Blood Pool

Chapter One

Artificial light gave the three dancing figures on stage the macabre look of corpses-and Raven knew corpses. Monotonous shades of gray stretched across the dance floor, even darker in the corners where secrets hid. She should be used to it. The dreary color surrounded her daily. Still, Raven longed for the vibrant jewel tones of the autumn season. But ominous shadows were part of the ambiance of Blood Pool, a favorite local haunt.

However, these three dancing works of art were far from dead. They were very much alive, and Raven took note of that fact intensely. Smooth skin covered rippling muscles, and the silky, oiled physiques, clad in miniscule costumes, caught her attention. That was, if you could call them costumes. There wasn’t much fabric used on all of them combined.

No need for an imagination here.

The dancers tonight included a scantily-clad Amazon warrior, a biker in a tight, black leather thong, and, of course, the vampire with little more than the traditional Dracula cape draped over his chiseled, ivory physique.

Tonight was Ladies’ Night at Blood Pool, a treat for the eyes because that meant dancing gods: hot, sweaty, gorgeous men, full of life with healthy auras. Raven also knew the beaming glow of a vital aura. The reds and greens pulsed around them to the beat of the music. Her preternatural sight allowed her vision to go beyond 20/20. She delighted in the sights and sounds that surrounded her.

“Hey there, Raven. Can I buy you a drink?” Solaris, a petite, magickal powerhouse, asked as she wiped down the sleek bar top.

“Yes, thanks.” Raven looked over to where some friends from the hospital played pool. Beyond the pool tables in the back rooms were the video games “Kill the Hunter”, “Blade War”, “Hell Games” and War Mongers”, to name a few. Off to the other side of the game room was the sports bar. There she spotted Greg Davis, her young assistant.

“Hi, Doc,” he mouthed, waving.

“Hi there,” she answered, grabbing some nuts from a pumpkin-shaped bowl.

The lower level was for those who liked to gamble or play cards or roulette, and there was always a poker game going on.

Smoke from cigars and various pipes filled the room. The guests at this establishment had no worries of the dangers caused by cigarette smoke, or any other smoke.

The only possible exception was the warning smoke of a fire burning their flesh.

Raven winked at Solaris. Raven’s eyes were tired from lack of sleep, overwork and not enough blood. The blood bank needed replenishment. “Hey, can you make it a double? I’m not working tonight.”

Solaris obliged. “Enjoying the view?” she teased, her cognac-colored eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. “I’ve got some type O in the back fridge-you want?”

“No, thanks, I’m trying to cut down,” Raven replied, and smiled tightly.

“You’re looking extra sexy tonight. Gonna sample the help?” Solaris teased.

“Now, you know I don’t do that anymore,” Raven answered, pouting. Well, almost never. Occasionally, when the blood lust merged with sexual need, Raven indulged in a taste.

Solaris smiled and handed her friend a Grey Goose on ice. “I didn’t mean taste in that way.”

“You never know, I might,” Raven teased.

She checked her lipstick in the reflection of Solaris’s magick mirror hanging on the wall. Yes, Lamai had a reflection. Being non-reflective was one of the many stereotypes she found hilarious. That along with the tale of garlic being fatal to vamps. She loved garlic and cooked with it often. That’s right, they ate food, too.

She was hungry tonight, but not for blood, though it had been a while since she’d fed the Lamai hunger.

Raven eyed a tall, sandy-haired Adonis standing at the far end of the bar. His energy was especially masculine, raw yet vulnerable. Raven liked vulnerable. It complimented her need to be in control, and in her line of work as chief medical examiner, she had to be.

Outside, the autumn winds blew off the ocean, moaning as they hugged the rooftop and whipped around the back alley. Raven’s hearing allowed her to separate the sounds that originated inside the bar from those outside. A preternatural talent. It felt like a storm was brewing. It was hurricane season, and forecasters predicted the northeast was due for one.

“Go for it,” Solaris joked as she followed Raven’s line of sight to the Greek god-like creature. He caught her watching him, and she that found a bit unsettling. Raven was capable of many things, and one was observing without attracting attention.

She psychically probed the handsome stranger to try to get a better feel for him. He was not like her, of that she was sure. He was neither a Lamai nor a shifter. There weren’t too many hybrids in the northeast. There were fewer still on the island. Raven detested the term “hybrid”, which was what she was. It sounded to her like an automobile: safe for the environment with great gas mileage. Regardless of Raven’s objections, that’s what people called those who were half-human and half-vampire. On the other hand, most of the island inhabitants were full-blooded vampires. The island’s occupants ranged from Vampires of the Lamai clan to shape shifters, fae, sirens, witches and wizards, with a smattering of gnomes and leprechauns.

