Battle With Fire by K.F. Breene

Fifteen

Darius’s lipscrashed against mine, our teeth clashing and tongues wrestling. A surge of unbridled desire ripped through me, pumped up by the feelings of his passion and urgency through the bond and a heady sort of territorialism, the likes of which I’d never experienced before. It dripped fire through my blood and surged adrenaline through my body.

He kicked his way into our room and spun me around, closing the door by slamming me up against it. His body was glued to mine, his kiss deep and urgent, like a starving man going after a meal. He grabbed my tank top and tore it off before shoving up the cups of my bra and sliding his hands over my breasts.

I groaned as his thumbs worked over my hard nipples. He bent down and sucked one into his hot mouth, working my leather pants with his other hand. Buttons undone, he shoved my pants down, my panties caught up with them, and dropped to his knees in front of me. He flung my knee over his shoulder and took to me, licking up my wet heat before flicking my clit with his tongue.

Pleasure surged through me, throbbing in my core and spiraling outward. I tangled my fingers in his hair, gyrating my hips against his delicious mouth. His fingers plunged into me in time with the swirling of his tongue, and my head thunked back against the door as I exploded, fracturing and breaking apart.

Darius pushed up to standing and ripped off his shirt. He was out of his pants in a flash, and then he pulled me closer, wrapping my legs around his waist. Across the room and he dropped me to the bed and moved between my thighs. Heat blistered between our skin. His heavy length rested against my sopping core. His beautiful hazel eyes took me in, and I could see the primal desire pooling in their depths.

“You are mine, Reagan,” he said, his tone deep and rough. Fire erupted in his eyes as he lined himself up with me and thrust, filling me.

I cried out, squeezing his middle with my thighs, and he plunged into me with wild abandon. He pushed me into the mattress, capturing my wrists above my head, dominating me with his size and strength. I jerked my hips against his thrusts, drawing more friction, building again.

He ran his open mouth along my jaw and bent a little, scraping his teeth against my throat. I shivered in anticipation, and he bit me. The pain turned to pleasure, his vampire serum mixing with my blood and driving incredible sensations through my body.

I sounded like a banshee with all the moaning and groaning, but I couldn’t help it. His primal wildness, his inability to channel any of his usual grace and poise, caught me in the best of ways. I wanted to be taken,no inhibitions, no safety net. I wanted this claim just like I had wanted the bond. A vicious part of me understood his need to defend my honor against a rival male. A female part liked his earnestness in doing it.

“Harder,” I said, struggling to get closer, to get him deeper.

His breath mingled with mine. His body rose a little so he could give me what I wanted. His hips slammed against me, over and over. He worked one of his hands between us, massaging my clit to give me more pleasure. He drew from my vein again, dosing me with another boost of vampire serum.

He was everywhere at once. Pleasure pulled at every inch of my body, dragging me under. Drowning me in the best of ways.

I blasted apart, yelling his name, arching against him. He shuddered over me, groaning with his release.

The sound of our panting filled the suddenly quiet room. He didn’t remove his weight from me, nor did he let go of my wrists, trapped in one of his large palms. He held me there, cupping a breast with his free hand.

“I cannot suffer any other vampire to know your taste, Reagan,” he said in a thick voice, the authority of an elder riding his words. “I certainly cannot suffer another vampire teetering on the edge of blood lust because of you. Any time that creature is near you, he will pose a danger to you and a challenge to me. This is not for a human to understand. This is how it is done with my kind.”

“Callie and Dizzy said he was too young when…” I let that comment trail off, stayed by the surge of menace in his eyes. He wasn’t prone to jealousy, normally, but clearly there were limits.

“He is lesser middle level, not too young to deny his desire for blood such as yours. He has a weak mind, and your blood, magic, and power are a temptation he is unable to resist, it seems. Ja must’ve realized this. She is devious.”

“So she basically sent him here to die?” I asked.

He skimmed his lips against my chin, and I shivered. “She is certainly trying for that outcome. It means nothing to her, of course. She is poking me. Meddling in my life. I could have found that creature before now, and I thought about doing so a few times, but I was respecting your privacy. You didn’t want me to track him down, and so I didn’t. Well…”

“You did.”

He nipped the sensitive skin on my throat. “Yes. He was far enough away that it wasn’t an issue. I left it at that.”

“And now?”

His kiss was slow and deep. “And now I cannot leave it at that. His challenge was direct, and it was public. You are my bond mate—he is in the wrong on a few levels, particularly in his disrespect of you, and so I will kill him.”

The flatness with which he said it, in between gentle kisses and little nips, sent cold shivers up my spine before pooling heat in my core. Good God it was hot when he went all dominant male like this, fighting for my honor and taking me back to his bed like some caveman. I could play the Jane to his Tarzan for the morning. It was just what I needed to take my mind off the Red Prophet’s (likely terrible) secrets. Being a wilting flower now would give me a break before I had to strap on my leathers again and be the big boss bitch.

He was still inside me, quickly growing hard again, and I swirled my hips against him. He growled, stretching against me and rubbing his chest along my hard nipples. Their sensitivity sent shock waves of pleasure to wind me up higher.

“You reacted quite a bit differently to Ja’s surprise this time than you did after she told us about Ernesta,” I said, tilting my chin away so he would kiss down my neck.

“I don’t care about my past lovers, just as you don’t care about yours. But I will hazard a guess that you would care somewhat more if you walked in and one of my past lovers had my cock in her mouth.”

Rage and fire blasted through me, and I tensed up before laughing at my reaction. “It wouldn’t be her fault. I’d probably kill you, not her.”

“And what if she knew I was bonded to you and didn’t want her anymore, and she used a moment of weakness—”

“No, no. No need to elaborate. I was trying to use the PC answer that says it isn’t the mistress’s fault if the man is cheating. Which it isn’t. But no, it certainly wouldn’t take much for me to kill a threat.”

“A threat to your man…”

“I am currently fantasizing about you being a Tarzan, not me. I’d like to continue to pretend that I am a sensible creature that never flies off the handle.”

“Ah. I see. Okay then.” He tightened his grip on my wrists and slammed into me, stealing my breath. “Then I will own my mantle and make sure you walk bowlegged the next time we leave this room, how is that?”

“Yes, please,” I said, attempting meek. Polite was about as close as I could get. It would do.

I arched my back and said goodbye to the present. For a while, I just wanted to get lost in Darius. On the other side of that pleasure, I knew there would be nothing but pain and blood.