DeLeina, Maya - Veil of Seduction [Ambrose Heights Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (28 page)

His heart broke into a million pieces. His mind told him what he needed to do.

Tell her. This cannot wait.

“I wish I could take everything that just happened back, I should’ve been more careful. You shouldn’t have seen that. But I’m truly fine, Anya…per se.” Steffan held her tightly as he slowly laid her down on the blanket and reached for the quilt to cover their bodies. He pulled her close to his chest. Her head rested on his bicep. He gently lifted Anya’s knee to straddle his hips and inched himself closer to her. He needed to feel her body pressed against his.

He needed to be consumed by her and erase the years of pain, for both of them.

“No, I’m a strong woman. I’ve been through a lot in my life to know that I’m resilient and can handle just about anything that is thrown my way,” Anya recited mantra-like. “Whatever it is, even if you’re not meant to be here for long, you’ll have me by your side. You will not be alone. Just be straight with me. Give me at least that.”

Tears flooded Steffan’s eyes. Not since Arianell’s death had he cried in his vampire existence. “Anya,” he said in pure veneration.

Steffan sank into her lips. His mouth engulfed Anya’s in a deep, ravenous kiss as she responded without consideration or uncertainty. His hand glided along Anya’s body under the covers. Slowly, he reached under her skirt and traced the smooth skin of her thighs up to her hips. He let his hand caress down to her buttocks, her thong, allowing unrestricted access to her flesh.

“Touch me, Steffan,” Anya said as she took Steffan’s hand and placed it on her breast.

Steffan responded, slowly cupping and massaging her in his hand. He dipped his tongue into Anya’s mouth.

Anya groaned in desire and set his body on fire.

He moved Anya’s knee off of his hips and slowly pulled his arm from under her head. Reaching for the balled-up sweater, he gently lay her head down.

Steffan lifted to his knees, repositioning himself between her legs. Anya opened her legs wide in acceptance. He shifted the quilt behind him and pulled it around his waist.

Wanting an unhindered view of Anya lying beneath him, Steffan reached for the buttons of her shirt and slowly undid each one. Button by button, Steffan’s heart beat deeper and faster.

Steffan delicately laid Anya’s shirt open, exposing her plunging, white satin bra, and quickly noted the front clasps of the garment. He smiled as his fingers traced down her cleavage. In one crafty move, the clasp was undone. He searched Anya’s eyes for acceptance as he slowly exposed each breast.

With a grunt of need, Steffan stood up and undid the button of his khakis, never releasing from Anya’s gaze. He stepped out of the pants and lay back down, covering Anya’s body with his.

He lowered his mouth to her breast.

Anya’s sweet flesh ravaged his senses and he fought for control. He never tasted anything quite as exquisite. Encircling her nipple with the wet smoothness of his tongue, he lingered, changed pattern, pace, and direction, making Anya moan in delight. And when he caught her nipple between his teeth, Anya gasped.

“Steffan,” Anya said in an erotic delight. She trembled slightly in his hands.

Steffan sucked more of her into his mouth and moved to ravish her other breast. Anya opened her legs wider and tilted her pelvis to brush against his hardened shaft. Steffan responded in a slow pumping motion into her hot center. He explored each breast with his mouth before starting his descent down her body.

Anya’s body was now trembling.

“Anya, my love. Are you scared? Do you want me to stop?”

“No. I’m not scared. I just can’t control my body, Steffan, I don’t know why. Please. Don’t stop. I know you wanted to wait, but I want you to make love to me. I need this. I need you inside me.”

“Oh, I can’t stop, my darling. I want you to see me love you. I want you to feel me inside you,” Steffan responded breathlessly as he continued his exploration of her body. He pulled her skirt down her body and snaked it around her feet, freeing her of the garment. He balanced on his elbows as he positioned his head between Anya’s legs. He traced the outline of her thong and gently curled his finger under the material, running his knuckle along her moistened heat.

“You are so wet. I want to taste you.”

Anya gasped for breath. “Taste what you’re doing to me.”

Steffan moved the material to the side and exposed Anya’s most intimate flesh for his eyes. He ran his tongue up and down her plump folds and slowly sunk his tongue inside her. Anya moaned in deep pleasure. She dripped with sweet juices just for Steffan as he explored her freely.

Steffan reached for her thong and gently removed it from her hips and down her legs, allowing free access to her most private area. Steffan buried his tongue back into Anya with a deep-seated need. He planted kisses all around her folds and then centered his attention on her clit as he focused on Anya’s eyes.

Anya cried out in ecstasy then bit down on her forearm to stifle her cries. He continued to ravish her very center as he plunged his fingers into her, changing the rhythm of his exploration. Steffan retracted his fingers and slowly stood up. He dipped his glistening fingers deep into his mouth, running his tongue up and down, licking up the traces of Anya.

Steffan stood tall over Anya, His chest heaved and his breath quickened. Slowly, his hands moved, making their way to the waistband of his briefs.

