Blood Mate: A Paranormal Romance (16 page)

Bryn felt frantic movement all
around her, but she simply concentrated on breathing.

Don't stop breathing.

And, don't stop beating
,
she reminded her heart sternly. That lazy ticker was trying to slack
off, missing a few beats here and there.

Bryn heard the screech of
tires and the opening of a car door. She felt the warmth of Jett's
body again, and she smiled dreamily letting her head loll back.

“
Bryn! Come on, you can
do this.”

Bryn took a sharp, painful
breath as she felt something warm press against her mouth. His
powerful, masculine scent invaded her senses and her eyes flew open.

She found her mouth against
Jett's neck.

She jerked in shock but Jett
was holding the back of her head, refusing to let her go.

“
Take my blood, Bryn,”
he said, holding her tightly.

Her fangs were already
lengthening. His scent, his heat, his blood triggered her instincts
and her hunger.

“
No...” she choked
out.

“
Do it, Bryn,”
Jett ordered. “Take my blood. It's yours.” In a much
softer voice, he said, “I'm yours.”

It was all she needed to hear.

With a small sob, she bit into
his neck.

Hot, fresh blood flooded her
mouth and she sucked greedily. Jett tasted so good, so right. Her
hands clung to his broad shoulders as she fed from him, feeling his
hard muscles flex and bunch under her fingers.

He was breathing steadily,
holding her and stroking her back as she took his blood.

Jett's eyes were closed as his
hands moved over her body. He began to caress her breasts lazily,
his thumbs circling her pert nipples through the fabric of her
t-shirt.

Bryn swallowed his blood and
retracted her fangs. His blood was rich and strong. She could feel
his life and power surging through her body, filling her, sating her,
strengthening her.

She dragged her tongue slowly
over the puncture marks on his neck to close them. Jett still had
his hands on her body, and was slowly tugging her t-shirt up.

Bryn blinked up at him as he
eased her onto her back. Soft sheets bunched under her fingers, and
she smelled his scent all around her. She was...in his bed, in his
bedroom. He had sped her here, and given her his blood, straight
from his vein.

Vampires were not allowed to
bite and feed from the vein in New Moon City. If they needed blood,
they went and got their fix from the many blood bars around the city.
Biting was only allowed during mating. Jett would know that. He
was an Enforcer, her trainer, her boss.

If he had taken her here, to
his bed, and given her his blood, did that mean...

Bryn got her answer when Jett
pressed her down on the mattress with his hard body, and kissed her.

She shuddered as his tongue
pushed between her lips and tangled with hers. He kissed her
thoroughly, tenderly, kissing the corners of her mouth, up her jaw
all the way up to the lobes of her ears.

Bryn felt his hands push under
her t-shirt and she growled, “Take it off!”

His lips curved against her
neck.

“
I will. I want to make
love to you slowly, Bryn,” he breathed.

Bryn turned her head and saw
that his blinds were tightly drawn. His bedroom was dark and cool,
but she caught just the faintest glimmer of light from the windows.
It was dawn.

Bryn thought of her fallen
colleagues, of the fight and the rogues she had destroyed.

Life was fragile. She might
be a vampire, but she was still vulnerable. They all were.

But where there's life,
there's love. She wouldn't be afraid to love.

Bryn pushed up and knelt on
the bed. With one swift movement, she yanked her t-shirt up over her
head and kicked off her pants. Jett helped her when she pulled
angrily at his belt in her impatience to get it off.

She wouldn't waste any time.
She had fought hard, for her life, for her mate. She wanted him,
without a doubt. Pressing her hands against his bare chest, she
blinked up at Jett and asked, “Do you want me, Jett? Do you
want to mate me?” She swallowed hard, peeved that she couldn't
keep the quaver out of her voice.

Jett covered her hands with
his, pressing them over his heart. “I want you. I have always
wanted you and loved you. You are mine. You...have always been
mine. You belong to me, Bryn. You belong with me.”

“
Jett,” she
whispered, gazing up into his eyes and seeing the heat and fierce
passion in those intense gray-green eyes.

He grabbed her and crushed his
mouth to hers. Kissing her hungrily, his hands moved all over her
body. She arched her back when he teased and tortured her nipples
with his tongue and teeth.

He breathed against her wet
nipples as he explored her with his fingers, feeling the slick, tight
heat between her legs.

Bryn whimpered as Jett reared
up and threw her legs over his shoulders. He entered her slowly,
careful not to hurt her. Bryn's eyelids fluttered as she felt his
rigid length inch into her.

“
Oh, Jett,” she
panted when he buried himself to the hilt inside her body. This felt
so right. Their bodies fitted together so perfectly, so beautifully.

Jett looked into her eyes as
he began to move in and out of her. His strokes were gentle,
languid, as if he wanted to savor her slowly. He kissed her nose,
her cheeks, her eyelids as he made love to her. This wasn't just
fucking. Bryn could see the deep feelings he had for her in his
unwavering gaze. She could feel his burning, raging desire for her
in his touch, in the heat of his powerful body.

This man, this beautiful man,
loved her.

Jett pulled her up so that she
straddled him, and kissed her breasts. Bryn rotated her hips and she
saw Jett take a deep, shuddering breath as he held on to his
restraint by a thread. “Bryn, baby,” he gritted out.

She smiled and ground down on
him. Jett held her waist as she rode him, pushing them both out of
their minds with pleasure. As she was about to come, Jett tilted his
head to the side and bared his neck for her.

Bryn gasped. He would let her
have his blood at the height of their lovemaking. This was
definitely not just fucking. This was mating. There would be a
blood bond between them. An unbreakable, undeniable, eternal bond.

