Page 30 of Eternal Sacrifice
“It wasn’t a vampire thing, though. It was about being overpowered. The sharp arousing thrill of saying no but meaning yes.”
“Tell me no.” I felt something brush against my neck, encircling it before squeezing. “Beg me to stop.”
I shook my head, smiling softly. “But it’s not as much fun, knowing I could make you stop anytime. I am more powerful than you,” I reminded him of the most crucial factor. The one that made my fantasy something I could only have in Justice’s dungeon. A temporary suspension of belief that I could ever stop them.
“Don’t worry, Love,” Jace said with a sharp, wicked edge as he stepped back from me.
The choking, squeezing sensation around my neck remained as space stood between us. I reached up and found a thick leather band encircling locked around my neck. Jace’s grin widened, and he held up his hand to reveal something small hanging from a chain. “I have a key, and so does Justice.”
My head tilted to its side, displaying my overall confusion.
“I’ll give you a thirty-second head start,” Jace said. He smirked like he knew I was confused but would enjoy my eventual revelation.
I rolled my eyes, wondering if this would actually end up being a fun surprise or if this was another idea Justice came up with that would fall short. Jace stood with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting for me to flee. The moment I chose to run, my feet moved at a mundane pace, forcing me to stop. Jace was only a few feet behind me, rooted between towering trees, grinning.
“No powers, Love.”
A bubble of excitement rolled through the hot, tingling sensation as I attempted to create a simple ball of fire to rest on my hand. I could still feel my power inside me, churning in content, but when I attempted to call it forth, it didn’t come.
“You’re almost out of time, Love.”
I had a million questions, but not enough time to ask them. I took off running through the trees, moving at such a slow pace I may as well stand in place while the last of my seconds ticked by.
Jace caught up with me a moment later, wrapping his arms around my waist before pulling me back into his hard chest.
My heart raced, and I laughed as I engaged in a futile struggle. Jace held on to me tightly.
I started to laugh and quickly found that I couldn’t stop.
“Okay, okay,” I said, going limp in his hold. “I don’t think this is working out right.”
Jace’s arms remained like bands around me. “I would say this is working out just fine,” he said, nuzzling into my hair. I felt the brush of his nose behind my ear as he moved in close, like an animal sniffing out its meal.
“But I’m too weak. I couldn’t even run,” I whined.
Jace responded by plunging his fangs into the soft skin beneath my jaw. The pain felt sharper than usual, forcing a groan from my throat when he started pulling on my blood. His movements were not rushed like they usually were when we fed from each other. He didn’t bite at me with ravenous hunger. Instead, his teeth sunk into my skin as quickly as diving into a pool. They broke the surface and remained there while he leisurely drank from me.
I wasn’t healing.
Dormant parts of my human brain activated as it sensed it was needed. Warm heat radiated through me, finding its way between my thighs to ache as I weakly twisted in his hold. My attempts were in vain, like when I started to run. Pathetically outmatched, it wouldn’t matter if I tried to fight back.
He removed his fangs from my skin, licking the wound to seal it. “You don’t want to be powerless, Love. You just want a challenge. Don’t lower yourself. Demand more.”
I felt the restricting band around my neck come free with a small pop before the pressure lessened as Jace took it off me entirely. The use of my power returned, but my reserves were low since Jace had nearly sucked me dry.
Despite Jace’s tight grip, he couldn’t hold me now that my power answered my call. My body erupted in a cloud of shadow, and I was free to reform a few feet away.
“Challenge me then. If you can.” I blew Jace a kiss before taking off through the woods.
The laughter returned, bubbling inside my chest. I wasn’t filled with power and would need to use it wisely. It gave me just enough of a weakness that I could find the extra thrill from this game. My laughter stopped dead as Jace appeared in front of me, grinning. I tried to make my feet stop in time, but I continued forward into his waiting arms, crashing into his chest.
“I’m faster,” Jace said, his tone full of smug arrogance.
I opened my mouth to make a snappy comeback, but was silenced as Jace’s lips crashed against mine. He kissed me with all the fervor missing from his earlier bite. Our tongues danced, evading hungry nips from sharp pointed teeth as we resorted to animalistic instinct. I wasn’t fighting against him as I had fought Justice. I was fighting with Jace to see who would be overcome.
He ripped my clothes from my body. The noise of the fabric tearing apart caused some of the chittering squirrels to scamper off. I did the same to his shirt, grabbing the material with both hands before physically forcing the strands apart. The snapping of the fibers released some tension inside of me. The sight of my mate’s delicious body fueled me with all the desire I needed.
I moved into him, forcing his body back and pushing him up against a tree. It lasted less than a second before Jace used all the force and speed of a vampire to slam my back into a trunk. Our lips searched for any piece of exposed skin while our hands raced. We crashed through the forest, traveling from trunk to trunk with our limbs entangled.
