Page 117 of Betrayed in Blood
I found his hand and squeezed, bringing it up to place feather-light kisses across his knuckles. “You are such a planner.”
“You know me well. How’s your mother and April?”
I gave him the same information I’d given Simone, then asked, “Were you the one responsible for suggesting the bread and breakfast in Colorado?”
Remus had called after the first week we’d been at Oasis, asking if Decker could meet with my mother and me to discuss the next step in April’s recovery. He offered up a six-month getaway for Mom and April at a posh but private B&B in a tiny resort community run by a couple of shifters. It wasn’t a widely known resort area, but it was located in a shifter stronghold and catered to the wealthy with lots of shopping, recreation, and places to work. There were two healers in town, and the shifters sent their troubled souls to the B&B for rest and repair, as they called it.
“I might have mentioned something to Remus. What did your mother think?”
“At first, she wasn’t sure, but April loved the idea. She still asks about Jasper, but she seems to understand what happened to her. I think she wants to get better—to know what’s real and what isn’t. They’re willing to give it a try.”
“They’ll be safe there.”
“What happened with Jasper and the other vampire?”
“Kirk is being sent to a House back east where he can start over. It’s a small House with ties to House Beall. He seemed happy with the assignment, and one of the security detail he’s grown close to will be going with him. He’ll be watched for the first year to ensure he doesn’t stray.” He sighed. “Jasper is a different issue. Maybe we should have killed him rather than save him, but he wavers in his responses. There are days when he screams that Venizi will come for him. Other days, he’s open to listening to Rafael and Roberta discuss the future of the vampire race. He’s conflicted. So, he’ll remain where he is for now. We moved him to a secure room that provides more creature comforts. Rafael brings him books to read, some written by vampire philosophers, and Lucas set him up with a gaming station.”
“Wait, vampires have philosophers?”
Devon shook his head. “Hard as that might be to believe, yes.”
I grinned. “Sorry. It just seemed an odd statement.”
His grin was wicked. “Sergi reads quite a few vampire philosophers. You should discuss it with him.”
“That’s just mean.”
He pulled me to him. “The two of you are too much alike.”
“That’s enough of that.” I tried to get out of his grip, but he played dirty, tickling me until I screamed, “Uncle.” It didn’t help that he had no idea what that meant and only stopped when I laughingly told him I couldn’t breathe anymore.
We finished watching the sunset, both of us satisfied to be in each other’s arms. Then he leaned over and kissed me. It was heated and it was like we never left my bed. I pulled him closer and reveled in his passion. His lips traveled down my neck, his fangs grazing a path across my collarbone, and suddenly I was too hot.
He must have guessed it because he pulled back and ripped off his sweatshirt and then mine. We pushed our sweatpants off and removed everything else until the soft, cool ocean breeze caressed our naked bodies.
When he kissed my breasts and nipped at my nipples, I arched into him while he continued his journey south until he was between my legs. I gripped his hair as his tongue worked me into a frenzy. Two weeks had seemed like forever without him, and it didn’t take long for him to rip a scream out of me that was whisked away with the ocean breeze.
Then he rolled over, yanking me with him until I straddled him. He was ready for me, and I wasted no time settling myself over him. Once I was fully seated, his whole body relaxed beneath me.
Neither of us had to say a word to know we’d come home. Though I’d known it deep down, this was the reason Devon wanted me to take time away. So we’d both experience what life would be like without the other. It was something neither of us wanted.
He had to know that.
And I did everything I could to make him see how much I understood as I gently rocked until he gripped my hips to move me faster as he settled deeper within me. My head fell back as I released all my thoughts, choosing to live in the moment as the orange-hued sky turned to dusk and the first stars appeared.
The rocking moved faster as one hand moved to pinch my nipple while his other hand squeezed my hip harder. I barely noticed as shivers ran through me. The intense pleasure of our joining built until I couldn’t hold back. Didn’t want to hold it back as ripples of delight rolled through me.
Another scream tore out of me, but I didn’t stop. When his body tensed, I kept the pace of our rhythm. The icy blue glow of his gaze heightened my pleasure before a scream that turned into a howl ripped out of him. I instinctively knew that it was more than Devon who was with us. That howl had come from his beast, and it was also satisfied.
We were one.
I collapsed on his chest, and he held me tight, kissing my temple. We lay still with nothing more than heavy breathing between us. He caressed my hair as I slowly ran my hands up and down the muscled angles of his chest, loving the feel of his skin under my fingertips.
After several moments, when our thumping hearts had calmed to matching steady beats, I breathed out a long sigh. It was time to put our own personal house in order.
“I wasn’t prepared for when you released me from my debt.” His body tensed a fraction. “Maybe because I was still half asleep when you told me, or maybe it was the way you rushed from the room.” I chuckled. “It took me a while to understand that you wanted me to make my own choice without the strings. You were right. The two weeks at Oasis with my family were exactly what I needed. It gave me time to step back and analyze my life with a clear perspective. What I hoped for my future.
“I walked into this manor on that first day with only one expectation—work off my debt. I can’t determine the point where I forgot about my debt. I was drawn deeper into your world, to you, and some might say it was just a different type of manipulation. But you didn’t just open a new world to me. You helped me discover my own truth. I found my history. You gave me back my human family while allowing me to explore who I am as a dreamwalker.