Even though this was a magickal community, there still existed some pockets of prejudice. Solaris experienced it as much as Raven, she being a full-blooded witch from Africa. However, the bias was slowly diminishing, which was why they called Mirabelle home.

Raven sipped her drink, savoring the way it warmed her insides, if only for a moment. She gazed at the handsome man through narrowed eyes as he made his way over to her. She drew him toward her, whether he realized it or not.

She was hungry.

“Okay, I know this sounds really dorky, but do you come here often?” he asked.

Raven looked up into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. When Adonis spoke, his voice echoed of loneliness.

“Matter of fact, I do. My friend Solaris owns this place,” she answered, directing her gaze at Sol.

He puffed out his chest a bit. “I knew that. I’m a little bit psychic.” He let out a nervous laugh. “Gods, I am so pathetic,” he muttered.

“What’s ‘a little’ psychic-how little?” Raven asked jokingly, noting the easy way he stood, relaxed and slightly self-assured, with just the right amount of awkwardness.

Handsome enough to be in a Ralph Lauren commercial, he had an upper-class air about him, of fresh sea air, tanned skin and sun-streaked hair. She could imagine him jogging in slow motion down the miles of white sandy beach, wearing the Amazon warrior’s swath of suede, his well-toned muscles flexing as he ran.

Nice body. Her gaze traveled to his hands. For as long as she could remember, Raven had had a hand fetish. After observing a man’s eyes, she checked out his hands, which in this case had not seen much physical labor. He was probably an artist, a bum, or in the healthcare field.

Or he was insanely wealthy.

He smiled and revealed the sexiest dimples and whitest teeth.

“Not that little,” he said, signaling Solaris for another round. “Psychic or otherwise.” He winked as he set the record straight.

Adonis pulled over a stool and sat. Raven could tell he wanted to become more than a bar buddy. Whether his interest was merely sexual or something more would take a bit more time to determine.

“Is this a natural ability, or one you’ve practiced over the years?” Raven asked as she grabbed a handful of pretzels that sat in a bowl. The bar top, adorned festively for the harvest season, overflowed with tiny gourds, apples, pumpkins and mums.

“I didn’t inherit these gifts, if that’s what you mean. Although there are stories told by my family that my great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded gypsy from Romania, or Austria, or some such place.”

“That’s interesting. I have family from there, too. Romania, I mean. Where are you from? I mean, in the States?” Raven lifted her cocktail, watching her attractive drinking companion.

“ Gloucester, originally, then Atlanta. I lived in California for a few years, too.”

Raven turned toward the young man for a moment. “Let me guess, your father is a long-liner?”

Adonis fiddled with his shot glass as Solaris grabbed the bottle to fill it again. He smiled at the bartender. “Yup, for over twenty years. He has a small fleet of boats that he uses for lobsters, but he has a crew on a boat that still goes out for swordfish.”

Listening to him while looking into those pools of blue, she saw an intensity burning behind his eyes. Before she realized it, he’d taken her hand. His skin was golden and taut. Suddenly, the catcalls, hoots and hollering that filled the air faded away. Her skin warmed to his touch. Raven’s inner alarm went off. Not too many people were able to physically affect her this quickly. The part of Raven that people thought of as unnatural ran on the cool side of ninety-eight point six, which was quite ordinary for her and about a third of the island’s population.

The bar was noisy, and Adonis had leaned in closer so Raven could hear him. “I actually worked at the CDC for a time. Then I went off to the west coast to do my own research. Creating vaccines, or at least trying to make viable ones. It was very interesting work. Tedious and challenging, it kept my mind sharp.” He smelled like sugar cookies.

Something was in the air-something more than lust.

Her curiosity piqued. “What type of research?”

“I actually worked with hot agents for a while.”

“Wow, lethal viruses! That’s risky work. Which ones? How did you get involved with that?” Raven asked. Her mind attempted to prioritize some of the hundreds of questions she wanted to ask.

He ran his fingers through his hair and said with a sigh, “I was personally invited and I really couldn’t say no. It was a great opportunity. Not too many like that come up.”

“Which viruses did you work with?”

In an instant, the excitement of talking with someone who’d worked with lethal viruses was eclipsed by the sound of a deeply male and extremely sexual voice from behind the bar. Bo Wasake. “Hey, Raven.”

