Two and a half hours pa.s.sed with the slinging of fists, the darting of hands, the cracking of flesh against bruised flesh. Feet kicked, bodies arced, arms and legs soared. Little breaks were taken between bouts, Tyr allowing Jaden to catch her breath as they discussed technique in a most business-like fas.h.i.+on. Jaden once mentioned swords, but Tyr denied her request. He didn"t have two of anything and he wasn"t sure it was in his best interest to give a legendary vampire hunter a blade.
Jaden"s breath came in ragged pants and sweat beaded her flushed skin. She could feel her heart pounding so hard against her back that her whole body shook with the force of it. Every muscle in her body was fatigued, bruises were starting to form on her skin, she ached in ways she never dreamt possible, and she"d never felt better in her life. With a deep sigh, she eyed the iron chandelier from the flat of her back.
Tyr leaned over her, his mouth pressed in quizzical worry. His blonde hair fell forward framing his devilishly handsome face. His skin was slightly flushed from the sparring, but he didn"t have breath and his lungs didn"t gasp or tire as hers did.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked at length, referring to his last defensive move that sent her flying to the floor. He hid his smile. For a mortal, she was well trained. Tyr reached out his hand to her. Jaden ignored it, rolling onto her side. She shot him an unexpected smile before pus.h.i.+ng to her hands and knees.
"Where did you study?" she huffed, pulling back on her haunches. She peeled her sweaty hair off her forehead, throwing it back to look at him.
"Everywhere," he answered, drawing his rejected hand back from her.
Jaden chuckled. A sense of comrades.h.i.+p overcame her. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget who he was. She forgot about the vampire council, her impending trial. They were just two people trapped in a cave, sparring.
Tyr heard her laughter, free of mocking and bitterness. It struck a chord deep within. He held onto that laughter, capturing it in his memory, hoping to never let it go or let it fade. But, given enough time, he knew that would become dim as everything in his life must. Its memory would distort until it wasn"t real but an imagined realness. He would forget the lines of her face when she smiled, and beyond that, he might even forget her name. Suddenly, their time together seemed too brief--her mortality too short. He didn"t want to forget, didn"t want to lose another memory to his eternity. The realization stung--a deep, wretched ache that bittered the taste in his mouth and soured the calmness of his stomach.
Jaden"s smile faltered, disappearing as she watched for his answer expectantly. She couldn"t feel the sadness in him, though there were other things she tried her best to ignore. At last, he broke the uneasy silence.
"All knights were trained for hundreds of years. At first we studied with humans, learning of martial arts, weaponry, warfare, books, languages, cultures." He shrugged, leaning leisurely against the back of the couch. "As our skills grew, we studied with the council."
"Oh," her expression wavered as she thought of the legendary tribal council. Jaden had always been aware of their existence, even when a young child. When other children got sweet tales of fairies and dream worlds, she got a lesson in horror and madness, descriptions of torture devices and the h.e.l.l their world could be. It wasn"t Mack"s fault. He did his best by her. Even without his bedtime stories, she would"ve known the truth of it. She could feel the silent spider-like strand of fear the vampiric elders instilled inside their benighted children. It was like a part of nature, holding the dark world together. It was a dark fairytale told and retold, distorted and changed, forever real and true. But never did she feel so close to meeting the council as she did now. Part of her never imagined that the day would come--all of her had prayed that it wouldn"t, all of her knew that it would. "What about before?" Jaden moved to lean next to him. She rolled her head on her neck, taking one last deep breath as she calmed. "What about your human life? Do you remember it at all?"
"As a human, I was a great warrior. I fought in many battles under King Guthrum." Tyr became lost in thought. It was so long ago, none of the ideals he had clung to even mattered anymore. Most humans didn"t even know of the old king.
"And he was a Viking?"
"A Dane, yes," he answered.
"Did he win?" she wondered aloud, enthralled with his voice as he spoke his tale.
"Yes and then no. He was defeated by King Alfred of Wess.e.x. A treaty was signed and he was given what was then referred to as the Danelaw."
