Darkness Burning (9 page)

Her scowl was something else he remembered about her. It was not a feminine expression; her face grew surly and dark. Her lips lifted from her white teeth. She jerked out of his arms. “What the hell did you just do,
vampire
?”

“I brought you someplace special. My own private bolt-hole. Feel privileged—I haven’t brought a woman here in centuries.”

Her head swiveled, taking in the small, cozy cavern. Fine Persian rugs covered the floor, and silk tapestries swathed much of the cool, natural stone walls. Candelabras flared bright, lending a golden glow to what was essentially a cave.

“Where am I, Alex?”

“Somewhere quiet, where we won’t be disturbed.” He wandered to a small bureau set against one wall and lifted a bottle of wine from his collection. He glanced into the mirror above the bureau. “A drink?” One corner of his mouth lifted. By turning his back, he told her he didn’t consider her a threat.

Gabriella’s hands fisted at her sides. “Take me back this instant! Do you realize the trouble you will cause?”

He poured two glasses, turned, and walked to where she stood in the center of the room next to a small smokeless fire burning in a circular pit. “I take it you are in New Orleans under some immunity accord granted by the
sabat
?” he said coolly as he handed her one of the glasses.

“Of course,” she spat. “By invitation, which apparently is
something you’ll never receive. I was promised safe passage. If I’m harmed in any way, my nation will go to war.”

“You won’t be missed. I promise.” He handed her a glass, half-expecting her to fling it in his face.

Instead, she lifted it to her lips and poured it down her throat in a single gulp. “Someone will have seen us ‘pop out.’ Your coven will not be able to keep this a secret for long. I didn’t come to New Orleans alone.”

“Not my coven. Yet.” Alex stepped closer, close enough to feel the brush of her chest as she inhaled. He lifted his hand to stroke her hair, seeking now to calm her, knowing he had to play to her primal proclivities. “Be assured,” he said softly. “The coven will never know you went missing. This place isn’t in New Orleans; it isn’t even in the same dimension or time. When we are done here, we will return to the exact place from which we exited.”

She pulled away from his stroking hand. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Darling,” Alex drawled, knowing he was getting to her. Her nipples sprouted against the heavy silk covering her. “You might as well have a seat. We’ll talk. Get reacquainted. We’ll come to an agreement.”

“Take me back, and I won’t tell them you were there. I’ll let you have time to flee, for old time’s sake, for what we once were to each other.”

“Just what were we?” he asked, pretending confusion.

Her full lips pushed into a moue of disappointment. “Was I really so easy to forget?”

Alex snorted. Not likely. She’d scored his back countless times, left him spent, legless with exhaustion. A more ener
getic lover he’d never had. That her loyalties could not be swayed from her pack was at the center of what had killed their relationship.

God, he was going to have to fuck her. Alex didn’t have to force a smile. His arousal stirred, thick and urgent. “I promise I won’t bite unless you want me to.”

A low, feral growl reverberated from her throat.

Without looking up from the glass he’d poured for himself, he said, “Turn and I’ll collar you, bitch.”

“I’d like to see you try.” The sound of her gown slithering to the floor had his body tightening, readying.

For the second time that night, a wolf carried him to the ground.

H
e rolled with her, coming over her thickly muscled, lupine body. Her jaws, with their long, jagged rows of teeth, gaped but didn’t snap. Her claws, however, shredded his shirt, drawing blood as they raked his chest.

Alex wrestled her, flipping her onto her paws, then straddling her body to pin her beneath him as he worked the silver linked collar he’d palmed before leaving the bureau around her thrashing snout. Finally, he dragged it over her head and cinched it tight, strangling her.

Gabriella gurgled momentarily, then her body transformed, melting beneath him into her naked human form, the silver chain working like the charmed object it was.

She panted rapidly, her face and body pressed against the carpet, completely at his mercy now. Just as he remembered she liked it.

