Dark Flame

  He obliged her, and the sensation of her breasts against his tongue and her stiff nipple had his cock twitching. Her hands were all over him, one of them rubbing up and down the arm that pistoned his fingers and the other across his back. She kept digging her nails into his muscles, and he loved it.

  Brann, go faster. Just a little.

  He increased his speed and sucked in strong pulls on her breast. He felt her go very still and quiet, which he knew meant she was close.

  He sped up a bit more, then her body rolled and she cried out in a long anguished sound. “Oh, God!”

  He kept up the movement of his hand and the pulls on her breast, savoring each cry and moan, then the shuddering of her breath as she began coming down.

  He slowly came to a stop and released her breast then eased his fingers from her body. He loved how her sex held onto him as though not wanting to let him go.

  He was blocking the flow of water in the small space, so he moved to the side to let the warm stream beat down on her. He caressed her abdomen and fondled her bottom. She turned her face into the water and let it run over her. She used the soap and took off the last bit of make-up.

  When she shifted back to him, he supported her with his arm around her shoulder and leaned her back a little so he could look at her. A memory resurfaced of doing something similar. But mostly of looking at the freckles on her face and enjoying the sight of them. He took his time now, as he knew he had in the dreamglide memory, to kiss each of the prominent ones. “I love your freckles. You’re so beautiful, yet somehow they anchor everything about you.”

  Had he also said something like that in the dreamglide? He wasn’t sure. As he drew back from kissing a freckle on her left cheek. He met her gaze. “Have I said that before?”

  “In a different way. I don’t think you used the word anchor, more like earthy or something.”

  “I love that we’re doing this.”

  She angled her head to expose her throat. “There’s something I’m desperate for you to do again. I mentioned it earlier, you know, that I had something else in mind during shower time.”

  The slope of her neck was a strong, clear invitation and lit up his vampire needs. He licked a line from the base of her neck all the way to her jawline. You want me to bite you?

  I do. So bad. You have no idea.

  Have we done this in the dreamglide?

  She moaned. A lot, and you said it was very close to tasting my blood, though it wasn’t completely real. But it’s amazing when I know that I’m feeding you.

  He kept kissing her neck and tonguing the area above her vein where he wanted to strike. So how do you want it? Because I can take your blood from more than one place.

  Her body arched once more. For such a contained woman, she really let loose when it came to sex.

  She was breathing hard. I’m feeling greedy right now. I want to feel your fangs on my neck then anywhere else you want to use them. Maybe you should pick.

  He couldn’t help but smile. This is going to be a tough decision, because I want to do it all.

  ~ ~ ~

  Juliet waited as he made up his mind. She’d already come once, but Brann was an amazing lover. He knew how to take her to the pinnacle, ease her back, then ride her to the top all over again.

  He continued to lick her throat, then slowly descended down her right arm, licking and kissing the entire way.

  He sank to his knees, not a small feat in such a narrow tub. The water beat on his back. She wanted to leap on him and bite his neck. That’s when she realized her own mouth pulsed oddly as though she had fangs, though she didn’t. She was definitely sharing all his vampire qualities.

  When he reached her wrist, she gasped. She thought they’d done everything together, but apparently, his conscious mind had a few tricks left.

  He took both her forearm and her hand in his grip, then turned her wrist, so that he could easily reach the collection of veins at the base of her palm. He began to lick in slow wet swipes.

  Yes. Even her telepathic voice sounded hungry to her own ears.

  He licked a few more times. She kept her gaze fixed on his bobbing head. He paused, drew his head back, then struck. She cried out and her sex clenched hard. When he began to drink, she leaned her head against the shower tile and closed her eyes. Her whole body trembled with pleasure.

  You taste amazing, Juliet. Your blood is like nothing I’ve ever had before.

  She couldn’t remember that he’d said anything similar in the dreamglide even though the dream-blood would have had a flavor.

  What’s it like, Brann?

