Page 13 of Blood from the Marrow
The collar Marisolhad been wearing was more like a tight necklace on Elena. Sitting low on her elegant neck, the gold loop looked criminally good where it met her skin. A contrast of soft and hard.
When they’d left the party downstairs, Marisol’s brain was floating in vodka. As soon as they stumbled into their suite, her mind sharpened. Skin warm from booze and pulse still racing from the dancing she’d done with Zuri, Marisol was set on staking a claim.
She had unhooked her collar when they walked into the room, but she hadn’t tossed it on the bedside table like Zuri had. Instead, she strode across to where Elena was unzipping Zuri’s dress.
The gold ring was heavier in her hand than it had been around her neck. Marisol held Elena’s gaze when she held it out to her. Elena hadn’t immediately taken it. Instead, she’d stopped unzipping halfway down Zuri’s back and stared at the offering.
Zuri’s attention had bounced between them until she agreed it was only fair for Elena to wear the jewelry. Elena had pretended to object, but Marisol felt the excitement dripping off her even without vampire senses.
And now there they were… Elena’s gorgeous form was adorned with nothing but the gold symbol of complete belonging around her neck. Standing next to her, wearing even less on her perfect body, Zuri was twirling the thin gold chain hanging between Elena’s breasts.
Marisol slipped her fingers under the collar and yanked Elena closer. “I’m overdressed,” she said, invoking Elena’s effortless control even if it didn’t feel completely natural. Not yet, anyway. But she wasn’t going to let this be the last time she was in the lead.
When Elena started moving, Marisol held her in place with her grip on the collar. To her exhilarating surprise, Elena stopped. A woman so powerful that she commanded thousands. So strong that she’d vanquished enemies and commanded respect from a room full of people just as fierce. Stopped. Stopped because Marisol had said so.
Blood pumped so hard through Marisol’s veins that she was sure new pathways were created by the exercise of control. This time, Zuri didn’t have to ask her what she wanted.
When Marisol looked into Zuri’s fathomless dark eyes, her pulse quickened, and her skin burned as she said, “Take off my dress,” she told her. There was no question. No hesitation. No concern for what anyone thought about what she wanted.
Moistening her lips so fast that Marisol almost missed it, Zuri tilted her head to the side in subtle delight. She let go of Elena’s chain and stepped into Marisol’s space. With her heels still on, Marisol was so much taller than Zuri in bare feet.
The height difference disappeared the moment she rested her palm on Marisol’s abdomen. When she let it drip over Marisol’s hip before she squeezed her hard. The contact was a rush of heat and desire that nearly made Marisol doubt she had the nerve for this. But then Zuri raised up on her toes, painted lips brushing Marisol’s jaw before she whispered against theshell of her ear, “Bambi in the mood to bite?” It was a tease that was punctuated by Zuri’s teeth grazing her neck, only to be followed by her searing hot tongue.
Not a tease. A test.
Entire body alive with a thrill she couldn’t name, Marisol ran her hand over the back of Zuri’s neck. When her fingers slid into her soft curls, she made a sudden fist and yanked her away from her neck.
Zuri couldn’t hide the surprise in her sharp inhale. Didn’t mask the desire darkening her beautiful face.
“I told you to take off my dress,” Marisol whispered against Zuri’s parted lips, tone low and deep with conviction.
Zuri responded with a curl in her lip and a light in her eyes. “You’re talking real big, Bambi. Are you sure you can?—”
Marisol tightened her grip on Zuri’s hair, snatching whatever she was going to say out of her mouth. Instead of speaking, instead of telling Zuri that she wasn’t going to repeat herself. Reminding her of what she wanted. She let the moment hang between them with nothing but the sound of their quickening breaths.
Despite the pain Marisol was sure was burning her scalp, Zuri held her unwavering gaze and grinned. “Let’s see how the bite matches the bark,” she said before slipping out of Marisol’s grasp and disappearing behind her.
High on the adrenaline coursing through her, Marisol pulled Elena to her, erasing the space between them. She held her kiss out of reach, brushing Elena’s bottom lip with hers.
Heart pounding so hard she wasn’t sure any sound would come out when she spoke, Marisol hovered above Elena’s waiting mouth and whispered, “My shoes.”
When Elena smiled, her sharp fangs were a lethal contrast to her soft lips. Heat rushed over Marisol’s skin, sudden and destabilizing like a deadly fever. She held her breath andwondered whether tonight would finally be the night Elena bit her.
She didn’t know why Elena was holding back from doing it, but Marisol’s curiosity was verging on desperate. Zuri had warned her she needed to be sure she was ready before she asked for it. That the bite would amplify all of her burgeoning feelings. That it would create a sort of bond.
The thought of Elena’s teeth sinking into her—of getting that close to her—made her pulse hammer in her throat. She couldn’t find a way to care about what happened next. She wanted to stop thinking and worrying and just… float. The fact that a vampire’s bite was apparently intended to be addictive—to keep humans willing and coming back for more—sounded like more of a benefit than a deterrent.
Elena’s kiss was hot and hungry and changed Marisol’s mind. If she asked Elena to bite her now, she was going to lose control. That was the last thing she wanted tonight.
Behind her, Zuri ran her warm hands up her exposed back. Marisol let go of Elena’s collar and let her dress fall in a black puddle at her feet. Eyes closed, she plunged into the sensation of Zuri kissing her bare shoulders. Into Elena’s tongue teasing hers. Into two sets of hands touching her and claiming her and choosing her.
Indulging, Marisol reached back to pull Zuri flush against her back before tugging on the chain to break Elena’s kiss. “Shoes,” she repeated, more breathless than she’d like.
This time, Elena dropped to her knees. She glanced up at Marisol, feigning innocence, and Marisol could almost imagine her in her human form. Imagine what she’d been like before living half a dozen lifetimes. And then she offered a wicked grin and a flash of her fangs and Marisol’s body ignited again.
Coordinated in their attack, Elena unfastened the small buckle on her black heels while Zuri did away with her straplessbra. On her knees and looking up at her, fingers running up the inside of her thigh, Elena made it obvious that she didn’t have to be calling the shots to exert her power. But Elena didn’t own them, Marisol realized. They all possessed each other in a way she hadn’t known was possible.
With another tug on the chain, Marisol brought Elena back to her lips. While she kissed her, she reached around the back of the necklace and unhooked it.
