Chosen by Blood (25 page)

“Someone, meaning you?”

“Of course not.”

At his calm words, which she knew
had
to be the truth, she hesitated. “Then what—”

“I don’t believe it, but if we don’t end up finding the antidote, there are those who might latch on to that explanation out of fear. Desperation. Prejudice. Who knows?”

“Those? Those who? Your mother would never . . .” Realization formed. “Ah. You mean the Vamp Council.”

His face was grim when he answered. “It’s a possibility.”

“And that would be pretty bad for you, right? Because it would be hard to have your piece of ass on the side—that’s assuming I’d ever agree to such a position, which I wouldn’t—if the Council thought she was a threat to your clan.”

His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “You just love to push me, don’t you?”

She scowled. “I don’t have to push you. Everything that pushes you is already there. It exists just by virtue of who we are. What I am.”

“I thought we settled this the other night. What you are is mine.”

With a casual flick of his fingers, he undid the top button to his shirt. Then the next. Then the next. Until the broad planes of his chest peeked out from between the swiftly parting fabric.

Outrage, as well as the warm, slippery slide of desire, flowed through her. “What do you think you’re doing?”

He raised a brow. “Undressing. You might want to do the same if you want those clothes to remain intact.”

“You’re crazy.”

His fingers froze and he narrowed his eyes at her. “You’re right. I am crazy. Crazy for you. Insane for you. Absolutely freaking nuts over you. Now come here.”

 

 

She was looking at him as if she believed every word he’d just said.

As if she truly did believe he’d gone insane.

That was okay, Knox told himself. He didn’t just feel as crazy as he’d said.

He felt crazy enough to like it.

Something about seeing those scientists, their blood staining their bodies, had disturbed him, and it wasn’t because they couldn’t tell them anything about the antidote.

It had everything to do with Felicia, and the reminder that just as those scientists were mortals who could be cut down with the flick of a knife, so was Felicia.

That was what was insane. That for the very first time, her mortality was a huge, looming presence between them.

And it scared the shit out of him.

He didn’t know how to deal with it rationally.

All he knew was that he needed her. Right now.

Eyes on her the whole time, he finished undressing. When he straightened, he luxuriated in the way her hungry gaze swept over him, her appreciation apparent in every lingering look. She lingered particularly long on his cock, which twitched with eagerness.

“Undress for me, Felicia. Please.”

He wasn’t using his powers against her, but when she moved, she moved slowly. Almost as if she was drugged or hypnotized by her desire for him. That made him feel good. It made him feel so fucking powerful that he wanted to throw back his head and roar out his love for her.

Mine, he thought again. Forever.

When she was naked and standing in front of him, he bent down and kissed her. Just kissed her. Without touching her with his hands or his body, he brushed his lips against her, using the lightest of touches and the tenderest of strokes to prepare her for the storm to come.

He was going to use everything he’d ever learned about women to pleasure Felicia, but his goal was more than physical. He wanted to get so deep inside her that he would touch her soul and make her realize that, despite everything, their difficult circumstances, her mistrust, his inability to give her all she wanted, he loved her. Good, bad, it didn’t matter. She was his.

Knox kissed the side of her neck and bit down gently. For a moment, he lingered, unable to tear himself away from the promise of her vein. Closing his eyes, he forced himself to move on, talking to her in the soft, crooning voice he knew she loved. “Do you know what first drew me to you? Your eyes. They show me everything you try to keep hidden. Your passion.” Knox kissed her forehead and began to work his way down. “Your warmth. Your generous spirit.” He kissed her shoulder. “Your fire.”

Felicia arched into him. Her soft white skin was pearled with sweat, and he gently laved at the shallow valley between her breasts. He then caught a nipple in his mouth, sucking at it gently. It was already hard.

When he lifted his head, she moaned in protest.

“Shhhhh.” Knox covered both breasts with his hands and continued his descent. He kissed her stomach, which quivered in delight.

He looked up at her as he moved even lower. Her legs moved restlessly. Knox bent and spread them open, then inserted a long finger into her.