Arousal flared hotter in his groin as he stretched over her, his hands reaching to manacle her wrists. “Will you obey me now?” he whispered into her ear.

Her body shuddered. “Uhnnn…Alex,” she said breathily, her legs parting to display her willingness to submit.

Ignoring her invitation, he smoothed her hair off her neck, inhaling her scent—warm spice and wild wolf. He pressed a kiss to the chain, noting the delicious shiver that racked her shoulders. He fingered the choker’s clasp, locking it to ensure her continued cooperation, then quickly climbed off her, surreptitiously adjusting his cock.

“You can’t leave me this way,” she said plaintively, glancing over her shoulder.

Because he needed her calm and because he couldn’t resist reacquainting himself with her strong, lithe body, he ran his hands along her back and sides, gliding down her quivering flanks to pet and gentle her. “Am I ever cruel?” he drawled, careful not to stroke between her thighs.

Her bottom lifted, and then undulated down. “Only when it’s needed, darling.
And I need
,
now
.” She came up on her hands and knees, arching her back to tilt her pussy upward, her submission clear. “I remember how well you liked our ways, Alex,” she said, tossing back her head and giving him a direct stare—challenge, as always, reflected in her expression.

Alex suppressed a smile. The woman always led with defiance, but he knew secretly she craved his mastery. He lifted his hand and swatted her ass.

Her indrawn breath was quickly followed by a low, throaty laugh.

He glided his hand over one firm, fleshy globe. “That wasn’t meant as foreplay, love. We’re talking.”

“First?” At his even stare, she huffed, “Fine. Talk away. But afterward, I really do have to scratch an itch.” She rolled to her back and sat up, shaking out her long brown hair behind her.

“Would you feel more comfortable clothed?” he asked, handing her the crumpled gown. Watching the flex of her toned ass and thighs was wreaking havoc on his libido, and he needed to conclude their business before this encounter took its natural course. He’d only whetted his appetite for sex with sweet Sarah. With Gabriella, he could unleash the wildness inside himself without fear of harming her.

“Alex,” she said, giving him a reproving look, “you should know I’m always most comfortable in my own skin.” She dropped the dress again and strode to a low-backed sofa, sitting languidly, then slowly raising her long legs to tuck them beneath her on the plush cushion. She draped an arm across the back of the sofa, her breasts lifting with each deep inhalation, waiting like the predator she was as he took his seat at the opposite end. “Now who’s afraid of a little nibble?”

Giving her ample bosom a quick, regretful glance, he stared at his wineglass. “How about we speak plainly, Gabi. About my situation, about yours?”

“Let’s,” she said, her voice deepening again as her greedy gaze swept his body. “Why are those women jonesing for you, darling?”

“They want me dead because I threaten their balance of power.”

“One little vampire?” she drawled.

He raised one dark eyebrow.

Gabriella scooted closer on the sofa, stretching her fingers to comb through his hair. “They don’t know you as well as I do, otherwise they’d know you’re an
honorable
man.” Her gaze hardened as she pulled his hair.

Unhurried, he reached up and grabbed her hand, bending back her wrist until she gasped. “Stop being a bitch.”

Her eyes widened in mock innocence. “You mean you’re not honorable? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Alex fought the urge to roll his eyes. The woman wasn’t going to let him get straight to business without rehashing the past. “All right. So I wasn’t completely open about the reason I romanced you to begin with. I apologize.”

“Please,” she said, her lips pouting, “if discovering I was only a means for you to get your hands on your precious
lilum
stone wasn’t bad enough, to find out you were boning that bi-sexed demon whore at the same time really cut it.”

He lifted one brow. “Is that why you decided to do away with me? You were jealous?”

Her masculine snort made him smile. “That and the bounty on your head. Even back then your womenfolk wanted your hide nailed to the floor in the sunshine—only that won’t work on you, will it?”