She knew that voice intimately and turned to find her gorgeous on-again, off-again lover, Bo Wasake, standing in the shadows. Her heart skipped a beat or two. He did that to her every time. For all of her level-headedness, when Bo was near, Raven’s knees went weak and her insides turned to mush. Even after ten years.

“Hey, Boo.” He got a charge out of trying to scare her whenever he had the chance, hence the nickname.

Bo had mixed blood. Delicious blood. And the thought of it made Raven’s mouth water in anticipation of a taste. Pavlov’s vampire.

His mother was an extraordinarily powerful witch. His father was a Lakota shaman, like Bo’s grandfather and great-grandfather, and so on down the line. Somewhere, a few sprinkles of human blood coursed through his veins, or so he claimed. Raven thought he said that just to make himself seem even more appealing to her-as if that were at all likely. He was pure perfection in every way possible.

“What about you?” Adonis asked, turning toward Raven.

“Oh-I’m the M.E. for the island.” Raven’s gaze followed the lines of Bo’s taut muscles rippling beneath his sky blue suede shirt. A sterling and turquoise belt wrapped around his narrow waist, and she envied the silver strap. She ached to encircle her legs around his hips, but the timing was all wrong.

As was his habit, he would come into her life with exploding passion then disappear for weeks. Each time he left her heartbroken and unsure of herself, a feeling with which Raven was not comfortable. She had to guard herself against this magnificent creature. This creature who thought and acted like the wolf that was so integral to his being.

They were on pause at the moment, though Bo always managed to seduce her back into his arms. Standing over six feet tall, with the proud features of his native ancestry-long, silken hair and obsidian eyes-he was an incredibly hard habit to break.

She directed her comment to Bo. “You tending bar tonight?”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’m helping Sol out for a few hours.”

“Can I come by later?” The words appeared in her mind, an unspoken form of communication that for some reason only Bo and Raven shared. She could never say no to him, no matter how hurt she felt. He was irresistible.

“Hey ya, sweetness,” a familiar voice called from the other side of the bar. It was Bethany Logan, and she wanted Bo’s attention now. Raven watched the redheaded woman and noticed her brown eyes flash to gold for a brief second as warning to Raven. Bethany wanted Bo for her mate. She was the alpha female in their pack. Bethany had had her chance years ago and couldn’t hold onto Bo, but she wasn’t ready to give him up yet.

Raven ignored the childish power play. She knew Bethany would be going home alone, and eventually Bethany would realize it, too.

“Sure,” Raven answered Bo, trying not to look as excited as she felt, grateful for the part of her that hid the sudden blush she felt rise to her cheeks. His full lips spread into a delicious grin. Gods, she hated loving him. In spite of their weeks apart, there remained a connection that refused to be severed.

Raven finished her drink and started to get up.

“You’re leaving,” Adonis said, disappointment written all over his face. “We were just getting to know one another.”

She began to feel the hunger build within her. It was time to go. “Yeah, I’m kinda tired.”

She pulled her claret leather coat off the back of the bar chair, then, like a gentleman, Adonis helped her into it. He gently pulled her waist-length black hair out from the collar. His hands grazed her behind. Raven’s tight leather pants hugged her curves. She noticed Bo watching Adonis’s every move. Raven thought she heard a low rumble erupt from him. She liked to think of Bo as her man. Her warrior.

“Can I take you home?” Adonis asked softly.

Raven’s eyes widened. “I don’t even know your name,” she said, sensing Bo’s watchful stare on her back, feeling the heat of it penetrating inside like invisible fingers. His gaze sent waves of pleasure through her body.

She relished this taste of things to come.

He looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry, you’re right, that was rude. It’s Derrick. My name’s Derrick.”

Raven felt torn. It seemed to be the theme of her entire life: torn between one world and another, one man and another. She’d had other relationships, but Bo was always there in the back of her mind, like a song that refused to stop playing. She wanted stability in her life and, up until now, Bo had been far from stable. To her, Derrick felt grounded, dependable. Raven needed dependable-she craved it like the blood lust.

The wild times of her youth had passed, and now she longed for a life she could nestle into, perhaps even have children someday. Raven had always pictured that life with Bo in it. That would require great patience on her part. He would always be a proud shifter, and when the blood called out to him, he would long to run with the pack. Raven knew how he rejoiced in the feel of the wind gliding across his black fur, the sun beating down, warming the ground beneath him.

