Blood Submission (Deathless Night Series Book 5) Read online

  “No more questions,” she agreed.

  He waited for her to say something stupid, something like, “I’m so sorry for your loss,” as humans were inclined to do. But she didn’t. She just gave him a small, tired smile and went back over to lie down. A few seconds later, he followed her and blew out all but one candle before joining her on the bed.

  “Are you not going to feed yourself?” she asked quietly once he was on his back beside her.

  A sharp, instant burn hit his throat as his fangs punched down in his mouth. It was intense, as if he hadn’t fed in months.

  “You can, if you need to,” she said, and held out her wrist. “You’re looking a little peaked.”

  Dante turned his head to stare at the female beside him calmly offering him her wrist. He wasn’t sure what to make of her offer, or how to accept it. This had never happened to him before. He’d always had to hunt for his food and take what he needed, and he rarely left his victims alive. Unless they were especially deserving of it and he wanted them to be plagued by nightmares for the rest of their short years. They weren’t apt to offer to feed him again, however.

  “Go ahead,” she urged. “Drink.”

  “Why are you doing this?” He smelled no fear, only her natural mouth-watering scent.

  She gave a little shrug. “I just figure that if we’re stuck together now, that we might as well get to know each other and try to make the best of it.”

  “You want to be friends with a monster?” Though the words were lightly spoken, he found he was nervous as he waited for her reply.

  “I don’t think you are a monster. I think you did what you felt you had to do to survive, and now you don’t know anything else. And maybe….” She bit the inside of her lip and lowered her eyes.

  “What?”

  She caught her gaze with his. In it, he saw no pity, just understanding. A linking of similar souls. “Maybe we can offer each other comfort. We both carry the burden of not protecting our children as we should have. And we have to live with that until we can see them again.” A tear slid down her temple as she offered her wrist again.

  Dante’s heart pounded, and he grew lightheaded from the blood rushing through his head. He’d never once in all of his years thought he would be so lucky as to find someone to share this long, lonely life with.

  “Take it, Dante.” Laney snapped him out of his thoughts as she waved her wrist in front of him.

  He inhaled the sweet smell of her blood. “Thank you,” he whispered in awe. The words sounded foreign on his tongue. Taking the delicate bones between his fingers, he brought her offering to his mouth, and with a hiss of anticipation, he sank his aching fangs into her flesh. Immediately, her honeyed blood filled his mouth. He savored the taste for a few seconds before swallowing. It burned through him, lighting him up inside like a slow-burning fire. Opening his eyes, he saw her small hand clench into a fist, saw particles backlit by the candlelight floating in the air around them like a snow globe. The burning hit his sex, and the semi-hard length instantly became a massive hard-on. He drew up one leg to ease the pain of his erection, the soft rasp of his clothing on his sensitive skin only making it worse.

  But overriding it all was the scent of his female. His nostrils flared to take in more. Her sex was aroused, the musky smell consuming her normal fragrance until he was aware of nothing else. He eased his fangs out, only to bite her again, harder this time. Laney gasped, but didn’t cry out. Her free hand gripped the side of his shirt and hung on.

  Taking one last drink, he sealed the wounds. Laney moaned as he licked the delicate skin of her inner wrist. Turning his head, his eyes clashed with hers. They were filled with a hunger that matched his own. With a low growl, he reached for her and pulled her on top of him. Her slight weight was barely noticeable. He felt raw inside, vulnerable, the past and the present banging around inside of him with her words.

  She tried to rear up, to slide off him again, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. “No, Laney.” He lifted his head off the bed and captured her mouth with his, kissing her until she became pliant. “Take what you want from me,” he told her against her mouth.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I….” The words drifted off as she tried to think of a good argument.

  “You are MINE, Laney.” He paused. “And I am yours. Take it.” And then he kissed her again. One hand slid inside the back of her shirt, the bare skin of her back soft beneath his rough palm. Her breath caught as he slid that hand down to cup her ass. He squeezed, and she rolled her hips up, pushing her curves up into his palm. He moved his hand lower, sliding his fingers between her legs from behind and pressing, manipulating her through her pants. The cotton material was no hindrance at all. He could feel every fold of her pussy right through it. Her body responded to him instantly, and she bit his lip even as she wiggled against his fingers. He raised his hips so she could feel the hardness of his sex, could feel what she was doing to him. He rolled his hips against her over and over while his fingers continued to move in circles on her clit. Not too hard, but just hard enough.

  He broke off the kiss, nipping at her jaw. “Laney….” Her name hung in the air between them. He slid one powerful thigh between hers, opening her to him. “Say yes, Laney,” Dante demanded. “Tell me yes.”

  Laney was panting on top of him, her face pressed into his neck.

  His large body curved beneath her so he could feel as much of her as possible. “Say it.” Her hips kept rocking against him, helping his fingers along. He knew she was almost there. He suddenly removed his fingers and Laney cried out in protest, her head lifting and her eyes popping open only to be caught and held by his. “Tell me I can have you,” he demanded through gritted teeth. “Tell me you want me.”

  When she didn’t answer him, he went for her mouth again, kissing and nipping in between words. “Tell me, Laney.”

