"Look..."his rough urging forced her eyes to their joined bodies and she sobbed as she watched him surge into her, his thick width pulling out, wet and gleaming, the dark curls at her mound caressing his length, and then he was driving back inside, as they both watched.
They both heard the door open, and both were aware of the vampire watching them, well away from the partially open blinds and the sunlight that filtered through.
Tori shuddered as Declan whispered in her mind, "He likes to watch almost as much as he likes to f.u.c.k." The touch of his mind on hers was almost as intimate as the feel of his c.o.c.k pulsing inside her, almost as arousing.
With a smile, she rolled her head until she could see the handsome blond vampire in the door. Clenching tight with her inner muscles, she smiled slowly as Declan growled and lifted her hips, cupping her a.s.s in his hands, thrusting more deeply inside. Eli closed his eyes and muttered, "Evil little b.i.t.c.h," under his breath before opening his eyes and continuing to watch.
Declan"s hands stroked up and down the back of her thighs before he pushed her knees to her chest, and fell forward onto her, driving his c.o.c.k in deep, stretching her to the point of pain. He caressed her arched neck with his muzzle, nipped gently at her shoulder while he shafted her, driving her closer to o.r.g.a.s.m, relishing each tiny plea and broken scream. Rolling his maned head, he glimpsed Eli and his mouth gaped in an evil grin, causing Eli to laugh weakly. "You"re a b.l.o.o.d.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d, Declan."
Declan lifted his weight slightly off of Tori, keeping her knees hooked over his arms as he pulled out and surged slowly back into her, shuddering at the hot wet clasp of her swollen tissues around the engorged flesh of his c.o.c.k. Taking her legs, he pushed them together, grunting as it caused her sheath to clasp him even tighter, and then he propped both her legs on one broad shoulder, holding them there with one hand and working the other one around until he could sc.r.a.pe her c.l.i.t with a gentle claw.
"Scream again," he told her, reveling in the bond that allowed their minds to meld just as fully as their bodies.
One hand lifted and landed sharply on her a.s.s and she jolted, a weak scream falling from her lips as her muscles tightened. Declan slapped her b.u.t.t again and she vised down around him, her walls milking his shaft as she came, ripping his own climax from him in a long pulsating blast.
He growled in approval as he filled her wet depths with his seed, her body slowly relaxing around his. Her boneless arms fell to the floor and she lay there, panting, her legs still propped on Declan"s shoulder as he rolled his hips, rocked inside her a few more times, letting her drain him dry, before he released her legs and curled up next to her on the floor, smiling at Eli over her body. He cupped her breast in his hand, stroking her softened nipple with his furred hand. The palm was smooth and hairless, broader and longer than a human hand.
Tori felt it, sighing in pleasure, curling up against Declan"s furred chest, feeling the familiar touch of his hand on her body. Her lids lifted and she met Eli"s eyes before her gaze drifted down and encountered the thick heavy bulge behind his flowing linen trousers.
"You"re such a naughty little thing," Eli murmured, stroking one hand down the length of his covered, throbbing c.o.c.k, his back propped against the wall. "If I was still human, I think I would have died of jealousy.
Or a heart attack." He rubbed the base of his palm against his chest, drawing Tori"s attention to the slow, steady pounding of his heart.
A low ripple of power sighed through the air and she felt the fur receding from Declan"s body. Soon, he was curled around her-human, smooth, s.e.xy-so d.a.m.ned s.e.xy he made her mouth water just looking at him.
Lifting himself onto his elbow, he peered at his old friend through his s.h.a.ggy bangs, a smile curving his mouth as he continued to fondle and tweak Tori"s nipple.
"You cannot say you did not know what was taking place, old friend," Declan said with a shrug. "If you didna want to be watching, then why watch?"
"I never said I didn"t want to watch," Eli said, his hot eyes trailing from Tori"s glowing face and the smug smile on her mouth to where Declan held and plumped one white globe in his hand, the nipple red and hard once more. "I"d prefer to play with you, but I doubt I"ll be invited again."
Tori"s lids drifted down slowly before lifting back up and meeting Eli"s golden gaze. "Not now, but you"ll be invited again," she promised, her tongue wetting her lips.
Eli approached her warily, his eyes narrowed and hungry. "Again, hmm?" he murmured, dropping down to his knees and lowering his head until they were nose to nose. Slowly, he covered her mouth with his and slid his tongue inside hers, between her fangs, so that he could taste her. When he pulled away moments later, she was breathing heavily and staring at him with dazed eyes.
"A promise I hope you intend to keep," Eli purred before sitting back on his heels. Staring at Declan, all emotion fled from his face and he said, "Night approaches. He will be here soon. Unless you want to face him in your lovely white hide, Tori, I would suggest you clothe yourself." He drew the air in through his nose, tasting the faint sweat that dewed her body, the scent of Declan"s body on hers, in hers. "It will infuriate him, knowing that the wolf has been touching you, marking you, f.u.c.king you."