He loved the camaraderie of the pack-the same pack that included Bethany. She still had her sights set on raising a family with Bo as well, and she made that crystal clear.

“I’ve got my car,” Raven said. “I’m pretty tired.” Derrick was a tempting morsel of male sexuality.

Derrick smiled. “I’ll walk you to it.” When he put his hand on the small of her back, she felt a jolt. A snap of energy passed between them.

“Goodnight, Solaris, Boo.” Raven turned to look into Bo’s deep sable eyes. “I will see you later.”

“Later,” Bo replied.

As the two stepped outside, the frosty October winds blew across the Atlantic and harshly slapped their faces, a reminder that winter would soon be on its way to Mirabelle Cove, which was situated eight miles off the coast of Massachusetts. The night was clear and crisp with pinpoints of lights in the sky. Some of the trees that had shed their colorful leaves reached skeletal arms to the heavens as if attempting to pluck a few glittering jewels.

At night, one couldn’t appreciate the painted landscape Mother Nature provided this time of year. Once more, in the dark, everything looked grey.

Barn owls screeched in the distance, and kamikaze bats flew across the purple sky. Raven shivered. It wasn’t from the cold. Her hunger was awakening.

“I hope I can see you again. I would’ve wanted to spend more time with you tonight,” Derrick said as they braced themselves against the wind. They stood next to Raven’s car.

In heels, she was five feet seven inches, and Derrick still had at least six inches on her. The cold didn’t affect her much, though she could see Derrick shivering underneath his Irish knit sweater. Expensive taste.

“I’d like that, too,” she admitted to her new acquaintance. There was no doubt she was attracted to him. It had been too long since she’d lain in another man’s arms. It would serve Bo right if I left with this man, after all the times he’s picked up and disappeared.

But she knew in her heart she couldn’t do it.

Derrick shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I know it’s none of my business, but I sensed something between you and the bartender, Bo.”

Hmm. She laughed. “You are psychic.” Her gaze darted away from his intense glare.

His head dipped down. “Am I wrong?” He leaned in as he rested his hands, warm despite the cold, on her shoulders.

Damn, I can’t do this. She wanted to kiss him. Tell him about Bo. Tell him he’s right. Her body raged with the lust for blood and sex. In the middle of the frosty October winds, she fought the attraction. The sound of his heartbeat pulsated in her head. His scent was intoxicating.

The desire would take over soon. She could see the rush of his blood coursing through his veins, almost taste it. She swallowed hard.

He must have sensed that.

Tell him. She whispered, “No…” His lips were on hers, and he pulled her into his embrace. Raven’s head throbbed as the hunger grew, and she kissed him back, pressing herself against him, feeling his desire. Her lips parted, and she tasted him fully before breaking contact.

“You’re gorgeous,” he murmured.

No. No. No. Get away. Go home.

The music from inside the bar pounded louder in her head as customers opened the back exit doors and raced to their cars, clutching one another against the cold.

“Let me take you home, Raven,” he pleaded.

A war raged inside her head. Go. No, stay. Take him. You want him.

Raven hated herself right then, but she couldn’t help herself. The hunger was winning over self-control. She kissed him, this time taking his hand and placing it between her legs where her desire pooled. He did the same, and she felt his erection through the blue denim. Her body flooded with warmth. Feels so good.

She silently cursed Bo for staying away so long.

A moan escaped Derrick’s lips as his other hand slid under her jacket and palmed her breast. She wished it was Bo’s hand, his lips.

Finally she spoke, her voice raw. “Shit! I can’t…I’m sorry.” She stepped back from him, her face burning, her gaze cast downward. Her thick lashes hid the change beneath them.

Her eyes always gave her away, turning from their natural smoky color to icy silver. Desire did that to her as the Lamai part of her took over.

He spoke softly. “I know what you are…who you are, and it’s all right. I want to…I need to…”

She turned her head away from him. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry,” she said. She willed her body to return to its human features. Her incisors, which had begun to lengthen, retracted.

He stood there in the cold, looking like a lost little boy.

I let this go too far. “I’m sorry,” she repeated.

Raven got into her car and watched as he headed back into the bar.

You’re such a tease, Raven. This time it was her inner voice scolding.

After a long day and even longer night, Bo entered Raven’s home. He was comforted by the familiar surroundings of her place. Seeing the little things she kept around like her favorite vase or scented candle helped center him.

He had seen too much horror for a man so young. For fifteen years, he’d worked in law enforcement and seen events that belonged in nightmares. And that didn’t include what he’d witnessed running with the pack.

