Scorched by Darkness: Eternal Mates Series Book 18 Page 22

  He looked relieved to hear that, and terribly as if he was about to ask her to elaborate on how long was too long. She kicked her other boot off. She had the feeling that his definition of too long was far longer than hers, and didn’t want him to know that, so she distracted him.

  Wiggled her butt in his face as she bent forwards to remove her leathers.

  It worked, had his gaze falling to her bottom and a groan falling from his lips as he eyed her.

  To make sure he definitely forgot what they had been talking about, she sashayed her hips as she stepped out of her trousers and said, “I have sexier underwear.”

  His mouth fell open. Snapped closed. His eyes darted to hers, dark with hunger.

  “I want to see it.”

  She bet he did. “Be a good boy and you will.”

  He rose to his feet in one sexy, fluid motion and clutched her hips as he pressed his front to her back, as he brought his mouth to her ear and whispered into it. “I can be very good.”

  He lowered his mouth to her shoulder and kissed it again. Her eyes slipped shut as he pressed his hips forwards and slipped his hands over the front of her hips.

  “I can also be very wicked,” he purred against her skin. “Do you have a preference?”

  Boy, did she.

  “Wicked,” she panted and arched against him, pressed her hands to the black wall and moaned as he rubbed between her buttocks. She wanted wicked like she had never wanted it before, craved it and him.

  Hartt softly chuckled and kissed her shoulder, shifted his hands to the apex of her thighs and teased her through the lace of her panties. She had wanted to chastise him for finding her desperate need of him so amusing, but it died on her lips and came out as a moan as he slipped one hand beneath the material and into her soft folds to tease her bud.

  “Gods,” she muttered, unable to hold it back as she clung to the wall.

  He swept his lips down over her shoulder as he eased back, as he stroked and tormented her, had anticipation building inside her as her mind raced, thoughts spinning. His gaze seared her as he raked it down her back, ignited fire in her veins.

  That fire became an inferno when Hartt tore her panties from her, when the soft rustle of material hitting the floor reached her ears, and he pulled her hips back. Dampness bloomed between her thighs, an aching need forming there that had her raising her hips, eager for him to fill her.

  He didn’t make her wait.

  She shuddered and moaned as the blunt tip of his shaft pressed between her thighs and he sank deep into her in one swift thrust. His front pressed to her back and he growled as he caught her under her right thigh, lifted her leg and angled his hips. He drove her into the wall with a brutal plunge of his cock.

  Mackenzie turned her head and pressed her cheek to the wall, sank against it as he took her, as he pounded into her, as wild and desperate as she felt. She groaned with each meeting of their bodies, her breath sawing from her as the ache condensed, as it boiled down into a tight ball of need inside her that had her rocking against him, lost to sensation.

  She cried out as release rolled over her, as it hit her out of nowhere and sent fire sweeping through her.

  A moan fell from her lips as he slammed to the hilt inside her, as he throbbed and spilled hot seed, his fast breaths skimming across her back. Rather than loosening his hold on her thigh and hip, he tightened it instead.

  Another moan slipped from her as he moved inside her, long and leisurely thrusts that roused the heat and hunger again, had it slowly rising within her to overshadow the haze of her climax. She waited for him to stop, expecting him to be spent, but he didn’t, and satisfaction hummed in her veins as she felt how hard he still was and grew aware they weren’t done.

  That satisfaction morphed into a dark beast as he kept things slow, stoking her need of him. A need that rapidly grew and began to rip control from her, tearing it down to allow a feral and primal urge to fill her.

  That urge made her want to growl and claw at him when he pulled out of her, to snarl at him for denying her what she wanted. The hunger to lash out at him was swift to abate as he turned her, as he lifted her and filled her. She groaned as she wrapped her legs around his bare hips, as he gripped her backside and thrust into her, faster now.

