I Hunger for You Page 12

  His smile was still charming, though, and there was a hint of goodwill in his hazel eyes when he looked at her. “I wish you joy, lady of Reynard. And you,” he added, looking to Colin, “I wish you all the time in the world to enjoy what you have. Cherish each day.” Then he kissed Mia’s hand and walked away.

  Colin looked after him with the sort of awe Mia had never expected to see from her cocky SWAT cop. “I didn’t think he’d be here,” he murmured.

  “Who is he?”

  “David Berus, Clan Serpentes. The Viper himself.”

  “And that translates to a language I understand as…?”

  “Bravest of the Brave, the most primal of the Primes. And the only one who’s ever survived losing a bondmate. It drove him crazy for about fifty years. I hear that’s why he volunteered to be the guinea pig when they first developed the daylight drugs. He didn’t have anything to lose, so he let the scientists experiment on him. He was the first to walk in daylight—though I don’t suppose seeing the sun made up for what he lost.”

  Music still floated across the terrace, the tune melancholy. It added to Mia’s sense of sadness over what Colin told her about the other Prime’s loss. “How did he lose her?” she asked. “I thought bonding was forever.” To lose forever would be awful.

  “A band of Purists murdered her,” Colin answered. “The evil fanatics cut off her head. David was on the other side of the world when it happened, probably saving mortal lives. The mortal hunters don’t care what kind of vampires they kill, as long as they kill vampires.”

  The hatred he projected frightened Mia. How was she supposed to explain that she had set out to be a vampire hunter herself?

  Domini had advised her to tell Colin about her family soon, and it sounded like good advice. But it probably wasn’t the best subject to bring up to a vampire husband on one’s wedding night. That it felt so very right to be married to this vampire was confusing enough.

  “You know,” she said, with a shaky smile, “I think I will let you get me that second glass of champagne.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Can you read my mind?”

  Mia really meant, Can you reach deep into my thoughts and rip out anything you want to know about me? But this didn’t seem like the time or place to ask such a blunt, frightening question.

  Colin thought this was an odd question for Mia to ask, when they were finally alone. They’d just endured a ceremony that he found downright medieval and silly. Everybody at the party had escorted them into Serisa’s most luxurious guest room, where they’d been put into bed together. A shivaree? Or maybe the shivaree thing was the old bride-kidnapping custom. His memory of folklore was dim at the moment.

  He guessed maybe Mia didn’t want to talk about how strange the last few minutes had been, but it still seemed like an odd question. He studied her as she sat propped up against a pile of pale satin pillows, with a sheet drawn up to her bare shoulders and a pensive look on her lovely face.

  “We’ve been sharing thoughts for months,” he reminded her. “Mostly communicating without even knowing it.”

  “And you’ve been messing with my memories.”

  “For your own goo—” He stopped when she shook a finger at him, and made him laugh. Okay, it was time to stop being defensive. “I only touched the surface of your mind,” he promised her. “I never consciously went deeper than that.”

  “But you could?”

  Okay, a little paranoia on her part was understandable, but they had better things to do with the rest of the night than talk.

  He began tugging slowly on the sheet covering her as he answered. “The kind of mind reading I think you’re talking about is really very hard to do, at least if you don’t want to leave your subject brain-damaged. I’ve heard that Tribe vampires mentally rape their victims—but we do not want to talk about that.”

  She shook her head. “Definitely not.”

  Mia was safe here, and was going to stay safely in the Shagal citadel until the Tribe vampires who’d hunted her were dealt with. Or maybe he’d take her to his own clan’s stronghold in Idaho. But that would mean introducing her to the likes of Flare and Maja, the Clan daughters he’d been courting. Although he cared deeply for Mia, he wasn’t ready to acknowledge that a Clan match was forever out of his reach.

  Bend or break, Serisa had said. But he had to do this in his own time and way. He had no choice but to make the effort. And—

  “Colin?”

