hurt you, but I'm going to do everything in my power to prove otherwise.' He was going to have to use the chains, he realized. There was no other way.
Slowly, giving her time to protest, he unhooked the shoulder latch that held her robe together. The bright material floated to their feet. She trembled, but didn't try to stop him.
'Step out of it.'
After a slight hesitation, she did. He allowed his fingers to dip into her navel before fanning through the soft curls between her legs. Her stomach quivered.
'Do you feel how hard I am for you?' he asked, his erection nestled against her bottom.
Nibbling on her sumptuous bottom lip, she nodded.
'You know I am a warrior, yes?'
Another nod. She spread her legs, silently asking him to delve deeper, to touch her where was she already wet and hot. His desire was so fierce, he almost caved, almost sank his fingers inside her sheath, but knew he would be lost if he did. So he held steady.
'And a warrior would never willingly bind himself in the presence of an enemy.'
At the word enemy, she stiffened again.
He placed a soft kiss on the side of her throat. So pretty. So sweet. So his. Then he moved away from her— gods, the agony—and strode to the bed. Her hot gaze tracked his every movement. Facing her, he sat on the mattress and clasped the chains in his hands.
'Shivawn,' she said brokenly. Nervously she rubbed her palms on her naked thighs.
'I'm trusting you not to leave me and lead me on another chase, love.'
Careful not to look away, he shackled one of his wrists. With a tug of his arm, he proved it was anchored to the wall. Then he bound the other wrist, motions just as measured, just as precise.
Once again, her mouth floundered open and closed.
'There is no other I would bind myself for. Do you know why, Alyssa? You are my mate. I want no other but you. I would give my life for you. I…love you. Your wit, your smile, your determination, your stubbornness, the light in your eyes when you look at me. The way you move, the timbre of your voice, the curves of your body. Everything. I worship it all. Yes, I once hated vampires. Yes, I still hate demons. Yes, your family destroyed mine. But I'm here, offering myself to you, proof of my devotion.'
Those tears free-fell down her cheeks now and she hugged her arms to her stomach.
He'd hoped, been so sure of success…until now. 'Am I too late? Is the hurt too great? I know I made you feel less than a woman. That will haunt me for the rest of my days. But I have found pleasure with you, love. That night in the cave, I had never experienced so much. I want to satisfy you now. I want—'
She was in his arms a moment later, placing kisses all over his face. 'I love you. I've always loved you.'
Thank the gods. Their lips met in a fierce, drugging kiss. Her hands were all over him: his chest, his neck, his arms, his cock. He banded his arms around her, lay down and rolled, tucking her securely underneath him.
'Let me make you feel good.' He licked at her neck, careful not to wrap the chains around her delicate skin.
She spread her legs, welcoming him into the curve of her body. 'You are.'
'I want to give you more. So much more.' Because of the chains he could not trail down her body as he wanted. 'Scoot up for me, love. I need to lick between your legs. Don't deny me the honor this time. Please.'
She was pulling at his hair, trying to get his lips back to hers. 'Kiss.'
'Soon. If I don't taste you, I'll tumble straight into insanity.'
Unsure, she inched upward. Her sweat-soaked skin slid, abraded deliciously against his own. And then her feminine core was right there, his to devour. He did. He licked the pink lips apart and sucked on the sweet little center.
Her hips writhed, her knees dropped further apart and she moaned. 'Shivawn.'
'This is mine. All mine.'
'Yours.'
'This is what's going to keep me alive from this day forward.' He pumped his tongue into and out of her tight little sheath, taking more of her sweetness down his throat. 'And then you're going to bite me and take what you need to live.'
She gave a violent shake of her head. 'You hate being bitten. I'll find nourishment elsewhere. Oh, gods.' Her muscles were tensing, gearing for release. 'Shivawn! Don't stop.'
'This is heaven, sweet. This is heaven. And I will take great pleasure in giving you my blood. Great pleasure.' He sucked her, hard. 'There'll be no one else for you. It's my blood for you. I want to give it to you.'
She fell right over the edge, screaming in ecstasy, chanting his name. While she hung in the balance between satisfaction and a new flood of desire, he scooted her back under him and entered her, filling her up.
'Mine,' he gritted out through teeth clenched in absolute abandon. 'All mine.'
Her arms wrapped around him as he began pumping. 'You're mine, too.'
'Always. You feel so good,' he praised. 'I never want to leave you.'
'Don't.' She pressed a kiss into his neck, where his pulse fluttered wildly. But she didn't bite him.
'Do it. Please.'
'No. Not with you. Already this seems like a dream. I don't want to awaken.'
His strokes never slowed. 'Do it. Please, love. Please. I'm desperate. I want those teeth inside me, sucking deep and hard.'
'Are—are you sure?'
'Beyond.'
A moment passed. Her teeth scraped at his skin but didn't penetrate. He increased the fervency of his thrusts, pounding, slamming. 'Do it, love! I need those teeth in me like my cock is in you. I need—'
With a growl as fierce as any warrior's, she bit him. Deep, hard. A cut that would mark him for eternity. On and on she drank, and the sensation of her hot tongue on his neck, her teeth in his vein, combined with the knowledge that they were joined in every possible way, sent him over.
He shouted with his release, spurting his seed straight to her core.
Her teeth pulled out abruptly as she, too, cried out in release. Their bodies strained together, spasming. 'Never leave me,' he gasped out, half-fearing she would bolt afterward. 'Never.'
'Never,' she swore.
Shivawn collapsed on top of her, content and smiling.
VALERIAN STEPPED into the fire-lit hut and glanced around. It was bare except for a straw bed, which Shivawn lay upon. He was on his back, sleeping, naked. Chained. There were teeth marks all over his neck.
Valerian frowned. The vampire, Alyssa, was curled into Shivawn's side, her hand resting directly above his heart. She, too, was naked and asleep. And if Valerian wasn't mistaken, there was a love bite or two darkening her neck, as well. Frown deepening, Valerian strode to the bed, boots thumping against the twig-laden ground.
Shivawn's eyes fluttered open, as did Alyssa's. Shivawn growled, Alyssa screamed and scrambled backward as he raised his sword.
'Valerian, stop! This—' Shivawn threw himself on top of the woman as best he could with the chains pulling at him.
Valerian smiled but didn't stop. As if he would have hurt the woman. He hit the chains, snapping the links in half. 'I see you took my advice and apologized. Good man. Now I will offer an apology of my own for not being able to give you more time with your woman. The army waits outside. We have need of you.'
Once, Shivawn would have jumped up and obeyed. Now he growled, 'Turn your back. Now!'
As king, Valerian wasn't used to being ordered and did not like it now, but he obeyed instantly. He understood the need to keep a mate's nudity all to oneself. If anyone were to look upon his Shaye in such a state, well, they would lose their eyes.
There was a rustling, some cooing, and Valerian rolled his own eyes. Then there was even some kissing. 'Sometime today,' he said.
'You may turn.'
He did. Shivawn was draped by a blanket and the pretty vampire was covered with a dirty yellow robe, only her face and hands visible.
'We have news of the disappearance. Two of the warriors have been found. Rumor has it they are locked up