  Mackenzie cupped his nape with her left hand, pressed her right one to his hard chest and stared into his eyes as he moved inside her, sent her soaring higher. Hunger shone in his violet irises, echoed that need that beat within her. His lips parted, revealing a hint of fang, and a sharp thrill bolted through her, tinged with the barest trickle of fear. She stared at his mouth as she worked her body against his, as she stretched for another release that seemed just beyond her reach.

  A release she felt sure would never come, not unless she satisfied the more primal part of her, the side of her that was aching now she had seen his fangs were down, was ravenous with a need of his bite.

  With a hunger to stake a claim on him.

  Hartt’s gaze fell to her throat, his lips parting further as he panted, as his eyes grew laser sharp. She swore she could feel the need in him—his dark need to claim her too.

  His chest heaved with every panted breath, strained as he tensed in her arms, as his thrusts grew more frantic and his eyebrows drew down, knitting into a hard frown. She could sense the fight in him, a battle he waged for her sake, when there was really no need. She wanted this, had been prepared for it before she had kissed him.

  She had known where that kiss would lead them.

  He edged his head forwards, and then reared back, his gaze leaping to collide with hers.

  “Last chance,” he croaked, disappointment and desperation lacing his deep voice.

  He thought she would use this out he had kindly given her, and at the same time he was desperate for her not to take it.

  He didn’t have to worry.

  She palmed his nape and drew him towards her, angled her head up to the other side and shivered as he dropped his lips to her throat and kissed it. He wasn’t the only one who wanted this. Needed it. She needed it more than he would ever know.

  She moaned as his fangs lightly scraped over her skin, braced herself and waited.

  Wanted to growl all over again when rather than biting her as he wanted, taking what she had offered to him, he lifted his head and pressed his cheek to hers. He began thrusting again, each delicious plunge of his length into her sending heat curling through her veins, fire that tried to turn her thoughts to ashes.

  Only it couldn’t.

  A stronger fire consumed her, born of his refusal to take her blood, of the awareness of how his instincts had to be ripping him apart now, paining him as he denied himself the claim he wanted to make on her.

  Instincts that tore her apart too.

  Unlike Hartt, she wasn’t strong enough to deny them, couldn’t hold back the primal part of herself that was aware of what he was to her and craved her mate, ached for him and wanted to be his—body and soul.

  Her claws sharpened as that need stole control of her, filling her with an urge to sink them into him and never let him go. She needed to know he belonged to her. She needed to claim him.

  Mackenzie surrendered to that need.

  She swept her claws over his neck, distantly heard his shocked hiss as her gaze zeroed in on the bright red line that marked the left side of his throat, stark against his pale skin.

  As she watched tiny beads of blood blooming along the length of it.

  Hunger ignited inside her and she obeyed it.

  She swooped on that blood that offered everything she wanted before he could stop her. She moaned as it hit her tongue, as her first taste of him flooded her senses with a rich, earthy scent laced with spice, and trembled as she swallowed it. Heat flowed through her, seemed to transform every molecule in her body as she took more blood from him, as he growled in her ear and clutched her to him. Her body cried out for more, a wild and demanding thing that she wasn’t sure would ever be satisfied. She
needed to satisfy it. She needed more.

  She rocked against him, riding him hard as she stole his blood, sucked on the wound and it opened for her, flooding her mouth with warm liquid. She swallowed it down, relished his grunt and the following growl as he dug short claws into her backside and drove forwards, pinning her to the wall of his room.

  He pounded into her, drove her higher until she swore she could almost reach the release she badly needed. It remained beyond her reach though, maddening her. She sucked harder on his throat, sure that was the way to raise herself high enough to grasp it, to give her that one push she needed to satisfy the out-of-control hunger blazing inside her.

  Her flesh heated and she felt as if she was burning up, as if she would crumble to ashes before she had the release she needed.

  Hartt pulled her hair away from her throat and sank his fangs into it.

  Catapulted her into the stratosphere, until she saw stars. They winked across her eyes as she cried out, as heat and light exploded inside her, flames licking at every inch of her as her body shook and trembled, and her heart stuttered.

