Page 42 of Exes, Hexes, and Strategy
Stepping back, she stood before him proudly as his eyes, gone red with need, devoured her. There was a slight tremble to his hands as he reached out to touch her. Her cheek, her chin, down to her breastbone, the curve of her waist, and Nina’s breath caught with each new area he explored with an almost delicate touch until she could no longer stand the distance between them.
Grabbing his wrist, she pulled him to her, her mouth seeking his for a long, hot kiss that practically curled her toes as he stripped off the final garment between them, releasing his erection. The thick length pressed hot and heavy against her belly.
His mouth moved from hers, and his fangs nipped her gently at the pulse point in her throat, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to have her shivering at the possibility. Nina gasped, her vision gone entirely blue in a sudden rush of hunger.
“Have you taken from the vein yet, Nina?” he asked in a sexy purr against her ear as he delivered another nip to her earlobe while his fingers traced the skin of her upper thighs.
She shook her head. It was all she could manage, her breath leaving her mouth in little puffs of excitement as her eyes latched onto his throat. She licked her lips. Such want… she’d never felt anything like it.
His fingers slid through her slick folds and she gasped, her body shuddering under the onslaught as he focused his attentions on that swollen bundle of nerves throbbing with need.
Everything was more intense as a vampire. The cool air circulating through their cave, the heat of his body where it pressed against hers, the smell of her arousal, and the taste of Rafe’s skin on her tongue.
“I want you at my throat,” he growled, and Nina’s gums tingled as her fangs elongated.
“Yes,” he added in a throaty purr. “I can feel your hunger.” He tipped his head, displaying the side of his throat. “Take from me.”
His words combined with those clever fingers working their magic almost sent her over the edge into orgasm. His free hand cupped the nape of her neck, gently pulling her closer, his other arm wrapped around her lower back as he easily lifted her against him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, the length of his erection pressing tight to her wet center he’d so recently tormented with his fingers and she ground against him as her teeth sank into his throat.
Rafe snarled, his fingers gripping her tighter to him, and as that first hot rush of his powerful blood hit her tongue, Nina’s eyes snapped open wide in surprise as her body exploded with the most intense pleasure she’d ever felt. She almost blacked out, the feeling was so incredible.
With a growl of satisfaction, Rafe thrust inside her, burying himself deep within, each contraction of her inner muscles clenching around him, hurtled him closer and closer to the precipice. A shout he couldn’t hold back echoed through the cave, and as she drank from him, growing stronger with every drop of his nourishing blood, he found completion.
His knees almost gave out, and he lowered them carefully to the sleeping bag that covered the floor, as Nina licked at his throat to seal the wounds from her bite.
“That was amazing,” she breathlessly told him as she collapsed in a boneless heap against his chest.
He wrapped his arms even tighter around her, hugging her close, and peppered kisses over her hair, and her face. “You’re amazing,” he said.
She raised her head to look at him, her smile brilliant though her eyes were sleepy, heavy-lidded, after having partaken of such potent blood.
Nina let out a little ‘Mm’ and then yawned. Lovingly cupping the back of her head, he gently pressed her against his shoulder and smoothed his palm over her hair. Kissing the top of her head, he murmured, “Sleep. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”
Another yawn he could feel against his pectoral made him smile and she murmured, “You’ve ruined bagged blood for me.”
His smile grew into a grin. “I rather like the idea of you getting all your needs met by me.”
“Possessive,” she playfully chastised.
His response, however, was serious. “I am.”
“That’s okay,” she returned, nuzzling her head deeper into his chest, her words slightly slurred as sleep began to take her under. “I’m possessive too.” Her fingers tightened against the bicep she was holding. “Only from me, Rafe.”
He didn’t misunderstand her meaning. “Only ever from you, Nina. It has always been you,” and then firmer, a vow, “It will alwaysbeyou.”
He felt the smile against his skin, and a moment later, her breathing deepened as she succumbed to sleep.
Rafe kissed the top of her head once more and carefully, so as not to wake her, pulled the edge of the sleeping bag up over them.
His eyes flicked to the bottle of champagne they’d both forgotten in favor of other, more pleasurable things. Later, he promised himself. They now had all the time in the world.
This was where he belonged. Never in his life had he felt so content, so at peace, and so loved. His home wasn’t a place, but a person. As long as he and Nina were together, he was complete. Whatever the future held for them, together they would face it, and they would triumph.
His mind slipped back to that first day he’d arrived at the training facility and had seen Nina’s car, how he’d thought to himself that the gods must hate him for torturing him so. He smiled. Perhaps, someone up there knew what they were doing after all.
With a smile on his lips, Rafe drifted off to sleep.
Epilogue
