The Elfbitten Trilogy (10 page)

     “Strange,” I said, resettling my shirt. “It’s a Hunter’s bite. I was bitten at the club.”

     “Oh,” he said, comprehension dawning on him. “You were at
that
club.” The club Roxy had taken me too didn’t have a name because it didn’t actually exist, at least not officially. If the human police knew about it they would’ve shut it down ages ago, everyone inside arrested and collared. So the owners tried to stay under the radar as much as possible, including having no sign and no name. It was like a supernatural speakeasy.

     “Yeah,
that
club,” I sighed.

     “So why do you think it’s the bite?”

     “Because they’re intoxicating,” I said, standing and walking over to the coffee pot, pouring myself a second cup. “Elf magic is in our blood and comes from life giving things.”

     “Like sex,” he offered and I nodded.

     “So the bite is a stimulant, releasing the blood in the middle of a sex act, and I’ve never been bitten before, so there was no way to know how I would react to it.”

     “Do I need to be worried some crazed lover is going to come bursting through the door any minute and rip my head off?” He actually sounded worried, but I didn’t blame him. Hunters were one of the scariest races of the elven community.

     “No, no,” I shook my head, raising one hand to placate him. “I swear. It was one dance and I haven’t seen him since.”

     “Nice fella,” he said, one dark brow arching.

     “He really was,” I said with a shrug. “I mean, most guys try to hang on to you or demand more of you than you want to give. He marked me and I let him. He could’ve tried to exercise that power over me and he didn’t.”

     “I suppose.”

     “Daniel, you sound jealous. We hardly know each other.”   

     “No, you hardly know me. I, on the other hand, remember the last two nights vividly.” He didn’t sound mean when he said it, but it embarrassed me anyway. I looked away from him, feeling a pang in my gut.

     “Oh, no, luv.” He stood up quickly, realizing his mistake. I held up a hand to stop him, but he came forward anyway, taking my coffee cup away and setting it on the counter. He gathered me into his arms and hugged me. I didn’t fight him. A wave of fear washed over me and it felt good to be held just then. He whispered his apologies, pressing soft kisses to the top of my head, one hand stroking my hair down my back. I closed my eyes against the tears and pressed my cheek to his bare chest, enjoying the warmth of his skin. I didn’t like that a whole chunk of my life was missing. I shivered at the idea of who I could’ve ended up with, who I could’ve brought into my home.

     “Thank gods it was you,” I whispered, but he didn’t hear me, which was just as well. I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if that troll had absconded with me. Would the bite have continued to work on me, making me wake up in some dingy basement apartment, chained to the hot water heater? I closed my eyes against that thought and pushed it out of my mind.

     “Can I ask you something?”

     “Sure,” I replied slowly.

     “You say you don’t remember anything before you woke up this morning,” he started, but I could tell he wasn’t finished.

     “Yes,” I said to prompt him.

     “But what we just did…” He let the sentence trail off, as if he was afraid of upsetting me by saying it out loud.

     “Right,” I sighed. He stepped back so he could look at me, but let his hands stay on my shoulders. “I think that was the bite again.”

     “How do you mean?”

     “You didn’t know anything was wrong when you walked up, so your intentions and touching me triggered it,” I explained, hoping I didn’t sound accusatory.

     “Okay.” He accepted that and said, “But if you were conscious of your actions now and didn’t remember me, why’d you go along with it?”

     “It’s not really easy to fight once it gets set off,” I tried to explain. “It’s almost like a drug, you lose control of… well, your control and can’t think of anything else but satisfying the craving.”

     “Do I owe you an apology?” he asked, and right there I knew I liked him. I liked him a lot.

     “No,” I smiled, looking up into his face. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I might owe you an apology.”

     “What for?” He furrowed those dark brows at me again.

     “Using you, maybe?” I wasn’t sure what I owed him the apology for, I just felt like I had done something wrong and there was a pang of guilt swirling in my gut. The closest thing I could think of was that I had taken advantage of him to satisfy my need to slake the lust the bite had caused.

     “I don’t feel used.” He grinned at me and I saw the spark in his eye, the tell that said he was thinking of the last few hours we’d spent together.

     “So we’ve been locked up in here for what? Like thirty-eight hours?” I asked.