  On a low growl, Hartt pulled on her blood, made her head spin as it all rushed towards him, and another release rolled up on her, swept over her and carried her away. She sank into his arms, her mouth falling from his throat, head tipping back as she gave herself over to him, as she struggled to process everything that was happening.

  In the wake of the light, everything became clearer, separated and gained shape in her mind. Feelings, both emotional and physical, bombarded her. They warmed her as she realised they weren’t only hers. She could feel Hartt. She could feel everything he did as if they were her own feelings, but separate. It wasn’t a blur of emotions or sensation. She could discern between what was his and what was hers, and she found herself focusing on the former.

  An emotion she recognised as love was at the forefront, but there was gratitude too, a sense of relief and satisfaction. That satisfaction swept through her too as he stilled inside her, as he throbbed and spilled again, his fangs still buried in her throat. She groaned and savoured his pleasure, wondered if he had experienced hers too.

  The love bloomed sweeter, grew stronger as he held her to him, as he finally withdrew his fangs and licked the twin puncture marks.

  She sighed as warmth flowed through her.

  A woman could get used to this.

  Hartt claimed her lips, kissed her softly and slowly, that love she felt inside him growing stronger still as she kissed him back, as she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.

  Her eyes widened as he stirred inside her, growing hard again.

  A wicked smile teased her lips.

  A woman could really get used to this.

  It was a good thing she was never letting him go.

  Chapter 24

  Hartt couldn’t keep his eyes off Mackenzie as she pulled her burgundy leathers on. He sat in the armchair near his fireplace and just watched her. She buttoned the fly and straightened her corset, humming to herself as she fixed her appearance. Her happiness vibrated within him, echoing his own, only unlike him she was handling their new bond with ease.

  He was still reeling, his entire world knocked off kilter by the fiery, beautiful female who had just claimed him, showing him that she wanted his bond and making him believe that she truly did love him.

  That he was loved.

  Gods, he loved her.

  He felt that deep in his soul, so fiercely it stole his breath. He would carve out his heart with a spoon and offer it to her if she hadn’t already stolen it from him.

  She paused with her fingers in her flame-red hair, midway through smoothing out a tangle. Her stunning golden eyes shifted to him, a little smile curling her kiss-swollen lips.

  “I like that feeling in you,” she murmured sexily, threatening to ignite the fire in his veins again. That threat became reality when she bent and scooped up her sheer underwear, held it aloft and raised an eyebrow at how shredded it was. She tossed the scrap of lace at him and it hit him square in the chest as he caught it.

  Fisted it and brought it to his nose, inhaling her scent as hunger sparked inside him, had his blood heating.

  “Mmm.” She sauntered towards him, all wickedness and sensuality. “I like that feeling in you too.”

  When she reached him, she leaned over and planted her hands on the arms of the chair, captured his lips in a kiss that seared him and had him hardening for her, filled with an ache to satisfy his mate.

  “You need,” he rumbled, maddened by the feel of it as it swept through him, triggering his instincts as her male.

  This bond was going to take a lot of getting used to. He could see now why Fuery was often on the edge, why he was swift to disappear at times, spending hours in his room with Shaia. The thought of leaving Mackenzie unsatisfied was like torture to him, an unbearable torment for both of them.

  She walked her fingers down his bare chest and breathed against his lips. “You need too. I can feel it. It’s so weird to have your feelings inside me too, rattling around my body.”

  “What is the bond like for you?” Hartt searched her eyes as she drew back, tried to ignore how she stroked his bare chest, and that look in her eyes that said she wanted an encore, was thinking wicked things as she teased his left nipple. “I am not sure what a bond is like for a shifter.”

  She sighed and twisted, sat on his lap and played with his hair as she pulled a thoughtful face. “I feel connected to you, I guess. Like some kind of powerful link that relays everything you feel to me… whether that’s emotions or something physical.”

