Breaking the kiss, Killean gently pulled her hand away from him before grasping his jeans and shoving them the rest of the way off.
“Stop me,” he said as he kissed her silken hair and cupped her cheeks to lift her face to his. “At any point in time, tell me this isn’t what you want, and I’ll walk away.”
His words came out as more of a plea than a command, and she realized she had to stop him because he couldn’t do it himself. And no matter how far this progressed, he would stop the second she told him to.
And if she didn’t stop this, she knew what it would mean. She’d be linked to this tormented man for the rest of their lives as only death would separate them. Being bound to Killean in such a way would be the most challenging thing she’d ever endure in her life. Was finally satisfying the needs of her body and learning what he could teach her worth that?
Yes, she believed it was as shecravedbeing bound to him. Maybe it was because she was a vampire seeking her mate, but she suspected it was because this man infuriated and stimulated her more than any other. She relished the excitement and uncertainty he brought to a life that was nothing but dull and certain before he walked into it.
There was no love between them, but there was trust and growing mutual respect, which could bloom into love if they allowed it. And she didn’t doubt that though being bound to him would be difficult, it would be completely worth it. He was abrasive and ruthless, but he was also proud, strong, and a man deserving of love and goodness in his life, even if he didn’t see that yet.
Think, Simone. This can’t be undone.
But she’d been thinking her whole life. It was all she’d been raised to do. For once in her life, she wanted only to feel and experience things, and no one could make her feel as much, or as profoundly, as Killean.
Though his thighs straddled hers, Simone pulled herself up a little higher to press her lips against his. This kiss was the most irrational, condemning thing she’d ever done in her life, and she found herself smiling as she clasped the back of his head to draw him closer.
He washers,and he would be forever. No matter what the rocky road ahead of them entailed, and it would be rocky, she would traverse it with him.
A pang of trepidation went through her over what was to come, but excitement took over when he pushed her down onto the bed. Propping himself up with one hand, Killean leaned over her until his skin was sliding against hers in the most erotic of ways. Simone squirmed beneath him when his other hand ran over her hip before dipping between her legs.
She instinctively rose to meet his touch when he stroked her sex, and Killean growled against her mouth when he discovered how wet she was for him.My mate. The words played on a loop in his head while the recently released Savage part of him thundered through his veins.
That more volatile part of him wanted to take her right now and seal the bond before she could change her mind. He fought the growing impulse as he slid a finger into her sheath and nipped at her lip when her muscles gripped him.
No matter what the worst of him clamored for, he had to make it as easy as possible for her when he took her. There would be no way for her to entirely avoid the pain, but he wouldn’t inflict any unnecessarily on her to satisfy his carnal urges and the demon within him.
Simone gasped when he slid another finger into her, stretching her further. The sensation wasn’t unpleasant, and she found herself rocking against his hand as she rapidly approached the release he’d given her before. Breaking the kiss, Simone turned her head to the side, and her body arched as she splintered apart. Her fingers dug into his back as she cried out in ecstasy.
Killean watched the bliss playing over her features as her muscles contracted around his fingers. Slowly, he removed them from her and, grasping his dick, guided it to her entrance. It throbbed in his hand, and if he weren’t careful, he’d spill the second he settled inside her.
Panting for breath, Simone gradually came back to her body when she felt something hard prodding against her once more. Her haze of euphoria slid away as she met Killean’s vibrant red eyes. With his jaw set, his scar was more visible as his skin pulled taut over his cheekbones. She sensed the savagery within him as he held himself above her, but instead of being afraid of it, she rested her hand against his cheek and spread her legs wider.
When the tight muscles of her sheath enveloped the head of his cock, Killean couldn’t stop himself from surging forward. Simone yelped when he buried himself inside her, and her fingers clawed his back. Some of the madness clamoring at his veins eased as he gathered her in his arms.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured as he kissed her ear. “Give it a little bit, and the pain will fade. Do you want me to stop?”
As much as it hurt, the last thing she wanted was for this to end. Maybe it wasn’t as pleasant as it had been before, but she relished the feel of his arms around her. “No.”
Simone buried her face in the hollow of his throat while she tried to adjust to the feel of him inside her. Compared to what Joseph had done to her, this pain was nothing, but she’d still been thrown off by it after such enjoyment. Then Killean withdrew partially from her before slipping back in. Simone wanted to pull away at the same time she found herself melting further into him.
Killean somehow managed to restrain himself from thrusting into her until he found his release. It had been so long since he’d been with a woman that he felt like an untried youth. Except those women had meant nothing to him, and now he held his mate in his arms. His excitement and his rising need to complete the bond was making it difficult to maintain his control.
When her legs slid around his waist, and her fangs scraped his flesh, he pulled her hair back to expose the creamy expanse of her throat. He sank his fangs into her, and her blood filled him while he filled her. Her lips skimmed back, and Killean nearly came when her fangs pierced his flesh.
Joined, her thoughts coalesced with his as the mating bond encompassed them. There would be no escape from this, but he didn’t want to escape.
Overwhelmed by the beauty of the moment and everything happening between them, tears slid down her face as she gave herself over to the emotions Killean emitted. His hunger, desperation, and brutality battered her, but so did his awe over what was transpiring between them. She hadn’t realized how far into the darkness he’d slipped, or how much he needed death, andher.
She vowed to do whatever it took to get him through this battle he waged. Her hands slid into his hair, and she cradled him as he thrust forward and shuddered against her. Deep inside her, she felt the pulsations of his release binding her further to him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Killean caressedSimone’s back as she lay against his chest. Her hair, spread out like a fan around them, tickled his skin as she slept soundly. Her breasts against his flesh were a temptation he gritted his teeth against succumbing to. After their first time, when he’d been unable to stop himself from finding his release inside her before she orgasmed, he’d waited a bit before taking her again and making sure she came before him.
Turning his head, he gazed at the light filtering around the edge of the drapes. It would still be some time before the sunset, but he would have to feed soon. Simone’s blood and the mate bond helped calm his incessant need for death, but he’d unleashed the demon when he started killing humans, and it wouldn’t be completely caged again.
Before, the idea of spending the rest of his life battling the beast would have been daunting, but with Simone at his side, it didn’t seem like such an impossible task. It was one he could and would conquer.