Declan lowered his head to hers and kissed her swollen mouth hungrily, gently. Then soothingly before he pulled away and murmured, "Loving you."
Tori accepted the hand Eli offered and sat up, glancing out the window to where the sun hovered just on the horizon, blazing orange, the clouds around streaked with pink and silver. "Can he take daylight?"
"Not last I saw him," Eli answered. "You know him?"
"I"ve fought him before."
"Can I...can I win?"
Declan rose and lifted her to her feet, cuddling her back against him, pressing a gentle rea.s.suring kiss to her neck. Eli rose to his feet in a boneless, lazy movement, the subtle power inside him easily cloaked for now. "I"ve no doubt of it.
You already have. You broke his hold. Tonight, he will learn that."
"Is Declan his match?" she asked, looking from the vampire to the wolf.
Eli lifted a brow and said, "I would dare say, yes, he is.
I don"t know for certain. But you must fight him. Not your wolf. This is your battle." "I know that." She met Declan"s eyes.
"Can you beat a M.
aster?" He sm iled smugly. "I can, and have." Then his muscled, naked shoulders lifted in a shrug. "But five hundred years...that is a powerful mark to reach. And this cannot be my battle alone. I can face him with you, but not for you." Tori looked back to Eli and took a deep breath. Declan hadn"t really answered her. "Are you stronger than he is?"
"A hundred-fifty years ago, I was, yes. I imagine that is still true. Manuel Rodriguez has reached his plateau and I"ve yet to reach mine." He stroked one hand down her face and lifted her chin, staring into her haunted, frightened, blue eyes. "You"ve not even begun to rise to what you will be. He can not defeat you, Tori. Of that, I am certain."
With a shuddering sigh, Tori said, "The old woman, she is his mother. She"s trapped here, until he dies. I need to know that she will be able to move on, no matter what. If he ki..." Her voice trailed away and she hesitated for a long moment, her throat tight with fear.
"If I can"t beat him, will you kill him? She deserves to be at peace."
Declan growled, clutching her tightly against him. "You will not face him alone, Tori. And we will defeat him."
Stubbornly, she said, "I need to know, that if I fail, he will still die. He can"t do this to anybody else."
Eli met Declan"s eyes over her pale naked shoulder and said gruffly, "He does not leave here alive. That, I promise you."
CHAPTER TEN
Manuel pressed through the invisible cloak that marked the edge of Crawford"s territory. The other Master had taken his b.i.t.c.h-that was all he could focus on.
Had taken her, saved her and f.u.c.ked her.
And the wolf...f.u.c.k, how he hated the shifters. Hated them with a pa.s.sion. But this wasn"t just a wolf, not just a shifter. He was an Inherent, Manuel suspected, and most definitely one of the hated Hunters.
It was the worst sort of betrayal, letting not just another Master f.u.c.k her blind, but to let a wolf f.u.c.k her. And both of them, the Master and the Inherent, were Hunters.
She had let the wolf between her legs and into her p.u.s.s.y. That had been his.
All of her belonged to him.
And he was going to get her back.
He hovered at the edge of the tree line, staring in fury at the brightly lit house, with all its windows and laughter. The b.a.s.t.a.r.d lived as though he were still human, in a house, with people he provided for. The English b.a.s.t.a.r.d drove a car, for pity"s sake. Spoke on the Council Of Hunters, had the authority to decide when the Hunters would strike.
Manuel couldn"t possibly admit it, but this was part of why he hated Eli. Being a Hunter, he was safer from the rest of the world than the ferals were. n.o.body hunted the Hunters, n.o.body was a threat to them. A feral feared fighting a Hunter, not just because of the death that most always came, but because, if by chance, the feral won, the rest of the Hunters would descend upon him and tear him apart.
A slim figure pa.s.sed in front of the window and Manuel"s hands curled into tight fists.
The woman.
She was the reason he was here.
He"d get her back, even if he had to kill them all to do it.
h.e.l.l, he"d prefer to kill them all anyway.
He watched, enraged, as she strolled back in front of the window and lifted it. Unaware of the light touch on his mind, he glared as she leaned out, drawing the cool, clean night air into her lungs.
With a puzzled frown replacing the fury on his face, he listened, ears p.r.i.c.ked and eyes searching.
She hadn"t changed.
Her heart still beat.
He could hear the faint sound of air moving in and out of her lungs.
And as he watched, she lifted a fat, juicy orange to her lips, and bit down on the peeled wedge, juice trickling into her mouth, down her chin. She chewed, swallowed, took another bite.
Manuel watched, entranced, as she polished the fruit off and daintily wiped her mouth. She hadn"t changed.
How was this possible?
He had bitten her, watched as the blood drained from her body. He had fed her and made sure the change had started before leaving her alone to suffer and die of starvation. But she hadn"t changed.