  “Much like an elven bond.” He palmed her waist, idly ran his fingers up and down her side, couldn’t stop himself from dipping lower to brush the strip of bare flesh between the bottom of her leather corset and her trousers.

  “There’s a compulsion too. Like I can’t ignore you when you look at me, like I have to look at you… but maybe that’s just because I’m enjoying the way you look at me.” She smiled and tapped her finger against the tip of his nose.

  She did like how he watched her. He was deeply aware of that and how it satisfied her. She liked knowing he was hers, that he had eyes for only her.

  “I also have this terrible need to satisfy you.” She shifted from his lap, fell to her knees before him and nestled between his thighs.

  He groaned as she leaned over him, her hair tickling his bare stomach, lips teasing his flesh as she kissed her way downwards. Did her instincts as a mate run along such similar lines as his did, or was she just being influenced by his somehow?

  He didn’t have time to ponder that question. It fled his mind as she opened his fly, as she wrapped her lips around his shaft and sucked, her wet heat driving him wild as she moved her mouth on him. He groaned and fisted her hair, rocked into her mouth and gave himself over to her as she relentlessly stroked and sucked him, wringing a swift and fierce climax from him that had him shouting her name as he came.

  Gods, the things she did to him.

  He sagged into the armchair, mind hazy again, thoughts blurring as pleasure rolled through him. She moaned and wriggled, and he groaned as he scented her need, as he felt it sweep through him on the heels of his release and a need to satisfy her seized hold of him.

  So he seized hold of her.

  She squealed as he swept her up into his arms, as he carried her to his bed and dumped her on it. Her eyes flashed with fire as he undid her leathers, goaded him as she wiggled her hips. He growled and pulled her trousers down, tossed them aside and sank to his knees as he forced hers apart.

  She arched and cried out as he speared her soft folds with his tongue, as he dragged her to the edge of the bed and devoured her, tasting her sweetness and wanting more. He stroked and sucked her bead, groaned as she rocked against his face and rode his tongue, as her moans bled into each other and she threw her arms above her head. A low growl pealed from him as her hips jerked upwards, his cock kicking as she shouted his name, fillin
g him with a need to hear her cry it when he was inside her.

  He stood, keeping hold of her hips with one hand, raising them with him, and gripped his aching shaft with the other. She cried out again as he filled her, quivered and throbbed around him as he buried himself deep in her heat.

  Hartt gripped her hips hard as he took her, tried to hold back but couldn’t as need ran as hot as lava in his veins, as her hunger for him collided with his to drive him out of his mind with a need to satisfy her. He pumped her harder, holding her at an angle with only her shoulders and head on the bed, and stared down into her eyes as he claimed her body.

  Her golden irises glowed like fire as she stared back at him, as she moaned and surrendered to him and he pounded into her. Her face crumpled, screwing up as she began to tighten around him, as the need he felt in her reached a crescendo.

  “Hartt!” she yelled as her hips kicked, as her sheath milked him, demanding his seed.

  He groaned as he followed her over the edge, held her on his length and claimed her, marking her with the seed she had demanded from him. Her rigid body slowly relaxed as she breathed hard, as her eyes gradually opened and locked with his.

  She giggled, sounding a little breathless as she toyed with her hair and said, “We really need to stop doing that.”

  He chuckled too. “The thought had crossed my mind.”

  Mostly because he feared Fuery would come looking for him if they didn’t return soon, and he didn’t want anyone other than him seeing his beautiful Mackenzie in a compromising position like this.

  He pulled out of her and lowered her legs. She grinned and kicked up onto her feet, dropped a kiss on his lips and hurried around him, heading for the basin of water. He tucked himself away as she cleaned up, fought to believe this was real and that she was his mate, and that she loved him.

  He fought something else too—the need to whisk her away to somewhere remote and private for a few days so he could be alone with her. As much as he wanted that, he had to put those plans on hold. Now wasn’t the time to worry their friends or lower his guard and invite an attack while he was distracted.