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  He was still surging, I knew that. But slave or not, I didn’t deserve to be subjected to this sort of treatment. No one did.

  “Let me down, Marko. I want to go to bed.”

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  “Please,” I begged, crying harder.

  Surprisingly, he obeyed, but I didn’t miss the horror in his features. He knew what he’d done had crossed the line and even with as far gone as he’d been, he’d broken past his vampire to stop himself.

  I went right for the closet, grabbing a long, white, silk nightgown. It was low cut, exposing the cleavage of my breasts, but it beat the alternative, which was sleeping nude. He’d made it a rule of no clothes, but I wasn’t going to follow it tonight. I couldn’t bear the thought of him getting anywhere near me all of a sudden. I wanted to go home. I wanted…my eyes shot up as I pulled the pins out of my hair, trying to block out my thoughts as fast as I could. Hunter. He’d been here. Had I sung to him? The memories were extremely fuzzy, but I was sure they were real. Had I imagined that part? Hell, I wasn’t sure. Even as I thought it, my heart ached for him. He was familiarity. He was home.

  I turned, meeting Marko’s eyes for the briefest moment. He didn’t seem as shocked anymore. Just regretful. I kept quiet as I walked to my side of the bed. He was already halfway undressed and I could hear him continuing as I pulled the covers up high on my face. Still, the tears trailed down.

  “You encouraged him to take you. You openly flirted with all of them right in front of me. How do you think that makes me feel?”

  I blinked past his words and somehow, I knew he was telling the truth, regardless of whether I could remember it or not. I sat up, letting the covers drop so I could meet his gaze. “How do you expect me to get close enough to kill him if he thinks I hate or dislike him? Think about it. Besides, you are out of control. The way you treat me makes me sick and I can’t stand it. For someone who says they love me, you have a shitty way of showing it. Now, goodnight.”

  I collapsed back to the bed, blinking past the dots covering the cement wall before me. Had I just said that? I had. My pulse jumped and kept a steady rhythm as the light went out and I felt Marko climb into bed. His silence unnerved me. I wasn’t sure who I was dealing with. He may have had a moment of regret, but that didn’t mean he was back, just like me.

  The feather pillow crushed in my grip and I breathed through the anxiety. Within minutes, Marko was snoring. More fuzziness broke in and I blinked, realizing I was standing. A small cry escaped as I brought my fist to my mouth. Pitch black surrounded me and I wasn’t sure where I was in the room. Or what I was even doing. My hands reached forward as I tried to feel my way back to the bed. Cold cement from the wall had me turning around and heading in the other direction. Glimpses of light broke through. Bright light. I was squinting, blinking rapidly as I suddenly realized I was walking, but I wasn’t in control. Familiar houses were before me and somehow, I felt myself sigh in relief.

  Wind flared angrily and it was cold while it blew my nightgown around me. Still, I kept going, until I was walking up my stairs, as if it were the most natural thing. Tears streamed down my cheeks from the light sensitivity. How long had it been since I’d been in the sunlight? Even though it was overcast, it still hurt my eyes.

  The knob caught in my hand and I realized the door was locked. I pushed up on my toes, sliding my fingers over the top covering of the porch light. The key had my alternate personality smiling and I slid it into the keyhole, turning and pushing the door open.

  Silently, I shut it behind me, locking the bottom lock while I headed for the hallway. Hunter’s old door was closed, but for some reason, I continued to my room. Somehow, I knew where he’d be. The bundle under the covers drew me forward until I was standing next to the mattress. Wildly, my heart slammed in my chest. Regardless of whether this was me or not, my true self knew the fear of what I was doing.

  My nightgown fell to the floor, leaving me nude, just as Hunter spun around, aiming a gun right at my chest. One hard blink. Two. His lips separated and the gun lowered. I took in the scratches and stitches on his chest and somehow, I knew they were from that night with Marko. But I couldn’t focus on it as I watched him.

  “Tessa?” As he rubbed his eyes, I wondered whether he thought he was still dreaming. I felt like I was, but I couldn’t react past what I was seeing. My hand came out and I didn’t give him time to react before I pulled the covers back and eased my way in. Nervously, Hunter studied my face.

