35

John’s request stunned her into silence. Ever since he’d told her about the effect a vampire’s bite had on a human, Savannah hadn’t been able to get the thought out of her head.

“I’m not asking because I crave your blood, though I do, but because it will help me track you if anything goes wrong during the exchange.”

She tilted her head to the side, looking at him quizzically. “Track me? How?”

“If I have your blood in me, I’ll be able to follow your trail in case he takes you away. Vampires have a strong sense of smell, like bloodhounds. With your blood in me I’ll be able to track you over long distances. It’ll ensure that I won’t lose you.”

“But why not use an electronic tracker?”

“We have to assume that he’ll take every precaution and search you. If he suspects you’re wearing a tracker, he might have you strip.”

At that thought, Savannah felt a shudder of disgust run down her spine. “You’re right. It’s best.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “This is not how I imagined it. I hadn’t planned on forcing this on you. I wanted you to choose freely. To decide for yourself if, and when, I would bite you.” He dropped his lids and looked away. “I know you’re not ready for this. It’s not the right place, or the right time. I’ll make it quick.”

Savannah put her hand under his chin and lifted it, so he had to meet her gaze. “And shortchange me?” She shook her head, smiling. “Oh, John. Please don’t make it quick. Do it the way you wanted our first time to be. I want to experience what it’s like to feel your fangs piercing my skin. You told me it was a pleasurable act. Let me feel that pleasure.” Because if something went wrong, then this would be their first and last time. If Viktorov managed to snatch her away, or if he killed her when he realized that he’d lost, this would be their only time. But she couldn’t say that. She couldn’t give those thoughts voice.

“Are you sure, darlin’?”

“I’ve never been so sure of anything. Show me what it’s like to love a vampire and to be loved by him. Show me what my future will be like.” If she indeed had a future. If she was so lucky.

John pulled her to him, sliding one arm around her waist. His chocolate-colored eyes turned molten, a golden shimmer framing his irises. “I will always cherish this moment, though if I had a choice I would do this differently. But I can promise you that what you feel will be my true self.”

He slanted his lips over her mouth and kissed her gently, nibbling softly on her lips, his tongue sliding over the seam of it to ask for entry. On a breath, she parted her lips and received him. Her tongue met his for a dance as old as time. Immediately arousal swept through her cells. He could do that to her in an instant, fill her body with the kind of need only he could satisfy.

Already, she felt his hands on her clothes, felt him undressing her, shoving her top over her head to lay her torso bare. She felt his hands on her breasts then, kneading them, teasing her nipples. But they didn’t stay there. Instead they got to work on her pants.

“John, I thought you wanted to drink my blood,” she said, panting.

“I do,” he said, his voice thick with lust, “but I have to be inside you. For our first time, I need to make love to you when I bite you.”

“Oh God!” She glanced around the room. A kitchenette in one corner, a row of lockers along another wall, a small table and several chairs. “How? Where?”

“Don’t worry about that, darlin’,” he assured her and stripped her of her pants. Then he opened his cargo pants and shoved them and his boxer briefs down to mid-thigh.

His cock sprang free, hard and heavy, ready to impale her. She reached for his erection, wrapped her hand around it, and felt it twitch in her palm.

But then he lifted her up and moved them both a few steps, until her back connected with the wall. He held her there, suspended, as if she were as light as a feather. He pressed his body to hers, spreading her legs, and she wrapped them around him.

His hard-on nudged at her center.

“My God, you’re wet,” he groaned and plunged into her without preamble. As if nailing her to the wall.

A shudder charged through her body, and her interior muscles spasmed around him.

“Just like that, darlin’, that’s exactly what I need.” He drew back his hips and thrust back into her. His eyes were fully golden now, and his lips had parted, showing the tips of his fangs.

She reached for his face, and he didn’t draw back. With her index finger, she touched one fang and caressed it. His cock spasmed inside her, thrusting wildly.

“Fuck!” he cursed.

Breathing heavily, he severed the contact to her finger and dipped his head to the crook of her neck. Savannah obliged him and tilted her head to the side to give him better access, to offer herself to him.

“Take me, John, I’m yours.”

She felt his tongue lick over her skin and shivered. Her entire body began to tingle pleasantly. Then she felt them, the sharp tips of his fangs touching her skin, exerting pressure, and then, suddenly, a sharp pain that lasted only a millisecond. Finally, she felt his fangs drive deeper, lodge in her neck, settle there, and draw blood from her vein.

Even though John had prepared her for this feeling, had told her how pleasurable it was, she wasn’t prepared. Everything around her began to disappear. Her vision swam, nothing seemed to be in focus, because all she could see and feel and hear and smell was John. He was all around her, inside her, with her. With every draw on her vein, every drop of blood he took from her, he gave her something else: utter bliss. Not just physical pleasure, but emotional satisfaction too. Her body hummed with energy, with hope and love.

While John drank from her, his hips worked frantically and his strong arms held her suspended against the wall. He was pounding into her now, his cock stiffer and thicker than she’d ever felt before. As if her blood was filling his cock so he could take her even harder. His pelvic bone slammed against her clit with every thrust, igniting her over and over again. Waves of pleasure traveled through her, and there seemed to be no end in sight.

She felt dizzy with pleasure now, while orgasm after orgasm claimed her body. Yet she didn’t want him to stop. “More, oh John, take more.”

She heard him moan and thought she could hear his heart beat like a drum against her every time their bodies slammed together. She clung to him, her fingernails digging into his shoulders to urge him on, her ankles crossed behind his back to drive his cock deeper into her. She was wild now, wilder than she’d ever been before. If only she’d known that something like this was possible, that a man like John existed. No, not a man. A vampire. Her vampire.

Suddenly, she felt him spasm inside her. Warmth filled her channel, and cool air wafted against her neck. John had withdrawn his fangs. Now he licked over the incisions, then kissed the spot gently.

When he lifted his head to look at her, his eyes were as red as a traffic light. But within seconds, they turned back to their golden color. His erection was still inside her, still moving, though much slower now.

He moved his head from side to side as if shaking it, as if he was unable to understand what had happened between them.

“This is more than I ever expected. It’s a miracle to find love once, but to find it a second time is more than that.”

She caressed his cheek lovingly. “It’s fate.”

And if fate allowed it, they would have a future. Together.