  I’m trying to find the right description. His mouth had formed a seal over most of her wrist.

  She settled her hand on the back of his head, enjoying the rise and fall as he suckled.

  He continued, It’s like a kind of sweet grass with a wine flavor. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it’s amazing and I’m feeling pumped, stronger.

  Is that different for you, feeling stronger?

  Yes. Completely. This is about you, Juliet. Can’t explain it.

  My mind is feeling very loose. Ah, your vampire thrall.

  Yes. She loved his resonant voice, even during telepathy. But didn’t you experience it, or a version of it, when we were dreamgliding?

  Juliet thought for a moment. Yes, but not like this. All I want to do is stay here forever.

  It’ll be more intense when I take from your neck again.

  Can’t wait.

  After a moment, and way too soon, he licked the wounds to seal them, then rose to his feet. He had blood on his mouth as he pulled her into his arms. He kissed her so that she tasted her own life force.

  Because she was sharing his nature, she groaned heavily. I want to taste your blood, Brann.

  He drew back and searched her eyes. “You do?”

  “I can’t explain it, but I’m like you now and I want your blood.”

  He kissed her again, harder this time. That is such a turn on.

  He drew back, then shut the water off. “Let’s get more comfortable and don’t worry, I’ll let you have all you need.”

  He stepped out of the tub and onto the rug, then turned back and offered his hand. She loved this about him, how careful he was with her, to keep her safe, to offer assistance.

  As soon as both feet were planted on the mat, he took a towel from the rack behind him and started wiping her down. She grabbed another one and draped the white terry over his shoulders.

  He kept drying her off, and she returned the favor. She moved the towel over every inch of his gorgeous body, letting her hands feel the sculpted shape of each muscle. She worked on memorizing him, not knowing what the next night or even hour would bring. Her wrist tingled where he’d taken from her.

  When they were both dry, he picked up a couple of washcloths and took her by the hand. He led her to the bed, whipped the covers to the foot of the bed and told her to lie down on her back.

  She had no problem taking orders from him. She could feel his excitement.

  When he stretched out next to her, she took his erect cock gently in hand. She used her thumb to rim the head. He closed his eyes and drew in a stream of air through pursed lips. “Damn that feels good, but maybe you should stop.”

  She smiled and released him, but kept her hand on his thigh.

  He looked down at her, meeting her gaze. “You sure you want to drink from me?”

  She caressed his shoulder. “I do. You know how you’ve been taking on some of my fae skills? Well, the vampire in me needs this. I mean, even my gums throb like they’re trying to produce fangs, but can’t.”

  “Lean back down.”

  She dropped her head flat on the bed like before. He rose up on one elbow and laid the washcloth on her chest. “When I break the skin, it might not keep flowing for you. Vampires can release two chemicals, one that helps the blood flow and another that seals up the wounds.”

  “Understood.”

  He settled his
wrist on the washcloth, then leaned down so that she had a perfect view of his fangs. The sight of them made her back arch. She didn’t understand why, exactly, but the dangerous nature of what she was doing with him turned her on.

  He made a quick strike with his fangs. “I’ve released a chemical, so hopefully I’ll be able to feed you longer.”

  She slid her hands beneath the washcloth, then drew his wrist to her mouth. She closed her eyes as the vampire part of her, so newly formed, took over. She formed a seal around the wound and began to suck.

  She groaned heavily as the first taste of him hit her tongue. She couldn’t explain it, but it tasted like Brann, like a flavor she knew in the marrow of her bones.

  You are exquisite.

  And your body is beautiful. Jesus, Juliet, I’m feeling a thrall. You can tell me to do anything right now, and I’d do it.

  She opened her eyes and met his gaze. She could see that she had control of him, and it excited her. I ache between my legs. Think you can do something about that while I feed?

  His eyes rolled in his head. “Pull your knees up and pivot with me as I shift position.”