  “Yes,” she finally said. “Yes.”

  Triumph flared within him. He smiled, purring with anticipation. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded as she stared down at him and realized what she’d just agreed to.

  It’s too late now, little mouse. You won’t be getting away from me this time.

  Gripping the bottom of her shirt, he yanked it up and off, and her bra soon followed. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her skin on his.

  He rolled to the side, taking her with him and laying her on the bed before rising up to his knees. His eyes roved over the smooth skin of her breasts—quivering with her panting breaths—the curve of her shoulder, the graceful arc of her collarbone, her slender arms. Not wanting to disrupt the sight in front of him for even just the short time it would take him to get his shirt off, he gripped the neckline and tore it from his body.

  Throwing it to the side like so much trash, he bent down and took one hard dusky nipple between his teeth. Laney arched into his mouth, her hands flying to his arms and her nails digging into his biceps. Dante bit down, releasing the sweet nectar from the blue veins just beneath her skin, then sucked and teased the hard bud until she was squirming and lifting her hips to his. Working his way down her stomach, he paused when he reached the drawstring of her pants, the memory of the marks on her belly threatening to remind him of things he didn’t want to think of right now. Or ever.

  With a growl of denial, he untied them and yanked them off, along with her shoes and socks, until she was gloriously nude beneath him. Skipping over the disturbing stretch marks, he looked his fill of the rest of her, something he hadn’t done last time because he’d been too distracted by the horror of thinking he’d taken her from her child.

  And if you had, would you have released her to mother that child?

  No. He would have gone for the child and brought him back, also. For he would’ve been his now, just like his mother.

  To have a child again. The words filled him with joy, and sadness because he knew it would never happen.

&nbs
p; Pushing the thought aside, Dante spread her legs wide, revealing the damp folds of her womanhood nestled beneath soft dark curls. She tried to bring them back together, to cover herself and hide from him, but he wouldn’t allow it. His mouth watered just looking at her, and unable to resist, he leaned over and ran his tongue from back to front, enjoying the way her hips jumped when he hit her sensitive spot. The skin within the folds was as soft as satin, and tasted nearly as good as her blood. Her hands landed on his skull, and she couldn’t seem to decide whether to push him away or pull him closer.

  He gave the hard bud one last flick, and then unbuttoned his pants and shoved them down off his hips. Sitting down, he yanked off his boots and pulled his pants off. This was done so fast, Laney had no time to sit up or move before he laid back down beside her and pulled her up against him. His fingers tangled in her long, dark hair as his other hand gripped her lush ass and pulled her tight into his hips. He took her mouth in a hungry kiss, groaning with need when his fangs nicked her lips and her blood trickled into his mouth.

  His skin felt too tight, and not just on his swollen sex, but everywhere. He tried to pull her in closer still, and was about to roll her onto her back when she threw one shapely leg over his hips and pushed hard against his shoulder. He broke off the kiss and rolled onto his back, instantly missing the feel of her flesh on his. But he didn’t have long to wait. His little mouse climbed over him, straddling his hips as she had when she’d attempted to stab him. The wet heat between her legs coated his manhood. She moaned as she rocked her hips.

  Placing her palms on his chest, she sat up, a Madonna with her long hair partially hiding her breasts and the curve of her hips flaring out from her waistline. Laney let her eyes roam over him much as he had her. With shy fingers, she traced his tattoos, following the pattern from his shoulder down to his hip until she ran into her own thigh and could go no further. He lifted his head to watch as she trailed her fingertips over his hipbone to lightly touch the swollen head jutting from between her legs.

  Dante gritted his teeth and dug his fingers into her legs. He went to sit up, but she pushed him back down and shook her head.

  “No,” she commanded.

  He fell back onto the mattress, helpless to disobey her. Playing the submissive had never been a turn on for him, not even in his human life, but giving up his power to Laney excited him to no end. Dante didn’t understand it, but she didn’t give him any time to stress about it.

  Going back to what she was doing, she gripped the head of his sex, her small hand unable to wrap completely around it. “You’re so big,” she said with awe.

  He almost came in her hand. “Ah! Laney…take me.” He was begging her now. His instincts were screaming at him to throw her down and make her his completely, but he was afraid that he would hurt her. And he found he was unable to take the chance of doing so. He was in her small hands to do with what she would. “Take me,” he growled. His upper lip lifted off his fangs, showing her how much he wanted her.

  Slowly, she leaned down over him, but instead of kissing him like he thought, she brought one dangling breast to his mouth. He rose to meet the full globe, sucking her nipple into his mouth and holding her where he wanted her with his hands around her ribcage. Her hips lifted up and off him, and he moaned with disappointment even as he opened his mouth wide and sank his fangs into the soft flesh. Laney cried out and pressed her breast closer. Dante drank greedily, and then she gave him the other side to do the same.

  He kissed the wounds clean. “I want to taste all of you, little mouse.” Urging her to move up over him, she quickly caught on, crawling up his body until her pussy was poised over his mouth. Dante breathed in the earthy scent and dove in with a rumble of pleasure. She was wet and warm and tasted better than any woman he’d ever had before. He pressed his tongue into her opening, fucking her with it before licking his way up to the tight bundle of nerves. It was swollen, begging for his touch. Dante flicked it once, twice, and again. She cried out and tried to press closer, but his hands on her hips held her still above his mouth.

