CONCEPTION (The Others) (12 page)

He rubbed the back of his fingers from her temple to her
jaw. “It is not a crime to be inexperienced.”

“It’s nothing to brag about either.”

She thought he was going to argue, then he shook his head
and cupped the heavy weight of cock in his hands. “I will come in your mouth. “

She waved off his explanation. “And I suck, I get the
mechanics. I’m just not sure it’s going to fit.”

He was shaking his head again before she finished the
sentence.

“I do not want you to do anything this time. It will be hard
enough as it is to maintain my control. And mate?” He raised his eyebrow. “I
will ensure your pleasure.”

Once again her hands were anchored above her head. With the
same unrelenting gentleness, her face was tipped up. At the same time, his cock
surged forward, pressing against her lips. Hard, hot and huge, it demanded
admittance.

“Open.”

On a deep breath that drew his scent deep into her lungs,
feeling like she was stepping off a ledge, Eden parted her lips.

With a steady surge, he pressed in. “Accept me, Eden.”

She had thought it would be so easy. Just part her lips and
in he’d go, but that wasn’t the way it was. He was too big, the angle off. She
had to twist her head back and forth, working him in slowly, remembering at the
last minute to cover her teeth.

She had expected to be repulsed, at the very least bored,
but the feel of the thick stalk sliding past her lips set off tiny explosions
in her extremities. Explosions that detonated to the pulse of his heartbeat
throbbing against her sensitive lips. She took him a little deeper, accepting
the offer of his life and his passion. His flavor, salty and male, spilled
through her mouth, and legions of cells leapt forward as if they’d been waiting
for nothing more than this moment.

His fingertips grazed her cheek. “Just like that. Just hold
still and let me feel that sweet tongue.” He worked his cock deeper, in small
thrusts, pulling out before the reflex to gag could give birth to action,
sliding back in on her next breath. Easily, gently, he fucked her face in a
relentless rhythm that caught her desire and spun it taut.

Was she pleasing him as well? She glanced at him from under
her lashes. His lips were drawn back from his teeth, his handsome features chiseled
with the force of the emotion sizzling between them. With every draw of her
mouth something intangible passed from him to her and back again. This was more
than sex. This was a bonding. One she didn’t know if she could get out of, but
she was too involved to turn back. She was so screwed.

Another quick glance showed his black eyes with those
swirling hot depths locked on her lips, watching as she took him inch by inch,
the lids flicking as the ridge of the broad head caught on her teeth. Another
pulse of fluid washed over her tongue, feeding her need and triggering more.
She reached for his hips. He caught her hands, holding them in his as he kept
up his easy rhythm, shaking his head as she bared her teeth. “Soon.”

She wanted it now. Her womb tightened into a knot of
expectation, sending shards of agony splintering through her body. Hunger built
on need. Demand on hunger. She groaned around him, wanting more. He shuddered
and held perfectly still.

“Do you want my come, Eden?” His deep voice resonated along
her nerves with the gentleness of a touch. “Do you want me to fill that sweet,
tight mouth with my seed?”

The civilized part of her was horrified at the question. The
primitive side responded with a resounding
“Yes!”
She wanted him, his
seed. She wanted to fill the horrible aching hunger inside, to sate the pain
that wouldn’t stop, the unrelenting agony that sapped her strength.

He stopped moving, his cock resting on the shelf of her
teeth, pressing her tongue flat. His thumb tucked against the corner of her
mouth, stroking her and himself in one easy glide as his dark gaze met hers.
“Then take from me what you need.”

Chapter Eight

Take from me what you need.

The ancient words flowed easily from Deuce, filling the
space between them. This was more than sex. More than pleasure. This was how it
was between the Chosen and their mates. She gave him light, purpose and freedom
from loneliness, and he nourished her with his seed, his blood, providing all
that she needed in all ways. His cock pulsed. His balls pulled up tight. He
cupped her cheek, steadying her pulse. She took his first offering with a soft
whimper of satisfaction that centered his attention.