  She was right with him. She held onto his wrist, suckling as he moved.

  “You’ll have to switch to the other side of my wrist. I need to turn my arm in a different direction.”

  She did what he asked, which gave him just the right angle to kiss her abdomen and move lower.

  As she settled her lips around his wound once more, his blood spilled into her mouth. She caught it and formed another seal.

  By then he’d moved low, and when his tongue hit her sex, she released a heavy, muffled groan.

  Brannick went to work on her. Juliet got lost in the dual sensations of the vampire need to gorge on his life force and the feel of his tongue and his lips as he played over all her tender heated folds.

  She was breathing hard through her nose as pleasure began to soar. Pierce me with your tongue, Brann. Now.

  He grunted as he slid his free hand under her hips and grabbed both cheeks. He lifted her up and drove his tongue deep into her well.

  She kept suckling, kept tasting him as he penetrated her with his beautiful tongue.

  He started to thrust faster. Ecstasy built inside her, like a rush of wind fast approaching. She didn’t stop drinking, but let the wind come.

  It poured through her sex, pleasure on pleasure, driving up her chest and funneling into her brain. She trembled head to foot. Brannick kept thrusting into her, and the pulsing pleasure continued until her whole body was in a powerful state of ecstasy.

  On instinct, she swiped the wounds on his wrist and released him. Her back arched as her mouth opened and she cried out repeatedly, unable to believe the long string of pulses that kept breaking over her sex. Brannick was right; blood was empowering.

  Finally, the last orgasm shook her body from her feet to the top of her head. Maybe she passed out or something, but she definitely saw stars and for a moment wondered if she was looking up into the night sky.

  She lay panting as Brann moved to lie down next to her again. She rolled her head, struggling to bring in enough air. “I think I left the earth with that one.”

  He leaned over and kissed her, then touched the sides of her lips with his thumb. “You have my blood on you.”

  “It was so good, all of it, the way you worked my sex and the way you taste. Oh, Brann.” Her emotions rose up like a wave, all her affection for him, how much she’d loved the past five months with him, everything.

  For a moment, she was taken back to how it had all begun. She knew she’d done a bad thing, and given how close she felt to him, she almost told him the truth.

  But she couldn’t. She was afraid to lose this moment with him.

  She cupped his face with her hands. “You’ve come to mean so much to me.” Her throat was tight all over again.

  He caught her hand, turning it to kiss her palm. “When I’m in the dreamglide, I remember everything. But the moment I fall out of it, my mind closes up. Yet the emotion remains and I feel the same way. I just wish I could remember more.”

  She wished it as well.

  Then again, she didn’t.

  ~ ~ ~

  Brannick felt the fae part of him come alive as he kissed Juliet’s palm over and over. He could feel what she was feeling, the profound way she had enjoyed her time with him.

  Though his memories still lagged, he knew he felt the same way when he was with her, as though he wanted to devour her.

  Full of such a demanding drive toward her, he slid his legs over hers, positioning himself between her thighs. “I need to be inside you.”

  He balanced himself on his forearms and leaned down to kiss her. He lowered himself onto her, loving the feel of her hands as she fondled the muscles of his back and his arms.

  Placing his cock at her entrance, he pushed, then drew back, wanting to watch her as he made his way inside.

  He rested on his forearms and curled his hips. He loved the way she held his gaze, lips parted. He kissed her freckles again, pushing in farther with each touch of his lips to her face.

  What was newly fae within him felt connected to her, his awareness of her emotions heightened. “I’ve wanted to be here with you, just like this, from the moment you walked into that club.”

  “You have been.” She dragged her fingers through his hair.

  “In the dreamglide?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  As he pushed, her body rolled. He loved that his cock brought her so much pleasure.

  But he needed something more from her. Using his hand, he shoved her thick, brown curls away from her neck and licked up and down her throat.

  She moaned heavily. “Yes, Brann, please. Take from me at my neck.”

