I couldn't believe that he was actually asking my permission and keeping to his word that he wouldn't do it unless I wanted him to. As his teeth grazed my skin again I quivered. Do it.

I've wanted to taste you for so f.u.c.king long. He fisted a hand in my hair, yanked my head back slightly and sank his teeth down hard. As he took a long, greedy gulp he moaned against my skin. The moan vibrated through every fibre of me. Instantly desire began to coil low in my stomach and tingly sensations overtook my body which he kept crushed to his as he continued to drink greedily. You taste so good, baby.

The tingling intensified when he called me that, which was dumb really because it wasn't like I hadn't been called that before. And it wasn't as if I hadn't been told that my blood tasted good before now, and yet hearing Jared say those words had a primal, raw desire like nothing I'd ever felt before coursing through me.

I was a little light-headed by the time he had ceased his gluttonous drinking. When he looked up at me his irises were glowing like they'd never glowed before, making me hitch in a breath. What I really, really, really wanted to do was bite down on his neck and have my own little party, but I knew that was against consort etiquette. Instead, I grabbed the index finger of his left hand and brought it up to my mouth slowly, giving him time to object. He didn't. I sank my teeth into the tip of his finger and sucked eagerly, making him moan and shudder. G.o.d the taste of his blood was amazing; wild and potent with a male spice to it. Conscious that a little too much of my saliva could have him emptying into his pants, I took only a little before stopping.

"It is so time to leave." He gripped my hips tightly and then we were gone. I barely noticed the queasy sensation in my stomach this time; I was too hyped up on antic.i.p.ation and excitement. And on Jared's blood. I definitely had to taste that again sometime soon. He didn't ease his tight hold on my hips even as we arrived at his apartment. His gaze was serious and penetrating and searching mine. "Tell me," he breathed against my lips. "Say it."

"I want you."

And then he was kissing me. Kissing me so hard and so desperately and clutching me to him as though he was half-expecting me to disappear. The very second that those lips touched mine there was that familiar bang; an explosion in my veins and the sensation of a hot raging fire spreading through me, just as I knew there would be. I fisted my hands in his shirt, pulling him to me, refusing to accept that there wasn't a way of getting any closer.

His hungry, greedy kisses more or less devoured my lips and overwhelmed my tongue. As I pulled at his shirt with such force that I involuntarily took backward steps, he stalked me predatorily and slid his hands all over me, never parting our lips. We stumbled and staggered and swayed and then my back slammed against something hard, smooth and cold.

Opening my eyes, I realised with surprise that rather than being halfway through his apartment we had at one point somehow spun around and now I was crammed against the front door.

Jared, too, opened his eyes and was equally surprised. He braced his hands against the door, forming his own little prison around me, grinning. "I hope you're not trying to escape. But I guess restraining you might be fun."

"I hope this isn't your idea of caging me in. Because if it is, your cage is kind of" I wiggled his outstretched arms "flimsy."

He slammed his body against mine, crushing me. I could feel his heart hammering in his chest. I could see those red Pagori irises glowing. "Better?"

I pursed my lips. "Yes. But I could still get away."

"Not a chance." He kissed me so hard and with such intensity that it was as though he meant to back up his words; that he was letting me know that he wouldn't let me pull back this time, that he wouldn't allow me to pretend any longer that I didn't want this as much as he did.

Still, that didn't mean I couldn't play with him a little, did it?

While his hands were preoccupied with scrunching and tugging my hair I slid my hands down his chest to his waistline and bunched up the bottom of his shirt which I'd noticed did not b.u.t.ton all the way down and so could only be removed by being pulled over his head. Perfect for what I had in mind. I slowly slid it up and up and then, just as I'd hoped, he raised his arms for me to slide it over his head. G.o.d he was all muscle and sinew! Instead of tugging the shirt off, however, I left it covering his face and trapping his arms slightly as I used the opportunity to escape.

I squeezed out from between his gorgeous body and the door, and bolted, calling over my shoulder, "That was just too easy!"

I heard him mumble something in surprise and then he was pursuing me as I nimbly dashed at human speed around the living area, hopping from the floor to the coffee table to the sofa to the Arms seized me abruptly. I was twisted around in those arms, and lips found mine as my legs were simultaneously wrapped around his hips. Again my back collided into something hard and the wind was literally knocked out of me.

Jared chuckled. "I can't believe you just did that." As he resumed kissing me wildly his hands, fingers splayed, skimmed up my thighs and under my dress."You won't get away again."

I smiled against his lips. "You have this habit of underestimating me."

He grinded his hips against mine, making me moan and tighten my arms around his neck. "Same goes for you if you still really think you won't be calling out my name."