  “Dante.” His name was both a plea and a command.

  Unable to deny his female, he gave her what she wanted. Swirling his tongue around the hard nub faster until her body tensed above him. When she started to tremble with the strain, he bared his fangs and bit her clit. Blood mixed with her come as she orgasmed, jerking above him, her breathless cries making him so hard he thought he was going to pop from his skin.

  Dante could wait no longer. Lifting her hips from his mouth, he moved her back down his body where his sex was rock hard and ready. He took himself in his hand and found her entrance as soon as she settled back over him. With a thrust of his hips, he plunged deep inside of her with a shout. She was tight, but wet, and he had no worry that he was hurting her. Especially when she immediately took over.

  Taking his hands in hers, she removed them from her hips and pressed them down on either side of his head. She held him there as she rocked above him, her breasts swaying above his face, urging him toward his own orgasm. He rose to meet her with each thrust, his heart pounding, his breath coming in pants.

  “Oh, God,” she groaned. Releasing his hands, she rose up above him and took her breasts in her palms. He watched as she pinched the nipples into hard peaks, her hips rocking faster now, her dark hair falling down her back to tickle his thighs as she threw her head back. Her eyes closed, and he was glad, for he felt sure that if she were to look at him now, she would see all the way down to his black soul, raw and exposed and hungering for her.

  Gripping her hips again, he held her still as he pounded into her, deep growls tearing from his throat.

  “Dante…oh, God…I’m coming!”

  Her cries echoed around him as he felt his balls tighten and his own orgasm traveled up his length to explode inside of her with a hoarse cry of his own. He came so hard his head smashed back onto the mattress, and his hips bucked beneath her uncontrollably.

  After the longest orgasm of his life, Dante caught his breath as Laney collapsed on top of him.

  He held her close as she cried.

  Chapter 20

  The demon known as Steven pulled the hood of his black jacket farther down over his face, as did the other demons following him. Still, humans gave them strange looks as they entered the airport in Dalian, China.

  Was it the way they looked, or the way they smelled, he wondered.

  The vampire bodies they possessed were deteriorating rapidly now. It could mean only one thing: the female vampire who created them, Leeha, was dead. He couldn’t say that he would miss her. She was nothing but a means to an end, and he’d never had any plans of keeping the promises he’d made her. No. She would’ve been one of the first ones he eradicated once he had no more use for her and their reformation was complete.

  Steven hefted the duffle bag he carried onto the counter.

  “Be right with you,” the human male said in a too-cheerful voice. Placing the last traveller’s suitcase on the conveyor belt behind him, he turned around with a wide smile. “Good evenin—” He inhaled sharply, his mouth hanging open, shock and horror filling his features.

  Steven caught his gaze and burrowed into his mind. “We need tickets to the next available flight to Washington in the United States. If it’s full, you will make room for us.” It had taken them all a while to learn the new geography of the earth, so named by the humans. It was ridiculous, of course, they owned nothing and had no right to fly their flags or stake out parts of the earth for their particular group. African, American, Russian…it didn’t matter. They were nothing but gnats, soon to be removed from this planet.

  The human put a hand to his head, squinting like he had a headache, but he smiled and said, “Of course. There’s a flight leaving in thirty minutes. How many would you like?”

  “Five. In the front of the plane.”

  “First class, then?” the human asked, typing away on his computer.

  “Yeah, whatever. Just m
ake sure they’re at the very front of the plane.”

  “I’ll just have to bump these guests…okay. We’re all set.” He handed Steven the tickets he’d just printed. “May I check your bag?”

  “No,” Steven answered. “The bag stays with me.”

  “Of course,” he said again. “Can I do anything else for you today?”

  “Yes.” Reaching in with mental razor blades, he removed the memory of this conversation from the human’s mind. “You never saw us.” As the human searched for something to catch the blood running out of his nose, Steven turned on his heel and left the counter, waving at the others to follow.

  Bypassing the security lines with a wave of his hand and a mental suggestion that the skinny young nerd punch the woman behind him until he pulverized the bones in her face, they headed for the gate.

  Fellow travelers gave them a wide birth, which was lucky for them. When they reached the gate, they were the last ones on the plane.

  “Why don’t we just take over the entire aircraft?” one of the others asked him.

  Steven gave him a look. “It’s not time to draw that much attention to ourselves. Yet,” he added with an ominous smile, made more so by the cracked, discolored skin around his mouth. “We need to try not to draw an overdue amount of attention until we have the final clue and find what we need.”

  “Are you sure it will lead us to our blood?”

  Steven clicked his seatbelt. “It better, or we’ll be stuck in these rotting corpses we currently inhabit.”

  “And if it no longer exists? What if the ones that drained us and chained our souls to that fucking altar got rid of our blood somehow?”

  “It exists,” Steven told him. “And we will find it.” The flight attendant did a double take as she walked by doing a final seat check. “Take care of her,” Steven said. Then he leaned back in his seat and settled in for the long flight.