Bryn leaned in and pierced his
skin with her fangs. Jett gave a groan of pleasure and jerked his
hips to thrust deeper into her. Bryn dug her nails into his back and
held on. She sank her fangs into his neck and drank him. Her
entire body shuddered violently in his arms as she came. Wave after
wave of pleasure coursed through her body, and she screamed his name
again and again in ecstasy.

They collapsed on the bed,
panting, their sweaty limbs entwined. It was good, so good. Jett
smoothed her hair away from her face as he tucked her into his side.

She smiled up at him. “Hey.”

“
Hey yourself.”
He kissed the top of her head. “How do you feel?”

“
Better.”

He frowned. “Better?”

Bryn laughed. “I feel
really, really good. I haven't felt so good in a long time.”

Jett pressed her tighter to
him. She rested her cheek on his chest and asked softly, “I
thought I heard Glenn and Charlene talking to you earlier. What were
you guys talking about?”

Jett raised his brows. “I
didn't know you could hear us. I thought you were unconscious.”

“
I was, mostly. I just
caught voices and movement, bits and pieces of what was happening
around me. So, what did Glenn and Charlene say?”

“
They said that to save
your life, I have to give you my blood and my body,” Jett
deadpanned. “So, now you know. I'm just doing this to save
your life.”

Bryn glowered at him. “Are
you regretting it?”

“
I am regretting...”
he began and made a sudden grab for her. “...not claiming you
earlier!” Bryn gasped at the fierce heat in his eyes. “I
should have claimed you, every inch of you...” His hands
trailed down her body, making her shiver with pleasure. “I
should have claimed you completely, claimed your body and your
heart.”

Bryn traced her fingers down
his strong, stubbled jaw, and gazed up at his handsome face. He
tenderly kissed the tips of her fingers when she brushed them across
his lips. Finally, she whispered, “You have always had my
heart, Jett.”

He seemed to stop breathing
for a full minute. Then he leaned in to kiss her. “I love
you,” he breathed.

A tear slid from the corner of
her eye.

They made love again, slowly,
tenderly. They held each other for the longest time, knowing that
what they had between them was something so special and so precious,
something worth living and fighting for.

Jett wrapped up the meeting
and watched the small group of Enforcers file out of his office.
“Zymfer,” he called out. “Can I have a word with
you?”

The demon turned around and
stood to the side of the door to let the other Enforcers pass.

“
Close the door,”
Jett told him when all the others had left. “Sit.”

Zymfer sat his heavy frame
down on one of the leather chairs in front of Jett's desk. Jett came
and stood in front of his desk. He leaned against it, his arms
folded across his chest.

“
You wanna talk about
it?”

Zymfer looked down.

“
You haven't spoken to
anyone, since...we lost her,” Jett said. His tone was gentle.

Zymfer scowled down at his big
feet, refusing to look at him.

“
Mia was a good
Enforcer, one of my best. I worked with her in the NMPD. She was a
great officer. And she was a great Enforcer. Fearless, loyal,
decisive. She was a good leader, a good mentor to the younger
Enforcers.” Jett said. “And she was a good partner.”

At that, Zymfer let out a loud
sniff. “She was a wonderful partner! Sure we had our
differences. We bickered, squabbled and fought. But she taught me
many things. I learned a lot from her.” The young demon
swiped at his nose and swallowed hard. “I...I miss her.”

“
I miss her too. We all
do. We all miss her,” Jett answered. “We miss all of
them. Mia, Viviena, Daichi...” Jett trailed off. It was too
painful to continue the list. He took a deep breath and went on.
“Their courage and sacrifice will never be forgotten. We will
always remember them. Always. Every night, when you patrol the
streets with your new partner, you remember Mia and everything she's
ever taught you. She taught you the tricks of the trade, what to
look out for, how to act in certain situations. She even taught you
how to deal with a temperamental boss like me.”

That earned Jett a small
smile.

“
Don't let Mia down.
She saw great potential in you. She died fighting the rogues,
ridding the city of dangerous, murderous scum. Many of our friends
sacrificed their lives that night. Don't let their sacrifice be in
vain. Continue the fight. Continue their fight.”

When Zymfer looked up, his
eyes were shining. “I won't,” he said huskily. “I
won't let her down.”

Jett nodded, and Zymfer rose
to his feet.

He met Jett's eyes, nodded
once, and left, pulling the door quietly shut behind him.

Jett let out a heavy sigh and
turned to look out the windows. The evening sun hit the windows at
an angle, and he saw his own faint reflection in the tinted glass.
As he squinted against the sunlight, he thought he could see outlines
and shapes behind him. He blinked and the images of his Enforcers
shimmered into view behind him.

He kept staring at the window,
afraid that the images would disappear if he even blinked. One by
one, the images sharpened.

He saw them all. They were
standing behind him, grinning and fidgeting. Mia was there. So were
Viviena, Daichi, Ricky and all the rest of his Enforcers who had died
in the line of duty. They were all crowded behind him, huddling
closer as if they were getting ready to take a group picture. He
could see all their faces clearly. He knew all their names. He had
recruited and trained some of them personally.

They were all standing behind
him, smiling, nudging and jostling one another. Jett's lips twitched
in a crooked smile. Those Enforcers were a restless bunch. They
could never stand still. They looked happy, their faces proud and
radiant as they gave him the thumbs-up sign and waved.

His vision blurring, Jett
raised his hand in a farewell salute.

The sunlight slanted off the
reflective windows on the building across the street and bounced into
his eyes. Jett winced and glanced away. When he looked back at the
window, he saw only his own reflection. He was standing alone in his
office.