Chapter Twenty-Three
Harlow
“You know, I saw you fight the…what did you call it, Outsider?”
Vanek nodded, his hand gripping hers a little tighter.
“I saw it happen. You turned into fire, like a torch. It happened in front of my eyes, right in here,” she said, pointing at the warehouse looming up in front of them. “Then there was the purple goo, which by the way, does not taste like chicken. But I still don’t believe it.”
Her mate chuckled heartily from next to her, though he wisely refrained from saying anything. It still made her heart flutter when she thought about it.
A mate.
In the aftermath of the Outsider attack, Vanek had told her all about his real mission with the military, and the countdown he’d been working with to try and kill one. It had instantly reaffirmed her hatred of the military with the way they’d treated the man she loved. But he’d brushed that aside, and so she’d been forced to as well.
He’d also revealed to her that she was his mate. It had taken her a bit to get over her initial skepticism, but the more she’d thought about it, the more her arguments against it began to resemble Swiss cheese. There was something special about the bond she and Vanek shared, something tangible and yet undefinable. Her attraction to him was far stronger than it had any right to be, and it wasn’t just about the physical connection, though that was definitely more than a fringe benefit.
“What are you thinking about, my love?” he asked as they stood outside the warehouse.
“You,” she said plainly. “Us. Being mates.”
“Having trouble accepting it still?” Vanek asked the question gently, but she could sense his worry behind it all, though he tried to hide it from her.
“Just like the Outsider thing, and you claiming to be a dragon, I’m in disbelief, despite there being ample amounts of truth.” She squeezed his hand and leaned her head on his arm, feeling the tautness of his bicep against her temple. “It goes against everything I’ve ever been taught. Everyone knows dragons aren’t real. So believing in it is just going to take some time.”
“I understand.”
“Come here,” she said with a grin, reaching up and pulling his head down to her level so she could reassure him that she wasn’t having any doubts about him.
Once Harlow was satisfied she’d thoroughly assuaged any concerns he might have had, she released her hold on the back of his head, and removed her other hand from between his legs. She grinned as Vanek shifted uncomfortably from side to side, the results of her handiwork still visible in his jeans.
“That,” he paused, looking down again, “was not very nice.”
“You won’t be saying that once I finish what I started,” she teased, bouncing her eyebrows suggestively.
Vanek nodded thoughtfully. “Perhaps. Although you might find it difficult to do so if you can’t move your hands.”
Long black hair fell across his face as he looked down at her, obscuring almost everything except for the wicked look in his eyes. Harlow’s breath caught in her throat at the implications.
“Is it getting hot out here, or is it just me?”
Vanek smiled and took her hand once more. “Come on, let’s go assess the damage.”
Cringing but knowing it was necessary, she let him lead her up to the sliding door. Neither of them had been back since the fight, and she was dreading how bad it was going to look. Her poor floats.
“I still can’t believe you cut one of my lovelies in half,” she griped, shaking her head as he slid the door out of the way. “What did they ever do to you?”
“Get in the way of me killing a monster.”
She glared at him. “Don’t you go having appropriate answers! That’s not allowed, okay? I need to get my complaining out now.”
Vanek looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “I’m pretty sure you’ve been doing a lot of that the past few days.”
Harlow nodded. “Well yeah, what did you expect? Every time I started to complain I got laid. That’s positive reinforcement of my behavior if I ever heard it.”
“I was doing that to try and shut you up!” he protested. “I wanted to make you feel better.”
“And you did!” she said, flashing him a toothy grin. “And how!”
Vanek shook his head. “I’ve been had.”
“Oh yes. Very much so.”
He groaned and flicked on the lights.
To her surprise they flashed on almost right away. Looking upward she saw that the big spotlights had been replaced by large banks of neon-tubed lights, far quicker to come to life.
It was what the lights showed her though that really made Harlow’s jaw bounce off the floor.
“Vanek…” she said, staring in amazement at the sight before her. “How…?”
