Cursed (The Brookehaven Vampires #4) (7 page)

He then slipped his fingers back up my side and into one of my hands, gripping it tightly while
another part of him found what it had been searching for. I held my breath and squeezed his hand in return.

With his lips at my ear, he whispered, “I love you, Laney. Now and forever.” Then it happened. A quiet gasp escaped me as he entered my body. His mouth was on mine in that moment. With my free hand, I gripped his bicep,
and my fingernails dug into his skin.

He eased himself deeper with each movement. I won’t lie, it freaking hurt. I honestly thought we might be doing it wrong.

I pulled my lips from his and buried my face against his shoulder. I blamed my heightened senses as I pulled my other hand free of his and hugged him to me, hoping the pain would soon fade as he slowly pushed farther inside of me.

He paused, hovering over me
, his green eyes fixing on mine. Breathlessly, he asked, “Should I stop?”

I shook my head and thought of Kiera’s words, “It hurts at first…”

“Are you sure?” he asked. He was concerned, and he had obviously picked up on my emotions.

I nodded.

I could see that he was hesitant, but he kissed me again and began moving, slowly. I knew he was trying to be gentle.

His bonding scent was strong
and filling the room. The smell calmed me—relaxed me a little.
A little.
But as the entire length of him entered me, an overwhelming mixture of pain and pleasure suddenly consumed me. I cried out, my fingers digging into his back.

He paused again and looked down at me. “I’m sorry, Laney. I can feel how much this hurts you. We can stop,” his voice was ragged. His eyes were on mine, intense as he brushed my hair back against the pillow.

As he made to remove himself from my body, I was suddenly fearful of him stopping—I couldn’t allow it.

“Please, don’t stop,” I breathed. I held him to me and shook my head, refusing to let him remove himself from me.

I could see the concern in his eyes, but as I urged him to continue, I saw his need for me and for our bonding to happen take hold of him. He crushed his lips to mine, and with another movement, he was deep inside of me. A moan escaped us both.

Pleasure quickly began outweighing the pain, and as it did so, I was able to relax and just be in that moment
—enjoying the feeling of being connected to him—of being one with him.

My body was warm, heated by our movements. The feel of Oliver inside of me, the way it felt to have him stretching
me and thrusting inside of me was more amazing than I could have imagined. He was trying to be gentle, going slowly and kissing me tenderly, but once my feelings of pleasure fully outweighed those of discomfort, his own need took over. His body pressed harder against mine, he pushed deeper, moved faster. I couldn’t help the sounds that escaped me, and with each sound I made, the more passionate he became.

He quietly moaned as he
continued to thrust into me. I couldn’t help my nails digging into the perfectly smooth skin of his back, the way my body moved with his, or the undying feeling of love that consumed me.

We found a rhythm and our bodies rocked as one. Finally. Moans of pleasure escaped him as his lips stayed on mine
—his tongue finding mine from time to time while he continued to push into me, repeatedly.

The pain was long gone. All that remained was pleasure. After
wanting this for so long, it was finally happening. Tears filled my eyes. I loved this man so much it made my chest ache.

His scent permeated the air around us, stronger and thicker than ever before,
and it made my head spin. I knew he was still trying to be gentle as he rocked his hips, pushing into me a little harder with each thrust.

And then suddenly, his lips left mine. He was looking down at me, into my eyes,
and his own were so intense. He began to thrust faster and harder. I cried out, but not in pain. He growled loudly in response.

The next moment was a whirlwind. His movements quickened, his lips pressed against mine again, harder—his kiss was desperate. Then, with one final t
hrust, a deep growl escaped him, and I was his. Finally and forever.

His lips slipped from mine, instinctively finding their way to my neck. He kissed the bare skin once, then, ever so slowly, I felt his fangs pierce my vein. It didn’t hurt, and I didn’t cry out, but rather
I exhaled a relieved breath. I was finally and officially his. But I wasn’t just his, he was mine. Mine forever. We had finally done it. We had finally bonded. I was relieved that no one could ever separate us—no one could ever come between us again.

Low moans escaped him as he suckled at my vein. I trailed my fingers up and down his back and across his shoulders, enjoying his weight still atop me. I don’t think I had ever felt so happy.

He drank slowly, his fingers deep in my hair behind my ear while his free hand searched for mine. I laced my fingers between his, and he tightened his grip on my hand. I felt a smile touch my lips. I loved this man
so
much.

Still inside me, he pressed himself against me, almost as if he were asking permission. I encouraged anything he wanted to do to me. He moved his body against mine, and I felt heat between our bodies, not the coolness that was usually there. I felt a pull toward him, like a magnet, not the usual hum. Our bonding had replaced feelings
and emotions with new ones that were more profound, more…real. Feelings that were…permanent.

The hardness of him was moving inside of me again. He pushed deeper, and a small moan escaped me.

When he had had his fill from my neck, he sealed the punctures with a cool swipe of his tongue. His lips were on mine a moment later. I tasted my own blood and it triggered something inside of me. It was like my brain shut down, the only thing it registered was the sheer desire of being one with my boyfriend—my vampire mate.

My body took over like it had a mind of its own
, and it began rocking with his. And this time, when Oliver thrust that final time, and released an even deeper rumble from deep within his chest, I cried out at the same time and for the same reason.

Oh my god, it was amazing! It was like this… hell, I don’t even know how to explain it, but I had felt it through my entire body, and it was freaking AMAZING
!

Oliver grinned down at me as his body trembled over mine. His green eyes glowed with a joy I had never seen in them. I smiled back, my stomach dropping—in a good way, of course—at the thought of what we
’d just done. Twice. It hadn’t been perfect, but it was ours. It was us. And I was so happy that it had finally happened.