"And that was...?"
"In Britain."
"I couldn"t imagine such a life. I don"t think I would"ve done very well in it," she murmured. Realizing what she said, she blushed.
"Ach, nay, m"lady. "Tis a fine Dane ye wouldst have made," he murmured in the soft Norse burr of his mortal youth. Tyr winked at her, an incorrigible act that warred with the undead of his gaze. Turning to the side, he leaned his hip to the back of the couch and faced her. "Methinks ye wouldst have been the prize o" the battle, after we conquered yer people, that is."
Jaden"s blush deepened, but she couldn"t look away. "It"d be something to see, I give you that. All you barbarians dressed in tunics--"
"--yelling to Odin--" he added.
"--brandis.h.i.+ng your broadsword in long swings to hack off the heads of your enemies, sticking them with your anlace, and then finis.h.i.+ng off the wounded with the humane misericord," Jaden finished with a wrinkle to her nose.
Tyr eyed her. She almost seemed relaxed. The tension eased from her body as she spoke of weaponry and battles. He saw the interest in her eyes and felt the excitement in her limbs. This was no usual woman. But, then, he had known that from the beginning. Had he known the secret to unlocking her, he would"ve beaten on her a long time ago.
"Ye know yer weaponry, m"lady," he nodded in approval.
"Though, being a woman," she put in wryly. "I would probably never have seen such a thing from the right end. I"d be at home with twelve brats, sleeping with the livestock."
"Not you. You would be a n.o.blewoman, married to a great king."
Jaden swallowed nervously and she looked away. A n.o.blewoman? It wasn"t likely. There was nothing n.o.ble about who she was.
"Would you like to see it?" he asked carefully, almost shyly.
"What?" she turned to face him in confusion.
"It won"t be real, but it will feel real if you let it."
"What?"
"I can show you a bit of the past. Just a glimpse, a feel," he turned to her. "When the Dark Knights were made, we were turned by our tribal leader and thus we belonged to that certain tribe, but we were also given the blood of each leader during the rebirth.
It strengthened our power and our bond. But it also gave a few of us some additional gifts, if you will."
Jaden had never heard of such a thing. She blinked heavily, waiting for him to continue. Her limbs shook and she wasn"t sure she could believe him. But every sense she had said he was telling the truth.
"I can go into a trance and remember my human past--a field, a hall filled with my people, riding atop my horse beside a castle.
Other memories are vaguer. It is what has kept me sane over the years, kept me connected. We all must find ways to stay connected." Tyr swallowed visibly. He had never shown anyone before. He had never told such personal details of his human past. No one had ever asked. Almost timidly, he took up her hand. "Come on."
Jaden followed before shrinking back in uncertainty. "No, I shouldn"t--"
"You"ll be safe. It is only in my mind," he whispered. "I give you my word that I"ll let no harm befall you."
"But--"
"And I promise not to pry into your thoughts just this once, if that is what concerns you. No tricks, just a glimpse." Tyr turned, pulling her toward his bed. He wanted her to trust him--needed her to. Only then could they find their way out of the clutter of deceit between them.
"Where--?" she asked, but didn"t finish . Jaden"s insides shook. As he held her hand in his cool grip, pulling her behind him, the vulnerability glowing gently in his eyes, he almost felt like a real man.
"It"s best if we lay down. That way, if we fall from a horse or jump from the edge of a castle we won"t actually fall." His voice was soft and persuasive. His eyes glimmered ever so slightly.
Tyr led her to the bed. Stopping, he turned to her and motioned her onto the mattress.
"I should clean up." She protested weakly, trying to pull back. He refused to let her go. "I"m sweating."
"You"ll be fine," he promised, coming close. The back of his hand touched her cheek, the long nails grazing past her temple, down her jaw. His gaze s.h.i.+fted and glowed in the dim light, seeming to whisper, Lie down. Trust me.
