He kept supplying Samantha with whatever she needed, whether another slice of bread or a refill on her wine glass, or another helping of soup. She was famished for many reasons, one of them being that Ry had taken a lot of her blood, something he tried not to think about.
“Is there any salad left?”
“Yes, of course. Plenty.”
“Then I’d like more, especially any extra radicchio you find in there.”
“Coming right up.” He smiled. He couldn’t stop smiling because he couldn’t believe his good fortune. He had a woman lounging in his white, claw-foot ceramic tub, arms draped over the sides, bubbles floating over and around her, and she belonged to him.
The bond between them felt as normal now as breathing and he couldn’t remember what his life had been like just a few nights ago, when he’d stormed into the prave and arrested the vampire, Tom, for illegal blood-taking at a human event.
Now he was here, picking out pieces of radicchio, because that’s what his woman wanted in her salad.
Yes, his woman.
When he brought the salad back to her, he sat on the stool next to the tub and carefully fed her one bite at a time. Each time, she sucked the dressing off his fingers, which of course kept him in an aroused state he had difficulty disguising, especially when she’d arch her back and her tight ni**les would appear from beneath sliding islands of bubbles.
He could look, but he couldn’t touch. She’d set the rules, because, as she said, her body was still rebuilding her supply and she wouldn’t be ready to feed him for at least another half hour.
He’d just have to wait.
She’d made the right call because he knew the moment he took her to bed he’d need to take her vein; the two acts just couldn’t be separated, not tonight.
And this joining would be different from all the others because they’d completed the bond.
She took a sip of wine, then more salad.
He stroked her cheek, which she allowed. “How are you feeling?”
She smiled. “Better, but anxious to be back in bed with you. I need this as well.”
He nodded. He could feel her need and it was more than just physical, as though what had happened out at Sweet Gorge required this union to be fully realized.
Finally, she’d taken her last bite and said he could towel her dry. He set aside the glasses and plates, then returned to the tub with a thick towel, aware he trembled with need, and his c**k pushed at the silk of the robe. She stood up and he leaned down to hit the lever to drain the tub, then wrapped her up in the towel.
Lifting her out and onto the floor, he dried her, caressing her and kissing her at the same time, top to bottom, front to back. She giggled and cooed, and stroked his now dry hair, his face, and teased his lips with her fingers.
When he finally kissed her, he felt the solidity of the bond deep in his abdomen, as though an invisible cord stretched between them, and desire pulsed through him in heavy waves. He felt her response as she suckled his tongue, fondled his muscles, and groaned against his mouth.
He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bed. Having had the keen foresight to roll the comforter back, he laid her out, getting rid of the towel at the same time.
“Robe. Off.” She commanded, but her beautiful light blue eyes glittered with amusement.
He smiled, then laughed. She’d always been able to do that, to make him laugh, and he loved her for it, one of the many things he loved.
He stretched out on top, planting his knees between her thighs. With his forearms next to her, he thumbed her lips, then her line of her jaw. “This is a very fae chin you have.”
“I guess it is, but not so pointed as my mother’s.”
“Do you miss her a lot, Samantha?”
“Every day. She was my best friend.”
He heard the hitch in her voice. “That must have been hard for you, being alone in Shreveport.”
“I’d come to accept it, maybe in the same way I feel a similar acceptance in you. But now it looks like I have a whole new family, two in fact: one with you and one with Vojalie. Oh, I just realized, Bernice is my…wait, I’m not even sure what the relationship is. She would have been my mother’s sister.” She giggled. “Baby Bernice is my aunt.”
He smiled as well. “I’m sure this must all seem strange since from a human perspective Vojalie doesn’t look much older than you.”
“I suppose not, except her eyes. She looks very old, very wise in her eyes.”
He leaned down and kissed her. So this was what it was to make love to a woman, to be in love, and to love. Ethan had never thought to be in this place, not for years to come, because of Bergisson and what was fast-developing as a major war against an ancient fae force and the Invictus she controlled.
Instead, his blood rose had arrived to show him a new path, a completely different journey, by which he would be able to do a better job at keeping his realm safe. Yes, he had increased power because of his bond with Samantha, but greater than that were the lessons he’d learned of allowing increased leadership among those closest to him. He had new plans for Finn and Kyle and he meant to meet with Quinlan and Gerrod within the next week to begin planning long-term strategies to force the dark fae entity, and the Great Mastyr, out into the open. And these were just two of many new ideas kicking around in his head.
But right now, he had his woman in his bed and he focused his thoughts on her, on the sweetness of her crushed raspberry-and-wine scent, the soft vibrations that emanated from the seat of her fae power, from the affection he saw reflected in her lovely light blue eyes, and in the softness of her lips.
He entered her well with reverence this time, and awe, and wonder, that so much sheer joy could be contained within a woman. He held her gaze as he thrust steadily, pushing her on and on toward her cl**ax. He savored that she writhed beneath him when he pinned her hands above her head, and worked her strongly with his hips.
He sent his personal frequency in strong pulses against her body and watched her back arch each time the frequency pushed against her fae power.
He thrust faster, wanting to watch her come, to cry out, to experience her ecstasy. Nothing seemed more important in the entire world than this, than bringing her pleasure.
Soft cries left her lips. Her head rolled from side to side. Her eyelids fluttered.
He mover stronger now, vampire strong, and then vampire fast, using his speed to drive her straight over the edge. She cried out a long almost anguished sound as pleasure streaked through his c**k in a series of intense pulses. He groaned, maybe he shouted, and all the while the bond between them tightened and intensified.