Several hours later, Tatiana woke to find herself spread-eagled on her back. All four of her limbs were handcuffed to the bra.s.s bed railings. Her p.u.s.s.y felt cold, wet and tingly. Surprised, she lifted her head. Jace lay between her legs, lapping chilled blood wine from her c.u.n.t.

She sucked in a surprised breath. It had been over three hundred years since she had felt secure enough with a lover to sleep so soundly that she didn't immediately awaken when touched. Yet Jace had managed to leave the bed long enough to get the wine from the Jacuzzi, return, bind her and pour wine onto her body.

Jace's chilled lips nibbled at her c.l.i.t. "Hmmm, delicious." He lifted his head and smiled up at her. "Have you ever had blood wine mixed with sweet p.u.s.s.y nectar?"

"Can't say I have," she murmured.

"Try some."

She shivered when he poured some more wine into her. He held her hips still and pressed his mouth on her. She thrust up her hips as she felt his tongue probing her p.u.s.s.y.

He rose from between her legs. Setting his hips between her thighs, he brought his mouth down on hers. Wine warmed by his mouth and mixed with her juices trickled over her lips.

His tongue, tasting of wine and p.u.s.s.y, invaded her mouth. She sucked on it, wiggling her hips.

He dragged his lips away from hers so he could look at her. "You know what I want now?"

"Some p.u.s.s.y?" she asked, her voice low, her body pulsing at the thought of another f.u.c.k with this handsome, addictive hunter.

"I always want your p.u.s.s.y, but I want something different now."

"What? And why did you slap these cuffs on me?"

"Because I don't want any s.h.i.t from you when I tell you what I want."

She arched a brow. She couldn't see not allowing him to do anything to her within reason, but- "You know I can easily break these cuffs," she pointed out.

"Go right ahead and I'll have to spank your beautiful brown a.s.s."

"Oh yeah?" She wiggled her tongue at him. "What if the idea of having my a.s.s spanked turns me on?"

"Oh, a fem who knows what a sweet a.s.s was made for. Now let me show you one of the things a d.i.c.k was made for."

He rose and kneeled over her with his c.o.c.k dangling inches above her head. "Does this give you a hint about what I want?"

His unique aroma drifted down to her. Her nostrils quivered and her p.u.s.s.y flooded with fresh moisture. She allowed the tip of her tongue to peek out from between her parted lips.

He settled his body over hers with his c.o.c.k coming to rest against her chin. "Suck me, baby?"

Lifting her head, she brushed the tip of her tongue against the warm head of his c.o.c.k.

"Oh yeah, darlin'." Easing forward, he rotated his hips, spreading the pre-c.u.m on his c.o.c.k against her lips.

He tasted wonderful. She circled the head with her tongue, savoring the taste and texture of his skin. Each c.o.c.k had a different flavor. She'd sucked many she could take or leave, a few she had enjoyed. This one, she loved. Eager to taste his seed, she greedily took half his c.o.c.k between her lips.

"Holy s.h.i.t! Don't stop now, baby, take it all." He shuddered, curling his fingers in her hair. He thrust his hips down. The rest of his c.o.c.k surged into her mouth and partway down her throat. "Sweet Jesus, you're going to make me come too soon."

Swirling her tongue around his length while compressing her mouth, she closed her eyes, sucking with a greedy enjoyment. She loved that she could feel his big, heavy b.a.l.l.s against her face. While eager to feel his c.u.m shooting down her throat, she wanted to prolong the pleasure of sucking his sweet d.i.c.k for as long as possible.

At the same time she wanted him to come really hard. She knew how to accomplish that. Compressing her cheeks to keep him buried in her mouth, she tugged at her wrists. The chains easily broke. She cupped her hands over his waist and lifted his hips until his d.i.c.k popped out of her mouth. She tilted her head back and brought his hips back down. His c.o.c.k plowed back into her mouth and she raised and lowered him as she f.u.c.ked his c.o.c.k in and out of her mouth.

His low groans heightened her pa.s.sions and signaled his increasing state of arousal. Longing to swallow his c.u.m, she released his waist and slid her hands over his body to his tight buns. She parted his cheeks. Sliding one hand down to her aroused c.u.n.t, she eased her fingers inside. She finger-f.u.c.ked herself in time with his c.o.c.k sliding between her lips.

When her fingers were wet, she pressed the index finger of her right hand against his a.s.s. He shuddered. Certain he would enjoy it, as he thrust his hips downward, sending his c.o.c.k back between her lips, she penetrated his tight hole with her finger, located his prostate and stroked it.