  “Are you back for good?” There was a strain in his question and my head shook as I moved in closer. The heat of his body warmed the coldness covering mine and he copied my actions, moving in closer, until he was pulling me under his body.

  “This isn’t real,” he said, lowly. “It can’t be.”

  Even as he said it, his hand moved up my side, toward my breast.

  “Kiss me and find out.”

  Looking out through my eyes and not being able to stop what was happening left me panicked, but not for me. For him. God, Marko was going to kill him the moment the sun went down. Was he watching now? Seeing what I was doing? Could he feel that I had no control over the situation? Or was he still dead asleep?

  The questions faded as Hunter moved in. I could feel the hardness of his cock, of his body, as he slid the underside of his long length up and over my wet folds. He lowered, bringing his lips down to mine and I watched him in a different light. I saw his passion, his want of me. His love…I love you. He’d mouthed those words. I was almost certain of it.

  Harder, he grinded into me, making me even wetter and I returned the hunger. My tongue met his as it pushed into my mouth and mint took over my senses. I blinked past the confusion.

  Hunter’s weight shifted while he kissed down my neck. Impatience filled me. I needed more. Something I couldn’t even define. And I didn’t have to wait. His fingers rubbed over my folds and I spread my legs wide, arching while he smoothed in the wetness.

  “I’m going to make it good for you this time, Tessa. I promise.” Suction tugged at my neck the softest amount and I felt myself come to in a jolt of awareness. Hunter’s head lifted at the harsh spasm and I swallowed hard, trying to calm the deer in the headlights look I no doubt sported.

  “Hunter,” I breathed out. “Oh shit.”

  Confusion drew in his features and my heart twisted, just as my brain did. What did I do? Who was I? What did I want? To continue would be wrong, yet I didn’t want to stop. It made my dilemma even worse.

  “You have to know that I didn’t come here as myself. The blood in me, it’s…causing me to blackout at times.”

  “But you’re here. You came to me. That has to mean something.” He paused and I heard the pain in his voice as he continued. “Do you want to stop?”

  I swallowed hard, unable to turn away from his blue eyes. They were so bright in the light, almost lavender. Just like the night he returned, they pulled me in, holding me captive to a dream I thought had died off long ago. “No,” I whispered, “but you have to know…Marko—”

  His fingers pressed against my mouth, cutting me off. “He is not going to deter you from what you want. You let me deal with him.”

  Before I could continue, his lips replaced his hand. The need in the kiss brought me to life and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing my breasts into his chest. So close to him, I felt safe for the first time in as long as I could remember. I wanted to believe that this had all been a nightmare and I was just waking up, clutching to a life that was meant to be when Hunter returned. Maybe I’d always secretly hoped, even when I was unsure. Over the years of writing each other and talking on the phone, I’d opened myself to him as more than my best friend. We’d grown so close over those years, despite the distance between us. It was the reason I’d asked whether he wanted to move in with me as a roommate. I knew I loved him as a person, but maybe I had hoped more would transpire. The fact that I didn’t get to find out for myself because Marko stole my opportunity h
ad me holding on tighter.

  “I love you, Tessa. I always have. If you only knew how long I’ve waited.” He breathed the words against my lips, placing one last kiss before he moved down. The light touch of his lips traveled over my chest and he cupped my breast, slowly making his way to my hard nipple. Teeth gently pulled at the tight nub and I moaned as he sucked it into his mouth. The pressure sent pleasure shooting straight to my core and I pushed more into him, arching against the desire overwhelming me.

  Gentle flicks teased the tip and he swirled, causing my hands to move to his shoulders. Where guilt should have been taking me over from the passing minutes, I felt nothing but my want of Hunter as he moved to my other breast. Teeth grazed over the fleshy part and I lifted my head to meet his stare as he circled just short of my nipple. My breasts were so sensitive, so full, as he gripped both of them and took his time going back and forth, lavishing them with attention. By the time he began kissing down my stomach, I was so hot and wet, I couldn’t stop the constant rotating of my hips.