Making a conscious effort to leave thoughts of death at the door Bo made his way down the hall, undressing as he went.

He slipped between the sheets in the early morning, his skin cold from the brisk winds outside. His arms wrapped protectively around Raven’s tiny waist from behind. “Tewahila…”

“I love you, too,” she murmured sleepily.

And then there were no words. He was ready to bring her to a place where few mortals ever traveled, lost in the passions only he could provide. Bo could be free with her, entirely uninhibited. She had no need to hide her inner nature from him. And he had no fear of losing himself with her. They could be exactly who and what they were with each other, passionate and sometimes violent. It was their nature.

His hands traveled up toward her breasts and cupped them gently. She felt the strength in his powerful muscles. Bo’s legs wrapped around her and his lips nipped at her neck. His wandering hand squeezed her buttocks as he ground his hips against her backside. A faint moan escaped her lips and she spread her legs to welcome him inside. She was visibly on the edge and couldn’t take much more foreplay, but he wanted to enjoy her first. She turned to face him, placing his hand between her legs.

“I hunger for you…” he whispered, his voice gravelly.

She smiled coyly. “I’ve been here all along.”

“Silence,” he commanded and covered her mouth with his. Their lips parted and tongues teased. His lips worked their way down her neck, his cheek resting upon her throat where he felt her artery pulsing. He scraped his teeth lightly across her shoulder and down toward her breasts. Raven clenched the sheets as desire welled within her, focusing on the sacred mound between her upper thighs.

“Easy, my love…” he taunted her. “I’ve waited a long time for this, too.”

She groaned. “Too long, you stayed away too long. I want you inside me…fill me up…”

His lips curled in a wicked grin. “Soon.”

He explored her skin with his mouth and tongue, teasing her. Tenderly, he bit her inner thigh, and the sounds of her pleasure filled his ears as she made a cat-like purr. He licked her between her legs, the wolf part of him emerging to possess his mate and to pleasure her. Bo held her still and forced her to allow his attention. She was moist and ready for him, and he was hard. Bo had been walking around with an erection ever since he’d seen her at Blood Pool earlier that night.

“Now…please…I ache…” she begged.

He lifted his head from between her legs and smiled with a devilish glimmer in his eyes, eyes that shone with a spark of gold. His mouth suckled and laved her skin as she writhed in agonizing bliss.

Bo knew the peak of passion was merely a moment away, and he brought her to the precipice. His tongue gently stroked her tiny pearl hidden within the folds of her silky skin. She thrust her hips upward, and he felt her climax as wave after wave of orgasm shook her. He wanted to dissolve into the sensations.

He took her hand and wrapped it around his sex. “It’s your turn…” he whispered.

Raven’s body trembled with the aftershocks of his ministrations, her fangs extended in excitement. She was beyond rational thought. She tried to wiggle her hips down toward his erection and guide him inside her. His fingers played with the folds of her skin, and he guarded the entrance.

“Not yet…” he moaned as she began stroking him.

“You’re not playing fair,” she whimpered.

“I’m not playing at all, love.” He kissed her hard as he wrapped an arm around the back of her neck, pulling her to him while her hand gently stroked his sex. Her thumb caressed its silky tip and worked down to where his jewels awaited their turn to be seduced.

She looked into his eyes. “Okay, then…”

Bo watched as she kissed her way slowly down his body, taking a detour at his chest. It was her turn to tease as she covered every inch of him with her lips and tongue. She brought Bo to his knees. He clung to the cushioned headboard, arched his back and pushed his hips forward, waiting for her velvety mouth to encircle him. She could sense he ached for her, but she turned the tables on him. She wanted to play.

One hand cupped his scrotum as the other taunted his cock. All the while, she tortured him with petal-soft kisses, licking him like a soft swirl ice cream cone. She savored every mouthful, enticing him with her lips.

She raised her head and glanced up at him, still stroking his cock. “You’re on fire, my sweet.” She smiled seductively. She grabbed her glass of ice water on the nightstand and took a sip. One tiny sliver of an ice cube remained. She kept it on the tip of her tongue and took him once more into her mouth, sliding the ice up and down his shaft before it melted.

“I’m going to explode, my love…” He let a groan escape, and it soon became a howl. “You feel so good!” His eyes were golden orbs flecked with crimson. His hips rocked.

“No, you won’t. Not until I tell you to.” She looked up at him right before she took one testicle into her cool mouth. Her tongue flicked at it, sucking gently. She took in the other while massaging his shaft. Bo made a guttural sound that emanated from deep within him.

