Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(40)

“What, querida? What do you need from me?”

She was way past coherent thought, let alone actual articulation, so instead she grasped his hair and shoved his face against her neck.

“Please.”

He quivered, his hunger so intense she could feel the waves of it searing over her skin.

“Dios, I want to taste you,” he said, his voice oddly strained.

“Then do it,” she commanded, her leg shifting to wrap around his, opening herself to his penetration in a blatant motion.

Cezar hissed.

There was a part of him that knew there would be hell to pay for this delicious encounter. Anna might be overcome with lust at the moment, but the minute sanity returned she would remember all the reasons she had kept him at a distance and then she would find a hundred ways to punish him.

Probably a hundred and one.

And of course, there was always the possibility the Oracles would decide to torture him for this taste of paradise. It’d happened before.

Thankfully, that small, rational part of him was no match for the hunger that was roaring through him.

He had been a warrior his entire life. A hunter that took what was offered and damn the consequences (at least until the Oracles had nailed his ass to the wall). And what he wanted was Anna Randal.

Now.

Forcing away what little conscience he possessed, Cezar opened his mouth and with one smooth strike he buried his fangs deep into her neck.

Anna jerked and then moaned, her nails digging deep into his flesh. The tiny pain only increased his pleasure as the sweet, potent taste of her blood slid down his throat.

Drowning in the pleasure, Cezar continued to suck, his hands smoothing down the back of her legs to part them and then, with one powerful motion, lifted her off her feet. Quick to understand, Anna readily wrapped her legs around his waist.

Cezar pulled back to meet her eyes as he slowly, steadily slid her onto his erection.

A shout was wrenched from both their throats when he was at last buried as far as he could go, her moist flesh pulsing around him in the most intimate caress imaginable.

For a moment Cezar held perfectly still, simply absorbing the sensation of being one with this woman. He was man enough to have missed sex over the years. To have rued the impotency that the Oracles had inflicted.

But right now he knew that any sex he might have indulged in with other women, even the most skilled lover, would have been nothing more than a shallow imitation of this. A worthless release that would have left him empty.

This was what he had longed for. The only thing that could truly touch his cold heart.

Anna wrapped her arms around his shoulders and Cezar’s illusion of control shattered. The smell, the heat, the taste, the very essence of her was flooding through his body and he wasn’t going to be able to make this last near long enough.

Pressing her against the wall, he plunged his fangs back into her neck as he drank deep of her blood, his hips pumping in a steady rhythm.

“Cezar,” she cried softly, her head lowering and her teeth sinking into his shoulder.

The feel of her bite, even if her teeth didn’t pierce his skin, was enough to send a jolt of shock through Cezar’s body. Dios. Nothing had felt so good before.

Withdrawing his fangs before he drank too deeply, he tilted his head back and roared as he felt her climax clench around his arousal, clenching and stroking him over the edge.

Sweet ecstasy spread through his body, prolonging the violent orgasm. He muttered soft words beneath his breath as he slowed his thrusts. Words of soft pleasure, and pledges to protect her for all eternity.

When he was at last capable of clearing his thoughts he gently carried his beautiful lover into the bathroom and set her in the hot tub. His fingers trailed over her face, covered in a light sheen of perspiration.

He waited for her to speak, or at least lift her lashes to meet his gaze. When she kept them stubbornly lowered, he gave a low chuckle and climbed into the tub with her.

“Anna, you will have to look at me eventually,” he murmured, his arms wrapping about her to pull her close. “At least tell me that you’re okay.”

Her lashes lifted, but her gaze drifted over the bathroom rather than meeting his eyes. Not that he could entirely blame her. With Viper’s usual over-the-top style, the room was an explosion of ivory and gilt, with flying cupids painted across the ceiling.

At last her gaze halted on the marble statues that were set in alcoves and carved to represent entwined couples in various stages of intimacy.

They were exquisite works of art that were realistic enough to bring a slight blush to her cheeks.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she at last muttered.

He ran his fingers through her tangled hair, sensing her muscles ease as the hot water bubbled around them.

“You might feel weak for a few hours. I did, after all, take your blood. When I call for your food I will ask that they send you orange juice as well.”

“I don’t feel weak.”

“Good.” Dipping his head, he brushed his lips over her temple. The taste of figs and warm delicious woman instantly stirred his senses, hardening him with a speed that was shocking even for him. Of course, he had just filled himself with one of the most powerful essences that a vampire could hope to taste. He would be buzzing for hours. “Although, it’s not really surprising. You have the blood of ancients coursing through your body.”