25

“Mine,” he agreed.

I tensed as the weight of his cock rested briefly against my thigh, and he drew back to stroke the backs of his fingers down my cheek. “You doing okay?”

I nodded, my sudden fear receding at his careful touch.

He probed against me, and I giggled. “So much bigger than a finger.”

He laughed. “God, I hope so.”

He groaned as he began to push inside me, the movement slow as my body stretched around him. I shifted slightly at the unfamiliar invasion.

“Breathe,” he whispered, as he dropped his head against my neck.

“Bite,” I whispered back, and he moaned softly as his fangs scraped over my skin.

“I want to…”

Time hung in the moment, his cock easing inside me, the tips of his fangs resting against my neck, until everything moved again and he was buried inside me, waiting for me to adjust to his size.

“You good?”

“Yes.” The sharp sting of pain receded, and I moved my hips against him, the change of position experimental as I tried to encourage him forward. I felt so full, so connected. Utterly possessed by Nic.

He exhaled softly against me.

“Claim me, Nic.” I was willing. Hell, I was eager. Whatever was more than willing.

He began to move, drawing almost all the way out of me before pushing back in, forcing my breath from me at each reentry.

I hadn’t known what to expect. Hadn’t expected it to be a big deal, and as much as it wasn’t some huge defining moment, it also was. Each thrust connected me more closely to Nic, each draw of breath was primal.

The scent of his skin and the touch of his lips was familiar and welcoming, and made me want to be his.

I wanted to keep him as mine.

His movements increased in speed, but he altered the angle of his hips like he was searching for something. Then he lifted his head and grinned at me, his expression one of satisfaction as I moaned in pleasure. He rubbed against the same spot again, and pleasure was a shower of heated sparks inside me.

I rolled my head to the side, baring my neck, then glanced at him in invitation.

His eyes flared red, and he started to shake his head, but I nodded.

“Please, Nic.” When I used his name, he always reacted. It was as if I’d undone him.

Or used a magic word just for us.

“Leia.” He murmured my name and shook his head again but then he pressed his mouth to my neck, the kiss soft and wet and open-mouthed as his tongue flicked across my skin.

He stilled and I waited. He seemed to wait too. He didn’t even draw breath.

Then a low rumble rippled through his chest, and everything happened at once.

As he drew out of my body and plunged back in, his fangs pierced my skin, and I gasped at the second invasion, at the pain that quickly dimmed then changed to become a wave of euphoria.

Nic’s rhythmic swallowing filled my ears, and he tugged gently on my neck as his hips moved, his cock pushing inward and retreating to the same pulse that thrummed through me.

He sped up, his movements more frantic, his swallowing more uneven, and my muscles tightened before releasing, leaving me hanging in a state of bliss before everything fell away, and Nic groaned as his cock thickened inside me, and his rhythm halted.

He took another couple of long sucks, and lightheadedness crept in, my vision blurring at the edges as I looked up at the leaves above us.

“Nic?” I jostled him a little. “Nic?”

He lifted his head before lapping gently at my neck. “I can seal the bite marks,” he murmured, suddenly intent on his task. When he looked at me, his eyes were dark with concern, his brow furrowed. “Did I take too much?”

“I don’t think so? I mean, I need to eat…” I didn’t feel lightheaded now and my vision had cleared.

“My lady.” He split a fig before he even left my body, and juice and seeds spilled over my chest, running between my breasts. “Oops,” he murmured, his grin wicked, his eyes sparkling. “Looks like I have some clean-up to do.”

He slipped out of me as he changed position, and I winced, the movement small, but he caught it. “You okay?”

I shrugged. “A little tender.”

He pressed his hand gently between my legs, the gesture protective and soothing, as he drew his tongue over my skin, banishing the stickiness of the seeds and juice. Then he fed me the fig halves before lying beside me and entwining his fingers with mine.

“I wish we could stay here all day.” He lifted my hand to his mouth and brushed kisses over my knuckles. “But I promised you brunch.”

“If I’d known sex was that good, I’d have done it before now,” I blurted, still focused on the new sensations filling my body.

He laughed and gathered me to his chest. “I’m very glad you didn’t.”

8

Nic

I

 woke up in Leia’s bed, with her cradled against me. One day, we’d wake up in my room, in my bed, and she could cover my sheets in her soft, floral scent. I was more than ready for her to stake her claim.

Immortal lives were long. Really fucking long, but I’d never been this happy, this complete. Like something had been missing my whole life and I’d never actually known.

Fuck. Could things really be this simple? Warm woman in my arms, hard on pressed against her ass… Was that actually the secret to eternal happiness?

I grinned. Seemed pretty accurate to me.

Leia shifted, pressing back against me, and I tightened my arms around her waist as I leaned forward to kiss where her neck met her shoulder. “Good morning,” I murmured, and she rewarded me with a shiver.

“Hey.” She wriggled a little. “Someone seems pleased to see me.”