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"You won't be the same person afterward. Remember that."
"Do it," he said in the same raw voice.
She brushed his tousled hair from his brow and kissed his eyelid, his nose and his cheeks, every touch conveying the feel of a blessing. When she straddled him, her wet pussy imprinted itself on his stomach, her incredible scent filling his nostrils.
"You're mine, cowboy. Remember that."
"Always." His heart stuttered.
She smiled, her drawn lips revealing her fangs, which emerged even farther at his attention. Lifting one of his wrists to her mouth, she pierced the artery. As she did, he felt that lovely sense of suction from her lips, then...something different. Fire. He arched up with a gasp as her mouth suddenly became a branding iron, scorching the place where she impaled him. Not so painful as to be unbearable, but he felt a rush through his veins, an acceleration of his heartbeat, and then lightheadedness, all the physical effects consuming him as the third mark serum released into his blood.
From here forward, cowboy, every vampire will know you are mine.
I am yours, Mistress. Always.
Visions of the two of them naked and riding Midnight swirled in his mind. He imagined taking her on the horse they rode bareback beneath a bright silver moon. His cock buried deep inside her, the black mane of the horse streaming beneath the stars.
When she lifted her head he missed the loss of contact. The touch of her tongue lapping at the wound was like the feel of velvet. Her lips as they pressed a kiss were warm. But when she smiled at him her fangs were still visible, tinted silver from the third mark serum.
Is it...done?
He wasn't sure why he'd asked, but when he did, she seemed surprised he'd realized that there was more to it. "To complete the process, you must also bite me. Drink of my blood." She pointed to a spot on her neck. "Bite me here. Hard. You won't hurt me, I promise."
His body tightened. "I don't want to injure you."
"The pain lasts a millisecond. But you have to do it." She leaned down to give him close access to her neck.
I never thought I'd be doing such a thing.
I never thought I'd make you my full servant. Do it, Quinn.
He tunneled his fingers in her hair, drawing her head close to him and pressing an open-mouthed kiss to the spot she'd indicated. He sucked the flesh, reddening the skin. Before he could lose his nerve, he bit down hard, puncturing it. He wasn't sure what to expect, but the taste of her blood was rich, sweet...delicious. Somehow he knew it had to do with their bond. Then other things started to happen.
Because of the second mark, he already had a sense of her in his mind, but this was different. It was as if every part of him opened up to her, invited her in. He felt her energy fill him, felt his own flow back into her, as if their souls were weaving together. For a moment it seemed as if she was tugging his heart right out through his chest, a disconcerting experience, but she wound her arms around him, put her cheek against him, made a humming noise.
I love her. The desperate words formed in his brain but he knew she could hear him. I love you.
You are mine. Her mind voice was different, a feral edge to it that said whatever was happening was affecting her as well. He felt her shudder. Gripping her hips with his rough palms, he let the feel of her, naked skin against naked skin, steady him.
Always and forever.
You are mine forever, Quinn. There is no going back. I won't let you go now.
She'd said it was the last choice he'd ever have the freedom to make, when it came to her. Maybe it was as Sam had implied, that he'd made his choice subconsciously, but the point was, he'd known there was no turning back, even before she declared it now.
"As if I'd want to," he growled.
Her fingers tightened on his wrist. "I was right, what I first thought when I saw you. Magic has touched you."
The odd note to her voice made him struggle to think coherently. "I told you about Sam."
She nodded, sliding her fingers along the length of his bare arm, over his tight biceps, down the skin of his forearm, to his palm, and worked the track back, a soothing yet provocative touch at once. Proprietary.
"Your friend marked you in some way as well. I felt it. A soul protection, Quinn. A blessing, but more than that. He keeps tabs on the state of your soul."
"Like a wire tap?"
Her lips curved. "Less nefarious in purpose. It means you matter to him. But I find myself resenting it a bit. I prefer my ownership to be exclusive."
The weakness in his body faded, replaced by a surge of strength and a feeling of exhilaration. He brought her head down to him and kissed her hard, fangs and all, absorbing her breath. "It is," he muttered.
She broke the contact. "I don't want to pierce you again," she chuckled.