“Whatever you desire from me, I am here to provide.” His
body throbbed with the agony of holding back. And still she lay there, staring
at him with those big blue eyes, a seductive combination of pure wantonness and
innocence. Another spurt of hot come seared his control, filling her mouth.

Her nostrils flared. Her eyes dilated. Her lips clamped
around him like a vise. Her small hands twisted in his. He held steady,
enjoying the pull of her lips, the heavy draw of suction pulling his seed to
the burn of her need. She took his next offering with an enthusiasm that
brought sweat to his brow. He held still, waiting, analyzing her body for signs
of rejection. When she did not vomit, he gave her a little more, feeling her
body’s scream of relief to his soul, resenting the necessity of holding back.
He wanted to give her what she cried for, slice an artery, do whatever it took
to relieve her pain. Instead he had to give her a just a little of himself at a
time, while watching her respiration for signs of distress.

After the fourth swallow, he noted a change in her scent. It
was as Bohdan had warned. She could not take much. He needed to pull back, but
the hot, wet heat of her mouth lured his inner beast. Her tongue tempted it
into dominance with every swirling stroke. His control shuddered under her soft
hum of satisfaction when his cock jerked. It went against everything he
believed in to deny her anything, least of all his come. She sucked harder,
drawing him to the edge of reason. His balls ached and his fangs throbbed. She
wanted, and he wanted to give. Eden lunged forward, taking him deeper, her
struggles increasing as he withheld what they both needed. He threw back his
head and fought for control.

Dusan? You have need?

No.

He did not want his brother here. Not now. He shut Bohdan
out and conjured the willpower to yank free of Edie’s mouth. His cock jerked in
an agony of regret as his come spurted on her breasts and belly, coating her
soft flesh in hot cream. She arched beneath him, presenting herself for more.
He gave it to her, helpless to do anything else until she was sated. She was
his mate. What she needed he provided. He gently pressed her back against the
comforter as the last spasm ended. Lamplight glistened on the proof of his
possession. He laced her hands above her head. “Keep them there.”

Her “Deuce” was a deep moan of distress.

“Be easy.” He placed one hand over a warm pool of come just
left of her incision scar. His other hand at her hip kept her in place. He
massaged the silky liquid into her soft flesh, moving his hands up to her
tightly peaked breasts, rubbing his scent into her skin. Marking her as his. He
plucked at the plump nipples, watching them harden further. He rested his cock
against her cheek. She turned her head, lapping his shaft, cleaning him with
little dancing flicks of her tongue. His cock rose again, heeding her demand.
He pulled away. “Enough.”

She shook her head. “More.”

He slid onto the bed beside her. The heavy curtains that
darkened the room did not let in a bit of the dawn he could sense behind the
windows. But he did not need light to see the agony in her eyes.

She moaned and twisted against him. She hungered. He held
her tighter, pressing her face into his shoulder, realizing his mistake when
she bit down.

Her sob when he tore her away cut him to the bone. It should
not be this way between them. He brushed his lips across the riot of curls at
her forehead, anchoring her in place by fisting his hand in her hair until she
gained some control. “I am sorry.”

“Why?” Her nails cut into his chest. “You didn’t do this.”

But he had not prevented it. She was breathing too hard,
twisting too much, stressing her newly repaired flesh. He lowered her
respiration to a more normal level, stopping the pump of adrenaline into her
system, holding her as she shuddered under the lash of what was already there.
“I would take this for you.”

Bohdan’s voice broke into his mind.
No! You cannot
withstand her need and your own.

He ignored the order. He was the leader of the Chosen. He
would do whatever was required. “I feel your need, Edie. Let me take it from
you.”

“Can you take it without feeling it yourself?”

Her skin was soft as silk under his lips. Beneath his hand,
she was damp with his tribute. In any other circumstance, it would be reason to
celebrate. “It is unnecessary that you suffer.”

She tilted her head back. Her hair slid through his fingers
as she struggled to meet his gaze. “That wasn’t an answer to my question.”

