Forever Valentine Read online

  His goal for the evening became clear. He would keep her coming for him all night long. Ian smiled wolfishly as he thought of the orgy of the senses to come. By morning, neither of them would be able to walk. He’d be completely drunk on their power, and she would be blissfully exhausted.

  “Mmm,” she wiggled deliciously under him as he moved lower, “I like your plan, Ian.”

  He started, knowing she’d just read his thoughts as easily as if they were her own. Perhaps she was even unaware of doing so. It felt so natural, even now, he was just barely aware of her warm presence in his mind as he was in hers. She was comfortable, and so very welcome.

  His heart poured love into their connection, and she smiled at him so serenely he felt overwhelmed by the power this small demi-vampir woman had over him. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He would rather have one night with her, than all his centuries alone.

  But he was getting maudlin again and he had an objective. One from which they would both reap the benefits, should he achieve his orgasmic goal.

  Ian scooted lower on the bed, spreading her legs wide as he settled between them. She was open to his gaze and she was devastatingly beautiful to him.

  Even though he had pleasured many, many women over his centuries, it had been a long time indeed since he’d taken any real time to fully immerse himself in his lover as he so badly wanted to do with Jena. He wanted to worship every inch of her skin, pay homage to every freckle and tiny scar. He wanted to learn her body and study every dip and valley he held so dear. The lesson would begin tonight and last for years, and he would be a diligent student.

  And he would teach her a few things as well. For all that she’d had lovers in the past, Ian could easily read her responses, and memories for that matter, to know that Jena still had quite a bit to learn about giving and receiving pleasure. He would be a dutiful master. And she’d love every minute of his tutelage.

  The fingers of one hand teased her nipples as his mouth hovered, breathing hot air down over the sensitive folds of her sex. His other hand spread her pussy wide as he lowered his lips to kiss her softly at first, then with more fervor.

  Her taste was divine. Her scent and feel was all that was right in the universe, and he never wanted to be parted from her again. This was his woman. The one created just for him. Fate had brought them together and he would allow nothing and no one to part them ever again. It was his destiny to protect and cherish his mate. And love her. Oh, how he loved every last thing about her. He would spend lifetimes proving his love and exploring the amazing new feelings she brought out in him.

  Ian had always considered himself a hard man, but when confronted by Jena’s soft heart and commanding personality, he found himself as pliable as clay. She could shape him into anything she chose, and he would conform gladly, but he knew she was well aware of her power over him and her soul was too pure to use it against him. Her love for him would prevent her from ever hurting him, just as his love for her did the same. Together they were invincible. Each would protect the other. Forever.

  Or how ever long they had.

  Ian growled at himself, knowing he was heading into dangerous territory with his thoughts again. He refocused instead on the wondrous taste of his mate. His. Mate.

  Never had he thought he would speak those words, but here she was, just where he wanted her—spread wide and waiting for his possession. He exerted a little mental push and sucked on her distended clit, teasing it a little with his tongue.

  “Ian!”

  He loved the sound of his name on her lips when she came.

  He shifted back, lifting her up and flipping her onto her stomach. Running his large hands over the pale globes of her heart-shaped ass, he marveled at the perfection the fates had gifted him with. She was gorgeous.

  And her ass would look even better after a bit of his loving discipline.

  “Ian?” Her voice quavered as she jumped a bit, quite obviously reading his thoughts.

  He bent to kiss the small of her back as his hands massaged her butt cheeks with a circular motion.

  “Don’t be afraid. I’d never hurt you.”

  “But…but you want to spank me?” She sounded lovingly confused as he nipped her fleshy cheek with just slightly distended fangs, though he was careful not to break the skin.

  “You’ve never been spanked by a lover.” He didn’t ask it as a question, he could read it in her memories. “Never played the truly submissive role.”

  “No.” Her reply was breathless and he could read excitement and the desire to try in her mind. Deep down, this beautiful, capable woman wanted to be submissive to her lover. She just hadn’t known it and had never found a man strong enough to do it. Ian had no doubts about his ability to lovingly master her pleasure, though he would never try to dominate her in daily life. Still, he was just barbarian enough to want to take the lead in the bedroom—or wherever they made love—and if he was reading her right, she was more than willing to submit.

  “Could God have given me a more perfect mate? I think not.” Ian chuckled as he raised her arms above her head. “Don’t move your hands now. Keep them just where I put them.”

  “Okay.” Her voice was shaky with both excitement and a hint of anxiety. He noted the way her little fingers curled into the bedding, scratching and straining with her rising anticipation.

  He kissed the nape of her neck, loving that she was unsure, but willing to trust him. He loved her. Period. He let that thought flow through their connection and was gratified when she relaxed a bit under his hands. He stroked down her back, enjoying the soft feel of her skin against his rough hands. He kneaded her tense muscles, giving her an impromptu back rub that went down her legs and back up to the fleshy globes of her ass…and between.

  One hand dipped into the dark recesses between her legs as his other hand arranged her long limbs, spreading them wider to accommodate his searching touch. She rewarded him with a sigh of delight as his fingers slid home within her tight channel, testing her wetness. She was so ready for him, but he had one more thing to show her before he took his pleasure.

