Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(63)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

He lifted his head to meet her hungry gaze, lingering a long moment on her exposed fangs.

“And this is the time for … ?”

She groaned at the sensation of his warm skin moving against her, heating places that she would have sworn couldn’t get any hotter.

“ Us.”

The bronze eyes flared in agreement. “Yes.”

The simple word was a solemn vow as Ariyal entered her with one smooth thrust.

They groaned in unison, Jaelyn’s eyes squeezing shut at the feel of him buried deep inside her. Then, as he began a swift, steady rhythm that bordered on the right side of rough, she grabbed his face and brought it down to meet her lips in an explosive kiss.

This was no delicate dance of sensuality.

It was raw and needy and exactly what she desired.

She distantly heard the slam of the bed hitting the wall and the squeak of the mattress, but her concentration was focused solely on the delectable man and the urgent pace that was spiraling toward a blissful completion.

Ariyal threaded his fingers through her hair, his mouth shifting to nuzzle over her cheek to her ear.

“Now, Jaelyn,” he whispered.

She hissed at the savage excitement that flooded through her.

“You’re certain?”

He peered deep into her eyes. “You would know if I was lying.”

“True. Something you should keep in mind if you decide to stray in the future.”

He frowned at her hint of unease, which had nothing to do with being a vampire and everything with being a vulnerable woman at the mercy of her heart.

“Do you think this mating is any less binding to me?” he demanded.

It was, of course, the question that teased in the back of her mind.

“Do Sylvermyst mate?”

“You will discover later,” he promised. “Bite me, Jaelyn.”

A dark, primitive need swept aside any lingering question at the sanity of what she was about to do. Why hesitate? This moment had surely been fated since the beginning of time.

Lifting her head, she aimed with lethal accuracy, sliding her fangs into the throat he willingly offered.

And promptly stiffened in amazement.

She hadn’t been prepared for the potent power as his blood hit her tongue. Or the rich, addictive flavor.

Or the fact that it would prove to be the finest aphrodisiac.

She groaned. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire, her hips lifting off the mattress to meet his deep thrusts with growing desperation. Then, as the blood slid down her throat, she experienced the first sense of the mating.

“Ariyal,” she breathed in wonderment.

There had been an imprint of this male upon her heart from the very beginning. Something she’d done her best to ignore, despite the danger. But now …

Even prepared, she was staggered by the sheer intimacy of their connection.

She could actually feel what he was feeling. The pleasure of their lovemaking, the possessive male need to protect her, and, overriding everything, the fierce love that beat in his heart.

A shimmering, golden love for her alone.

Dazzled by the glorious sensations, Jaelyn carefully withdrew her fangs and licked shut the pinprick wounds on his neck.

Ariyal growled softly, shifting so he could run his lips down the length of my throat.

“My turn,” he muttered, abruptly biting her hard enough to break through her skin.

There was a momentary pain, but Jaelyn barely noticed as she felt him suck at the wound, causing her orgasm to crash through her with dizzying force.

“Holy … shit,” she muttered, feeling as he thrust to his own climax.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, clinging to him as the last of the powerful convulsions wracked her body. Sex with Ariyal had always been a combustible event.

But this went beyond all fantasies.

Ariyal was hers.

Completely, utterly, and for all eternity.

Slowly relaxing beneath him, Jaelyn was floating on a warm sea of contentment when Ariyal slowly slid off her, ignoring her sleepy protests as he regarded her with a mysterious smile.

“We’re not done yet.”

She lifted her brows. Again? Well, hell, why not?

“If you insist,” she murmured with a small smile of invitation.

“I do.” Without warning he was off the bed and holding out a commanding hand. “Come with me.”

She frowned. “Come where?”

He arched a brow. “Do you trust me?”

She did, of course. This was the one person in the entire world who would never, ever hurt or betray her.

Placing her fingers in his hand, she allowed herself to be pulled out of the bed and coaxed out of the farmhouse to stand in the center of the backyard.

Ariyal turned to face her, his expression somber, but before she could ask why they were standing buck naked in the middle of nowhere, a shimmering mist began to form around them.

Jaelyn’s eyes widened as the mist thickened, the color flickering from the palest silver to the deepest crimson as it surrounded them.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice low with reverent wonder.

He lifted her hand to the center of his chest, his eyes reflecting the various colors of the mist.

“The Sylvermyst mating ceremony.”

“It’s beautiful.” Almost as beautiful as the man standing before her, she silently acknowledged. “What will it do?”

“The sharing of our blood has united our souls,” he explained softly. “The aurora will unite our hearts.”

She trembled as the mists brushed her bare skin, bringing with it the scent of herbs.

Suddenly she could sense the beats of Ariyal’s heart. And more than that … the basic essence that made him the man that she loved.

His ruthless loyalty, his strength, and his ability to love without conditions or judgment.

“Yes,” she said, pressing against him as the mist wrapped them in a shimmer of light. “Mine.”

He wrapped his arms around her, his face buried in her hair.

“Mine.”

Behind the Veil

It was like a building out of ancient Greece.

Lots of fluted columns, arched windows, and carved friezes.

Not that Santiago was in the mood to appreciate the vaulted marble chamber that surrounded him, or the mosaic tiled floors, or even the thick hush that filled the ancient air, stirred only by rush of scurrying servants.

His entire body quivered from the unpleasant experience of being pulled through the Veil.

Dios.

For a few seconds he’d feared he might actually be ripped in two as he’d briefly hovered between two separate worlds. And then there had been the painful prickles of electricity that had nearly flayed the skin from his body.