Black Heart (9 page)

He had a stunning body, tightly
packed with sinewy, lean
muscle. His chest was broad and just hairy enough.
A thin strip of hair snaked down past his eight-pack abs. Two
prominent vertical veins pulsed furiously above his cock, and ran
along both sides of his rock-hard stomach. She made a vow to
herself to follow the path of those veins with her tongue before
the sun rose. So male, so masculine.

Deegan walked to the night table and
pulled out a box of condoms from the drawer. Her heart sank. So he
really didn’t want kids. They could talk about it later though. The
sexual daze she felt at the moment banished all such concerns. The
sight of his glorious body distracted her. His scent, a tormenting
mix of musk and fresh ocean air muddled her thoughts. That was all
she could concentrate on. He lay on the bed on his side, facing
her, stroking her cheek. His long finger made a languid journey
over every part of her skin. She shuddered. His finger swirled in
the curls between her legs. She parted them, and he set her body on
fire as it plunged into her wet core. She grasped his hand and
moved her hips. He plunged in a second, stretching her even wider,
then a third. She moaned. His thumb stroked her swollen clit. In
time with his thrusts, her hips followed the rhythm. She came, not
the frenzied color bursting climax of downstairs, but a languorous,
intense shattering of her soul.

He turned her gently onto her back and
continued to lick and kiss every inch of her skin, giving it such
an incendiary blush she thought she would self-combust. Deegan took
his time, such a leisurely stroll over her skin. She tried to reach
for him, but he took her wrists and held them above her head while
his lips, tongue and teeth sensually savaged her
breasts.

“
No, let me. Enjoy,” he
rasped.

She came once again. And again.
He was torturing her,
her body writhing in desirous agony.

“
Do I have to tie you to the
bedposts?” he murmured with that deep, naughty
fuck-me
voice.

Her insides turned liquid at the
suggestion. Never thought being bound would appeal. It did, in a
big way. His mouth barely touched hers.

“
You like that? Something to
consider. I would tie your hands, like so,” he spread her arms far
apart above her head, his hands clasping her wrists tightly, “and
fuck you—thus.”

Deegan thrust into her to the hilt,
causing her to gasp from the sensation of him stretching and
filling her. God, she loved that feeling. She raised her hips off
the bed aggressively, grinding into his hips, taking him deep. Her
teeth clenched. A growl escaped her; he had awakened her inner
beast. His eyes narrowed, a sly smile curving his full, luscious
lips.

“
I assume the gentle seduction
portion of this event is at an end.”

“
God damn right it is.” She
didn't recognize her own voice. “Fuck me, Deegan. As hard and
fast...”

A gasp escaped her throat as he tore out
of her and slammed back in, still holding her wrists like iron
bands. He was so potent, so damned virile. She came again, and
sweat ran in rivets down between her breasts. Deegan’s tongue
reached out and caught the beads, and he swallowed.

“
You taste like maple syrup, my
sweet.”

He continued his unremitting rutting. That
red haze of The Rapture began to swirl in her vision. Again?
Dhampyres were only supposed to experience this on a rare occasion,
or so she heard. Was Deegan going to bring her to such a state
every time he made love to her? Every time he fucked her, so damned
thoroughly?

“
You can fight it, Raylene,
concentrate. Or let yourself float in the ecstasy.”

He let go of her wrists then
and with quicksilver speed, his head lowered to her breast. His
fangs were distended. He wasn’t going to bite her, was he
...
God!

She cried out. His fangs plunged in deep,
around her nipple. He suckled deeply. The blood flowed down over
her nipple from the bites above. He drank her blood while he
pulled, sucked, and licked her nipple, hard. She tried to fight the
Rapture, but she couldn’t. Everything went crimson; she sank into a
sensuous state of bliss. How could they have denied each other all
these decades? Scratch that, how could Deegan deny this? Through
the haze of sexual delight, anger reared its head, fighting the
Rapture full on. How could she love this infuriating man? But love
him she did, all his flaws only adding to his aura and his essence.
So many layers to Deegan, so many she knew nothing of.