She cried out his name, closing her eyes as if in pain.

“I know. It feels good, doesn’t it?” He pulled his finger out slowly. Then pushed it back in. Pulled it out. In.

He nudged aside her pubic hair, rooting for her clitoris with his tongue. He laved the hard nub slowly. Her hips bucked against him.

She was so responsive, Knox thought. Amazing. He raised his head reluctantly. “I’m going to make you come like this.” He bent back down again, rubbed his tongue into her heat with long, smooth strokes.

Just when he sensed her orgasm was imminent, Knox raised his head again and started to move down her body.

“No! Please!” Her voice was frantic.

“It’s okay. I’ll be back. I need to do this first.”

Knox kissed the insides of her thighs. Her knees. Her calves and feet. He lifted one foot at a time and licked her toes. When she became so frustrated that she kicked out, he laughed, grabbed her ankles, and pulled her down. Catching her, he cradled her to the floor and kissed her sweet lips once more, sucking on her like she was candy.

He raised his head, then slowly turned her over. He worked his way up her body this time, starting with her calves. With every kiss, every touch, he worshipped her body.

When he kissed the heat of her from behind, he growled, “I love you, Felicia. Everything about you. Head to toe, there’s no part of you that isn’t precious to me.”

He covered her with his body, kissed her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to spend the rest of your life proving to you how much you mean to me.”

Knox pushed himself into her by slow degrees. Her body was so wet, he slid into her with ease. He felt his balls tighten but couldn’t resist pumping into her for several moments.

Felicia grasped frantically at the ground, but couldn’t find purchase. She thrashed beneath him and her inner muscles squeezed him mercilessly.

Knox could feel himself close to coming. He quickly withdrew from her and turned her over. He immediately kissed her sweet spot. Separated her folds with his fingers and impaled her with his tongue.

She’d started a steady series of moans, each one louder than the next. Longer than the next. Her thighs gripped either side of his face and began to shake.

“I love you. I love you.” He moaned it into her. She came apart, moaning out his name as the violent waves of orgasm shook her.

Knox didn’t give her time to come down. He couldn’t. He was dying and the only thing that would save him was being inside her. Knox bent her legs back and pushed inside her. Felicia moaned again.

He pumped his hips into her, his rhythm increasing as the pleasure rode him, rode her. His cock felt like it was being squeezed between layers of warm velvet. Knox groaned. Slowed down his thrusting. Felt the essence of himself shoot directly into her. He shouted in pleasure.

He kissed her as she cried. He said it over and over again. “I love you.”

And even as she responded and held him tight, even as she pulled him ever closer, he was mindful of one thing: She never spoke the words of love back. He tried not to dwell on it or give it any significant meaning. But when Lucy knocked on the door several minutes later, calling, “They’ve got an address for us,” before rushing away, he was hit by the inexplicable urge to pin her down before she could get up.

Instead, he watched her bound off the bed, dressing quickly and urging him to do the same. Slowly, he got to his feet, wondering why the panic in his gut had come back twice as strong as before.

T
o say Wraith was “good” at puzzles had been putting it mildly. From the garbled mess of numbers and words that O’Flare had given her, the two had come up with three addresses. The first had been right on the mark. The house was in Washington, D.C., and had belonged to Dr. Neil Barker himself. It was spotless, not a single thing out of place. That meant, Felicia knew, that the FBI had already gone over it with a fine-tooth comb. They searched it again anyway. Nothing.

The second address turned out to be a coffee shop several blocks from the FBI Headquarters. Although O’Flare had wanted to take a break and get a latte, they’d all walked off, forcing him to follow or be left behind. When he’d asked what their hurry was, Knox had just shaken his head.

At the third address, they thought they’d struck gold. It belonged to Dr. Jaycee Concannon, Dr. Barker’s protégée and a woman Felicia had met in person once or twice. The doctor had been quiet and unassuming. She wasn’t the type of person who made a strong impression. As such, Felicia wasn’t quite sure what to expect from her house, but it wasn’t what they found.