Anya’s eyes focused on him with an unwavering intensity. The look of raw desire in a woman’s eyes was nothing new for Steffan. But something more than lust-filled emotion sparked in Anya. It lured Steffan deeper into her spellbinding gaze. There, in Anya’s eyes, Steffan saw his own reflection.

Anya was his destiny.

Unsure or not, Anya was going to know he was a vampire and he was going to start the ritual. Now.

Inching down his briefs, Steffan slowly revealed his thick cock to Anya. He stepped out of the briefs and ran his hand up and down his shaft.

“Oh my god,”
Anya said breathlessly as she measured up Steffan.

Steffan lowered back to Anya and positioned himself at her opening. He sat back on his heels and ran the head of his cock up and down her wet pussy. Anya quivered uncontrollably. She arched her back, jutting her breasts in the air and pushed against Steffan.

She was ripe. She was ready.

Steffan grabbed the quilt and draped it over his shoulders. As he settled back in place over Anya, he looked deep into her eyes, his strong arms stabilizing his body.

“Anya, you must listen to me.”

“Yes, Steffan?”

“I’m sorry to have scared you this evening. I wanted to reveal things slowly to you, but I need you to know everything now, before we become one.”

“Whatever it is, I’m yours.”

“I’ve waited my entire existence for you. Something inside made me yours long before we even met. I discovered our fate through touch. It told me everything you’re made of is a match to me—with what I am. It’s what set the wheels in motion, why we dreamt of each other before meeting, why we feel so drawn to one another.”

“What are trying to say? What do you mean,
what
you are?” Anya whispered.

“Everything you witnessed tonight is just a part of my existence.”

Tell her! Tell her now
! Steffan bellowed in his mind as he looked deep into her eyes.

“Anya, I am…immortal.”

Steffan searched her eyes intently for a reaction.

Please don’t scream. Please don’t be afraid of me.

“Vampire,” Anya stated as a matter of fact.

“Yes.” Steffan couldn’t believe that word had already made an appearance.

“And my dreams of you, this all happened because we’re fated to one another?” Anya asked.

Steffan stammered in response, “H–How did you know?”

“I read vampire books. I know.”

“Most of that is garbage.”

“But I’m right, aren’t I? We are fated mates?”

“Yes,” whispered Steffan.

“Then some of my readings do ring true.”

“It would appear so.”

“This is why I dreamt of you, why I had a physical connection to you before we even met.”

“Yes,” Steffan said.

“Is this why I’m completely in love with you and you don’t feel like a stranger to me?”

“Yes. All of it goes the same for me. You are not a stranger to me. You have all of my love and my heart. You are my mate. I searched for you since 1917. You asked me how I know when it’s love. This is why.”

Anya reached for Steffan’s face and brought his lips to hers.

Tongues entwined and delving deep into one another, they kissed with great intensity and passion. The kiss was unlike any Steffan had experienced before. To say it had emotion was trite. He felt the kiss deep in his core, transporting his senses, engulfing him in a dreamlike state.

The world faded away.

It was if they’d slipped through a chasm, freeing them. No loneliness. No hurt. They reeled in endless space, the sound of their open hearts telling of their simple and undeniable love.

The kiss branded them.

And with that, their sudden love was wild.

Releasing from her mouth, Steffan pushed against Anya and positioned himself at the crest of her opening, gazing deep into her eyes.

“You accept what I am and who I am, knowing what will become of you?”

“Yes.”

“Why aren’t you afraid, Anya? I imagined this being a lot harder to explain.”

“Steffan, I am afraid. Terrified, really. I never believed there were
actual
vampires out in the world, but I always fantasized about them.”

“You fantasized about being a vampire?”

“I fantasized about
immortality
. The idea of living forever is something I think about constantly. All I have known is the finality of death. I lost everyone I truly loved in this life. Immortality—if somehow it was real, they would still be with me today. But they’re not. I’m so lonely, Steffan. I am all alone. I feel lost. And then here you are. You come along, like something I was meant to find, and I feel whole again. I can’t begin to explain this hold you have on me.”

“Anya, do you believe in the afterlife.”

“I–I.” Anya struggled with her words. “No. Heaven or hell, I don’t believe in it. I know it’s not a popular belief, but this is how I feel. I believe that there is just blackness, like the flame extinguished and no one, nothing can rekindle it.”

“If darkness is all you think about, you must fear death. Being immortal, does this free you from your fear?”

“Yes.”

“And when you said you were terrified, is this what you meant? Terrified of death?” Steffan questioned.

“I really meant that I am terrified of becoming like you. I don’t know what to expect. I mean, I don’t really know if I am even in the right state of mind right now. Vampires? Immortality? You have my mind in a fog. But all I left in me is faith in fate. You feel like my fate.”

In that moment, he realized he was looking into the eyes of a mind made up. Conviction, acceptance, resolve—they all converged, taking up permanent residence in her very soul, just for Steffan.