Wicked Soul (Ancient Blood #1)(79)

Too late, I sensed Warin tense, his strong back muscles locking up tight.

“Oh, sorry!” I quickly pulled my hand back. “I was just so amazed. I didn’t think…”

Warin exhaled slowly. "No, it’s okay. You can touch, if you wish."

Well, I did sort of see with my fingers… I let my pencil-free hand smooth back down his spine, noticing how the shape of his muscles gave depth to the design.

“Does it mean anything?”

“It’s the symbol of my people’s belief of the world. The runes are signs of a warrior’s path through it.”

“You were a warrior?” I asked. That explained his incredible shape.

“I was.”

I let my fingers stroke up higher, across a particularly intricate set of lines. “Was it painful to have done?”

“Very,” he said.

I smiled at his complete lack of masculine posturing. I guessed a thousand years calmed down a guy’s need to pretend nothing ever hurt. I rubbed my hand gently against his spine, part of me wishing to soothe the pain that no longer lingered, before I moved back around, dragging a finger along to rest against his shoulder tattoo.

“And this? Does this mean anything?”

“A mark of my clan.”

My hand found the neck tattoo, and I stroked across it with my palm.

"It’s meant as a protective ward," he said before I could to ask.

Something husky in his voice made me look up from his neck to his eyes.

They were dark, and that something down low in my stomach pulsed hotly in response.

And then his gaze flickered to my mouth.

I didn't pause to think—I just leaned in and pressed my lips against his.

Warin drew in a sharp breath the second before my mouth touched his, and then he just stood there, frozen… for about three seconds.

Strong hands landed on my hips, and for a moment, I thought he was going to push me away.

I was wrong.

Suddenly, I was flush against his hard body, his mouth opening under mine, and I had time to think “oh, yes!” before instinct took over and I was kissing him with all I had, enjoying his lips and tongue claiming mine, egging me on.

He pushed me back until I slammed hard against the wall, and I groaned on impact as he body pinned me there, pressing into my soft curves.

My hands slipped up over his naked chest and locked around his neck, trying to pull him closer still, until I had to turn my head from his forceful kiss so I could inhale a few gulps of air.

Warin didn't waste time, dipping his head to my now-exposed jawline and neck. He pressed his lips desperately against my skin, over and over, moaning in need, until I heard a snick, followed by a groan.

I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped me as he pulled his head back and forced his fangs to retract, running his tongue over his teeth as he did, as if to alleviate some pressure.

"Having trouble?" I breathed. My fingers snaked into the short hair at the back of his neck and I ground my hips into his, making it clear I knew his fangs were not the only parts of him wanting to break free.

He growled—actually growled—at me and attacked my mouth again, fingers digging painfully but deliciously into the swell of my hips so he could lift me.

Obediently, I wrapped my legs around his waist, only to gasp into his mouth when the pressure of his body was now focused right against my clit. He pulled his hips back a little, only to slam them back against me, rubbing me in just the right way,. This time, I was the one to groan as moisture rushed from my core, readying me.

Warin inhaled deeply, only to growl again, one of his hands moving from my hips to fist in my hair, pulling my head back roughly. Exposing my throat to him.

His kisses to my neck were fevered, demanding my submission, and I whimpered in response, my brain and body happily giving in to him.

Pleased with my surrender, Warin pulled back a little, letting me slide to the floor as his hands grabbed my shirt and ripped, sending buttons flying. He snarled at the sight of my bra, ripping it off with one hand, carelessly throwing it to the floor.

Oh, wow, this was actually going to happen!

His demanding kisses continued down my chest, nibbling and licking at my heated skin. When he reached my left breast, his hand coming up to cup the right, I leaned forward and bit down on his shoulder, right where I’d taken his blood last.

Warin responded with a hoarse moan before he sucked my left nipple in between his soft lips.

I laughed as the tips of his fangs grazed my sensitive flesh—he was obviously struggling to keep them retracted.

"You don't have to hold them back for me," I whispered, my voice too thick with need for anything louder.

Warin pulled from my breast a little and let his fangs slide out, moaning in relief before he buried his mouth in my cleavage again. He sucked my nipples into aching points, teasing them with his sharp fangs until I was panting hard.

Only then did he sink to his knees in front of me.

“Oh,” I breathed as he looked up at me with desire thick in his lust-darkened eyes. “You want to…? You don’t have to…”

“Liv, I’ve ached to taste you since you opened the door smelling like sex and blood,” he said, a wicked smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. And then he grabbed my pants and ripped, sending them to the floor in a shredded pile. My panties followed before my dazed brain caught on to what he was referring to.