He moved a little closer, certain she couldn"t see him with her still human eyes.
But then she propped her hands on the windowsill and grinned, right at him, moonlight gleaming off her pearly fangs. "There"s my sire, all ready to play," she purred.
And she leaped out of the window, dropping the twenty feet to the ground and rising to the b.a.l.l.s of her feet, staring at him with her head c.o.c.ked, her eyes wide. The faint bulge of her fangs behind her upper lip betrayed the innocent expression on her face, giving voice to the hunger that was churning in her gut.
Hunger for his blood.
"Why, you look like you"ve seen a ghost," she murmured.
A shadow separated itself from the house and Manuel watched as the wolf placed himself protectively at her back, one hand resting on her shoulder.
Another shadow slid away and shifted, a moving drift of gray fog that hovered between Manuel and the woman, hovering for brief moments, taunting Manuel.
The Spaniard seethed silently at this show of power. So very few Masters ever attained the ability to shift to other forms, yet Eli had mastered them all by his first century. The fog solidified and reformed, until Eli Crawford stood between Manuel and the b.i.t.c.h he had come to take.
"Do you like the monster you made, Manuel?" Eli asked, his hands in the pockets of his trousers, his pale naked chest gleaming in the bright silvery moonlight.
"She walks in the sun, and she threw off my compulsion as easily as she did yours. I watched while she sat and ate lasagna. Do you know what is in lasagna, Rodriguez? Garlic. Tons of it. She washed it down with wine and chocolate. You remember chocolate, don"t you?"
"She"s still human. And weak," Manuel spat, his body quivering with rage. "She was too weak for the change, too weak to become like one of the G.o.ds."
Eli laughed. "Weak? Aren"t you in for a surprise." he stated, pacing a large circle around the three of them. He stopped just beyond Declan, who had dropped to his heels, one palm resting on the earth, while he stared at Manuel with unconcealed rage. His back was arched, the muscles and bones underneath shifting restlessly as he fought to control the urge to shift and pounce-to take the vampire down and rip his throat out.
Eli paused only long enough to squat down and whisper, "Her fight," before rising to study Manuel.
"You know about the bonds between a wolf and his mate, don"t you?" Eli asked Manuel. "You tried to break it."
"She had no bond," Manuel hissed. "None."
"She"s my mate," Declan said, his voice a low rough growl. The glinting green eyes glittered with rage and hate and fury and Manuel felt a spark of fear in his gut.
"From the day we first met, I knew she was mine. You tried to break that."
"She had no bond," Manuel repeated. "And this involves neither of you men. I sired her, and by laws of old, she is mine. That is a bond, wolf. And you tried to interfere, tried to keep me from my property."
Tori laughed. "Property? I am no man"s property."
"I sired you. I own you," Manuel said with a leer.
"Body, soul, mind. Your p.u.s.s.y and the a.s.s you shared between them. You will pay for that, I promise you. You think I didn"t know, didn"t see you f.u.c.king the two of them? I saw every d.a.m.n time they pounded their d.i.c.ks into you, and for each and every single stroke, you will pay, little puta. Now, come."
Tori only smiled.
"Come!" Manuel ordered, inflicting his will into the word. And she did nothing.
"You protect her?" the Spaniard asked, glaring at Eli with hatred and incredulity.
"I"ve no need to, Manuel. She is not yours. She broke your hold."
"She belongs to ME!" Manuel bellowed. The windows trembled and shook, and the birds in the forest took flight and the night around them grew silent. "Come to me, you little c.u.n.t, now."
Declan"s lips peeled back from his teeth in a ghastly smile, his teeth lengthening just slightly, just enough to remind Manuel what he was. "Watch how you speak of my mate, vampire. Watch, and remember what we are."
"She isn"t one of you," Manuel hissed, unwittingly falling back a step. "I broke no Council law when I took her and she is not one of yours. I took her and I control her."
"Then why doesn"t she come? Why don"t you try to take her mind, if you are so certain you own her?" Eli suggested. The wind picked up and threw long golden locks of his hair into his face. Absently, he brushed them aside and lifted a brow at Manuel. "Well?"
Manuel called.
She only smiled.
He threw every bit of his strength into compelling her, and she laughed.
"You protect her!"
Eli rolled his eyes. "Check for the bond, you fool. I protect no one. She stands on her own, and you"d be wise to fear the creature you made."
Manuel did search. And the bond wasn"t there. Instead, when he reached for her through the mental paths, he was thrown into a maelstrom of blinding golden lights shot through with glittering threads of silver and blue, caught in a cage he couldn"t understand. He was trapped, caught, paralyzed.
Until he felt a warm, living hand on his cheek. The bonds that now bound him loosened enough to allow his eyes to open and he stared up at her. At some point, he had collapsed to the ground and he caught the bitter metallic taste of his own blood in his mouth.