Darkness Avenged

This is dangerous, she told herself. She should shove him away. It wasn’t as if she were some helpless female who didn’t have the strength to take care of herself.



But for the first time since becoming clan chief, she felt like a woman.



A woman with needs.



A woman who ached for a man’s touch.



No, she abruptly corrected herself, not just a man’s touch.



Santiago’s touch.



Only his.



Banishing the voice that warned she was about to make a decision that would alter her life forever, Nefri slowly turned, offering him her back.



Why shouldn’t she indulge her needs just this once?



Every other clan chief managed to have a robust sex life and function as a leader. Being a control freak didn’t mean she had to take a vow of chastity.



Did it?



“Ah, the mark of Cú Chulainn,” he murmured, referring to the tattoo of a dragon that flowed down her back. It revealed that she had gone through the battles of Durotriges to earn the title of master. Clan chief. “Very sexy.”



“Sexy?” She frowned. Most vampires found the mark a source of intimidation, not arousal.



“Relax, Nefri,” Santiago murmured, his lips tracing the outline of the tattoo even as his clever fingers began to soap her back. “I promise this is going to be magic.”



“Magic?” She closed her eyes, forcing her rigid muscles to ease. “Are you always so confident in your ability to please a woman?”



His lips shifted to the base of her neck, his hands skimming down the curve of her waist.



“Confident in us,” he corrected her, his fangs scraping over her tender skin. “Don’t pretend you don’t feel the explosive chemistry between us. It’s . . . magic. There’s no other word.”



She made a choked sound, her head tilting to the side in an unspoken invitation.



It was magic.



Enchantment at its most primitive level.



“It’s been . . . a long time,” she admitted, unsure why she needed him to know.



“Then let me take care of you,” he whispered against her skin, his hands trailing around her waist before gliding up to cup the fullness of her breasts. “Tonight you don’t have to be in charge.”



Easy enough for him to say, she wryly conceded. Her need to be in control was a fundamental part of who—



The thought, in fact all thoughts, were shattered as his thumbs brushed over her straining nipples, sending an electric current of sensation jolting through her.



Oh lord. Yes. Her toes curled. If this was how he took care of a woman, then she was all for handing him control.



He kissed a path up the tender curve of her throat, nuzzling below her ear while his fingers continued to torment the sensitive tips of her nipples. The air was filled with cherry-scented steam and raw male desire, wrapping them in a mist of privacy.



As if they were in their own world, she hazily acknowledged, her hands lifting to steady herself against the black tiles of the shower.



“This is dangerous,” she muttered.



“Yes,” he instantly agreed, giving the lobe of her ear a nip before he was stroking his lips downward. “But inevitable.”



Perhaps it was, she silently agreed, her back arching as his mouth continued its downward path, following the line of her spine. His touch was cool, but it seemed to brand her skin with fire, making her shudder in pleasure.



Astonishingly he went to his knees, his hands sliding down her hips before he was firmly tugging her legs apart. Unable to resist temptation, she turned her head to glance over her shoulder, a strange emotion piercing her heart at the sight of the male kneeling behind her, his power barely leashed as he tilted back his head to meet her startled gaze.



He looked like a pagan god with his stark male beauty, emphasized by the water that shimmered on his bronzed skin.



Holding her gaze, he leaned forward, using his lips and fangs along the lower curve of her back as he continued to inch her legs further apart.



A soft moan was torn from her lips. There was something unbearably intimate in watching him pleasure her. As if his touch was reaching someplace deep inside her.



Nibbling down the curve of her hip, he made a sound deep in his throat as he at last reached the smooth skin of her inner thigh.



“Deliciosa,” he murmured. “You taste of sweet jasmine.”



It was the sensation of his lips moving against her most responsive flesh that made her eyes slide shut in sinful pleasure. She hissed, her knees going weak. This was so good. Exactly what she’d been craving.