Alex had always liked the way Gabriella talked. Like a man. If she’d been a man, they might have been great friends. “Again, I apologize. Tell me, Gabi, are you really so eager to see me dead? Aren’t you the least bit curious about why I’d bother my ass to hang around New Orleans, where I’m obviously not welcome?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said airily. “The need to rule? The need to control everyone around you…” She slid her finger along the edge of her collar. “We both know how much you enjoy being in control.”

Alex’s eyelids drifted down as he eyed the collar, then dropped his gaze to follow the flush of heat ripening her breasts. Her rose-colored nipples darkened, the tips beading.

She snuggled closer, pressing herself against his arm, and he turned his head to let her nuzzle his neck. “Does anyone in your clan know how much you love to be dominated?” he asked.

“Of course not. I’m very careful, usually, about whom I allow to cover me. Can’t let any of those alpha males think they can be my master.”

When her teeth nibbled his earlobe, he shuddered and murmured, “Wouldn’t do at all to let a man be on top, hmmm?”

“Like I said, I’m choosy…and discreet. I have my position in my clan to consider.” Her tongue trailed along the edge of his jaw. “Alex…?”

“Yes, love?” He waited, knowing what she’d ask, knowing he couldn’t refuse, but also honest enough to admit he was so damned aroused after their tussle that he needed the explosive release she’d offer.

“Remind me why I couldn’t get enough of you…for old time’s sake?” The amused curve of her lips was at odds with the need reflected in her intense gaze.

“A chase, then?”

Her breath hitched, lifting her chest. Her nipples dimpled. The musk of her honeyed arousal wafted in the air around them. “Loosen the collar?” she asked in a deepening contralto.

The collar was only for expedience. They both knew he was powerful enough to tame her, even in her lupine form. “Have you learned any new tricks?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Her chin dipped, her eyes rounding innocently. “Alex, do you really think I want to kill you here? I’d be stuck here with only your sad carcass to feed me for a day or two.” She leaned closer and nipped his chin. “And we both know I have a ravenous appetite.”

Alex fingered the clasp on her collar, loosening it.

Gabriella tugged it off and tossed it aside, then relaxed against the cushions as though she hadn’t been so horny that her belly and thighs quivered. “I’ll wait until you’ve stripped. I don’t want you handicapped.”

Alex set aside the glass he hadn’t touched and rose from the sofa. Glancing down at his shredded shirt, he ripped it off and mopped the drying blood from his chest. When he glanced up, Gabriella’s expression showed not a hint of remorse for the damage she’d done. Her pink tongue stroked over her top lip.

After he stripped the rest of his clothing away, she kicked out her legs and stood.

Wearing only his amulet, Alex braced his legs, readying to lunge, but she strode slowly toward him, her hips swaying, moisture gleaming on her inner thighs. As she drew near, she reached out to trace one long, angry scratch on his chest. She tracked it down his abdomen, then slowly walked around him, scraping her nail along his shoulders, his arm, before she finished the circle and lifted her brown gaze to his. “Nice, Alex. The years have been kind to you.”

“As they have to you, love,” he responded with a slight cant of his head.

She knew how beautiful she was, told him so with the inten
sifying flex of her thighs and feminine roll of her round hips. Powerful, so sensual she made his teeth ache—her confidence was just one more thing he liked about her.

Tossing back her head again, she paused in front of him to rake his body with her gaze, head to toe. Then she backed up to stare at his rising cock. Standing so close that her nipples grazed his chest, she held his gaze while her hand lifted and cupped his balls, hefting them softly on her palm as though assessing their weight.

Her nose lifted and she sniffed. “You stink of human, Alex,” she said softly. “Who’d you do before me?”

Alex gave her a steady glare. “A girl. A blood host.”

“You dared to take a bite, right there with the coven all around you?”

“Good thing, wasn’t it?” he growled. “I’m going to need my strength.”

“Hmmm…The question you need to ask yourself, vampire, is do you trust me?” Her smile, feminine and challenging, stretched across her lush lips as she stepped backward, shaking out her hair again.