"Like I said, it's nothing personal. I don't call out anyone's name."

"We'll see." Jared's eyes bore into mine as he let his hands journey further, cupping my a.r.s.e. While one hand lightly ran over my breast he slid his other hand, fingers splayed again, further underneath my thigh. It was almost painful when his fingers stopped on reaching on my thong, refusing to go any further. Unable to help it, I twisted my hips toward his hand but he only drew his fingers back, smirking.

Fine. Let's play some more, shall we.

It was a squeeze seen as he was pressed tightly to me, but my hands soon slid down his naked chest and reached the waistline of his trousers and slowly tackled his belt, my eyes still meeting his. With the belt gone, I took the b.u.t.ton and zip out of the equation. Then I tried lowering my legs. He let me, antic.i.p.ating what I had in mind. I pushed slightly against his chest, creating just enough room for me to slide down the wall. I placed my mouth against the tip of the erection that was straining against his trousers and exhaled heavily, making him groan.

As I planned, he was now off-guard. I tugged on both his trousers and his underwear, pulling them all the way to his ankles. A horse would be envious of what I was looking at right now. I met his eyes and smiled...and then I dived to the side, sprung to my feet and bolted again. "Typical male the slightest chance of getting sucked off and your mind went blank."

Still at human speed, I rushed pa.s.sed the conference table. I could hear him struggling behind me; obviously a little delayed by the fact that his ankles were more or less bound by his own pants. Soon, though, he was chasing me again. I leaped onto the counter in the kitchen and ran along the length of it, hopping over the hob and other appliances. Cheating, he came after me at vampire speed and caught me just as I reached the end of the counter. It was a good tackle, I'll give him that. Suddenly we were diving toward the floor. He twisted his naked body to break my fall and then immediately rolled on top of me, grinning evilly.

"b.i.t.c.h," he said endearingly. His lips came down onto mine, almost teasing in the way that they moved now. "Seen as it hardly seems fair that I'm naked and you're fully clothed..." He ripped open my dress, tearing the entire length of it. He moaned at the view he then had of my body.

"I liked that dress."

"I'll buy you a new one," he murmured against the column of my throat. Starting there, his lips began working their way down in an almost precisely straight line, kissing the hollow of my throat and between my b.r.e.a.s.t.s and along my abdomen until he reached my navel. Then he gazed up at me wearing a knowing smile. He was perfectly aware that I was desperate for him to go further, to remove my thong, to use more than just his lips, but again he seemed intent on teasing the life out of me. Teasing really wasn't my thing, but neither was begging for what I wanted.

Fine. Let the games continue.

I pulled my leg toward my chest and swiftly untied the straps of my shoe before flinging it to the side of me. Jared's eyes had followed the movement closely, sliding a hand along my leg. Correctly antic.i.p.ating that I would do the same with the other leg, he elevated his body a little to allow me better access to my shoe. That was all I needed. The second my shoe was off I pushed him backwards with my foot, rolled from beneath him and scrambled to my feet. He grabbed an ankle but I wrestled free and bolted again.

I didn't get far this time before he had scooped me up into his arms, laughing. "Okay, fair enough, I did underestimate you." His voice suddenly became deep and rough as we entered another room. "This is where we find out if you underestimated me." Then I was flung onto a soft surface, making me bounce and giggle. The material beneath me was silky-smooth. Silk then, obviously.

Details of the room registered only barely. The warm gold, cream and ivory theme continued in here, as did the solid oak flooring. The bed I was on was absolutely huge and the sheets were golden.

Jared slowly crawled up the length of me, bringing his angelically gorgeous face to mine. His lips and tongue overwhelmed my mouth as my torn dress was removed entirely. He gripped my wrists and drew my hands above my head. There was then tearing and fumbling as a strip of my destroyed dress was used to bind my wrists together and then secure them to the iron headboard. "Shall I tell you what's going to happen now?" He moved his mouth to my ear. "First I'm going to play with these gorgeous t.i.ts here, suck on these pretty little nipples. Then I'm going to f.u.c.k you with my fingers and my tongue until you come in my mouth. Only then will I slide my c.o.c.k inside you. It's not going to be slow and gentle, Sam. I'm going to f.u.c.k you hard and fast until you come so hard you scream. And do you know what you'll scream? My name."

(Jared) Before she could deny it again I tugged on her bottom lip with my teeth and slipped my tongue inside her mouth. Sam met it with her own, stroking it and sucking on it while she arched beneath me. A groan escaped me as I palmed and kneaded her full b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Christ, the feel of her...No fantasy had lived up to it. I'd almost surged inside her when I had her against that front door. But having waited way too long, I was going to make the most of every minute of it. The way she was protesting with her body wasn't helping me restrain myself from taking her right now, and her burning gaze told me that she knew it.

