh.
“I told you I was going to fuck you on the beach.”
(Jared)
Almost like I was unwrapping a present, I unfolded the crème bed sheet that I’d tucked around Sam. Looking down the length of her body, I groaned. Every inch of her was beautiful, sinuous, and mine. Collaring her throat, I took her mouth – the kiss was slow but deep, and demanded everything from her. She gave as good as she got…but the sneaky little minx also tried to make the kiss her own, tried to intensify it and make me lose control. Tried to take control.
I tsked. “Uh-uh, baby. We’re going to go at my pace.” I skimmed my hand down her throat, between her breasts, over her flat stomach, and down to cup her possessively. She arched into my hand, moaning. I plunged a finger inside her. So damn hot and slick. “Do you know what’s going to happen?” I asked, slowly pumping my finger in and out of her. “I’m going to fuck you nice and slow; I’m going to keep it like that until you can’t take it anymore. Then when you beg, I’ll give you more.”
She narrowed her eyes, clearly not liking that plan. It wasn’t often that I asked her to beg. I wasn’t one of those guys who needed to constantly hear it, which was a good thing really since Sam wasn’t much for begging. But hearing her tell Imani to cut our bond had hurt. Sure I knew why she’d done it, knew how her mind worked. And I knew that just because it wasn’t something that I ever would have done didn’t mean that she might care less for me than she had before. But still, hearing her say it…it had fucking hurt; hurt in a way that had left me feeling a little insecure in how she felt about me, about us. I needed to hear her beg now, needed to hear that she still wanted this as much as she had before, needed to see the same desperation in her eyes that I’d seen a million times before.