Many vampyres took the mark to mean ownership, but I did not view it as such. It was a reminder that no matter what happened—we wererealonce upon a time. And she had returned that sentiment with enough dedication that she demanded I stake my claim and show the world she was irrevocably mine.
“You infuriate me,” she whispered, and my resolve broke just as it had the first time. The word she did not say echoed in my thoughts,husband. Yet my mind quieted the moment my lips crashed into hers.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Iran my hands down to her ass, lifting her easily as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Her tongue stroked mine, tasting the remnants of lingering whiskey as she groaned against my mouth. She wound her hands through my hair, gripping tightly almost to the point of pain, but I did not mind.
Not when she rubbed her tight, wet heat against my aching cock.
I walked toward the bed without breaking contact, letting her fall to the mattress with a bounce. Calia’s hands skated down my body in a slow taunt, stopping at the waistband of my jeans. She bit her lip as she unfastened the button, mischievous green eyes taunting me from below.
“Do you want me, Rion?” she asked, voice breathy. Her fingers drew my zipper down, my arousal filling the space between us.
I nodded quickly, afraid she would walk away and leave me wanting if I did nothing. “More than anything.”
She leaned back, resting on her elbows and glanced down at her open jeans. Her seductive smile taunted me. “Then prove it,” she said, waving a hand down the length of her body.
I did not need to be told twice, launching myself at her and capturing her lips with mine once more. Her hands slipped inside the waistband of my briefs, moaning as her fingers found my cock.
“Fuck,” I groaned, pulling away to trail kisses down her neck. Her scent was too intoxicating, enticing my fangs to slip free and graze against her skin. She tilted her head, giving me complete access to explore. Her pulse thrummed beneath my lips, inviting me to bite, but I would not mark her once again without her permission.
No matter how much I ached to taste her.
Her hand tightened around my shaft, stroking roughly in a way that nearly tipped me over the edge. “Calia,” I panted, but she kissed me, biting my lower lip and drawing it out.
She had come so far from the shy woman who would hide her body from me during sex. Before, my touch alone was all it took to send her insecurities running wild. But the Calia in front of me knew what she wanted, unabashedly displaying herself for me to feast upon.
My gut twisted, momentarily listening to my mind as it warned us this would not last. She was drawing some sort of invisible line between what we once shared and the lust she felt now. But I did not dwell on those thoughts, telling myself it was enough to have her in my bed, even for a night.
It was a step, no matter how small.
I wanted to sink my teeth into her flesh. I wanted to cover her body in my marks for the whole fucking world to see. Then, if she tried to leave me, anyone who ever touched her would know she belonged to another.
She belonged tome.
“Stop thinking, Rion, or you’ll ruin this before it’s begun.” She pressed a kiss to my neck, pulling me forward.
“I want to ruinyou,” I growled, pushing her back against the bed. I leaned down to press my lips to the soft skin above her waistband and dragged her jeans down her legs. My shoulders spread her thighs, luscious and creamy and mine.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” she warned, arching her back as I pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her pussy through the damp fabric.
I ran my nose along her slit, moving her underwear aside and pressing down on her clit with the pad of my tongue. “The way your cunt is soaked says otherwise. It says you want me, fucking need me.”
If she wanted to play this game, if she wanted to be in denial, I would let her.
I would be whatever she needed if she allowed me even a moment of her time.
“It’s just a physical reaction,” Calia panted, running her fingers through my hair. “It’s not my fault my mind”—she let out a sharp gasp—“and my body aren’t on the same page.”
I did not respond, slipping three fingers into her wet heat. The fit was tight, but I did not hesitate. Not as she tugged and tugged at my strands to the point of pain.
But I let the sensation guide me, biting down on her clit until the taste of copper spread across my tongue. I had not meant to draw blood, but it was too late to stop now. It drove me into a frenzy as I sucked, adding a fourth digit and fucking her thoroughly.
“Do you like that?” I asked, taunting her. She nodded, a gasp slipping from her lips as I showed her the blood coating my lips. “Does my needy little wife want to come?”
She looked down with wide eyes, and I curled my fingers inside of her. “Stop calling me that,” she breathed, trying to stave off her orgasm as long as possible—to no avail.
Like the beautiful, destructive bomb she was, she detonated, strangling my digits as I continued fucking her without slowing.
