Page 36 of Rock Bottom
After I’d taken a few ounces less than it’s safe to take from a human of her size, Ifinallyreleased the venom cocktail she so desperately needed, the one to allow her release from the aching arousal, flying so close to climax but unable to cross over.
I eased my fangs free, releasing a cocktail on my way out to allow her to move her muscles again.
And I held on, making sure I stayed buried while she came apart, and Silver shattered in my arms, spasms ravaging her from head to toe. Her cock erupted in thick, hot pulses, her pussy clenching so hard it almost made me lose control. I fed from the charged air and sipped lust from her energy field in tiny tastes, just enough to keep her spinning, to amp her arousal levels even higher.
I glanced at the clock when I pulled my teeth from her neck, and seventeen minutes later, she passed out — her body limp, spent beyond consciousness.
Totally normal, and expected.
I slipped out of her carefully, cleaned her with practiced gentleness, applied some soothing ointment on her asshole and just inside, settled her in the middle of the bed, and went to the bathroom to wash my hands.
I was back in bed and holding her when she finally stirred and snuggled against my chest, warm and pliant.
“When can we do that again?” Her voice was hoarse, and something tight and possessive twisted low in my belly.
“Six weeks, probably.” I wanted to say four, but I wouldn’t risk her health. Silver was strong, her body resilient, but we’d have to see how quickly she rebuilt her strength and blood. Her stamina was phenomenal, but even her body needed time to recoverafter having her blood consumed by a vampire.
“I’ll put it on my calendar.Fuck, Julian. Sir.”
I kissed her forehead. “I think we’re past the Sir thing for tonight. Nothing else is happening, scene-wise, for the rest of this day.”
I’d brought her special electrolyte drink and put it on the nightstand when I cleaned up, and I reached for it now, easing her upright so she could sip, and watched her mouth and throat work while she swallowed. My cock threatened to come back to life, and I sent the blood elsewhere. Silver was well and truly done for the evening.
And I took in her scent, the difference between before and after she drank the heavy-duty, oversalted electrolyte mix. The difference wasn’t what I’m used to scenting for, used to analyzing, but I’d need to learn to recognize when she was low on salt, so I could properly take care of her.
Chapter 13
Silver
Julian had a little more time with me, but then he needed to get to work. I showered and dressed, considering what I could do with the rest of my day. I’d grabbed a guitar from my townhouse when I’d packed to stay for a week, so I took it outside, to the patio area around the pool. I didn’t want the waterfall sound to interfere, and I saw a bench back in the woods about fifty yards away.
The woods muffled the waterfall, so I set everything up. I’d downloaded a mix of a new song that included everyone’s part except mine, and I cued it up on my phone. I put my earbuds in and set a compact video camera up in front of me on an extendable tripod, focused on my hands. Since I hadn’t decided for sure what would work best with this song, I wanted to try it several ways and let the others decide.
I’d been playing for well over an hour when I noticed two wolves standing off in the distance. I stopped playing and paused the music on my phone. They didn’t move, but I assumed they were shifters and not real wolves, so I said, “Am I bothering you? Should I stop? Kirsten told me not to walk past the big field with the boulder on it, but she said anywhere between the house and the field would be safe.”
They just stared at me, motionless. I tried it as a yes or no question. “Do ya’ll need me to stop?”
They both shook their head, so I asked. “I’m good? I should continue?”
They both nodded, and I started the song over from the start and went through it again.
But I couldn’t get into it with freaking sentient wolves watching me. Werewolves.Watching me.
It isn’t that they scared me, but they hadn’t blinked once, not even when I shifted my weight, and their eyes followed me with the kind of attention that felt more human than beast, looking out of eyes that wereallbeast. It creeped me the fuck out.
I stopped playing and told them, “If ya’ll are going to listen, give me some feedback. I think I have it narrowed down to two possibilities. Come closer and listen.”
One of them shook his head, and I stared at them. “You aren’t allowed to come closer?”
They just stared at me again.
Something flew down from above and turned into a man as he landed on two feet with perfect balance. I jerked and jumped to my feet, and would’ve dropped my guitar if the strap hadn’t been around my neck. I fought to control my breathing, deep instead of shallow, to try to calm my racing heart. Kirsten had said they had hawk shifters as security, too. It was the only explanation for the completely naked man standing before me.
Even buck naked, or I supposehawk-nakedworked here, he looked like a stereotypical soldier. Compact, honed muscle over a frame built for speed and power, with a resting stance that said he was always a half breath from striking. He wasn’t just alert, he was aware, scanning, calculating. The same intensity I’d seen in Will’s top-tier security, a quiet confidence that doesn’t need weapons to be dangerous.
“We aren’t supposed to get close to you in animal form, and my wolfie friends don’t want tochangewithout having food nearby. I can snag a small woodland creature when I go back to hawk, so I’m good. I like the version with dadadadumdadumdadum more than the one with dededadumdumdumdeda.”
I strummed the one I thought he meant he liked, and he nodded. “Yes. I could hear enough of what was coming from your earbuds, and I’m pretty sure that one gives it more bite.”