Concannon had been an animal lover. Everywhere one looked, her condo was a virtual monument to four-legged creatures. She had framed pictures of animals on her walls. Her cushions were covered with animal prints. Little ceramic dogs, and glass cats, and horses carved out of wood littered every flat surface. Again, however, there wasn’t a single spot of dust anywhere.

After their obligatory search, the team congregated in Concannon’s cramped living room. Felicia chose to lie on the ground and stare up at the ceiling. The mood was somber. The prevailing attitude one of defeat. She struggled to say something that would rally everyone—wasn’t that why Mahone had included her on the team, because of her people skills? She tried to come up with something positive to say, but all she could think of was death.

Yes, it was a morbid thought, but quite appropriate. The Para-Ops team was supposed to have been a connective force, ensuring equal protection of all creatures regardless of race or species. It was what her parents had worked and died for, and it was a shame to think it had all come down to this. They were no closer to the missing antidote, and once people learned that Others were being enslaved and that the U.S. government had failed to retrieve them, the fragile thread of hope that enabled Others and humans to at least try to live in peace would be broken, replaced by suspicion and fear. Once again, it would be every man or Otherborn for himself.

Silently, she turned her head toward Knox, who was leaning against the countertop that divided Concannon’s living room from her kitchen.

He was already looking at her.

Instinctively, she raised her hand and touched her neck where he’d drunk from her. As he watched, his eyes sparked, but he didn’t approach her. It was as if the cloying smell of defeat had crushed his hopes not only of a cure, but of sharing a life with her, as well.

The thought struck terror into her heart, making her realize that she really did have a reason for being here. She wasn’t going to see this dharmire brought to his knees. Not here and not now.

She pulled herself into a sitting position. Raising a brow, Knox straightened. Felicia turned to the mage. “Has Mahone given us an update on whether the satellites have picked up anything else?”

Lucy, who was leaning against a wall next to a clock that had fish for numbers and cats’ limbs for hands, actually snorted. “It’s a little difficult—even with the help of a billion-dollar satellite orbiting the earth—to find some unknown location in North Korea that, one, might contain Others who may or may not be being held against their will and, two, might contain an antidote that may or may not actually exist.”

Felicia nodded. After a brief silence, she deadpanned, “So I guess that’s a no?”

Wraith, who was perched on one of the sofa’s arms, laughed out loud.

Stunned, Felicia, along with everyone else, stared at the wraith.

Wraith immediately wiped her expression clean. She glowered at them, then shrugged one shoulder. “What can I say? It was actually funny.” She stood and brushed past O’Flare, who was standing by a long console with a stereo system on top of it. Wraith began to flip through some albums. “Freaking LPs,” she muttered. “Can you believe it?”

“If I’d wanted to sit around doing a bunch of nothing, I’d have stayed in Phoenix,” Hunt sneered from his position by the living room window. He remained facing forward, staring out into the street. “At least I saw some action there.”

“Sorry you’re bored,” Knox snapped. “Forgive me if trying to find a medical miracle with absolutely nothing to go on but a bull’s-eye on an entire country is a little difficult.”

“No one’s blaming you, Knox,” Felicia said.

“Did I say anyone was blaming me?” Abruptly straightening, Knox strode toward the door. “I need some air.” He slammed the front door behind him.

“What crawled up his vamp butt?” Hunt snorted.

Felicia surged to her feet. “Will you shut up for once? Maybe your family doesn’t mean shit to you, but Knox isn’t like that. He cares, not just about his immediate family, but every vamp in his clan. All hundred and thirty-seven of them. So cut him some slack, will you?”

Hunt turned away from the window to walk toward her. His expression, his every movement, radiated hostility. “I like you, Red, I really do, but maybe I gave you the wrong impression. I don’t let anyone talk to me like that, not even someone with killer tits and a—”

Felicia was reaching for her weapon when O’Flare inserted himself between her and Hunt. When the werebeast kept coming, O’Flare shoved hard enough so that the werebeast took several steps back. “Back off, Hunt.”