I swooped down and took a nipple into my mouth, suckling and nibbling and licking and then curling my tongue around it. When her moans became whimpers I closed my mouth over her other nipple and gave it the same attention, loving every raspy moan she made. That amazing scent of hers vanilla musk with a hint of honeycomb was shooting up my nostrils and threatening to splinter my self-control.

Suddenly her legs were around my hips and her thighs were squeezing to bring me closer so she could thrust her hips toward mine. I nearly lost it there and then. Bringing my face to hers I gave her a reprimanding look. "And here was me thinking that you'd be a good girl."

"Not in my nature."

Smiling a little devilishly, I trailed a hand down, down, down at what I would guess was a frustratingly slow pace.

"Jared," she growled warningly.

"You can take it, you're tough." On reaching her thong I tore it and chucked it aside, taking a minute to enjoy the view. Perfect.

"In case you haven't already guessed, I really don't like being teased."

I arched a brow. "It never bothered you when you were doing it to me." I chuckled at her low growl and then slid a finger between her wet folds and circled her c.l.i.t. "Is this what you want?"

She moaned. "Jared, no more teasing."

"Was that a please'?"

"What's the matter, aren't you very good with your hands? Seriously, is this the best you can do?"

I had to admire her spirit, but I wasn't going to let her get away with taunting me. I sent that familiar electrical charge through my body and out of my finger onto her c.l.i.t. She bounced, gasping, as the electricity zinged through her. I smiled evilly. "You decide."

I released another charge. And another. And another. Always watching her, revelling in every moan and groan she made. Then I slipped two fingers inside her. Her gasp was grat.i.tude and pleasure mixed together. "You're so wet, baby," I murmured as I thrust my fingers in out of her. I released one final electrical charge and then, sensing that she was at the crest of an o.r.g.a.s.m, replaced my fingers with my tongue. That pushed her over the edge and four lashes of my tongue later she shattered, her entire body convulsing as the o.r.g.a.s.m overtook her. I wasn't done. The taste of her was addictive. I continued tormenting her with my tongue; alternating between stabbing deeply inside her and suckling on her c.l.i.t over and over until she exploded once more.

s.n.a.t.c.hing her gaze I crawled back up to her. "Get ready to call out my name for me, Sam."

"Not gonna happen," she panted.

In one quick movement I hooked her legs over my shoulders and slammed inside her. Her back bowed from the bed as a husky cry tore out of her throat. "Take more, baby." I reared back and then rammed in deep, groaning as her muscles tightened around my c.o.c.k. "All of me." Again I roughly plunged inside her, forcing her to take every inch. Finally I was buried b.a.l.l.s deep in her body, finally I was where I needed to be. That was it: the little control I'd had left just snapped. Every thrust was deep, fast, hard, urgent, almost violent. There was a sense of relief mixed in with it all; the urge to do this had been repressed for way too long.

"Oh my G.o.d," she rasped.

"Look at me." Aquamarine eyes met mine and a shudder ran through me. "Do you like me f.u.c.king you hard? Do you? Tell me." When she didn't answer I abruptly slowed my movements until they were practically sluggish.

"What're you doing? Don't tease!"

All innocence, I said, "I asked if you liked it hard. When you didn't answer I figured you wanted it slow."

"b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"That wasn't nice. Maybe I should just stop." I withdrew from her body completely and smiled at her low growl. "What's the matter, baby? Do you want my c.o.c.k back inside you?"

"Yes," she bit out.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

I slammed into her, driving deep, but then kept my movements slow as I thrust in and out of her. When she began writhing restlessly I asked, "You want more?" She nodded, moaning. "You want me to f.u.c.k you hard again?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm afraid you're going to have to beg for it." I almost laughed as her mouth fell open. Seeing that she was about to curse me I pounded hard into her once and then went back to soft and slow. Again she growled. "Beg me, baby. Beg me to f.u.c.k you hard, and I will." Again I abruptly punched my c.o.c.k hard inside her before going back to gentle thrusts, every now and then giving her another hard singular thrust. Soon she was so totally mindless that she was whimpering. "You need to come?" She nodded. "You need it harder?" Another nod. "Then give me what I want." It seemed like forever before she croaked out the one word Please'. "Good girl."