A crooked smile took over as he gazed down at me. He cupped the side of my face with one hand, his thumb stroking my cheek. “Mine,” he whispered. “Forever.” His lips pressed ever so gently to mine.

Overwhelmed by my emotions, I felt a few tears spill over. I smiled up at him as he looked down at me once again. With the sweetest smile on his lips, he brushed away my fallen tears. My heart ached with how much I loved him.

“I love you,” I quietly told him. “More than you will ever know.” This earned me
a pretty sexy smirk that was so full of love and happiness. I never wanted to see it fade.

He adjusted himself, gently leaving my body and moving so that he was holding me
with my back to his chest, and his arms wrapped tightly around me when he whispered against my neck, “I love you more than that.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face and the small laugh that escaped me. I intertwined my fingers with his, and we snuggled tightly against each other’s naked bodies until morning, never moving, not even when sleep took us both.

*****

The next day I woke to kisses on my neck, and someone wanting to wish me a very good morning. And a
very
good morning it was.

We spent most of the day in bed, exploring each other’s bodies. And we were careful. It wasn’t the same with a condom, but it was safe. Safe was good.

We finally took a break in the late afternoon, heading to the kitchen so we could get something to eat.

After I finished my sandwich, I worked up the nerve to ask Oliver where
he’d gotten the condoms. He hadn’t purchased them since we’d left town, not that I had seen anyway. And I couldn’t imagine that he had been packing around a large box in anticipation.

In nothing but his pajama bottoms, he was leaning against the kitchen counter, one foot crossed over the other. He looked so damn sexy. With a wicked little grin, he admitted that he had stolen the condoms from Carter.

“All of them?” I asked from where I sat atop the island in the middle of the kitchen, cross-legged, wearing nothing but panties and one of Oliver’s tees. I imagined Carter would be none too happy when he discovered the entire box was missing.

“I left him one,” he said, a
mischievous grin appearing before taking a bite from his organic apple.

I laughed. Really hard.

Then Oliver ditched the remains of his apple into the sink, crossed the space that separated us, and pulled me off of the kitchen island.

I squealed as he threw me over his shoulder and took me back to the bedroom.

He tossed me on the bed and was over me in a heartbeat. In seconds our clothes were gone, and the rest of the day was a naked blur.

Grandpa Sam

The following afternoon we had a picnic on the beach. Oliver wore his baseball cap again, and I loved the way his hair flipped up around the sides of the hat.

Even though it was overcast, and rather gray outside, the sand was warm under us while we sat facing each other, talking, and eating lunch. Oliver ate an apple and shared his grapes with me while I finished the second half of an avocado sandwich I’d made myself.

We were different now that
it
had happened. We were more relaxed together, as if this huge weight had been lifted. I could see it in Oliver—in his smile and his body language. The tension was gone. No one could take us away from each other or dictate what we could and could not do. We were mated. I was his, forever. And he was mine.
Forever.
Nobody could take that away from us.

After we finished eating, we leaned back in the sand together, kissing and laughing.

“I have someone I would like for you to meet,” Oliver told me between kisses.

I put my hand on his chest to hold him back from distracting me with more kisses. “If you’re referring to your, um, you know what, I’ve already met him, several times now, and I think I need a few hours before we hang out again.”

He looked at me, confused for a moment, then, when he caught my meaning, he laughed, a sharp, beautifully lyrical laugh. “No, Laney, that’s not what I meant.” He trailed a finger down my cheek, a wonderfully crooked smile in place.

I grinned up at him. Then he kissed me more, nipping at my neck and tickling me so I would squeal.

“I was serious,” he said. His gorgeous green eyes met mine, silencing my giggles with his serious stare. “I have someone I want you to meet.”

“Who?” I questioned. He stood and pulled me up from the sand. I brushed off my pants before hopping onto his back for my usual piggyback ride up the steep slope back to the cottage.

“My grandpa,” Oliver told me as we headed up the path. “He’s in an elderly care home not far from here.”

As I slid to my feet at the top of the cliff, I found myself surprised by the fact Oliver had a living relative, and that he had never told me about him. Then a thought occurred to me. “Wait, doesn’t your grandpa think you’re…uh, you know, dead?” I lowered m
y voice as I said the last word—I don’t know why, I just did.

“He suffers from dementia. He’s had some clear moments where he recalls I shouldn’t be here.” He shrugged. “Other than Oscar and Hayden, he
’s all the family I have left.”

“Oliver,
I would love to meet your grandpa.”

He smiled big and pulled me into his arms, kissing me so passionately I thought we were having a change of plans. But we didn’t. Eventually he let go of me so that we could get ready to leave.

The cottage was on the outskirts of town, so the drive took a little while, just as it had when we’d gone to the grocery store and had encountered Oliver’s ex.

Oliver told me about his grandpa on the way, and he seemed to brighten at the idea of seeing him and being able to introduce me to one of the only remaining members of his family.

Once at the assisted living center, we checked in at the front desk, showing our ID’s and signing in.

“Do you ever worry about the people here finding out who you are?” I whispered as we were led down a stark white hallway by a woman in dusty pink scrubs and a sturdy pair of walking shoes.

“It’s not a problem, Laney,” he responded quietly. Then he winked at me.

I raised an eyebrow at him.
What the hell did he mean by that?
Were there vampires working the old folks home? Why? Was this some special home for family members of vamps? I’d ask later. For now, I was looking forward to meeting Oliver’s grandfather.