Jaden nervously crawled onto the bed and faced him. Tyr came over her with the stalking grace of a beast after its prey. His teeth glinted sharply as his mouth parted. His fingernails dug like claws into the bedding. His head fell to the side, drawing his hair gently over his sinewy shoulders so the strands reached to touch her.
Jaden was forced to lie down so that their bodies wouldn"t touch. Her arms trembled and weakened, as they lay helpless at her sides. Her heart fluttered faster than the thumping wings of a hummingbird--beating in her chest, her throat. The sound echoed in her head. She knew he could hear it.
Tyr looked down at her body nestled beneath his on his mattress. It beckoned him, warm and inviting and very much alive. He was so cool compared to it.
"Close your eyes," he ordered in a husky murmur. Jaden obeyed. Her limbs were weak from their sparring and her body throbbed with unfulfilled needs. The mattress was chilly against her back, warring with the heat of her skin. The softness of it nestled beneath her like a cloud.
She peeked up at him. His chest was bare, unmarred and perfect, ashen and smooth. When his eyes looked into her, she felt as if he really looked, as if he saw her for who she was and accepted it. She wanted to believe that he understood. But deep inside, she knew what he was. She knew that there could never be anything between them. Their worlds wouldn"t accept it. Her eyes drifted closed once more.
Tyr couldn"t resist the parted ridge of her mouth, panting softly. Leaning his weight on his arms, he moved down so his lips hovered above hers, whispering next to her mouth.
"I"m going to kiss you," he said boldly. "Tell me you want me to."
"Yes," she said weakly, not looking. The fight was gone, expended in their exercise. Her body quivered in antic.i.p.ation--in something more that she didn"t want explained. "I want you to."
Tyr concealed his fangs beneath his lips. Slowly he lowered his arms, moving to his elbows to close the distance. The first brush of velvety softness was like a match to dry tender. A flame struck up between them sending pa.s.sion throughout their extremities.
Each fed off the other. Tyr mouth parted instantly, diving forward to stake claim with a deep, probing kiss that left them both weak. Though his kiss was deep, he kept his teeth back, artfully refusing to cut into her skin.
When she moaned, a soft and truly feminine sound, Tyr answered her with a heartfelt growl of his own. His knees threaded into her legs, urging her legs to part and accept his weight. His hand cupped her face, trying in vain to deepen a kiss that couldn"t be deepened. Jaden"s hands worked their way up to touch him. He tasted of mint. He smelled of earth and he felt of rigid, hard man.
Their lips broke for a moment as Tyr lifted her s.h.i.+rt over her head in a single motion, throwing it to the floor. Then his fingers began an exploration of discovery, gliding over the cleft in her throat, beyond the collarbone, over her side to her waist only to draw back to the swollen mounds of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He took her fully in hand, ma.s.saging through her bra, urging with his thumb so that her nipple would slip from behind its lacy curtain into his mouth.
Jaden"s hands found hold on his smooth chest, rubbing insistently over his rigid skin. Once she explored every crevice of his neck, shoulders and chest, her hands ran over his nipples, teasing them into hard nubs. Tyr groaned, grinding his hips fully against her clothed womanhood.
His hands became demanding in their search. Threading his fingers into hers, he lifted one of her arms above her head to arch her b.r.e.a.s.t.s towards him. Jaden felt the intimate connection of their palms as he held her down. Her head thrashed to the side as his lips slid from her mouth to taste the tender flesh of her neck. Jaden peered at their intertwined hands from beneath the slit of her eyelids. The scar on his forearm danced before her, the brand of a s.h.i.+eld with a bar down the center. It reminded her of what he was, who he was, why they had met. At that moment she didn"t care--about any of it. This moment, Tyr, was what she wanted more than anything. Jaden knew she would be selfish and take it.
Tyr"s jaw worked against her throat, along the fragile beat of her pulse that unwittingly urged him to bite into her, to really taste her. Pulling away from the temptation, he sat up.
Jaden"s eyes flew open in panic at his quick withdrawal. She saw the red lining his gaze, the monstrous tilt of his seductive brow.