     “Somewhere around there, yeah,” he agreed with a nod.

     “No wonder I feel so gross.” I forgot my coffee cup on the counter and turned for the hallway. I felt the heat of his body behind me, following towards the bedroom. I glanced at the bed, the sheets tangled, half on the bed and half off. I smirked and shook my head, but I couldn’t help trying to remember what we had done there. I thought about the Hunter, Andre the vampire, and now Daniel. All tall, dark, and thick – maybe it was a psychological need to go for guys that looked the exact opposite of Cillian. I was happy to realize I could think of my cheating ex-boyfriend of three years now without a stab of pain in my chest.

     The room smelled of bodies, of heat, and of sex. I crinkled my nose at the smell and walked over to the window, reaching around the curtains, and opened it, letting the fresh afternoon air in, but leaving the curtains closed for privacy. When I turned around, Daniel was standing in the middle of my room, watching me, looking lost.

     “What’s wrong?” I asked, but stayed where I was.

     “I was just wondering, what now?” He watched my face for a reaction, but all I had for him was mild confusion.

     “What do you mean?”

     “Well, you brought me here because you were under some sort of compulsion and don’t remember the last thirty-eight hours, so what now?”

     “Oh,” I said, glancing away from his searching eyes. He wanted to know if I wanted him to leave. If I was being honest with myself, part of me did want him to leave. I hadn’t been myself when I brought him home and I didn’t really know him. But the other part of me, the larger, almost scared part of me, wanted him to stay. After all, what if the bite wasn’t through with me? What if something set it off again and I went looking for someone to help me satisfy it? I though about the troll again and shook my head. I moved away from the window and made my way across the room, stopping at the door leading to the bathroom.

     “Well, right now I was planning on taking a shower,” I glanced over my shoulder at him, catching the hopeful look cross his face momentarily. “Maybe you’d like to join me?”

     I didn’t wait for him to answer me and just disappeared through the doorway, walking to the shower and turning on the water. As I adjusted the temperature, I felt him walk in behind me. Without looking over my shoulder, I could tell he was hesitating, torn between what he wanted to do and what he thought he should do. It seemed now that he knew I was basically unconscious for the last thirty-eight hours, he felt embarrassed and nervous. That made me like him even more. He could’ve just gotten dressed and taken off, not giving me a second thought, but instead he was standing just inside the door of the bathroom, unsure what to do with his hands suddenly.

     Satisfied with the water temperature, I stood up and gathered the edge of his shirt that I was wearing and pulled it off over my head, shaking out my hair as it flew over my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw the change in the light, realizing my eyes were glowing bright with the magic my thoughts were igniting. Daniel stared openly as I stood in front of him, wearing nothing but the light cotton panties. He tried to keep his eyes on my face, but kept darting glances at the swell of my bare breasts and the curve of my waist into my round hips. I could feel his arousal like a warm hand on my back. Sparks flashed at my fingertips and the light in my eyes grew brighter as I drank in his reaction. I hooked my thumbs into the elastic of my underwear, bent slowly at the waist, and slid them off, kicking them away before stepping into the shower.

     It was a square shower stall without a tub, set into the corner of the bathroom with two walls of glass, the transparent door set into one of the glass walls. I didn’t pull the door closed, leaving it partially open in invitation, letting the white steam billow out into the rest of the room as it curled around my legs. I stepped under the steady flow of water, tilting my head back, and let the water soak my hair. I was happy I had washed off my make-up earlier. I felt the change in the air when he stepped in with me, pulling the door shut behind him with a click.

     He stepped into me, his hands sliding over my hips, his fingers resting just above the curve of my ass. I felt him pressed hard and long against me. I smiled under the water, pushing my hair back and opening my eyes to look at him. The water filled the void created by our bodies, spilling when I went up on my toes, reaching for the back of his head, and pulled him into a kiss. He was tentative at first; all of our earlier heat had diminished to embers waiting to be stirred to life again. The water rushed over him, flattening the Mohawk as he took another step forward, pressing me against the wall. I broke the kiss with a gasp as the cold tiles bit into my back. He grinned at me, the familiar confidence slowly coming back.