  “Hunter, please.” What I was begging for was beyond me. I was lost to his touch. And clearheaded. That’s what surprised me the most. When I was with Marko, his blood kept me in a frenzy of uncontrolled lust. I loved it, but I wasn’t myself. Here, right now, this was the Tessa I knew, and I hadn’t felt her for so long, I was basking in every second I got to be myself. What was happening was my decision. Not some blood-induced poison tempting me to the forbidden. Hunter was home and I’d been homesick all along.

  The covers were pushed to the end of the mattress as he settled between my legs. I suddenly felt self-consciousness and he seemed to sense it, shaking his head.

  “I’ve waited too long for either of us to hold back. Don’t leave me now.” His tongue flattened over my opening and he made a path to my clit, only to move back down and push into my entrance. My head dropped and my body melted into the bed. Fingers gripped my hips as he pushed deep.

  “Oh, yes.” A sound came from deep within my throat and I rocked as he thrust repeatedly. The sucking against my folds changed the sensations and ecstasy was all I knew as he applied suction over my clit. My legs kicked out and I felt the orgasm surge forward as the minutes past.

  The gasp that left me as his thick finger slid into my channel was followed by my screams as he thrust deep and I shattered. The pressure of his sucking increased over my clit and my whole body jerked repeatedly through the waves of my release. Tingling covered every inch of me and I relished in it as Hunter positioned himself above. The pull on the edge of his lips had me shaking my head and I couldn’t fight the smile that appeared. My hand gripped the back of his neck and I pulled his mouth to mine.

  Weight settled down on me and he froze as the head of his cock pushed against the outside of my pussy. “Jesus.” His head dropped to the pillow next to my face and he groaned into it, only to push up. “We can’t, Tessa. I don’t have…if you were to…” he looked around my room. “Do you have protection in here?”

  Blindly, I reached over, pulling the drawer open. I never thought I’d need a reason to have condoms stashed away, but I’d always been prepared. Maybe I hoped with him moving in, something would happen, even if I didn’t want to get my hopes up. But, here we were, and this was the man I knew would always think of me first. His concern over my wellbeing made my heart swell more. Even in the heat of passion, he was always looking out for me. Always protecting me.

  Hunter reached in, shredding the wrapper with his teeth. I could see his impatience. The need he had for me fueled my own and by the time he rolled the condom down his length, my hands were pulling at him. Fear was slightly there. Our first time had hurt really badly. And it wasn’t just because I was a virgin. Hunter was long, a lot longer than what was deemed average, and I braced for the pain as he inched his way inside of me.

  “Relax,” he said, kissing me again. “I won’t hurt you. I promise.”

  I sucked against his bottom lip, gasping as he moved even deeper. The movements were slow, giving me time to adjust until he went even further. I couldn’t stop my nails from sinking into his back as he pushed through a part of my channel that hadn’t been breached before. Not even by him. He’d never made it that far the first time.

  “Fuck,” he moaned, withdrawing and returning to the same depth. I knew he still had at least another inch or so to go and I wasn’t sure whether I could take it. It didn’t hurt yet, but would it if he went further? With the way my body craved his, I had to find out.

  “More. Fuck me, Hunter. I want all of you.” My knees drew up and we both cried out in pleasure as he surged forward, his mouth meeting mine. His hand reached down, grabbing my ass while he pushed even deeper. The grinding of his hips added pressure to the top of my slit and I held his back while I moved against his thrusts. The friction tightened my stomach and I latched onto the side of his neck, sucking with everything I had as another orgasm began to build.

  “I don’t want this to ever end.” He lifted, breaking my contact. He pushed my legs open wide as he stared down at where we were joined. The swirl of his thumb over my clit kept a steady rhythm until I felt myself burning through the bliss. The moment felt perfect and I didn’t want it to ever end either.

  “Hunter.” The rise in my tone had the speed increasing and I breathed out deeply as I tightened around him.

  “This is what I’ve always wanted to see. God, you’re so beautiful. Come for me again, baby. Let me see.”

