She choked on a sharp intake of air, and would have fallen back to the concrete, but Christian’s arms shot out, wrapping around her back, sliding her down his body as he pulled her into the water. His hands were everywhere, stroking her back, her legs, pressing her trembling body against his hard length, anchoring her. She clung to his shoulders, feeling as if she’d fly into pieces and disappear if she let go. Her legs tangled with his as he kissed her, his mouth moving over her neck, her shoulders. He lifted her effortlessly to get to her breasts, closing his teeth over her nipple, taking her right to the edge of pain, before caressing the swollen tip with his tongue as he made soothing noises.
Natalie didn’t know what was happening to her, didn’t know what to do with this raging need, this hunger that was tearing her apart. She wanted to scrape her nails down his back, to dig furrows into his powerful shoulders, to see red blood mingle with the turquoise water. She was shocked at the strength of her own desires, at the sheer lust driving her. She wasn’t like this. She was quiet, conventional, and always in control.
As if he’d heard her thoughts, Christian dug his fingers into her ass, grinding her against the marble-hard length of his erection. Her breath caught as his fingers caressed the crease between her butt cheeks, and then released in a keening moan when one thick finger slid into the tight little hole. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but then he wrapped her leg around his hip and slammed his cock deep into her body, claiming her more completely than any man had ever done, more, she suspected, than anyone else would ever do again. She despaired even as she exalted, dreamily wondering how she could go on knowing that she might never again experience the piercing joy of making love to Christian Duvall.
He pulled his cock out in a long, slow stroke of sensuousness, only to slam back into her with a snarled oath. “Stay with me,” he demanded, and began fucking her hard and fast. His cock was big, and she was tight, but so wet. So very wet and slick and ready for him.
Her cries rippled over the water as he fucked her with fingers and cock, his mouth swallowing her pleas for release, or maybe she was begging for more. She didn’t know anymore, couldn’t distinguish where she ended and he began. She could only hold on to the unrelenting strength of him, crying out helplessly when a fresh orgasm tore her apart and put her back together in one glorious explosion of ecstasy. She laughed crazily when Christian kept driving into her, wondering how much more pleasure her body could take. But then without warning, he shuddered hard. His mouth slammed down on hers in a passionate kiss, his cock bucked inside her, and she felt the warm rush of his release.
CHRISTIAN HUGGED Natalie close, holding her upright and murmuring meaningless words against her ear as she hung limply against him. He needed to get her out of the water before she became chilled. The water was warm, but it would soon drain what little reserves she had left after her multiple orgasms. He couldn’t stop his satisfied grin at the thought, any more than he could stifle the smug confidence that he was feeling as she trembled in his arms. His Natalie wasn’t a virgin, but she wasn’t experienced either. She’d never been bitten, and her shock when he’d slid his finger into her tight little hole hadn’t been feigned. His drained cock twitched at the thought of dipping more than his finger into that sweet ass.
Natalie moaned softly, as if she’d sensed the reaction of his cock. But he didn’t know if the moan meant she was too exhausted for more, or if she was anticipating even greater pleasures. Whichever it was didn’t matter, because she was practically unconscious, and he wanted her fully able to enjoy everything they did together.
Swinging her up into his arms, he walked to the stairs and climbed out of the pool. Natalie moaned again, but her shivers made the meaning obvious this time. The night air had hit her after the warm water, and she was cold. Putting on a burst of vampire speed, he dashed into the house with her in his arms, snagging his sweater from the kitchen barstool as he strode through the house and down the hall to the guest room where she’d slept last night. She clung to him tightly when he went to put her down, so he pulled back the covers with one hand and slid into bed with her until she was breathing evenly. He would have liked to sleep next to her, and had a flash of how delightful it would be to roll over at sunset and pull Natalie into his arms. He’d tug her beneath him and sink his fangs into her neck, before spreading her legs and fucking her awake. He could still feel the pulsing of her sheath around his cock from when she’d come earlier, the way her tight pussy had squeezed him nearly dry.
And if he didn’t stop thinking about that, he was going to fuck her again right now.
Releasing her gently, he snagged his sweater and slid it over her head, kissing her thigh as he rolled it over her hips and under her ass. Then he climbed out of bed, pulled the covers up, and left her with a final kiss on her warm lips.