The redness began to fade. Her
eyes cracked open.
How in hell did she get on her hands and knees? How much
time had gone by? Deegan knelt behind her, thrusting hard, his sexy
snarl harsh and animalistic.

“
Deegan?”

He growled and climaxed, shaking and
shuddering. She looked over her shoulder and saw that his eyes
glowed red. She had never seen that before. What in the hell was
that? She had sex with a few Vampires through the decades; she’d
never seen fire-red eyes. She scrambled away from him, not from
fear, or was it? Deegan lowered his head, closed his eyes, and
braced one arm on the bed to keep from collapsing. He stayed in
that position for several minutes. She was beginning to get
worried.

“
Are you all right?”

He nodded, but did not look up.

“
Get dressed.” His deep voice
was hoarse. “We need to talk. Now.”

Chapter Six

Deegan
grabbed a pair of black sweatpants
from his drawer and a black singlet. He turned as Raylene walked to
a large suitcase he hadn’t noticed before, but then all his
attention was focused on Raylene.

“
Brennan brought me over some of
my clothes. Wasn’t that sweet?”

She wriggled into a pair of tight jeans
when he turned away. Even watching her dress made him hard. Damn,
Brennan must have fetched her clothes when they were seeing to
Raynor and Laura’s Termination. Did he know? Crafty old bugger.
Good thing he trusted him implicitly.

When he turned back, Raylene was dressed,
a white cotton short sleeved shirt tucked into blue jeans, showing
every curve.

“
Sit down, Raylene.” He motioned
to the bed.

She did, while he started to
pace. How to bring this up? Should he call Edward over? He glanced
at the clock, past
ten o’clock.

“
Brennan told you I had clan
business.” She nodded. “I was at your father’s. Tristan and Edward
were also there. To oversee a ceremony. A Termination Ceremony, of
your father and mother.”

She was astonishingly quiet. Deegan
imagined all sorts of reactions from Raylene, as she could be
emotional. Rage, grief, despair, something. However, she sat as
still as a post. He explained in the broadest of terms about the
Concealment. She remained silent, but he could see something boiled
away inside her as she processed the information.

“
Let it out, Raylene. I know you
want to vent your spleen, so do it on me. Go ahead.
Rage.”

That was all the invitation she needed.
Raylene leaped off the bed and stood toe to toe with him, her face
red with fury.

“
You killed my parents! You son
of a bitch! I will
never
forgive you for this. You ordered their execution! To not
warn me—or Julian—how dare you?” she raged.

Clearly, Raylene was as
emotional and passionate
as her father Raynor had been.

Deegan exhaled.
“I explained. This
was your father’s decision. As far as your mother is concerned it
could not wait. Do you think I enjoyed overseeing this?”

She slapped him hard across the face,
so hard his head snapped back. She was pulling back her hand to do
it a second time when he caught her wrist.

“
Do not strike me again,” he
hissed. His cheek stung. She packed quite a wallop, not surprising
seeing she was half-Vampire.

Raylene trembled, her anger
intense.

“
I hate you,” she muttered
crossly. “You kill my family then come home and take me to bed?
What kind of soulless creature are you?”

“
You are not the only one
grieving, Raylene. I lost the man who was as dear to my heart as a
beloved brother. Didn’t you hear anything I said about The
Concealment? I can call Edward to come over and
explain.”

She pulled her hand out of his tight grip.
“I am not some child. Stop talking down to me!”

“
I’
m not, damn you! Your mother was mad,
insane with Concealment blood lust. She had to be destroyed, and
your father elected to be destroyed with her,
because...”

Raylene pushed at his chest, as if to
distance herself. “My father would not make such a decision. He
would not leave me, not without saying good-bye!” She glanced
around the room. “I have to get out of here.”

