Chapter Six
Vitus didn’t understand how things had turned out this way, but he also wasn’t going to complain. One second he was just keeping an eye on her house, then he’d heard her moaning, probably from some sort of dream. He’d gotten a little excited, but then she stopped, and he’d heard a crash and her panicked running.
And now she was killing him.
He moaned against the mouth of the tiny woman in his arms. His brain was trying to compute why she was standing there kissing him, but he wasn't about to ask questions. For so long he'd waited to have just this, and now that she was in his arms, he planned to take full advantage of that.
His mouth slanted over hers, allowing him access deeper inside of her mouth. His tongue twined with hers as he explored every inch.
In his arms, Vitus could feel her shiver as his hands gripped tightly around her body, pulling her closer to him.
Already he could feel his cock straining against the zipper of his pants, aching to be planted deep inside her tight channel.
Vitus kicked the back door closed and lifted Grace up into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist as her robe parted down the middle. Her wet heat pressed firmly against him.
A low rumble filled his chest as he stepped farther into the kitchen. Something crunched beneath his feet, but he ignored it as he backed her up onto the counter, her thighs spreading farther apart against him as if welcoming him.
Once there he felt Grace shiver again in his arms. The cool counter pressed against her flushed skin. Quickly he untied the soft robe around her, eager to feel her skin against his own as he continued to kiss her. It slid off her shoulders onto the counter as Vitus pressed in again. His aching cock planted firmly against her center as she wrapped her legs more firmly around him. He needed to be inside her. Both his cock and his soul demanded it.
Vitus shifted his mouth off hers to plant small kisses down the column of her neck. The soft skin there grew slick as he kissed and sucked on the tender skin. He could hear the short puffs of breath as Grace breathed in. Her arousal hung thick in the air of the kitchen, only spurring on his own hunger for her and making his cock hard and pushing hard against his pants.
Vitus nipped at her neck lightly. She gasped as his hand slid up her thighs until he grasped her hips, pulling her even more snugly against him.
She moaned loudly as she shifted against him, her center now squarely over him. Again, another rumble escaped his chest, and he could see some of the glow from his eyes on her face.
They rocked together now. Grace threw her head back as she rubbed her center against his hard length. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she bucked against him.
It was taking everything in him not to come in his pants. More than anything he wanted to be inside her. To fuck her until she couldn’t stand for days.
The woman had been so quiet and reserved, but now she’d finally given in, and her eagerness was only fueling his own.
His inner beast roared at the idea of feeling her insides squeeze his cock as she came around him, milking the cum out of him.
"I'm so close," Grace whispered in his ear.
Vitus growled loudly. He had no idea what had made Grace so aggressive, but he couldn't deny how turned on he was by her. She wanted him, and he was more than willing to give her whatever the hell she wanted right now, especially if it ended with him inside of her.
His hand went to the button on his pants, eager to fill both their needs. It might seem quick, but he could live with that as long as it ended with them both fully satisfied.
Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and stared deep into his eyes with her soft hazel eyes. Her hair haloed around her face in soft brown waves from being up in a bun all day. She looked like some sort of goddess outlined by the moonlight.
"Make me come," she said softly. "Make me come like you did before."
Vitus frowned as his movements slowed. Something wasn’t right. For a moment, he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly.
"What?" he said.
Grace sighed loudly and impatiently rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on. Don’t stop now.” She shook her head. "Look, I know this is just a dream, but it's still not easy for me to say out loud," she said softly. A small blush was already working its way on her face. "Please, Vitus, make me come."
A dream? Oh, shit.
Gritting his teeth, it took everything in Vitus to pull his hand back away from her body and step away from her warm and wet center.
She frowned at him. "What? Don’t tell me I’m going to get rejected in my own dream.”
Vitus ran a hand through his hair as he continued to stare at her. Her lips were still red from their kiss.
"This isn't a dream," he said simply. “This is real life.”
Grace narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at him. He could see the irritation and need burning just under the surface. His own cock still twitched, now unsatisfied with him pulling away.
"It has to be," she said. "The real Vitus doesn't have bright blue eyes. Only dream you." She frowned. “This is all very confusing arguing with dream you. You’re part of me. Just… do what I say.”
This time it was Vitus who frowned. He took a step closer to her, but made sure to keep a distance between their bodies. He’d heard about this before. That some Vestals had dreamed about their true mate. Some had even roamed into other people’s dreams.
"You dreamed about my eyes?" he said.
He could see the color start to drain from her face as the reality of what was going on seemed to hit her. Grace shook her head as she tried to come to terms with what was happening.
"I don't understand," she whispered. "First, you had blue eyes, and I was happy it wasn't a nightmare. Then the Shadow Man came, but you frightened him away. But now you say you're real?"
The Shadow Man. Every muscle in his body tensed, and he only barely stopped from growling. His heart kicked up. The Shadow Man wasn’t a nightmare or a figment of imagination. They all knew who he really was now, the evil demigod Erebus who had been stalking them and Vestals in the shadows, trying to find a way into their realm.
Vitus took a deep breath. None of them really knew what would happen once the monster made his way over, but they could guarantee it wasn’t going to be good. He’d probably make the Horatius Group seem childish in comparison.
"Was he here?” Vitus said. “The Shadow Man? Did he hurt you? How often does he come to you?" He reached forward and placed a hand on her upper arm. He had to keep her safe. It was the only thing that mattered. He didn’t care even if he had to take on a demigod.
Grace shook her head slowly. He could see she was still struggling with understanding what was going on. She’d thought this was a dream. A part of him wanted to be sad that she hadn’t really thrown herself at him, but there were other things to worry about at the moment.
Erebus was nothing he wanted to put off to later.
"You've heard of the Shadow Man?" Grace said quietly.
Vitus opened his mouth to explain what he knew but stopped as a roar ripped through the silence outside.
His head jerked toward the back window. He could spot the clear outline of Thrax in the woods, just at the edge of the trees. The damn monster was finally making his move, likely because of what had happened between Vitus and Grace, their scents filling the air.
If Vitus had been thinking with his brain, he might have decided that it wasn’t the best idea to try and sleep with Grace, but he had been thinking with another part of his body instead.
"What was that?" Grace asked, her voice shaking.
Vitus turned to stare at the small woman still sitting on the counter. Her body was exposed to him through her sheer nightgown. Not exactly the sort of thing she could run away in.
He could only hope that Alec and Joran weren’t far away and would be able to run interference for him so he could get Grace to safety. Thrax was not the sort of Glycon he wanted to take on alone while defending his woman.
Vitus didn’t care about his own safety, but if Thrax took him down, that meant he’d get away with Grace.
"There's no time to explain," Vitus said quickly, his hand instantly going to the robe she dropped to the counter. “Just get it on.”
Grace slid her arms into the holes and tied it quickly around her front.
He knew the Glycon was headed their way, and at the moment, his only thought was to get her safe. Somewhere away from the house and other people from town. The store was the only real option.
Vitus picked her up from off the counter and carried her into the living room. He grabbed her keys off the table by the door and thrust them into her hand.
"If anything happens, you make a run for the store. One of my men will find you there. They’ll protect you.”
Grace trembled as she took the keys from him. "What about you? What’s out there?”
Vitus shook his head and opened the front door. "Don’t worry about me. Just know I'm going to keep you safe, no matter what."