  He blinked, and looked at Mia. Without noticing it he’d pulled the sheet down around her waist, baring her lovely round breasts. The warm tint of her tanned skin contrasted beautifully against the pale satin. He pulled the sheet all the way off, taking in her sensually rounded hips and the firm curves of her legs.

  She reached out and touched his cheek, and the contact sent blazing heat through him.

  “Colin, are you with me?”

  “Oh, yeah,” he said, and bent his head to take a nipple in his mouth. He suckled, and teased it with his tongue and teeth when it grew stiff, loving the taste and texture. Mia’s breasts were wonderful.

  Her response was as quick as his need. She caressed his back and shoulders while he moved down her body, breathing in her warm female scent, tasting her skin with quick licks and kisses.

  He was aroused by the sharp awareness of blood rushing beneath warm flesh. His fangs were extending quickly, and his cock was already hard. Flesh and blood both called to him, the need to possess both growing in him. He sensed and savored the way her body changed as she became more and more aroused.

  Mia tried not to let herself go, not to lose herself instantly this time. But Colin’s gentlest caress was explosive, making it almost impossible not to fall into sensory overload. She couldn’t stay lucid for long when he touched her.

  She was aware of the soft mattress beneath them, and of the smooth satin sheet and pillows at her back; the brush of cool air was a stark contrast to the heat of their naked skin. But most of her world was taken up by the feel of sinewy hard muscles beneath her hands, and the glory of Colin’s clever mouth working wonders, moving from her breast to her stomach, and farther down. Every few moments the edge of a fang brushed across her skin. Anticipation of the sharp combination of pain and ecstasy set her senses reeling.

  This searing expectation was familiar, but this was the first time she was actually fully aware of what was happening.

  “And I like it.”

  Colin lifted his head. “What?”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “Don’t ever stop.”

  Colin laughed, and she felt the sound against her skin. The same way she felt his pleasure at giving her pleasure. She closed her eyes and rode sensation while his head came between her spread thighs. His highly skilled tongue darted and licked across her slick, swollen flesh. She squirmed and moaned as lightning seared deep inside, where it coiled and grew, tighter and larger, and finally burst through her.

  Colin cried out at her orgasm. His body arched away from hers, then he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him across the smooth satin sheet, and his cock entered her in one smooth, hard thrust. This set off another orgasm, and her reaction drove him crazy—which drove her wild.

  As the feedback loop rolled through them, their bodies came together in hard, frantic thrusts, thrashing limbs, and breathless, frenzied kisses on salty hot skin.

  Mia was blinded by the roaring rush of orgasm after orgasm, but it still wasn’t enough. The craving grew even as he came inside her and his release flashed nova-hot through her. The taste of Colin’s skin was delicious, but what was beneath the surface still called to her. There was no way to resist, and her teeth pressed into Colin’s shoulder.

  Her mouth filled with sweet copper fire, though there was only a drop or two on her tongue. Vampire blood was so sweet.

  Colin pulled away with a hard, surprised jerk, and he was up off the bed an instant later. Mia watched him in a languorous fog, too heavy-limbed and brain-fogged with utt
er satisfaction to react to anything.

  Colin, on the other hand, was full of furious energy. He grasped his shoulder and shouted, “You bit me!”

  His glare could have ignited a wildfire, but Mia only smiled a little. “Uh-huh.”

  “You. Bit. Me.” He spoke slowly and clearly, each word an accusation.

  Mia languidly reach up and stroked the spot on her left breast where he had bitten her while they’d been making love. It was nice to remember him doing it, and how wonderful it had felt at the time. Though she wasn’t quite sure when he had taken the quick nip that sent her into ecstasy. There’d been a lot of ecstasy in the last few minutes—hours?

  She smiled as she continued to pet the healing mark. “That was nice.”

