“Sophia, what are you doing?” Sylvan’s deep voice was a soft, warning growl but at least he made no move to pull out of her. In fact, he held himself completely immobile inside her, as though he didn’t dare to move an inch.
“I just wanted to feel you in me—just a little bit,” she whispered, biting her lip. Had she gone too far? The look on his face and the tension in his big body made her wonder for a moment. But she needed to go this far and farther if she was going to have Sylvan in her life permanently. “Please, Sylvan, don’t be mad,” she murmured, daring to cup his cheek. “It just felt so good on the outside and, well, I hurt on the inside too.”
His gaze, which had been almost scary in its intensity, softened at once. “I didn’t know you had pain on the inside as well.”
“I do,” Sophie told him, lying only a little. To be honest it was more like intense sensitivity than pain, but it was true that having him inside her, leaking precum in her unprotected pussy was making her feel better. She was even getting used to the thickness of his shaft—although she knew it was much thicker toward the base. “Sylvan,” she murmured, wiggling her hips just a little bit. “Do…do you think you could put it all the way in me? Just once?”
“To ease your pain?” he asked sternly. “Or do you have some other motive, Sophia?”
“Both.” She looked him boldly in the eye. “I’m curious. I want to know what it feels like to have you all the way inside me.”
“You’re taking a risk, you know.” But he was already moving, sliding the two inches she’d managed to capture along with the head of his cock out of her and then back in.
“How…how do you mean?” Sophie moaned as he pressed even deeper into her.
“My blood is burning.” His blood red eyes flashed, emphasizing the truth of his statement. “And filling you with my cock makes me want to do more than just fuck you—it makes me want to bite you. To bond you to me. And if I do that—if I sink my fangs in you and inject my essence while I fill you with my cum—you’ll never be free of me.”
“What…what if I don’t want to be free of you?” Sophie could barely get the words out. Despite his harsh words, Sylvan was fucking gently into her, entering her slowly, inch by inch, to allow her pussy to get used to the thickness of his cock.
“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” he growled, thrusting a little harder. “I know how you feel about me, about my fangs. I’ve looked into your eyes when I gave you an injection and I’ve seen the fear and pain there. I don’t want to see that look every time I make love to my bonded mate.”
“You won’t,” Sophia promised him softly. He was almost all the way in her now—she could feel him stretching her wider with every shallow thrust. Soon he would fill her completely. “I…I swear you won’t, Sylvan,” she murmured.
“How can you be sure?” He demanded, sinking the final inch inside her. “How can I be sure?”
Sophie sucked in a breath at the feeling of fullness. God, she’d never had anything this big inside her before. Looking down she could see the place where they were joined—the root of his cock thrusting up into her open pussy, filling her to the hilt. And yet it still wasn’t enough. But if she wanted more, she would have to convince him she meant what she said. That she really wanted him.
Reaching up, she pulled her hair to one side and bared her throat to him. “I offer myself to you freely, warrior, blood, body, and soul,” she said softly, remembering the words Nadiah had taught her.
Sylvan’s eyes flashed crimson with need. “I tell you again, do not say such things if you don’t mean them, Sophia!”
“But I do mean it,” she protested. “Take me, Sylvan—bite me. I want you to.”
“Gods, Talana,” he groaned. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Yes, I do. And Nadiah told me what Talana means, you know,” she murmured, looking up at him. “She said that Blood Kindred only use it for their bonded mates.”
A look of sorrow passed over his face. “That’s true. I know I shouldn’t have started calling you that in the first place. It just slipped out the first time and after that…it felt so right.”
“I don’t mind.” Sophie’s heart was racing and her body was aching for something she couldn’t name—aching to have him move inside her, to fill her, fuck her, make her his. “In fact, I think…think you should make it a reality, not just a nickname.”
Sylvan frowned. “Are you truly serious? You want me to bond you to me? You want to be my bride?”