"Oh s.h.i.t!" he shouted and roughly ground against her lips until his pubic hair scratched her lips, his c.u.m jetting into her mouth.

Eager for the ultimate in oral s.e.x for a fem, she allowed her incisors to descend and gently pierce the skin of his c.o.c.k. She shivered with l.u.s.t at the taste of his warm blood. Sweet Lord, there was nothing sweeter than the blood from a lover's c.o.c.k. Keeping her finger moving against his prostate, she swallowed every drop of his blood-drenched seed.

Using an expertise acquired over three hundred years with countless lovers, she kept him hard and coming as she ingested the wonderful mixture. Her climax, when it came, rushed over her with the force of a hurricane.

With her mouth full of d.i.c.k, she slumped back against the bed, almost dizzy from the powerful climax they'd shared.

Groaning, he withdrew his c.o.c.k from her lips and collapsed next to her. She turned and drew him into her arms. He buried his face against her neck. Although she sensed his weariness, she felt the tension in his body as he struggled to stay awake.

"What's wrong, Jace?"

"Nothing."

"Then you'd better go to sleep or you won't be up for a repeat performance in the morning."

"I'm not tired."

"Of course you are." Sitting up long enough to release her ankles, she held him close with one hand. She stroked her other hand down his body. She caressed him not to induce pa.s.sion but to lower his defenses. Slowly, his body relaxed against hers until his even breathing signaled he slept. She gently probed his mind, being careful not to invade his personal thoughts.

Sleep with no fear tonight, hunter. I will guard your dreams and vanquish any who would haunt you. Withdrawing from his thoughts, she cast her thoughts outward. Whoever you are, I warn you. Leave him alone or face the wrath of a fem you don't want to f.u.c.k with.

She felt a distant, malignant acknowledgment. I'm about to rock your world on two fronts, fem.

She eased Jason onto his side and slipped from the bed. Moving softly across the room, she stared out into the dark night. If you have a death wish, I will be more than happy to grant it, she promised. She glanced over her shoulder to the bed where Jason slept. Leave him alone or die.

Won't it be somewhat difficult to kill someone whose ident.i.ty you don't know?

Tatiana laughed softly. Oh, you have no idea what I'm capable of. If you threaten someone I have affection for, you die. It's that simple. Keep trying to haunt him and I can promise to kill you, nocturene.

I am not alone. I have powerful allies.

I don't care who your allies are. Continue with your quest to drag him into your dark pit and I' ll be obliged to kill your a.s.s. And don't make the mistake of thinking your seeming anonymity will save you, because it won't. I have means of protecting those I care for just as I have means of finding out who and what you are.

Tatiana sensed a hint of uncertainty pierce the distant nocturene's a.s.surance. That's right. f.u.c.k with me and you have every reason to be very afraid.

The nocturene quickly broke their connection.

Tatiana nodded and turned away from the window. Moving quietly, she left the master bedroom. In the laundry room, she moved the stacked washer and dryer aside, revealing a narrow, locked steel door. She opened the door and stepped into an unlit and unfurnished room the size of a small linen closet. In the center of the room stood a white, waist-high pedestal. A dark crystal, the size of a medium honeydew melon, rested in the center of the foot-wide Doric-style pedestal.

Tatiana moved forward, placing her hands on the sphere. In the center of the crystal, a dime-sized red circle appeared. It quickly filled the entire crystal. A warm glow radiated out from the sphere to her palms. As a tingle spread down to her fingertips, she closed her eyes.

An infusion of cold heat rushed through her body. She dropped her internal shields, allowing easy access to her thoughts. A cerebral warmth she had not experienced in a very long time touched her mind.

Tatiana. It's been a very long time. I thought you had abandoned me.

She shook her head. I have been occupied with other pursuits, Teacher. I have not had time to practice the shadow arts in which you so kindly instructed me. But I have not abandoned you. How are you?

Here on Shadow Mountain things are as they always are. You must come visit when you have time.

Visiting Shadow Mountain would require a level of trust Tatiana feared she no longer possessed. When she had first encountered Blossom Cheyenne, she had been suffering through a dark time in her life. Although angry and lost, she had been more trusting and open then. Now she was unwilling to relinquish the level of control required for one not a native to enter Shadow Mountain.

I cannot make promises I may not be able to keep.

I understand. What brings you to visit, Tatiana?

There is a nocturene, a non-reflect, who is haunting the dreams of someone I'm fond of.

Just fond of?

She nodded rapidly, unwilling to admit any stronger feelings for Jason, even to one she had shared so much with. Yes. I need to know who I'm dealing with so I can protect him.

He is a strong male capable of protecting himself.

