Taken By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #7.25)(17)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

No, he would not injure her, but she was not so foolish as to believe that she could give herself to Victor without consequences.

Fright, however, was the last thing Juliet was feeling as his fingers brushed over the curve of her bare breast. She arched upward as a jolt of pleasure burst through her.

“Victor.”

“Look at me, little one,” he whispered.

Allowing herself to become lost in the silver gaze, she made no demur as he tugged the smock over her head and tossed it aside. The remainder of her clothing swiftly followed until she was lying naked on the satin sheets.

The world had somehow slipped away. There was nothing but the dark eyes and the slender fingers that tenderly explored her body as if he were memorizing every angle and curve of her.

“This is madness,” Juliet whispered.

The faintest smile curled the corner of his mouth. “This is fate.”

“Fate?”

“Destiny.” His head lowered, his lips brushing her mouth as he spoke. “I have waited an eternity to find you. I will never harm you.”

Of their own will her hands lifted to grasp his shoulders. The brocade was smooth and delicious to the touch and she found her fingers stroking down the wide width of his back.

A low sigh hissed through his lips. His kiss became more demanding, his tongue dipping into her mouth with a sweep of wetness. At the same moment his hand cupped her breast and his thumb rubbed over the tight peak.

Juliet bucked against him as the shock of sensations jolted through her. “Oh.”

He pulled back enough that she could see herself reflected in his shimmering silver eyes. Or at least someone who looked vaguely like her.

Her curls were tumbled like a river of fire onto the pillows, her face flushed with pleasure, and her parted lips still damp from his kiss.

She looked like a decadent sacrifice offered up for some sensual beast.

“What has brought that frown to your beautiful brow?” he whispered.

Her attention returned to the man poised above her. Good heavens, he was so beautiful. Astonishingly beautiful. Unable to resist temptation, her fingers lifted to plunge into the heavy thickness of his hair.

Ah…yes. It was just as soft and silky as she had imagined.

“I have wanted you from the moment I saw you in the ballroom,” she confessed in soft tones. “But that does not mean I intend to complete the mating bond.”

His chuckle slithered down her spine. “You are my mate. You hold my heart and soul. We are one, whether you are too stubborn to admit the truth or not.”

Holding her gaze, he pulled the brocade robe from his body. Her eyes widened at the sight of the hard, chiseled muscles that rippled beneath the ivory skin that was tattooed with a beautiful dragon. His shoulders were broad, his chest so pale and smooth the ni**les appeared startlingly dark in contrast. Her gaze refused to lower beyond the contoured ripple of his stomach. Her body already felt as if it were burning from within.

Holding her gaze, he slid slowly downward. The rub of his skin against hers made her breath catch painfully in her throat.

His lips touched her collarbone, tracing the delicate line with the tip of his tongue before slowly traveling down the curve of her breast. Juliet shifted restlessly beneath the teasing mouth. Good lord, nothing had ever felt so wondrous.

“You are so warm,” he whispered against her skin, turning his head just enough to capture the tip of her nipple between his lips.

“Blessed mother.”

She arched off the bed and her hands slid to frame his face in silent encouragement. Whatever she had thought she knew of passion had never included the tender caresses that were sending a storm of sensations lashing through her body.

With obvious expertise he used his tongue and even his teeth to torment her nipple to a hard peak. Her eyes squeezed shut as she groaned low in her throat. He turned his attention to her other breast, his hands sliding down the curve of her waist.

Juliet was lost in the tide of building sensations when his arms encircled her and without warning he had rolled onto his back. In one powerful motion she discovered herself perched on top of his hard frame. Her eyes widened as she regarded the fiercely handsome countenance.

“Victor?”

“Do not fear,” he murmured as his hands smoothed down the curve of her back.

“What are you doing?”

His lips twitched in soft amusement. “If you have not noticed, I am a rather large vampire, while you, my beloved, are delectably tiny.”

She smiled wryly. “Even if I had not noticed our size differences, your habit of calling me ‘little one’ would have given me a hint.”

His expression settled in oddly somber lines even as his hands continued to send shocks of pleasure through her body.

“I have never made a secret of how desperately I want you, Juliet,” he said, his voice husky with need. “But what happens, or does not happen, in this bed will be decided by you.”

An unexpected thrill of power raced through her as she gazed down at the compelling man beneath her. She better than anyone understood the effort it took Victor to relinquish control. He was an ancient demon who had gained his position by brutal force.

Such a gesture revealed not only that he truly understood her freshly discovered need to take command of her life, but also a trust that was nothing less than astonishing.

Quite willing to prove her gratitude, Juliet leaned downward, outlining his sensuous lips with the tip of her tongue.

“Does this please you?” She nibbled a path down his clenched jaw and then the strong column of his neck, savoring his intoxicating taste.

He growled, his mouth parting to reveal his fully extended fangs, and a cool surge of power washed over her.

“You please me.”

She slowly retraced her path, a heat pooling in the pit of her stomach.

“Are you certain?” she husked. “I fear I am not overly experienced in such matters.”

“Allow me to show you.”

Grasping her face in his hands, he lifted himself upward, capturing her mouth in a kiss of stark hunger. Juliet shivered with pleasure, her mouth parting to allow his tongue to tangle with hers.

Sinking into the bliss of his devouring kiss, she stroked restless hands over the satin smoothness of his chest. A delicious excitement swirled through her body as she felt the hard thrust of his arousal pressing against her lower stomach.

As if sensing the growing urgency of her desire, Victor pulled back, his beauty mesmerizing in the soft glow of the fire.

“Juliet, I need you,” he said. “I need to be inside you.”