     Instinctively I had bent my right leg when he pressed me into the wall, hooking onto his leg, which made his cock slip between us, pressing against me almost like it knew where it should go without being guided. I shifted my hips forward, rubbing myself against the swollen head teasingly, enjoying the tiny sparks that surged through my body. I felt the bite pulse as things low in my body clenched in pleasure. I licked my lips, tasting his mouth and the water. He reached above my head and grabbed the shampoo bottle, flipping open the top and pouring some of the shiny, slippery lotion in his hand. I felt a pang of disappointment realizing he was going to make me wait. Now that I was in control of myself and getting over the fact that he was a human, I was ready to see what he was like without the power of the bite urging me on.

     I tried to keep the frustration from showing in my face, taking a deep breath through my nose that filled my lungs and pressed my breasts against the lower part of his chest. My body responded to the contact, my nipples puckered with anticipation and I shifted my hips again, feeling the tip of his cock press against the edges of my lips. I was tempted to ignore his plans and pull him into me, taking him right then, but something made me wait. My body throbbed with need and I felt his tremble against me, despite the calm look on his face. After setting the bottle back on the little shelf, Daniel began to run his fingers through my hair, gathering it up and massaging the scalp as he worked the shampoo into my hair, making it foam.

     I closed my eyes and held onto his waist as I enjoyed his slow, careful ministrations. No one had ever washed my hair and he was taking his time. I sighed, the tender, thoughtful touch of his hands made me feel cared for – something I hadn’t felt in so long. Gently, he pulled me away from the wall and wrapped one arm around my waist and tilted my head back with the other, guiding me under the water so it rinsed my hair without rushing over my face. It felt strange to trust him like this, under the water, in a tiny space with my eyes closed, but with my body full of magic, pressing at my skin, I knew a human could do little to me.

     He reached for the conditioner next, taking time to ensure every lock of hair was well massaged, even being mindful of the ends before he rinsed my hair again. Daniel ran his fingers through my hair, pushing it away from my face. He bent forward and kissed along the edge of my jawline, nipping at my earlobe when he reached it, suckling gently. I gripped his hips, scratching at him with my nails, desperate to pull his body into mine, but he was physically stronger and held his ground. I felt his tongue dart into my ear, making my body shiver and squirm. He traced the curve of my neck with his face, his parted lips caressing my skin until he reached my shoulder. I felt the bite react to the heat of his mouth, making me feel like his mouth hovered over much more intimate things much lower on my body.

     I tilted my head to the side, giving him better access and rose up on my toes, pressing my slick body against his hard muscled one. He wrapped one arm around my waist again and lifted his free hand to grip the hair at the back of my head, tangling his fingers with my wet locks. I held onto his round shoulders, too much muscle for my small hands, but he didn’t so much as flinch when I clawed him. His lips pressed against the tender flesh on my shoulder, pulling on the muscle, his tongue lashing out at the puncture wounds. I felt my knees buckle, but he held me upright, his hand tightening in my hair, pulling a soft sound from my mouth. I felt his skin give under my nails, but still he withstood the pain.

     I cried out when he bit down on my shoulder, the bite causing my body to convulse against him as a slow, warm sensation rolled through me, making me wet and eager for more. His flat teeth didn’t reopen the wound, but I felt the rush of blood react to his bite. My shoulder was on fire, but the flames licked through my body, making me plead for more. I squirmed in his grip, trying to get closer to his body, but the only way that was going to happen was to get him inside of me. My magic lashed out of my body and struck him with enough force that he released my shoulder with a gasp, his body arching back. I felt his cock pressed low on my stomach. I tried to pull myself up by his shoulders to get my legs around his waist, but he was held frozen as my magic swirled through his body, drinking in his lust, his desire.

     His arms tightened around me so I couldn’t move. I felt lightheaded with need. My hands were hot against his shoulders; tiny rivulets of blood traced my fingers from the half-moon marks I’d carved into his skin. I concentrated on that image to reign in my magic, pulling most of it back into me, releasing him from the fist-like grip. A human was no match for wild elven magic. His body nearly collapsed when the magic released him; he fell back against the shower wall, keeping himself standing as he pressed his heels into the tiled floor. His arm around my waist relaxed a little so that I arched into the bend of his body naturally, but he still didn’t let go of my hair. My stomach fluttered with anticipation as I felt his fingers flex, tugging gently at the back of my head.