I reached up and destroyed the knot binding her wrists and then I was ruthlessly powering into her and she was clinging to me like I was the only solid thing in her world. She nipped my lips and tongue, lapping up each trickle of blood that came for those short seconds to the surface before the skin healed itself. I did the same, and with the combined bliss of the moment, of the taste of her blood and of her Svente saliva running through me I was about ready to break. I upped the speed to vampire momentum, groaning at the sensations that were so agonisingly good that they were at the same time bad and just about bearable. Seeing every feeling she was experiencing shining from her eyes spurred me on hunger, pa.s.sion, desire, pleasure, pain and intensified my own pleasure ten-fold.

G.o.d, Jared!

"Out loud." I knew I was wearing a boyish, smug grin. "Out loud for me, baby." It went beyond wanting to hear her say it. I needed to hear it, though I didn't bother to try to understand why it was important. I tugged hard on her hair as I demanded, "Sam, now!" At last she screamed my name, her muscles clamped around my d.i.c.k like a vice and I came harder than I ever had before in my life. "Sod of a b.i.t.c.h!"

At that very moment she, without warning, sunk her teeth into my neck and drank like an alcoholic would from a whiskey bottle. My hand twisted in her hair and pressed her head closer, and by the time she was done I actually exploded inside her a second time. She matched my smug grin, and she had every d.a.m.n right to.

Still all tangled together, we then tipped onto our sides. The silk sheets didn't seem so soft now that I had the feel of Sam's skin beneath my hands. We just glared at each other as the tingly shudders from our o.r.g.a.s.ms slipped away. In spite of how weird she may have felt at having done what she feared and lost control, the silence wasn't awkward. No feeling that a big, fat pink elephant was dancing and prancing around us. She didn't even squirm under my glare the way she usually did.

Minutes later she puffed and glanced at the bedside clock. "Well, I should go. We should forget this happened, needless to say it was a big mistake."

"What?" Even as I rolled us over and trapped her beneath me she was laughing. "You better be kidding."

"You should see your face." She was still giggling.

"It wasn't funny. No way will I let you go off into another state of denial." But I was giggling even as I said it. Mostly with shock; I hadn't thought it would bother me that much if she were to do that. I shook off the issue. "And never has anyone left me straight after s.e.x."

"Oh but it's okay when blokes do it."

"I'm not doing it. I believe you were warned about the over and over and over again' part. Oh and never has anyone run from me before."

She shrugged, smiling sweetly. "Just making you work for it a little."

"A little?"

"I took it easy on you."

"You were like Houdini."

"But I stuck to human velocity. And I never used my gift either."

I brushed a kiss across her lips. "Feel free to conjure your whip some time."

She grinned. "I'm not sure you could handle it. Not if you can't even manage one female Svente."

"In my defence, this one female Svente is a hard-a.s.s."

"And you're used to girls throwing themselves at you rather than legging it away from you. Speaking of which, how did your consorts take it?"

"As I expected."

"Would I be right in thinking that Joy took it the worst?"

The memory of her plea entered my mind.

"What? You've got a weird look on your face. What did she do?"

"Nothing worth talking about."

"Your expression says otherwise. What happened?"

I sighed. Sam would no doubt find the truth shudder-worthy but I didn't want to lie to her. I had a feeling that she would know if I did anyway. I rolled off her and back onto my side. "Joy, um, guessed that I was getting rid of them because it was you who I wanted, though she actually thinks it's to make you my only consort."

"And...?"

"Joy can make herself into a perfect replica of someone, so she offered to morph into you as often as I wanted and then things could stay as they were."

Sam grimaced but I couldn't read her expression. She twisted her body to face mine. "But you said no?"

"You sound surprised."

"I am. I mean, as creepy as Joy's little offer sounds to me, it's probably a decent one from a bloke's point of view. You could have kept your consorts and still, sort of, s.h.a.gged me."

I kissed her neck as I spoke. "It wouldn't have been you, so it wouldn't have been real. She wouldn't ever kiss me like you do. Or tease me like you do. She wouldn't have had your scent, your voice, your blood, or your mind...And I wanted every part of you." I looked up at her then, shrugging. "I guess that makes me a greedy, spoilt brat."

Again her expression was unreadable. She brought her face to mine and gave me a long, soft, searching kiss. Nothing like any kiss I'd ever had before. And just like that I wanted her again. I slid my hands around her and pulled her close, aligning her body to mine. I explored every curve and line all over again, but this time lightly and not so insistently, and never invasive.

Wriggling and squirming in frustration she said, "I'll tell you what, you don't tease me so much, and I won't fight you this time."

"I'd say not a chance', but I did notice that my caging-in techniques need some work. Not surprising seen as I've never had to use them before." I rolled us so that I was on top of her again and I arranged myself securely over her. "Let's see if we can get you calling out my name again." I kissed her again. "Sam?"