Sophie felt like a thousand butterflies had just taken flight in her stomach. “Yes,” she whispered. “I…I do, Sylvan. You know, I took a long hard look at all the problems standing between us a little while ago.”
“And?” he murmured, raising an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “And they’re not really problems at all. They’re just excuses I made to myself because I was afraid of you—afraid of feeling so much. I…I guess you could say that you thawed my heart too—the way you told me I thawed yours when we were dancing on Tranq Prime.”
“Oh, Talana.” He cupped her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Your heart was never frozen—it was just bruised.”
“Well, you healed it.” She smiled at him and wiggled her hips suggestively. “So please, Sylvan, heal the rest of me. Fill me with your seed and your essence—bond me and heal me at the same time. Make me yours.”
The look on his face was one of agony. “Gods, I’m still not sure if I’m doing the right thing but I can’t help myself. I need you too much!”
“I need you too,” Sophie assured him. “Please, Sylvan. Please…”
“As I said, I can deny you nothing. Sophia,” he said. Looking her in the eyes, he asked, “May I have your permission to penetrate you fully? To fill your pussy to the hilt with my cock?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, Sylvan—that’s exactly what I want.”
“Very well.” Taking a new grip on her hips, he pulled almost all the way out of her and then thrust back in.
Sophie moaned at the intense pleasure and spread her thighs wider, trying to be open enough for his thickness. “God, Sylvan, yes!” Grabbing his broad shoulders she dug her fingers into his flesh, letting him know how much she wanted him, how good it felt to take him so deep inside herself.
“Love the feel of you around me,” he growled softly, thrusting in again, even deeper this time. “I knew the first time I tasted you that you’d be able to take me. That you’d be deep enough and wet enough for me to sink my shaft to the root in your sweet, hot pussy.”
“God!” Sophie loved the way he talked to her while he fucked her—his hot, dirty words excited her almost as much as his thick shaft pounding into her over and over. Part of her could scarcely believe she was doing this, opening herself to him, letting herself go with such primal abandon. But another part—a part that had been buried for years and was only now emerging—gloried in her new sensuality. “More,” she begged Sylvan, digging her fingernails deeper into his shoulders. “Give me more. Take me harder.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he objected but she shook her head.
“You’re not. Feels…incredible. Please…”
With a low growl he redoubled his efforts. “Is this what you want?” he demanded, thrusting up hard and then grinding himself into her, rolling his hips to press the head of his cock against the end of her channel. “You want to feel me inside you, fucking you, making you mine?”
“Yes…God, yes,” she almost sobbed. She could feel the pleasure inside her building to a peak. She just needed a little more…
Sylvan seemed to sense her need because one hand left her hip and slid across to the place where they were joined. Sophie cried out and bucked against him as she felt the broad pad of his thumb slide over her throbbing clit. The firm, knowing touch was exactly what she needed to send her into orbit. With a low, gasp, she felt herself beginning to come.
“Sylvan…oh God, I can’t…I’m…I’m…” She couldn’t get
the words out but he seemed to understand. The hand that was still holding her hip tightened convulsively and his fangs seemed to grow even longer. He wants to bite me, she thought, still half delirious with the overwhelming pleasure that flooded her body. Not just wants to…needs to. But he’s still not sure. “Please,” she whispered hoarsely, looking him in the eye. “Please, Sylvan, do it. I…I offer the gift of my blood freely.”
“Sophia, I…” He shook his head and the look of agony was back in his eyes. “You have no idea how much I want to but I don’t think—”
Leaning forward, Sophie bit him on the neck as hard as she could.
It was the one thing Nadiah had assured her was guaranteed to make a Blood Kindred bite you—if you bit him first. Apparently it was a very erotic gesture and indeed, as Sophie sank her small white teeth into the strong column of his throat, she did feel incredibly sexy and primal. I want you, the gesture said in no uncertain terms. And if you won’t take me, then I’ll take you.
She tasted a small drop of blood on the tip of her tongue, salty and somehow delicious. And then all hell broke loose.