  And I did. Lights flashed before my eyes and I screamed, thrashing my head back and forth as he flew forward and pounded his cock into me hard. It brought another orgasm bursting right over the first and my yells were muffled while he kissed my mouth. The thickening of his cock was heaven inside of me and I barely finished my release as I drank in his own sounds of pleasure.

  “Oh, shit,” he breathed out, rolling to his back and pulling me on top so we were still joined. All I could do was soak in the way his thick chest left me feeling small and protected, when I was anything but. God, Marko was going to kill me. He truly was.

  “Stay with me. Leave with me. Fuck…marry me.”

  My head shot up as I stared into Hunter’s eyes. Words wouldn’t come. Nothing would as I tried to process what in the hell I was going to do.

  “Be with me, Tessa. I love you. Don’t go back. If it’s a fight he wants, so be it. I know how to kill him. I can do that.”

  “And then I die, too.” I went to move off him when he stopped me. “Hunter, I have to go back. I have more than Marko to worry about. They have plans for me. Ones I’m not sure I can get out of.”

  “Sayer.” He closed his eyes and I felt my head cock to the side.

  “How do you know about him?”

  Hunter eased me off him and placed me at his side so we could look at each other. “Marie came to see me a few hours ago. She told me what you’re going through. You’re meant to be his wife. It’ll destroy the bond you and Marko have.”

  “Marie?”

  “Yes, she wants Marko dead for what he did to her men. She wants me to kill him.”

  My pulse jumped in Marko’s defense. Regardless of whether our love was real, the slave in me felt the need to protect him. And in truth, a part of me did love him. I was just confused on exactly where I stood between both him and Hunter. I loved them both, and for two completely different reasons.

  “I’m going to kill Sayer before he bonds me. I don’t want to change, Hunter. I don’t want to be one of them. Though, if I do kill him, I’m Marko’s forever. I’m not sure if can do that either. I don’t want that life. I don’t want to be underground.”

  “They’re priming you to rule, apparently, if what Marie says is true,” he said quietly. “Could you do that, Tessa? Rule an entire vampire community?”

  “Absolutely.” The one word was laced with so much confidence, my eyes widened. Hunter lifted his head and I tried to calm. “I’m sorry. I’m not myself sometimes. If I changed, I wouldn’t be at all. That’s what scares me
. How much of me would really exist anymore? I’d have nothing left of my life.”

  “You’d have me. I’ve had plenty of time to think about it and I’ve decided. I’ll be your slave. I’ll remind you every day of who you are. I’ll protect you.” He grabbed my hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll love you to the end.”

  Chapter 21

  Marko

  Seven hours and forty-two minutes. That’s how long I’d been awake. Dreams plagued me. Dreams I now knew were as real as if I were there with Tessa and Hunter. The mass of emotions going through me weren’t even comprehensible, yet I was experiencing every single one to the full magnitude one could experience. And I was destroyed.

  “I’m going to kill him. I’m going to—”

  “You’re going to sit down,” Sayer snapped. “You’re giving me a headache with all your threats. So Tessa’s off fucking her boyfriend, so what. She loved him long before she ever loved you. Have you learned nothing in the last few hundred years of been a vampire, Marko? Humans don’t lose the feelings they harbor for the living, regardless how of much we try to brainwash them into thinking otherwise with our blood.”

  My eyes cut over at having what I’d been doing thrown in my face. Whether he knew I was force-feeding Tessa to make her love me, or just assumed, was beyond me. I didn’t care, either way. I just didn’t want it thrown in my face.

  “She loves me. It’s your fault she’s doing this. Ever since you gave her your blood, she’s been a completely different person. An unruly one, at that.”

  “Tessalyn knows her worth. You think she’d play the compliant slave when she’s meant to rule? Please.”

  “She’s my slave! She’s meant to obey me. Me, not you. Not some alter-ego possessing her either. She was doing perfectly fine until you ruined everything.”

  He laughed, growing straighter. “And I’m going to ruin it even more in about three minutes.” Sayer stood, causing me to spin around toward the tunnel I knew Tessa would be arriving from. I looked over at him and moved more in her direction.