Chapter 551
When Jorick knocked on the door she hugged Sarah good night and headed to bed. She snuggled up against him and whispered about Sarah and her success, then about Samael. Jorick frowned and asked, "Are you sure it was him?"
Katelina deflated a little. "I was thinking about him, and the voice said, 'yes?', like they were asking what I wanted, so I assumed. Why? I know it wasn't Sarah. Who else could it be?"
"The humans are asleep, and there are more than a hundred vampires running around. It could be anyone."
"So you don't think-?"
He drew her closer. "I think it's unlikely." He paused to study her. "You don't need to feel so disappointed, as if you wanted a direct pipeline to him."
"It's not that. I thought I finally had some kind of progress, that I could do something no one else could."
"There are lots of things you can do that no one else can, and if you'd get over your phobia of Sarah sleeping next door, I'd show you some of them." He nipped her neck playfully and made a low growl of desire.
"And reward you for doubting me," she teased.
"Don't look at it as a reward for me, but one for you. You did read her mind after a fashion. Though you shouldn't immerse yourself like that."
"I think Kai said something like that the first time I did it." She cocked her head to one side. "You said you were going to reward me?"
He straddled her and playfully pinned her arms over her head. "You deserve an immense reward." He leaned down and teased her neck with the tip of his tongue. Goosebumps raced down her spine and she caught her breath.
She felt his amusement as he moved to trace the delicate shell of her ear. She gasped and his amusement increased.
"I don't know why you think it's funny."
He moved his kisses to her arm and worked up toward her wrist. "What you take for amusement at your reactions is really enjoyment." He pressed his lips to her palm, then ran his tongue over her knuckles. "And you have wonderful reactions to enjoy."
"Do I?" Normally she'd have been embarrassed but she was distracted by the warm press of his body and the heat of his mouth as he started back down her arm. His fangs scraped the tender skin of her inner elbow and she tensed in anticipation, waiting for him to bite.
"You're in a hurry," he teased.
He released her arms and worked his way to her chin, leaving a trail of searing kisses that made her want more. She writhed beneath him, urging him on, but he continued at his slow snail pace. When he lifted his weight to strip her pajama shirt, she took the opportunity and flipped him onto his back.
He gave a noise of surprise as she pinned him, straddling his stomach, his arms held at his sides.
She grinned at his wide eyes. "This is me enjoying your reaction."
"I'd complain, but it's hard with a beautiful woman lying on your chest."
She ignored the double entendre, and shifted to press her lips to his. He wrapped his arms around her. One hand fisted in her long hair, the other rested on the curve of her back. He pulled her against him, as if he could compress them into one being with sheer will.
She moved her hands over his strong shoulders, then traced the shape of his arms as far as she could reach. It wasn't enough. She wanted more of him, wanted to feel more, touch more.
She broke the kiss and moved to his pale naked chest. When she shifted lower to trace his belly button, she felt the press of his erection against her leg. Her stomach clenched and she unconsciously licked her lips. A quiet ache started in her lower body and began to spread upwards. Her skin tingled and her mouth watered with the thought of biting him, tasting him, drinking him, owning him.
She didn't wait for his reaction, just bit into his chest. His back arched at the sudden onslaught, then relaxed as the initial pain faded. His hot blood flowed into her mouth, spicy, salty, delicious. She gulped the liquid down her throat and reached for him in her mind. She felt him like a bead of golden light, on the edge of her senses, throbbing in time to his pounding heart.
The light engulfed her. She spun through ghostly images, the impressions of sound, a thousand emotions. She pushed aside the sadness and grasped onto the pleasure, the desire, the need. She held it close until it was a part of her. Her need. Her desire.
She was aware of Jorick pulling her arm to his mouth. The tickle of his breath sent shivers racing over her. Then he bit. The golden light exploded in a rainfall of ecstasy that made her cry out. With the motion, her half of the connection disappeared, and she rushed to regain it.
Her fangs pierced his flesh and his blood pooled in her mouth again. Though she reached for the core of golden light, she could feel him steering her toward a crimson colored world of euphoria. The pull of desire was too great. She let go and followed. A thousand and one sensations crashed around her at once. He was in her and outside of her. Around her. Part of her. And she was part of him, as inseparable as his heartbeat.
The world exploded in scarlet fireworks. She rained down with the glittering shower and at last lay on his chest, gasping, her body spent.
Jorick released her arm and stroked her hair. "That was an unanticipated reaction."
She leaned up to see him grinning. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing." He pulled her down for a salty kiss, and she tried not to think about the blood on his lips. Her blood.
He let her go and met her eyes. "I enjoyed your take charge attitude."
She felt her cheeks flame and looked away, but he caught her chin and forced her gaze back. "Wanting your mate is nothing to be embarrassed about."
"It makes me feel like-like a glutton." She didn't meet his eyes as the words tripped out. "I already gulp-" she couldn't use the word blood, "...my meals, and when I smell people I want to bite them. Then with you, all I could think about was drinking your-" she trailed off.
"Those are different things, little one, though they're all desires. Your meal and even the humans are a desire for sustenance. Just as a child initially shoves handfuls of food into their mouth, so you gulp it down. But like a child, you'll eventually gain control, and the need to latch onto every food source will diminish. As for the other, I hope you never stop wanting me."
"I'd like to have a little more control," she muttered.
"I hope you don't. You have no idea how flattering it is."
She poked him in the ribs. "Flattering? Seriously?"
He broke into a wide grin. "Of course. How desirable must I be if you can't control yourself?"
"You manage to control yourself with me."
With a laugh he rolled her onto her back and pressed his face close to hers. "If you believe that, I've done a good job of fooling you."
Her reply was drowned in a kiss.