Gabriella drew a deep breath and held it, her head falling back. Then she shook out her arms and legs, as though preparing for a sprint. Her shoulders lifted, her legs spread, then she sank her head toward her chest while locking with his gaze.

Alex’s skin prickled at the wild, primal expression entering her regal features.

Her eyes flared gold for a moment. Then her back and shoulders slumped forward, and she fell to the ground, her hands landing flat in front of her, knees resting there only a split second. Hair sprouted to cover her face and flanks, then her whole body began to tremble and contort.

Her face jutted outward, stretching into a snout. Her back lengthened, legs and arms shortening, the joints crackling as they changed orientation.

When her transformation ended, Alex smiled, having never grown inured to the miracle of her true nature. Her pelt was lush and thick—black at the roots, blending to brown, then golden at the tips; a reddish ruff shone beneath her chin.

He held out his hand to the wolf, waiting with his breath held to see what she would do.

A low growl rumbled through her, not deep or sonorous enough to give him pause. He thought she might be laughing at him, giving him a growl to remind him he should be on his toes.

Her head sank toward the floor, her eyes never leaving him, and she crept toward him, her shoulders loose, relaxed. When she reached his outstretched fingers, she licked the tips, then scooted her head beneath his palm.

Alex chuckled and scratched behind her ears, digging into the thick fur until her growling became a thin whine.

She moved closer, sliding her shoulder against his thigh, leaning into him as though she only meant to rub against him.

Alex knew better than to relax. He grabbed a handful of the hair at the back of her neck and shook her gently. “Remember who has to take you home,” he reminded her.

Her jaws opened, her tongue lolling out as her mouth stretched into a lycan smile.

He let her go. “You’ve been warned. Now, I’ll show you how much I trust you.” He let go of her and clasped his hands behind his back.

Gabriella leaned into his thigh again, resting her considerable weight against him. Then she nuzzled his belly with her nose, sticking out her tongue to swipe him there once.

“Ready to stop playing?”

The wolf snorted, then stepped directly in front of him, sitting on her haunches while she looked into his face.

Alex held her gaze, unafraid, knowing she would test him.

She lifted her nose, rubbing her finely furred snout along the inside of his thigh, rubbing up, then down, then up again.

“Gabi…,” he warned.

Her snout glided up again until her wet nose nudged his balls.

Alex’s breath hissed between his teeth, but he didn’t un-clasp his hands.

When her soft, warm tongue laved one testicle, Alex forced his legs farther apart. If she took a bite, he’d kill her. Even Gabriella on a tear wouldn’t be that stupid. He closed his eyes and let her lap him with her long tongue, over and over, until his toes curled into the thick carpet under his feet and his cock jutted straight up from his crotch. Her low-pitched growl vibrated against him, driving his arousal upward.

How long he stood there with his eyes closed as she licked his balls, then ventured up along his shaft, he didn’t know. This wasn’t something he’d have permitted in their previous relationship, but back then, he’d held all the power. Now, he needed a favor.

When the laps shortened, the tongue feeling a little less slippery, he gazed down to find the woman kneeling between his parted legs, mischief in her eyes and finely arched brows.

Alex thrust his fingers through her hair, pulling hard until her mouth opened around a gasp. With his other hand he pushed his cock downward, between her open lips.

Her gaze narrowed, and her bared teeth closed around his crown.

Alex wiped all trepidation from his mind and his features. He tightened his jaws, lowering his brows and daring her to attempt a bite. For a long, charged moment they froze, gazes locked, then Gabriella slowly opened her mouth wider.

Alex didn’t even think about pulling away. Without hesitation he stroked into her mouth, straight toward the back of her throat.

Gabriella gurgled, then swallowed, the action giving his head a strong caress.

He slipped both hands around her head and held her just where he wanted her, pulling her close as he stroked forward, shoving her back when he withdrew.