Sylvan pulled her away from his neck roughly and stared at her. For a long moment, Sophie was lost in his blazing eyes. All reason and logic was gone and the beast was there again—the same one she’d seen when he fought the Scourge commander. The one that had snarled at her when she tried to pull him from his prey.
She bit her lip at the sight. This is it. This is what I get. But this was what she wanted. And if this was the only way to get it—to get him—well then…
Heart pounding, she looked into those burning red eyes and bared her throat again. “Go ahead,” she said in a low voice, pressing the side of her neck to his mouth. “Bite me, Sylvan. I’d rather have a bite from you than a kiss from anyone else.”
There was no going back now. She felt his hot breath as he parted his jaws. As the sharp points of his fangs settled against her vein, the old fear rose up in her again and tried to crush her. Needles piercing me, nurses holding me down, the smell of rubbing alcohol, that sharp, gonna-get-a-shot smell…No!
It was the last thought that brought her out of it, that allowed her to push her panic aside. Because the only scent she smelled right now was Sylvan’s mating scent. Fresh and clean and rich and deep, it enveloped her completely, making her feel safe and loved, even as his fangs pierced her neck.
His scent made her feel safe and loved but the sharp pain of all four of his sharp points penetrating her vulnerable flesh still made her gasp and tighten her grip on his shoulders. God it hurts, it hurts, it…But suddenly the pain was gone. In its place was a warm, intoxicating pleasure that raced through her, triggering another orgasm almost at once.
“Oh!” she gasped as she felt herself tighten around his shaft. There was a heated, liquid rush inside her and she realized he must be coming in her as he bit her. And yet, he didn’t stop moving—in fact, it felt like he was just getting started. Another orgasm rushed over her and then another. Sophie moaned in disbelief. Feels so good. What is that?
My essence.
Sophie was startled. The voice in her head very definitely wasn’t her own. It sounded like Sylvan but how could he—
Because we’re bonded now. His mind voice was full of tentative joy. As though he could hardly believe his good luck and he desperately hoped she felt the same way.
Oh right—the mind bond. Liv had told her about it—about how you gained the ability to speak telepathically with your Kindred mate without a Think-me once you were fully bonded. So this means…we’re together now? Forever?
Yes. He thrust into her again, his hips rolling up in a deep, deliberate rhythm as he continued to fuck her. Forever, Talana. You’re mine and I’m yours. And I’m going to want to make love to you like this every day and every night for the rest of our lives. I’ll want to bite you too. To fill you with my essence. Do you mind?
Oh Sylvan…Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed the side of her throat harder against his mouth. Does that answer your question?
Indeed, it does. With a low growl he bit her again, this time sinking his fangs in deeper even as he sank his cock to the root inside her.
Sophie moaned as the fresh rush of pleasure washed over and through her. Love you, she whispered through their new link. Oh, Sylvan, I love you so much…
I love you too, Talana. Blood of my blood. My mate. My bride.
And then he was taking her higher and harder, making her his forever. Sophie gave herself to him completely, thinking that she didn’t know how she would stand the pleasure or the joy of knowing that they would never be separated again…
* * * * *
“You tricked me,” Sylvan accused as he kissed his new bride playfully on the cheek. They were lying in his large bed, having finally moved from the couch after the third time they’d made love. Even now they weren’t done but they were taking a break so Sophia could rest.
“Only a little,” she admitted, kissing him back. Her cheeks were flushed with pleasure but her nipples and the inside of her pussy had gone from crimson back to their usual warm pink, Sylvan noted with relief. Obviously the Blood Fever was completely cured. “I had to,” she went on. “You were so determined never to touch me because you were so afraid of hurting me. I had to do something.”
“How did you know that biting me would be the one thing I couldn’t resist?” He’d enjoyed it immensely—the feeling of her little, white teeth sinking into his flesh was one of the most erotic experiences of his life. But it wasn’t something he would have expected Sophia to do.
