Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(84)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

With a soft chuckle she shed the lingering regrets and regarded him with a wicked smile that made his hard body jerk in response.

“Now that is dysfunctional,” she murmured, straddling his aching erection as she bent down to brush her lips over his. “And wonderful. So very wonderful.”

The groan was wrenched from his throat as Cezar tried to think past the raw surge of need. “Querida, as much as I’m enjoying the feel of you in my arms, I beg you to hold still,” he rasped. “I may be a vampire, but merely having you near is enough to shatter any restraint I might possess. I’ve hungered for you for too long.”

Her mouth wreaked havoc as it traveled the line of his jaw, pausing to give his chin a sharp nip. Cezar muttered a curse as his body jerked and threatened to go up in flames.

“Who said I wanted you to be restrained?” she husked.

His fingers gripped her hips, a pained moan rumbling in his throat.

“Anna, you need to rest.”

His words of sanity were stolen as Anna gave a low growl and covered his lips with a kiss that sent jagged bolts of lightning through his body.

“What I need is you, Conde Cezar,” she muttered against his mouth, rocking her hips forward. “Just you.”

Cezar grimly held on to the last strand of sanity. “You’ve been injured…”

The strand snapped as she trailed her tongue down the curve of his neck, sprinkling hot, mind-numbing kisses over his chest. Dios. Vampires might possess the sort of self control that others might envy, but not even they were a match for a determined mate.

Especially not a mate bent on seduction.

The fingers that had been attempting to halt the sweet movements of her hips now trailed up the creamy skin of her back, swiftly dealing with the clasp of her bra, tugging the lacy garment away.

She shivered at his light touch, but she never faltered in her determined attack on his senses. Using her tongue and teeth she nibbled toward a hardened nipple, lavishing it with loving care before moving to the other and offering the same exquisite attention.

Cezar’s teeth clenched as his body bowed in sharp, brutal need.

“Ah…querida,” he groaned, drowning in her honeyed scent and the feel of her tongue as it trailed a searing path along the edge of his boxers. So close. So agonizingly close. “Your touch is magic.”

She chuckled as she nibbled the tip of him through the fine silk of his boxers. Cezar gave a low shout, his hands dropping from her body to grab at the cover beneath him. He was terrified he would bruise her tender skin.

Enjoying her power over him way too much, Anna took her time as she slid the boxers down his body. Even then she remained kneeling above him, drinking in the sight of his hard, straining erection with a smile teasing at her lips.

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Cezar’s hands lifted. He was going to yank her downward and put an end to his torment. He needed to be inside her. Deep inside. But before he could do more than grasp her waist she was bending downward and…blessed saints, she was taking him into her mouth.

His eyes slid shut as his ragged moan filled the air.

Who knew that torture could feel so damn good?

Chapter 24

Over the next three days, Anna discovered the true pleasure of being a vampire’s mate. Never in her long existence had she been so pampered, so loved, so happy.

And it was more than just Cezar’s tender attentions, although they were enough to fill the heart of the most demanding woman. What female in her right mind wouldn’t adore having a mouthwatering, drop-dead gorgeous man indulging her every whim? It was the stuff of fantasy.

But there were also days spent shopping with Abby and Shay and Darcy, along with evenings surrounded by Viper’s clan, who readily treated her as one of their own.

This is what it was to have a family.

It was…astonishing.

Of course, for all her happiness, Anna knew that there was still something troubling Cezar.

He might be a master at hiding his emotions, but she was his mate. There was no way he could disguise his aching pain when he denied himself the temptation of her blood. Or the brooding fear she could occasionally sense deep in his heart.

That vague, annoying destiny that everyone and their freaking dog seemed to know about, except her.

Perhaps foolishly, Anna refused to dwell on the future.

If she had learned anything over the years, it was that these moments of contentment were all too rare. And all too fleeting.

She intended to enjoy this time while she could.

A wise choice as it turned out.

Snuggled in Cezar’s arms in one of Viper’s countless bedrooms, Anna was deeply asleep when a sudden explosion of light had her sitting upright, her powers already filling the air with a hot, threatening prickle.

Half expecting a horde of ravaging fairies, she was startled to discover a…well, she wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

The creature looked human. Actually she looked like a little girl, her short stature and slender body covered by a white robe. But there was nothing human about the strange oblong eyes that were solid black, or the ancient wisdom that was etched on the delicate features.

Oh, and then there were the sharp, pointed teeth.

Yikes.

Obviously sensing Anna’s power, the intruder held up a gnarled hand in a gesture of peace.

“I am no enemy, Anna Randal,” she said, her voice low and strangely hypnotic.

Unnerved by the unexpected appearance of the woman, not to mention the fact that Cezar had yet to stir next to her, Anna tugged the covers up to her chin.

“Holy crap. Doesn’t anyone know how to knock in the demon world?” she muttered.

The tiny head dipped, the long gray braid slipping over her shoulder and nearly brushing the ground.

“Forgive me. It was not my intent to frighten you.”

Not her intent? Then maybe she shouldn’t be popping into private bedrooms, Anna silently acknowledged, smart enough to keep the thought to herself. She was learning that size had no bearing on how much power a demon might possess.

“Who are you?”

Straightening, the demon regarded her with those strange, unblinking eyes.

“I am Siljar.” Her head tilted to one side. “No, I have no relationship to Morgana or the fairies, nor did I bring harm to your vampire.”

Anna’s breath caught in her throat as the woman answered the questions that burned through her mind.

“How did you…”

“I am capable of reading your thoughts,” the woman interrupted.

“Oh.”