“Do you like it?” her mate rumbled shyly.
It sounded weird coming from him, but something she’d learned over the past week was that Vanek wanted nothing more than to make her happy. He would do whatever it took to make that happen, but he was still learning modern customs, and his nerves came more from ensuring he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries than anything else. It was cute and so utterly adorable.
“Like them? I love them!” she shouted, sweeping forward to examine the row of brand-new parade floats.
The six machines, coated in dull black paint so as to be as unobtrusive as possible, were lined up in two columns of three. If they could sparkle like a brand-new sports car, they would. She admired the clean lines and sharp welds of the reinforced steel cages that were locked into their upright position. Driver’s seats were clean and devoid of rips and tears, unlike her old ones. The wheels had plenty of tread on them.
“Oh Vanek, it’s perfect,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and letting him hoist her into the air. “How did you manage this?”
“I had a little help,” he said with a smile. “The military, once provided with proof of the fact that these things could be killed, were more than willing to continue funding our program. So the money was there. Corde and Kallore did most of the heavy lifting. I think they felt a little embarrassed that they weren’t able to kill the thing, when I was.”
She smiled and kissed him a few more times. “Did you ever figure out what the difference was?”
“We think so,” he said a little more solemnly, setting her down and stepping closer to the nearest machine, running his fingers along the steel piping. “You’re aware that the Outsiders can somehow sense the bond between a mated pair, right?”
“Right. Something to do with the lifeforce, right?”
“Precisely. We’re still not sure what, but the two are obviously intertwined. The difference is, you acknowledged that bond while I was still fighting it. That somehow gave me protection from it, and greater power to confront it. The others, their mates didn’t truly open themselves up to the bond until after the fight.” He shrugged. “As near as we can tell, of course. There’s no hard science behind this, but after discussing it with the others, that’s the conclusion we came to.”
Harlow thought it over. “So what you’re telling me is that I killed the Outsider when I told you I loved you. Which I do, by the way.”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. “Well, I mean, I stuck my flaming hand inside the creature and made it explode. So I kind of killed it.”
“Maybe. But without me, you wouldn’t have had a flaming hand,” she said, bouncing her index finger off her chin in exaggerated thoughtfulness.
“If it weren’t for me, the Outsider would have killed you,” Vanek pointed out.
“But if it weren’t for me—”
His lips found hers, cutting off any further words.
“Hey!” she protested as he lifted her into the air once more, holding her tight. “I’m not complaining this time!”
She wrapped her short legs around his tight waist as best she could, digging her fingers into his thick mane of hair as they kissed.
“You know, the last time we did this in here,” he growled into her ear, “I had to take it easy on you.”
Harlow opened her eyes, seeing the mischievousness there. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Vanek set her down, spun her around, and pressed her up against the steel piping of the nearest float. “Don’t move,” he ordered, his voice powerful and commanding.
Harlow nodded, letting him take her arms one at a time and place them above her head. Whatever he was planning, it was hot. She’d never seen him take charge like this, and her body was reacting appropriately.
Metal clattered against metal, and Vanek reappeared at her side, a length of steel in his hand. This wasn’t pipe, but thick rebar. He also wasn’t wearing a shirt anymore. That part she was okay with.
“What are you going to do with that?” she asked nervously.
Vanek grinned, and the muscles of his chest swelled as he slowly bent the bar. The display of strength was impressive, but when he stepped forward and deftly wrapped it around her wrist and the metal piping it was pressed against, Harlow gasped.
He was making restraints out of solid steel rebar. A second later her other wrist was firmly secured to the frame, leaving her breathless as Vanek ran his hands up her sides. Strong hands dug underneath her shirt, cupping her breasts as he stepped closer.
“I really hope you locked the sliding door behind us,” she whispered, warmth beginning to pool between her legs as his breath drew goosebumps down her spine, the heat of his presence spurring her arousal.
“Of course I did,” he growled, one hand dipping across her soft stomach and between her legs.