He chuckled, a low throaty sound as he whispered, "It is too late to stop."
Jaden stared into his eyes, her gaze seeming to answer, I know. The ice blue orbs swirled with an array of emotion, making them gleam in unearthly splinters of purple and silver. His hands went to her jeans, tugging violently to part the denim. His eyes stayed fixed.
"But what about showing me?" she began only to gasp as he whipped the jeans from her hips and legs in one smooth motion.
Those too ended up on the floor.
"I"ve something much more urgent to show you, m"lady," he whispered, coming on top of her. Jaden liked the way he said, m"lady. It made her feel special, unique. The word was as natural as the vampire who spoke it. His hands worked quickly on his own waistband. "And something much more pleasurable to give to you."
As he audaciously said the last, he managed to free himself from the prison of his black pants. Jaden gasped, feeling the hard length of his naked member scolding her thigh with hot pleasure. Without looking, she could feel that his male s.e.x was as demanding and big as the rest of him.
Jaden gulped for air, feeling him rub against her thigh. It was as if they had been waiting for this moment since their first meeting.
Everything that was said and done could only lead to this one grand conclusion. No matter how wrong coming together was, it felt right, and they were no match to fight their shared destiny.
Her hands greedily ran over his back, reveling in the strong, tense muscles before dipping over the firm hills of his b.u.t.tocks to pull him closer. He wore no underwear, so it was easy to venture beneath the tight black material.
Tyr growled, leaving her to quickly strip him out of his pants with a supernatural speed. Completely naked, he once more rose above her, unashamed. His lips dipped to take her ripened nipple into his mouth. The rough texture of her bra ground against them. Tyr lifted his hands to the bra as he kissed her, pulling viciously at the material from both ends, ripping it in two. Jaden"s back tensed in delight of his effortless power. Wondrous sensations flowed through her blood. Tyr"s mouth claimed one breast and then the other. His sharp teeth grazed, dangerous and delightful, grazing her flesh.
Her hand moved in hastened curiosity to find his shaft. Stroking it, she marveled at the hot size of him. She fondled the length of it from base to tip, running her finger over the smooth head before reaching lower to cup the contrasting softness of the two globes underneath.
"I want to explore every inch of your flesh with my hands and mouth. But you have toyed with me too long," he growled like a wild beast against her flesh. "We must slow, lest I cannot keep myself from claiming you."
Lifting his mouth he moved to look her in the face. Jaden returned his look of pa.s.sion, only wavering when his gaze began to soften. Insecure about seeing his tenderness, uncertain if she could handle softness from him, she lifted her knee to ma.s.sage his outer thigh, opening herself up for his taking. His hand in hers, she led it beneath her panties. She pressed his fingers into her awaiting moisture.
Hungrily, she asked, "Does this feel like I want you to slow?"
Tyr groaned as she thrust herself boldly into his hand. He allowed a finger to test the slickness of her opened depths. Her essence flowed over him like warm honey. But as he moved inside, her cavern was tight, like a woman held long from the pleasure of a man. Knowing she hadn"t recently coupled with Rick, or any other, pushed him over the edge. His eyes glinted with a dangerously possessive fire.
Tyr turned his hand, slicing her constrictive panties with his nails and tossing them out of his way. His mouth brought kisses to her breast, circling her nipples with his expert tongue. Her hips searched for him, but he held back.
"Oh," Jaden gasped, tortured beyond control. Her hips sought the air for him, for release, scooting down on the bed as she searched for his touch. "Tyr, please ... please!"
He ignored her pleas, delighted that she reacted to him with such honesty. Her pa.s.sion was her own doing, he refused to enhance or force it with his abilities. He wanted to see her pure response to him, wanted to know that she was with him because it was of her choosing. He wanted her to know it as well.
"Tyr," she cried out with more insistence, weak, breathless, begging and pleading for him to end it.
"I want to taste you," he growled.
"I want you inside of me," she countered.