He didn't care. He wanted to roll her over and bury himself in her. But she tightened her thighs, anticipating him, and licked the skin where she'd marked him instead. "Already you're healing. Look. This is our sign."
The skin on his wrist had already closed. Riding on the flesh was a mark. Somewhat between the raised texture of a brand, and the darker pigment of a birthmark, it was far more detailed than he'd have expected. Narrowing his eyes, he realized it looked like...a bit. The straight bar of metal, the loops at the end for reins, a frayed short rein curling out from each one. Like the one she'd placed in his mouth?
Her smile was a self-satisfied one. "Someone wanted to remind you of this night forever."
Forever.
When she moved to lever herself from his body he held her to him another blink before releasing her.
"I feel as if I could round up the cattle by myself." He gave her a lazy grin. "Although I have other things on my mind."
"I want to bathe you. Run my fingers over those rope burns on your wrists before the third mark makes them fade." Her lips curved in a tiny smile. "You were an animal, Quinn. One I'd love to ride again and again."
There was a strange tilting happening inside him, a seesaw between exhaustion and a reservoir of energy, pushing against his insides like a dam about to break. She soothed the odd feeling with another stroke of her fingers. "Easy, Quinn. Let the mark take full effect."
"But my Mistress wants me in the shower."
"She'll have you there. When she says you're ready. For now, she says stay." Her fingers wrapped around his cock, her blue eyes glinting.
"Whatever pleases you, Mistress."
Chapter Eleven
A couple days later, Selene agreed it was time to go visit Butch. Quinn was glad she didn't argue about him accompanying her. Apparently giving him the third mark had resolved. She'd even had him call Dix, because in the very hierarchical world of vampires, it was etiquette for the servants to make the initial contact, unless a vampire didn't have a servant.
Well, now she did.
It takes a little while, but when you next wake, the effect will be complete. Your senses will be more acute, your need for sleep reduced. Which means we can make much better use of the nighttime hours.
She'd told him that as he drifted off that night she'd marked him. Though she'd been right, he was still getting used to the effects. The second mark had been an energy boost, but the third one was even better. His senses--smell, vision, hearing, all of it--were exponentially better. If he had a mere two ho
urs sleep, he was good for a day or more of ranch work, and still had energy to spare even after the other hands were dragging.
They told him his new woman wasn't wearing him out enough, because now it was accepted that he and Selene were an item. Everyone seemed to feel pretty good about it, even Annette, though she fussed about not yet meeting the girl. He figured he'd fortify himself with some alcohol for that meet, but then Selene told him that it took about a keg to get a third mark drunk.
Talking to Dix had been an interesting conversation, for certain. When he called him up, pulling out that business card to ensure he had the right number, the phone had rung about five times. The moment Dix answered the cell, Quinn knew the sounds of a man busy in the daily running of a ranch. It made him feel better about the newness of all this. He proceeded as if it were a call about any other type of ranch business.
"Dix, this is Quinn Pedraza from Last Chance. You remember me? From the cattlemen's meet?"
"Sure do. You were one of the few who didn't want to chew on every agenda point like a cow's cud. Though I still think you're bass-ackward about that groundwater ownership issue."
"Boy, you were just in six beers too many. You'd have seen my point if you were sober."
Dix chuckled at that, but proving Quinn's point about him being up to his ass in alligators, the man got right down to brass tacks. "So what can I do you for?"
"I'd like to request a meet with your boss. I've got someone who needs to talk to him. At night."
Quinn didn't think anyone was listening in on his phone calls, but he figured it wouldn't take Dix long to pick up on what he was seeking. Still it was startling how fast Dix recognized it.
"Someone he's met before?"
The man's tone actually changed to something way more formal, and dead serious as any military man or cop Quinn had ever met. Despite his self-admonition to treat this like any other ranch business, it was a cold-water reminder he was entering a world where he was going to be a babe in the woods. He pushed down his uneasiness about that though. He'd been that way at his first rodeo. He'd figured it out and survived to tell the tale. He knew how to change gears to suit a new environment.
"No sir." Respect, not deference. They were both servants, after all. "She needs help. But she's not coming empty-handed. She's hoping what she has to offer makes it a mutually beneficial deal."