  He stopped the movement of his hips, angled his head and struck quickly. The moment the blood flowed, he began thrusting steadily once more.

  Her whole body jerked, and she moaned. “I feel dizzy from the thrall again and it feels so good.”

  What surprised him was that though he was drinking from her like a vampire, the rest of him was channeling his fae instincts. He reached for something he didn’t at first understand. Yet he felt compelled to keep at it, to keep pressing into the unknown. It was like walking through a fog within his mind.

  He pushed, the same way his hips kept pistoning inside Juliet, driving toward ecstasy.

  He was after something.

  Suddenly, he broke through. He saw the blurred edges of the room. He was in bed with Juliet, drinking from her, in more than one place.

  Brann, what have you done?

  I think I’ve created a dreamglide and pulled us both in.

  She grew very still beneath him, but he didn’t know why. His own need seemed to escalate. He’d heard about this, being in both places at once. Hell, Roche had built an entire sex club around just this experience.

  He felt completely captured by his former experiences with Juliet as well. He became one with them in terms of emotions. He could remember them all.

  He drove into her faster. But Juliet had grown so still, as though stunned. Juliet, be with me. Please. Don’t leave me now. He kept drinking from her.

  He felt her move once more, her arms snaking around his back. I’m here. This is incredible. Every sensation feels twice as erotic and intense. But hold on tight, I’m feeling something.

  I am too, like it’s going to pick us up.

  Just like that, they were airborne, yet he remained joined to her. He groaned because his real-time-self continued plunging in and out of her and drinking from her throat.

  The wave passed at least for the moment. He was now in real-time. Her blood was a fire down his throat, building him up.

  Brann, this is amazing. The way this feels.

  I know. It’s extraordinary. Like gliding.

  Here it comes again. I want to come like this with waves picking us up.

  She cried out as the dreamglide wind catapulted them, rolling them o
ver, yet keeping them entwined at the same time.

  I’m close to coming, Juliet. How about you?

  ~ ~ ~

  Juliet held tight to Brann. But she wanted to experience the gust-like sensations in a different way and stretched her arms out to each side.

  Brann, go faster. Here comes another gust.

  Brannick pistoned into her, going vampire fast. I can feel it, but I can’t hold back anymore.

  Me, neither.

  When the gust came, they rolled and rolled. The orgasm swept over her just like the wind, flowing through every part of her.

  Pleasure peaked, drifted away then with another roll through the dreamglide, peaked higher still.

  She cried out in a loud constant cry. In the dreamglide the sound reverberated,

  Brann released his hold on her neck, swiped the wounds, then drew back to shout his ecstasy. The wind didn’t stop but kept rolling them over and over.

  Juliet opened her eyes within the dreamglide and there in a beautiful panorama were all the times she’d been with him from the beginning. The erotic nature of it combined with the wind, and that Brann continued to drive into her, sent her soaring once more.

  She held onto him this time, her body arching with his, slamming against his groin, feeling the push-pull of his beautiful cock as pleasure rose and fell.

  Another wind came. He held her gaze in the dreamglide. “Can you come again?” He smiled at her, his green eyes lit with a glow.

  “Yes. But it may be the death of me.”

  His smile broadened, the one she knew so well from all her dreamgliding time with Brann. She returned his smile and gripped his shoulders. He held her tight.

  This time, when the gust came, she leaned up and kissed him as they rolled around and around. They were stationary yet moving, a miracle of the alter life.

  He plunged his tongue as he continued to drive into her over and over. She could feel him come this time, his cock pulsing inside her.

  Ecstasy took her on yet another ride, only this time, she must have fainted with the joy and pleasure of it.

  When she opened her eyes, the dreamglide was gone. She was in bed in Agnes’s small house and looking up at Brann.

  His back was arched, his body very still, his eyes closed. His skin glowed with a silvery light as it had in her canal home, and he looked like he was caught in an out-of-body experience.