Deegan stepped closer. “Tristan is meeting
Julian’s plane and bringing him straight here. Wait until he
arrives, and I will tell you both everything.”

Raylene backed away farther, her face
twisting in shock and dismay.

“
Is that why you denied me and
the Mate Bond all these decades? Because of The Concealment? Will I
become a murderer like my father? Will Julian? Oh, God—that’s why.
I will become a monster!”

Deegan ached to pull her into his arms,
but he knew instinctively she would not welcome it.

“
There is more to it than the
Concealment.”

There was, but he couldn’t tell her now
because she wouldn’t process or understand. Hell, he hardly
understood why he denied her for so long. Perhaps deep down, he was
a base coward. Not wanting to be hurt again, pride, raw stubborn
pride, and rank stupidity.

“
Raylene, let me get you a
drink.”

“
Go straight to hell, Deegan
Black,” she snarled.

“
I am already there, my
sweet.”

She pushed past him and ran for the
door.

“
Come back here,
Raylene!”

Damn, he could hear her feet
pounding down the stairs and out the door. He heard the
unmistakable roar of his Thunderbird.
Shit! She must’ve gotten the keys off
the table by the door. He had to get dressed and take one of the
other cars. Where did she go? Would she go to her house? He would
check there first. He ran to the dresser and selected a pair of
black jeans and a sweater. Shite, he went about this all wrong; he
should have waited until Tristan arrived with Julian. But she
deserved to know.

“
I hate you.”
Those three words
were branded on his heart. She didn’t mean it. Raylene said it in
the heat of shock and anger. Now that he was bonded to her, he
didn’t want to lose her. Feckin’ pathetic. Decades he denied her,
stubborn arse he was. Now he didn’t want to let her go.

****

Raylene could hardly see considering hot,
miserable tears clouded her vision. She drove much too fast, but
didn’t care. Bastard! The Concealment? She had never heard of it,
but she’d never heard of Thropes either. Just what else was she not
aware of? It was not in her nature to run. A Nightwood did not run
from anyone or anything. But she had to get away from Deegan before
she clawed his face off. Damn, maybe she was a monster.

She pulled out and passed a minivan, not
caring if a car came in the opposite direction. She almost took the
old, rusted Aerostar’s side mirror off. The guy behind the wheel
gave her the horn and the finger simultaneously. She cut back in,
nearly shearing his bumper off for good measure. She gunned the
motor and left him behind in her exhaust fumes.

Decades her father suffered since her
mother went in that Twilight coma. He lived with his malady,
problem, sickness, whatever the thing was for centuries. Deegan
denied their bond. But what did time mean to a Vampire anyway?
Being half-human, not immortal, time was not so fluid to her. She
was more aware of the passing of time, where a Vampire wasn’t. A
century to them might not even feel like a decade to her. What did
she know? Nothing. Nothing of her family, her heritage or her
blood. Secret clandestine meetings, covert rules and furtive
glances. Damn them all.

She had no more tears to shed. Her eyes
burned in rage and spent grief. It cut deep her father did not say
good-bye or at least wait until Julian came home. Deegan said it
couldn’t wait because her mother had turned into an animal. Her
fist clenched against her chest, and her heart ached. She loved her
father so much, and they’d always been close. He was such a part of
her life since her birth one hundred and eighty-six years ago. Her
father, Raynor, had been her friend, her hero, her guiding light
and her shining star.

She thought of Julian.
He was fourteen
months older than her, and just as close to their father. Granted,
he blamed their father for their mother’s Twilight state, and
things were strained between them, but she also sensed the love
between them. This would devastate him. Maybe she should go back to
Deegan’s, be there when Tristan brought Julian from the airport.
She was about to make a u-turn when she glanced at the large wooden
sign for The Rusty Anchor Pub. A lone spotlight shone on the top of
the sign, illuminating a painted illustration of a large, rusty
ship’s anchor. Perhaps a drink would be in order first. She needed
to get control of her emotions before she headed back to Deegan
Black.