Yes, in a fair fight when he can challenge his enemy on a level playing field. How can he prevail against a creature who can enter his dreams and turn them into living nightmares? In his dreams, he is helpless and she is gradually weakening him. Soon she will be emboldened enough to approach him while he's awake. If she's weakened him sufficiently, he won't be able to resist her. I will not allow her to corrupt him. Help me protect him.

The greatest protection for him will be the acknowledgment to him of your true feelings. Tell him how you feel and he can withstand the machinations of the strongest nocturene.

Tatiana sighed. My feelings are uncertain. As a healer, there must be something you can do to help me protect him.

He wears a charm on his neck.

Yes. I believe it holds a strong sentimental value. I've never seen him take it off.

Then get him to take it off.

Why?

It is the means by which she enters his dreams. As nocturenes go, she is very young and not very powerful. Her power over him lies in that charm. Have him remove it.

And he'll be free of her?

No. She has been haunting him for so long that while the talisman facilitates her entry into his dreams, it does not represent her sole hold over him. Have him remove the charm, remain vigilant, and you can thwart her.

When that is done, I'll kill her.

That may not be so easy.

She's very young.

She is also very evil. Evil of that magnitude is not easily extinguished. You may have to content yourself with saving him from her. Once you break her hold on him, it won't be easy for her to reclaim him.

Several hours later, Jace paused with a forkful of eggs and bacon halfway to his mouth. He tilted his head, frowning. "You're joking, right?"

Tatiana sat across the table in her kitchen, training her intense blue gaze on his face. "No."

He saw nothing in her unblinking stare to suggest she wasn't deadly serious. He laid his fork on his plate. His free right hand closed over the precious charm which hung around his neck. "You have to be, because there is no way I'm getting rid of this."

"Why not?"

He considered her in silence. How would she react if she knew why he wore it? He shrugged, deciding if they were going to have the relationship he wanted, there could be no secrets between them. "This belonged to the only other woman I've ever loved. She was killed a little over fifty years ago."

"How?"

"She disobeyed Santiago and went after a powerful rogue on her own. She was skilled and well-trained and might have managed to take him down-had she been facing him alone. She had no way of knowing he had a few friends with him.

"They took turns raping her before they killed her. When I arrived, all I found was this, which she had never taken off from the moment I gave it to her, and pools of blood... " He paused and sucked in a quick, gulping breath. "The pools of blood held traces of v.a.g.i.n.al and a.n.a.l tissues in it. All the blood was hers, and there were ma.s.sive amounts of it, but we never found her body."

Even after all these years, the pain of knowing he'd not only arrived too late to save her but also too late to wreak vengeance on those responsible sent a rush of angry tears to his eyes. He blinked hard to hold them at bay. He succeeded until Tatiana rose, walked around the table and linked her arms around his neck.

The ache he'd held in check for half a century broke free. His body shook and he turned his face against her neck, no longer able to stop the flood of tears.

She lifted him from his chair, cradling him in her arms. Her cool lips brushed against his forehead.

He stiffened and struggled. He didn't want her to see him in a light that would make him appear weak and unworthy of her love. Love? He wanted more than her love. He wanted something more powerful and all-consuming. He wanted her bloodl.u.s.t.

She spoke in a soft, caressing voice, her words shattering the remaining emotional barriers he'd maintained between them. "Don't struggle so, Jason. It's all right. There is no shame in crying in the presence of a fem with whom you've shared p.u.s.s.y-flavored Ancient Delights," she whispered, her sultry voice tinged with amus.e.m.e.nt.

He laughed and lifted his head to meet her gaze. "I want to share so much more than that with you, Tatiana."

"I don't know if that's possible, Jason. For all the pa.s.sion raging between us-"

"It's more than just pa.s.sion. Why can't you admit that?"

She pressed a warm kiss against his lips before setting him on his feet. "Considering who we are, that's all we can share, and even that is barely acceptable."

"Tatiana-"

She shook her head and wiped his cheeks dry. "I'm sorry you lost the love of your life, but you have to remove the charm. Wearing it makes it easier for her to invade your dreams."

He narrowed his gaze. "It means too much for me to take it off."

She reached forward, her fingers sliding under the chain. "I can appreciate that, but it has to go." She tilted her head. "Besides, if I'm to believe your sweet nothings, I'm somewhat important to you as well."

"You are, far more than you know." He pushed her hand away from his chain. "But don't count on that to change my mind. I'm not taking this off. End of discussion."

"Jason-"

He stepped back and leveled a finger at her. "Save it."

"Don't be foolish enough to allow an ancient, useless love to-"