“Oh, well…you can thank Nadiah for that. She, uh, gave me some pointers on the Blood Kindred.” She looked down, tracing a pattern on the blanket with one finger. “She was also the one that told me that your bite would only hurt for a second before it became extremely, ah, pleasurable.”
“What?” Sylvan was shocked. “Nadiah is much too young to know things like that! She’s just a child.”
Sophia appeared to be trying to smother a smile. “She may seem like that to you but I think she’s grown up a lot since the last time you visited your home world.” She frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me yourself what your bite would be like?”
“Because I didn’t know—I’d never bitten anyone before. And the experience of being bitten seems to be different for different females.”
“Not according to the romance novels Nadiah reads.” Sophia grinned. “They seem to be full of swooning damsels in distress who can only be saved from certain disaster by the bite of a virile Blood Kindred warrior. She even has Kindred posters on her walls.”
Sylvan shook his head. “I can’t help feeling that she knows too much for someone her age.”
“Why, how old is she, anyway?”
“Twenty-five,” Sylvan said absently.
“Twenty-five?” Sophia stared at him blankly. “You do realize that I’m only twenty-four myself, don’t you?”
“What?” Now he was truly startled. “I had no idea you were underage.”
“I’m not.” She laughed. “On my world—well, in my country anyway—we’re considered adults at eighteen.”
“Becoming an adult and being sexually mature are two different things,” Sylan objected. “Residents of Tranq Prime come to sexual maturity much later than some other sentient species.” He frowned at Sophia. “Are you certain—”
“That I’m fully sexually mature?” She raised an eyebrow at him and grinned. “I think I just proved it, didn’t I?”
“I suppose…” Sylvan was still troubled by the idea that he might have taken advantage of her youth but Sophia didn’t seem bothered in the least.
“Come on, Sylvan, you shouldn’t be upset—about me or Nadiah. In fact, we should send her a thank you card—without her little pep talk I might never have gotten the courage to go after you.”
Sylvan frowned. “Send her a what?”
“You know—a thank you card. A little printed card with a verse or a poem in it? Som
etimes they have funny pictures or sayings on them too.”
Sylvan was baffled. “I don’t understand. Why not just call her up and thank her over the viewscreen? Or tell her how we feel the next time we see her?”
“Because sending a card is nice. It shows you care and you’re thinking about the person you sent the card to,” Sophia explained. “And it…oh never mind.” She shook her head.
“No, really,” Sylvan protested. “I do want to understand your Earth customs.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She patted him on the shoulder. “You don’t have to be from another planet to not understand the importance of greeting cards—you only have to have a penis.”
He shook his head. “How does my shaft impair my inability to grasp your thank-you card custom?”
Sophia laughed. “I meant you just have to be male. Most Earth males don’t get the significance of sending a thank you card either. Anyway…” She stretched languidly and smiled up at him. “I’m going to let Nadiah know that she helped us—helped me—in some way. Maybe she could be in our wedding—as one of my maids of honor. Or…oh, no.” She sat up in bed suddenly, her cheeks going bright red.
“What? What’s wrong?” Sylvan was instantly on the alert. “Are you feeling ill again?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just…I was kind of assuming a lot.” She looked down at her hands. “I mean, here I am planning the wedding, er, bonding ceremony and you haven’t even asked me to, you know, marry you.”
“Only because we haven’t stopped making love long enough to talk until now.” Sitting up beside her, Sylvan took her small, delicate hands in his and looked into her eyes. “Sophia Waterhouse, will you do me the honor of officially becoming my bride?”
“Oh Sylvan…” Her eyes suddenly brimmed with tears but she was smiling at the same time, making him marvel again at the enormous range of emotions Earth females were capable of. “Yes,” she whispered, pulling him down for a kiss. “Yes, yes, yes. And now we definitely have to have Nadiah in the wedding. So I can tell her I took her advice and went for it instead of holding back.”