“I do not feel emotion as you do.”

She frowned. “Still not an answer.”

He sighed, inhaled her scent, her warmth, memorizing it.
“No. I cannot block your need without experiencing it myself.”

“Then we’ll be leaving things as they are.”

A shiver shook her body. He pulled her closer. “It is not
your place to be giving orders.”

“My place is whatever I want it to be.”

He shook his head at her foolishness. Her place was at his
side, under his care. Another shudder rocked her frame. A faint clicking
alerted him to the fact that her teeth were chattering. He hitched onto his
side, turning her so he faced her back before carefully coming to rest against
her. She vibrated against him like a leaf caught in a storm. “I will hold you
now.”

“Why am I so cold?”

“Shock.”

“From that little bit?”

“Yes.” She was so small in his arms. So fragile compared to
him. So easily hurt. He spooned around her, tucking his thighs under hers,
easing her cheek onto his forearm. “Do not bite,” he warned as she stiffened.

The light chatter blossomed to a clatter, separating her
words into fragmented bits. “I don’t…think I…could if…I wanted…to.”

The violence of her shivers worried him. He pulled the
comforter over them while raising his own body heat. She moaned and pushed
back. His cock, pleased with her nearness, filled until it lay like a brand
between them. Between shudders, she lay unnaturally still as if afraid of
setting him off. Did she think he would take her when she suffered like this?
“I cannot help wanting you, Edie mine.”

Her “I know” was barely recognizable.

“It does not mean I will not care for you or put your needs
first.”

This time her answer was a nod of her head.

With a sudden move he did not anticipate, she twisted in his
arms, curled into a ball, her knees wedged between their chests, and made
herself as small as possible, which was very small. He would have to be very
careful with her. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his core.

“When will this stop?” The muffled question came from
somewhere in the middle of the shaking.

“Your body is adjusting.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He rubbed his hand up and down her back, his pinkie riding
the prominent nubs of her vertebrae. “I do not know.”

The violence of her shaking was beginning to concern him.

“Talk to me, Deuce.”

The words were almost indiscernible, the syllables lost in
her low moans.

“About what?” He upped his body heat, ignoring the protest
from his own organs. Her suffering was intolerable.

“Anything. Just give me something to focus on besides how
awful I feel.”

That he could do. He cocooned her against him, took what he
could of her distress from the edges, and rested his cheek on the top of her
head. “The first time I saw you, I could not believe how beautiful you were.”

Her snort was full of disbelief.

“No interrupting.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting a fairy tale.”

Despite the gravity of the situation, she held onto her
sense of humor. She was a miracle inside and out. “You were standing outside
the restaurant, waiting for your grandfather. Your beautiful hair was wild
about your shoulders, almost white in the moonlight.”

“Let’s keep it believable.”

He brushed his lips over her hair. “This is my story. You
will let me tell it as I saw it.”

“I will?”

“Yes.”

Another violent shudder shook her. He suspected her lack of
argument came from lack of strength. “There was a moment when I could only
stare in wonder, and then I knew I had found my mate.”

“Weren’t you disappointed?”

Deuce had to ponder for a minute what she could possibly
think would disappoint him. “That you were human?” He could not tell if she was
nodding or shaking again, but he took the abrupt movement of her head as
agreement. He did not know how to explain it to her, the wonder of finding his
other half, of knowing she existed, of years of yearning that had faded to
despair only to have hopelessness obliterated with the blinding proof of her
existence. “No.”

Eden moaned and convulsed. He caught her head before it
could snap back. He checked her vitals. Her respiration was growing shallower.
Her blood pressure dropping.

Bohdan. Come now.

Deuce stroked her back, untangling his fingers from her hair
as they caught. He had not allowed her to ingest too much. She should not be
reacting this way.

Bohdan entered the room on a glide of power.

He reached for Eden immediately. His hands almost swallowed
her rib cage. Edie cried out and flinched away. Her instinctive aversion to
another’s touch raised Deuce’s beast.