  Colin gazed at her breast and he felt himself growing hard again, just looking at Mia’s naked body. His fangs ached to bury themselves in the exact spot she was so provocatively stroking. She was looking at him with a dazed, adoring, satiated expression that normally would have made him preen. Normally, he’d jump back into bed and start making love to her again.

  But there was something very disturbing going on here, and he had to concentrate, hard as that was. As hard as he was.

  “You bit me,” he said for the third time.

  “Yeah.” Her eyes glittered with invitation, and she lifted a hand toward him. “Come here, and I’ll do it again.”

  He curbed his natural impulses with some effort, and concentrated on justifiable anger. He had to turn his back on her. “You had no right to bite me.”

  “Why not? You bite me all the time.”

  He whirled back to her. “I’m a vampire! I’m supposed to bite you!”

  “Is there something wrong with biting back?”

  “Yes! You can’t taste my blood without—”

  “Your permission?” Irritation crept into her voice. “Why should I have to ask you for a bite, when you never asked me if it’s okay?” She sensually stroked her breasts. “Which it is.”

  Her nipples were standing up, perky and demanding his attention. His body was growing tight with desire, but this had to be settled. “Because—”

  “It works both ways, Colin.”

  “How long have you been biting me?”

  She gave a slow, one-shoulder shrug. “I don’t know. It just happens sometimes, when we get really wild. I don’t usually remember doing it. Don’t you remember getting bitten?”

  “No.”

  “I didn’t remember you biting me, either. So I guess that’s fair.”

  “It’s not fair. It’s crazy. I deliberately made you forget when I tasted you.”

  “Well, maybe I made you forget.”

  “That’s not possible!”

  She gave another shrug, followed by a conciliatory smile. “Are we going to argue on our wedding night?”

  “We are not married!” he shouted furiously, as a sense of betrayal took him. “We’re bonded! We’re stuck with each other forever!”

  “Stuck?” Her voice sounded as sharp as broken glass.

  “And it’s your fault!”

  Her hurt beat at him through his fury, through the ache of lust. For a moment, he hated himself for hurting her. He didn’t mean it, not the way she thought he did. It was just—

  Just that it wasn’t supposed to happen this way!

  He’d had his life planned out, knew all the right moves, the way a Prime’s life was supposed to progress. It had all been going so fine until the night Mia Luchese kickboxed her way into his life.

  Though that wasn’t fair, and he knew it. He had pursued her, been determined to have her, the moment they met. But she was the one who caught him—and right now he hated the feeling. A few hours ago he’d made a vow to himself to accept his fate, to make the best of the situation.

  Right now, all he wanted to do was walk out.

  But she was hurting too, and she was his bondmate.

  “Damn!” he snarled, and turned back to her.

  Only for a knock to sound on the door before anything could be said or settled.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Don’t you dare open that door!” Mia demanded as Colin crossed the room. She was in no mood to be interrupted; no way was she going to let him get away with blaming her for all this. “Come back here and fight like a vampire!”

  Colin snatched up her abandoned clothing as he passed the foot of the bed and tossed it to her. “Get dressed.”

  “Fuck you!”

  “Don’t tempt me.”

  His voice was cold, but the anger and implied threat radiating from him frightened Mia.

  Colin didn’t know who dared to interrupt them, but he was set to tear the intruder apart. He paused only long enough to make sure his bondmate’s modesty was protected.

  But when he reached the door, Colin leaned his forehead against it for a moment. Despite the wild urges racing through him, a small, sane voice was trying to remind him that it was a Prime’s duty to think before reacting. He was intensely aware of the smooth grain of the wood and the faded scent of the varnish. His sharp senses also detected both a male and a female waiting in the hallway. This gave his animal side some reassurance that the Prime on the other side of the door wasn’t here to steal his mate.

  The knock came again.

  When he opened the door he found Barak and Serisa waiting in the hall. Barak was standing protectively in front of his bondmate, as though anticipating an attack.

  Colin kept his hands at his sides, and his voice almost polite. “Yes?”