Then, while she was still adjusting to the light caress, his clever tongue was sliding through her tender cleft and the tingles of anticipation became a tidal wave of bliss.



“Santiago,” she groaned, her forehead pressed against the slick tiles.



“I’m here, cara,” he reassured her, his hands holding her hips steady as he continued his exquisite assault. “Let yourself go.”



Let yourself go . . .



Such simple words, but for a woman who maintained a rigid clamp on her every emotion, they were as difficult as telling her to walk into the sunlight.



Not that Santiago was giving her any option, she acknowledged with a shaken sigh. Prepared for his touch to be as hard and demanding as he was, she was caught off guard when the stroke of his tongue was a soft, seeking exploration. She quivered, her fingers digging into the tile.



Holy hell. This was . . . indecent. And so wickedly wonderful she couldn’t remember why she thought this would be a bad idea.



His tongue found the tiny bundle of nerves and her head tilted back as his steady licks sent a blaze of arousal through her body.



“Yes,” she muttered. “Don’t stop.”



“Not a force in this world would make me stop,” he growled.



Thank the gods. Her fangs lengthened and her entire body bowed as his soft strokes quickened, his hands firmly holding her in place.



Distantly she was aware of the warm cascade of water and the feel of Santiago’s power stirring the thick air. And if she tried hard enough she could sense each and every Harpy as they moved through the large building. But at the moment her only interest was in the acute pleasure that was rapidly spiraling toward an explosion she wasn’t sure she was going to survive.



And she didn’t give a damn.



She moaned softly, hanging on the cusp. She needed . . .



He shifted his head just a fraction, changing the pressure of his tongue. Yes. That was it. The small movement was enough to send her hurtling over the edge, and with a cry of sheer pleasure she crushed the tiles beneath her hands.



Her entire body shook at the force of her climax, leaving her feeling oddly dazed.



Which was the only reason she allowed Santiago to scoop her in his arms and carry her out of the bathroom, she assured herself.



No matter how great the sex, she would never, ever be one of those females who liked being treated like a fragile flower.



Ignoring the water that dripped from their bodies, Santiago crossed to the large bed, lowering her into the middle of the mattress with a powerful ease.



“You look like a mermaid,” he murmured, his eyes dark with a smoldering hunger as they swept down her naked body. “Although I’ve never seen one so beautiful.”



She snorted. “Mermaids are a myth.”



He moved onto the mattress to kneel next to her, his full arousal standing at attention. Her hands itched to grasp that proud length, exploring it from its broad head to the base.



“Most people assume that the Immortal Ones are a myth,” he reminded her with a taunting smile. “Especially their mysterious leader, Nefri.”



It was true that her people had remained in peaceful isolation for centuries, and that their occasional visits to this world had been done in secret, but . . .



But what?



She was finding it increasingly difficult to think as he leaned over her, his hands planted on the mattress next to her shoulders and his shaft pressing against her hip.



She might have just enjoyed a mind-blowing orgasm, but clearly her body wasn’t opposed to round two.



Or three.



“I’m no myth,” she at last managed to mutter.



“No?” A lethal smile curved his lips. “Maybe I should discover for myself.”



Always a man of action, he leaned down and allowed his mouth to skim over the curve of her breast.



She trembled at the teasing caress, needing more. Much more.



“Santiago,” she pleaded softly.



“Yes, querida.”



Closing his lips over the tip of her nipple, he used his tongue to tease her sated body back into full arousal. Without hesitation she lifted her arms, shoving her fingers into the tempting silk of his hair.



She’d wanted to do this since the moment she caught sight of this gorgeous vampire, she realized with a faint stab of surprise. To loosen the long strands of his raven hair and allow it to slide through her fingers.



“You’re so beautiful.”



The revealing words slipped past her lips before she could stop them, but instead of the smug smile she expected, Santiago lifted his head to regard her with a fierce need that stripped away any pretense that this was just lust.



She didn’t know what was happening between the two of them, but one night of madness wasn’t going to satisfy it.