She didn’t stir when he slipped out into the hallway and closed the bedroom door. He was at the basement stairs when it occurred to him that she would very probably wake during the day tomorrow, and wonder where he was, or when she’d see him. After all, he was her first vampire lover, and while she had to know the basics of a vampire’s sleep cycle, her first morning-after in a near empty house might be confusing. So he left her a note near the espresso machine, and went downstairs to find Marc still hard at work.
“Any luck?” he asked, passing through the computer room on his way to their personal quarters.
Marc glanced over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised at Christian’s lack of clothing. “No,” he said dryly. “Unlike you, apparently.”
Christian grinned, but didn’t say anything as he ducked into his bedroom and grabbed a pair of sweats. He and Marc had shared lovers in the past, and had certainly compared stories, but he didn’t want to talk about Natalie. He wasn’t sure what he felt for her, but he knew it was something different, something unique.
He reappeared in the doorway, rubbing a towel over his wet hair. “So you think Anthony’s running a closed network on the estate?”
“Sure looks that way. Even if I couldn’t break the security on his network, I should at least have been able to find it if he was connected to the Internet.”
Christian frowned. “I wonder if Jaclyn could help.”
“I wonder if she will. Wouldn’t that be the same as Raphael taking sides in the challenge?”
Christian shrugged dismissively. “It’s done all the time. The lords aren’t supposed to, but everyone plays favorites. Besides, Jaclyn is her own person, not just Raphael’s mouthpiece. And after what Anthony did earlier, I think she’d welcome the chance to fuck him over.”
“I think there’s probably a long line for the privilege.”
Christian laughed. “His children seem loyal enough.” But then he recalled Scoville’s easy acceptance of his argument about Noriega. Maybe Anthony didn’t have the loyal following he thought he did.
“Give it up for tonight,” he told Marc. It’s nearly sunrise. You need blood?”
Marc pushed away from the computer, spinning his chair around as he stood. “Nah, I’m good. But you must be drained.” He snickered, and Christian reached out and slapped the back of his head as he went by.
He walked over and pulled the interior vault door closed, sealing off the bedrooms from the rest of the basement. His thumbprint and a second code threw the bolts on the heavy door, just as the first rays of the sun burst over the horizon, igniting a warning fire in his brain. And by the time the yellow ball of flame crested the horizon, he was sound asleep in his big bed, with the rich taste of Natalie’s blood lingering on his tongue.
Chapter Eight
NATALIE WOKE WITH a start. The room was dark and empty, and, for a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was. And then the night came crashing back, and she remembered everything. She covered her eyes with a groan. Had she really been that wanton, needy creature? For sure, that had never happened before. This was all Christian’s doing, some vampire magic he’d worked on her. Her sex pulsed in remembered heat, flooding her pussy with wet need, and her breasts felt swollen and sensitive beneath the soft fabric of . . . Christian’s sweater. He must have put it on her after carrying her to bed. His scent surrounded her, and she couldn’t stop the soft moan that trembled from her throat. God, she wanted him. He was like a drug. Every inch of her was on fire, replaying the touch of his mouth, the sharp sting of his fangs, the hard thrust of his shaft.
Her hand slid beneath the sweater, her fingers finding the slick moisture between her thighs. Her clit throbbed to her touch, her sex wide open and aching as she slipped two fingers inside herself. She added a third, but it didn’t come close to the thickness of Christian’s cock, the way he’d stretched her wide, her inner muscles clenching around him as he’d fucked her slowly, deliberately. His fingers gripping her ass as he—
She came with a muffled cry, her pussy contracting hard, squeezing her fingers as her thumb stroked her clit. She lay there for a moment, her chest beaded with sweat, her heart pounding beneath her breasts. And then she rolled to her side, and curled in on herself as if to contain the pleasure, wishing Christian was there to hold her instead.
She must have drifted back to sleep then, because the next time she woke, she had the definite sense that it was later. The little bit of light leaking around the dark blinds was just pale enough that she knew it was afternoon, not morning. And a quick glance at her cell phone told her she was right. Rolling to her back, she smoothed the soft fabric over her breasts, feeling her nipples harden. She toyed with them briefly, then snapped upright. Something was happening to her. Despite the long, dry spell of celibacy that had been her time in Houston, she usually didn’t masturbate more than a couple of times a week, and she rarely woke up wet. That she was even thinking about coming on her own fingers for the second time in one day was unheard-of.
This was Christian’s fault, too. Although, with her pussy still twitching pleasurably from the previous night, she was having a difficult time convincing herself that this new development was a bad thing.