Tyr, with his superior strength, won. Jaden thought her body might explode, but seeing the determination in his eyes when he looked up at her through the valley of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, she didn"t stop him. Her legs spread in offering. Her hips lifted up to eagerly meet his caressing mouth.
Jaden gasped, panted, heaved for air. Tyr"s expert tongue circled her navel. His teeth grazed the tender skin of her belly. With one bite he could"ve ripped her in two. Jaden wasn"t frightened. She liked to feel his power over her. She liked feeling as if he could control her. Never had a man or vampire been able to beat her, conquer her.
Dragging his hands possessively to rest on her hips, his mouth came to the center of her torment. He breathed hotly against her. His tongue flicked over the sensitive nub once, twice, a third time. Grabbing her by the backs of the knees, he forced her open wide. His lips parted, his kisses drew to the fold that joined her inner thigh to her loins. Smelling the sweet, aroused perfume of her blood, Tyr couldn"t resist. He bit into her flesh.
Jaden bucked in delight. She could feel his teeth anchoring into her, could feel the deepened suck of his kiss as he truly tasted her.
It was more intimate than she could"ve ever dreamt. Not to be outdone, his fingers found comfort in the wet folds of her tight holding.
Tyr tasted her, feeling the pa.s.sion inside of her enhance his. Unlatching his mouth with a groan, he drew his head away in ecstasy, rolling it back on his shoulders. Blood trickled from the wound, staining his lips crimson. It swirled with the dangerous pa.s.sion in his eyes.
"Now you," he urged. His piercingly erotic gaze filled with lines of red. The low accent of his Nordic speech became thicker, as he urged, "Taste me."
Tyr came up next to her. He drew his fingernail over the side of his neck, cutting into his flesh without flinching. Blood trickled from the wound, flowing like little rivers over the ravines of his shoulder. His body tensed, waiting for her to obey.
Leaning over, he drew Jaden"s mouth to the wound. Quietly, he urged, "Taste my pa.s.sion for you, let it flow inside of you."
Jaden s.h.i.+vered in ecstasy. The prudent voice in the back of her mind was unable to remind her of how forbidden being with a vampire was. Her mouth greedily licked the opening of his self-inflicted cut, kissing deeply as she drank from his flesh. Her tongue lapped in the taste of him. Tyr groaned in delight at her acceptance, feeling her joining him. The vampiric essence made her body sing with fire and need. His blood had the power to heal, the power to enhance, the power to make her lose all control.
"Yes," he whispered. The words were low and brutal sounding, as if he was pushed beyond the threshold of his pleasure. "That"s it. Take me within you."
Just then, he parted her body to him. With a quick flex of his hips he pushed into her awaiting fold. Jaden cried out as he filled her completely. It had been so long since she"d been touched that her muscles screamed with the pleasure-pain of his girth. Her loins convulsed and she accepted him into her depths. His touch was stiff and hard and so very deep as if he claimed her very soul. She screamed again against his neck. His blood flowed into her mouth, onto her chest to stain her smooth skin.
Tyr reveled in the burning acceptance of her need, pausing to feel her body convulse around him, adjusting to his size. Jaden growled when he didn"t move, demandingly bucking her body against him.
Grabbing her hips, he rode her hard with mindless abandonment of pure gratification. The sensation of Tyr"s seething hardness rubbing against her sweet, tender flesh drove them mad until they couldn"t stop the delving of their bodies. They greedily searched for satisfaction for their shared desires. In that insanity, they knew that this very thing was why they had met--to be together, to come together, to share, to feel something so much richer than agony and death, to become one being joined in ecstasy.
The plunging of his thrusting member strove for complete conquest, staking Tyr"s mystical claim to her flesh. Jaden moaned, whimpered, and yelled him on. He was just as loud in his pa.s.sion, as he pushed faster, deeper, striking at her core with supernatural speed. Jaden"s body felt as if she were on fire. Nothing mattered but the vampire before her. Her blood swam with the sensation of him. His taste was in her mouth. She couldn"t resist moving to taste more of him. She kissed him deeply, nicking her lips on his fangs.