  Holding the fingers of one hand deep within her, he used his other hand to swat her ass. It wasn’t a light blow, but neither would it do any injury. The stinging swat made her jump, but he kept his fingers within her, riding her throughout. He loved the way she clenched on his hand and would give anything for her to do the same on his cock.

  Patience, he counseled himself. He would get there in time. First he had to be sure she was okay with this and that she’d enjoy it as much as he did.

  He delivered a few more stinging spanks, loving the way she responded, crying out his name on excited sobs. He also noted the lovely pinkening of her ass cheeks. They were as beautiful as he’d imagined and more, with her amazing blood rushing to the surface to soothe her stinging skin.

  “You like that?” He nearly had to bite his lip to keep from chuckling. She was on fire in his arms, as responsive as he could’ve hoped. She was most definitely enjoying this little game and it was only the first of many he had to teach her. Sex between them would only get better—and more adventurous—with time. Ian looked forward to it with glee.

  “Ian!” She nearly came as he delivered another blow, but he held her back from the precipice, removing his fingers from her wet channel as she cried out in protest. But he wanted to be inside her when she came this time, and he wanted to come with her—deep, hard and buried in his mate.

  Moving quickly, he stuffed a pillow beneath her hips, raising them just a bit, and took his place behind her, between her spread legs. Shoving home, he impaled her on his cock in one smooth move as she bucked upward and nearly screamed with satisfaction. He was so hard and ready, he would come very quickly, but then she was just as close, so it would all be okay.

  Urgently, he moved within her, sliding in and out, establishing a torturous rhythm that drove them both higher. He held her hips and watched the way her miraculous body accepted him. She was so s
pecial, so alluring, so ultimately feminine to him. She was all he’d ever wanted and all he would ever want.

  And she was all his.

  She accepted his quirks and was willing to learn. He liked that in a woman, but he loved it in his woman. He made sure that thought communicated through to her as he plowed more forcefully into her welcoming sheath. His hands massaged her pink cheeks and tugged on her hips, getting a little rougher as they both neared the edge.

  Ian placed a single, strategic swat on her sweet ass that made her tighten on him in a way that could not be ignored. Collapsing down over her back, Ian sank his teeth—now fully distended—into the curve of her neck, allowing just a hint of her sweet essence to coat his tongue as he drove them both over the edge.

  It didn’t take much.

  His mate’s blood was far more powerful than any other’s. Her orgasm powered through his soul in a way he’d never felt before and would never feel again with any other woman.

  Only her.

  For all eternity.

  Or as long as she would give them.

  After a long, long, satisfying climax, Ian began to relax. She had wrung him out and as predicted, he was more than a little drunk on the energy that came of their joining.

  He grunted a little as he moved off her, taking his weight from her in an effort not to crush her. She was so precious to him, so fragile…so mortal, regardless that she was demi-vampir. He would spend the rest of his life seeing to her health and safety regardless of her decision, though he hoped and prayed she would choose to spend eternity with him, exploring their love.

  Ian rearranged their limbs when he found the energy to move again so that she rested against him, spooned into his body. Where she belonged. She was already fast asleep, and he couldn’t love her more.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Ian stared at his lover’s beautiful face as he felt dawn break in the east. For centuries, the creeping light of dawn had been his signal to seek shelter away from the damaging light of the sun. It had sapped him of energy and sent him into a sleep that was as close to death as he could come. Only dire circumstances had been able to rouse him when the sun ruled the sky, and then only to a semi-conscious state.

  But Ian greeted this new dawn with more vigor than he’d ever felt. It sizzled through his veins in a dance of glory, though he counseled himself silently to not get his hopes up. A few sips of demi-vampir blood might give him a boost in energy, but it didn’t necessarily mean he would be able to go sunbathing anytime soon.

  Though Ian would sacrifice a great deal to just be able to glimpse the earth bathed in sunlight one more time, he would not risk the new happiness he had found with Jena. Joined as they were now, if one of them felt pain, the other would too, and the bond would only grow and deepen over time. They were one now, never to be apart again in this realm.

  It was his greatest joy. Greater even than the fantastical, forbidden idea of seeing the sun again after over eight hundred years.

  “Mmm, what time is it?” Jena’s groggy voice reached his ears as he contemplated their future.

  “Dawn.”

  Jena sat up, wiping sleep from her eyes. “I need a shower.”

  Ian pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her disheveled hair. “I love how you look, all rumpled from making love with me.”

  Jena chuckled and pushed away. “You’re sweet, but I’m a wreck.” She pulled at the sheets, trying to disentangle herself. “Ew, and so is this bed.” Jena stood and pulled the sheets off, tossing them to the floor as she headed toward the attached bathroom. “There are clean sheets on the top shelf of the closet if you want to freshen up the place a bit. If not, I’ll do it when I get out of the shower.” She stopped by the bathroom door, her hand on the knob. “You do want to sleep here with me today, right?”