Harlow gasped in surprise and delight as he slipped below her waistband and dragged a fingertip over her underwear. She was scared about someone walking in on them, but Vanek seemed positive that it would be okay, and she trusted him. Implicitly.
Hands gripped her waist and pulled it toward him, until she was bending at the hips, her ass sticking out. Vanek’s thumbs grabbed the tops of her pants, and in one swift move pulled them and her underwear to her ankles.
Harlow shivered at the contrast between the cool air of the warehouse and the heat she felt anywhere his hands touched her. Trying to step out of her pants, she was stopped by a firm hand holding her still. Harlow froze, swallowing hard
“Now that’s better.” Vanek spoke with approval, and she bit her lip knowing that he was pleased by the view.
There was a rustling of fabric and suddenly bare skin was pressing into her from behind. She hissed at the blast of warmth, like someone had just opened the doors to a furnace. Her skin tightened when Vanek pushed a finger between her legs, finding her clit with ease and drawing slow rhythmic circles around it until she was panting and pulling hard at the restraints, desperate for more.
“Tell me you want it.”
The unexpected voice in her ear made her jump, her back arching as she felt his hard cock pressed up against her ass. Fuck, he felt so good. She just wanted him inside of her. Now.
“I want it,” she moaned, gyrating her hips as best she could against him, hoping it would feel good enough to convince him to take her. “Please, Vanek. Don’t tease me.”
Rough hands lifted her shirt over her breasts and removed her bra, leaving them both dangling from her neck. Her grabbed her hard and held her pressed against him, the low growl in the back of his throat driving her arousal to new heights.
She was more than ready for him, feeling the wetness as his fingers withdrew, replaced by something larger. Harlow bit her lip, not daring to speak lest she say something that would make him stop.
Vanek wasn’t wasting any more time however, and she pulled hard against the restraints as he pushed fully inside of her, reminded once more of his phenomenal strength when they didn’t budge despite her struggle. Stars exploded across her vision as he withdrew and slammed hard into her ass again.
“Fuck me!” she ordered, somehow feeling in command despite her precarious position.
Her mate’s growl split the empty room, and her cries rose to match him as he held her hips tight and thrust into her with abandon. Her entire body rocked with his actions, the impacts igniting something fierce and carnal within her. She bit down on her arm, stifling a scream as one massive hand moved around her waist and began to move across her clit once more.
The combination of his long hard cock pounding into her and the delicate touch of his fingers was too much, and Harlow knew she was going to explode in mere moments, the touch of her lover too blistering hot to ignore.
“Fill me, Vanek,” she asked. “I want to feel you explode inside of me. Cum with me. I’m so close!”
His growl became a full-fledged roar, her name bursting from his lips as he did what she begged for. Fire filled Harlow, Vanek’s cock pulsing deep inside her at the same time she shuddered through a blast of ecstasy so intense it left her legs weak and unable to support her. Only the strength of Vanek kept her from hanging by her arms as he emptied the last of his load inside of her.
The two of them leaned heavily against the steel cage, gasping for breath as they recovered from the lovemaking. The intensity of it had caught her by surprise, the furiousness of her desires awoken by his touch in ways she hadn’t known existed to her.
“I hope you aren’t feeling too weak,” she gasped a few moments later. “Because in case you forgot, you showoff, that was steel you tied me up with.”
Vanek chuckled, slowly withdrawing from inside her before lifting her underwear into place. “You’re lucky we’re in public, otherwise I might just pretend to be that weak,” he teased, reaching up to unclasp her.
Harlow’s knees buckled as she was suddenly set free. Vanek swept her up into his arms, holding her to his chest. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
“Oh yes,” she said sleepily, resting her head against his chest. “Perfectly okay. And hungry. Can we get food?”
Vanek just laughed, the sound music to her ears.
“Of course we can, my love. Of course we can. Chicken nuggets or pizza?”
“Fucking perfect,” she whispered, not even answering the question.
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.” She nuzzled into him some more.
Absolutely perfect.