  Serisa peered from behind her mate’s wide shoulder and gave Colin’s naked body a quick glance as she said, “We would not have interrupted you unnecessarily.”

  Colin accepted her once-over as his due. Bonded or not, young or old, a vampire had to be dead not to look. “Yes,” he said again, his voice just barely calm enough not to give insult to the Matri.

  “Your presence is required,” Barak said. “Immediately.”

  Colin ran a hand across his face. His nerves were already frayed, but he knew they wouldn’t have disturbed him if it wasn’t important. SWAT call or Prime duty, he was used to having his private life disturbed.

  Still, he couldn’t help but say, “Why now?”

  “We are sorry,” Barak said. “But we have a situation with Tribe Manticore that concerns you and your lady.”

  “And requires your presence,” Serisa added. “Both of you.”

  Mention of Tribe vampires redirected Colin’s anger. He’d heard of the Manticores; real old-fashioned bad boys considered trash even by the low standards of the other tribes.

  “I’m not letting my woman near a Manticore.”

  “It is required,” Serisa said. “By the terms of the Understanding.”

  Colin frowned at the Matri. “Understanding? What are you talking about?” Suspicion gnawed at him. “Is this Understanding like a treaty? Do we have a treaty with the Tribes?” His voice rose in outrage at each question. “How come I’ve never heard of this?”

  Barak put up a calming hand. “We have arrangements for parlays with the Tribes—a holdover from ancient times when the mortal hunters targeted all vampires. We do not stand with them, ever, but exchanges of information are sometimes necessary. The Manticore pack leader claims rights under the old ways.”

  “An Understanding,” Colin scoffed.

  “They approached our sentries just before dawn,” Serisa told him. “They offered their vulnerability to sunlight as a show of good faith. They risked their lives for the chance to speak with us.” She sighed. “I had no choice but to allowed them a daylight sanctuary, and parlay.”

  Colin thought she should have let these Manticores stand out in the sunlight and fry.

  “For the parlay, Justinian of the Manticores says he requires your and Mia’s presence,” Serisa said.

  “Please get dressed and come with us now,” Barak said.

  Colin was torn by several conflicting impulses. He was compelled to obey, because he’d be
en trained to obey the Matri and elders. He also wanted to tell them he wasn’t letting Mia anywhere near the vampires that had attacked her, and slam the door in their faces.

  He glanced over his shoulder to where Mia knelt in the center of the wide bed, wrapped in the cream-colored satin sheet. Her expression was one of curiosity, but her emotions still radiated anger and hurt. He felt them like a burning coal in his head, and in his soul.

  He couldn’t stand her pain.

  “Your indulgence, Matri, Elder, but we can’t join you right now.” Colin took a step back, and began to slowly close the door on the surprised couple. “Tell the bottom-feeders we’ll be there—when we’re there,” he finished as the door firmly shut.

  He put everything going on outside this room out of his mind as he crossed the thick carpet to stand at the foot of the bed.

  Mia watched his approach warily. “What do you want?”

  “Let’s talk,” he said, holding up his hands before him. He took a deep breath, determined to stay calm. “Just talk. Okay?”

  “Talk?”

  She looked at him so suspiciously that he almost laughed. At least he felt her temper cooling down a little. That was his Mia: she flared white-hot at light speed, but she calmed down quickly enough. Her hurt wasn’t going away, though.

  He sat down on the end of the bed. “Come here.”

  When she didn’t move, he grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her to sit beside him. He put his arm around her shoulder, partly to be comforting, partly to keep her from getting up and stalking away. She was stiff in his embrace for a moment, but soon relaxed against him. They couldn’t help but want to touch each other. He waited in silence for her curiosity to build.

  “What do you want to talk about?” she finally asked.

  She looked up at him with those big brown eyes, and he wanted to do several things other than talk. Which would have been fine if she was just another mortal girl he desired.

  “We don’t have much time. Did you hear about the Tribe visitors?”