  She looked so lovely, standing there, gloriously rumpled and nude, her body showing every sign of their loving the night before. Her thighs were slippery with their cum, her nipples and other soft spots pink from his attentions.

  Ian couldn’t stay away from her.

  He moved across the room and swept her into his arms, kissing her deeply. When he pulled back, she was dazed and breathless, just the way he liked her.

  “I wouldn’t dream of leaving you today, my love.” His words were spoken softly into the shell of her ear. “Or any other day.”

  “Ian!” She spasmed in his arms as he moved her up against the bathroom door, lifted her legs and wrapped them swiftly around his waist. Sparing only a moment to make certain she was ready, he pushed into her, joining them yet again in a fast and furious fuck up against the bathroom door.

  He moved hard against her, unable to take his time now that he had his woman in his arms and his cock where it most wanted to be. His arms supported her light weight as she surrendered to his mastery, crying out as he plunged deeper and deeper into her tight, wet heat.

  This wasn’t the torrid, teasing loving of the night before. No, this was even more primal. This was a claiming, a marking, a statement of ownership. And it worked both ways.

  Never before had a woman owned a piece of his heart or been part of his soul. Never before had he found himself so lost in a woman, he ceased to be aware of the rising sun. Never before had he needed to come inside his partner so badly, it was a physical ache.

  Ian felt he balls tighten the moment before he bit down on her neck, sipping lightly, knowing he’d been rough with his teeth the night before and wanting to at least make that up to her while his cock pummeled her pussy from below. But Jena was with him. She was crying out with every thrust, trying to move with him even though he held all the power in this position. She urged him on with her tightening inner muscles, holding him when he withdrew and clamping down on him when he slid home.

  As his teeth pierced her flesh and the amazing taste of her blood blossomed on his tongue, he thrust within her sheath one last time, holding tight as he came in a rush. She climaxed once more, with him, screaming low in her throat like a jungle cat, milking his cock with her spasming walls as he drank of her essence and filled her with his seed.

  Ian licked her neck, sealing the small wounds as Jena wound down from that incredibly fast peak. She held him with arms that felt like limp spaghetti, unsure if her legs would even support her after that amazing, continuous orgasm.

  “Oh, baby. I think I’m going to like being with you if that’s what I get first thing each morning.” She sent him a lascivious smile and winked as he drew back, rewarded when he chuckled and kissed her playfully on the nose. He needed to laugh more and she was just the woman to see to it.

  “I’d give it to you morning, noon and night, if I could.”

  “Hmm.” She licked the seam of his lips, sidetracked to his stubbly jaw as she kissed her way to his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth briefly. “So what time is it now?”

  He seemed to still, his muscles tensing a bit though he continued to hold her.

  “You know something? I don’t know.” He spoke as if this was some kind of big news and Jena drew back to study his shocked expression. He met her gaze and a smile started in his own. “I’m always aware of the position of the sun somewhere in the back of my mind, but you just blew it all to hell and back. I have no idea what time it is.”

  “Well,” she rose up just a tiny bit to look over his shoulder at the bedside table and the alarm clock that rested there, “what would you say if I told you it was almost eight o’clock in the morning?”

  “Damn.” The single word was laced with awe. “I’ve never felt this good—this awake—so late in the morning. My body’s usually shutting down by now.”

  He let her legs slide down toward the floor, but retained his grip on her so she wouldn’t fall. She was grateful for his support. She had melted into a puddle after that last orgasm and wasn’t quite recovered enough to stand on her own just yet.

  “So my blood packs a punch then?”

  He swooped down to give her a smooching kiss. “Undoubtedl
y. But it’s more than your blood. It’s you, Jena. It’s the love between us that heightens everything when we come together.” He kissed her softly, lovingly. “Let’s take that shower, then spend the rest of the day in bed.”

  “Oh, I like that plan.” She pecked him on the cheek, then turned in his arms as he stepped back to allow her to open the bathroom door.

  But she’d forgotten the window.

  The bathroom window was wide open. And the sunlight was streaming in, dappling the sunny yellow shower curtain and sending shafts across the matching bath mat and towels in the towel rack. She heard a gasp from behind her and moved to shut the door, but Ian stayed her arm.

  “Ian?” She turned to look at him. He was frozen in place, his eyes watering, but whether in pain or something else, she wasn’t sure. She felt within to see if she could use their new connection to learn what was going on, but all she could sense was shock and wonder laced with agony. “Ian, let me shut the door.”

  “No. It’s okay.”

  “But it’s hurting you!”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Only a little.” He kissed her cheek. “Only a little. My God!” He squeezed her tight and she felt the wetness of his tears roll over her skin as he held her close. “My love, you’ve given me the greatest gift anyone could ever give. After eight hundred years of darkness, you’ve given me the light.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  With some experimentation, they discovered that Jena’s blood gave Ian the ability to withstand small amounts of sunshine, which was more than he’d ever been able to do before. He was like a child, wanting to see and do everything—testing his limits at every possible moment. Jena had to hold him back, often distracting him with sex as a way to keep him out of danger and safe in her bed. Where he belonged.