Her hand went around his firm butt, and she pulled him closer as she plunged her mouth over his sex and took him fully into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the juncture between his satin crown and thick shaft. He tasted exquisite.

“Oh gods, Raven! Now…I want you.”

Raven pulled away and looked into his eyes. She smiled, knowing Bo couldn’t handle the temptation any longer. She playfully licked the tip of his cock. Her hands massaged his thighs while she teasingly nipped and kissed his engorged sex.

She felt a sense of power over him and wasn’t ready to relinquish it so soon. He held the power over her when he decided to leave her and run with the pack. She could never be certain what was going on in those woods when the animal blood took over. Was he rutting with Bethany? The way she strutted around town, she certainly acted like it.

Now it was Raven’s turn. She got up from the bed.

“Cante skuye, what…”

“I’ll be right back.” As promised, she returned in a flash.

Raven hopped back into bed with a bottle of absinthe. She watched Bo squirm. She dribbled some on his erection, and his cock jerked toward her. She placed some on her nipples.

The powerful magick infused in the brew would take her and Bo on a sexual journey neither would want to end, lasting for hours, reaching the point of climax then slowing the pace. As their skin absorbed the absinthe, it magnified the sensations to the tenth power.

“Mmm.” Bo let out a long sigh.

Raven placed the bottle down and began lapping the absinthe off of Bo’s shaft. She knew the sensations she created felt as if a hundred tiny flames were licking him. He turned his head toward the pillow and let out a groan.

“Mmm… So good,” she said. Her lips were slightly numb from the straight absinthe as she showered his body with a blaze of kisses.

He sat up, took her by the shoulders and placed her on her back. He began to kiss the green liquor off of her breasts, sending shockwaves through her. She was certain he would slide right inside her and ease her aching. She waited longingly for it, begging him to fill her. Ah, there, she thought as she felt the tip of him enter. Then he abruptly stopped.

She wrapped her strong legs around him, ready to press him farther inside, but he held tight. Her eyes turned to crystals, and her skin paled to translucency.

“I’m waiting…” he said with a smile.

“Oh, you suck…” she whined aloud.

He laughed. “No. You do.”

“You want more?”

He used his powerful arms to steady himself as he kissed her earlobe and whispered, “You were going to tell me when, sweetness. I’m just waiting to hear the words.”

He continued leaving soft, breathy kisses around her ear and neck. Her head pounded with lust. Blood lust, and lust for Bo.

Her incisors nicked at his neck, just enough to break the skin. Then she lapped the blood that trickled out. When she felt him relax a bit, she tightened her legs around him and pushed him deeper inside her. Thrusting her hips to meet him, she wanted to turn to mist and truly merge.

The words came out of her mouth, uncensored. “I love you,” she whispered, sliding him out, teasing and giving him a little taste of what was yet to come. She scattered kisses over his face and neck. His hands caressed the small of her back and pulled her hips toward his hard sex. Raven’s slender fingers slid down to his narrow waist. She kissed every inch of skin along the way and licked at the tiny nicks she made in his copper skin.

“I have to have you now, Raven.”

She claimed the sacred area, his inner thigh, as hers. The mere act of sucking his blood from that tender spot could cause him to climax. She switched positions, taking him once more into her mouth, careful not to nick him. Her teeth grazed over the length of him, and his body squirmed in spasms. As he thrust forward, her tooth nicked his skin, and she tasted his blood in her mouth. Instinct took over, and she began sucking his blood. Bo slammed his fists on the bed.

“Going to…come,” he ground out.

The intense orgasm threatened Raven’s slim grasp of reality. She tumbled into pure bliss. Her hand gently held his cock at its base and intermittently added slight pressure to it, causing the blood to ooze. An animal sound escaped her lover as he rode the waves of pleasure she provided.

His blood was sweet, like May wine. She was lost in his heady scent and taste, her body racked with desire for him as the blood cast its spell on her psyche. In the distance, she heard him moaning in delight as his hips writhed beneath her lips.

She drank on, murmuring, “Meu dragoste…”

In the depth of the hunger, the two became voracious lovers. It was unlike any experience she’d ever had. She timed her actions perfectly. They danced the dance to perfection. Her lips traveled downward, tenderly biting and taking in his blood while her hand massaged the base of his cock. A rumble emanated from deep within his chest.

“Now!” he demanded.

She reveled in the feeling of being in control. Raven knew what he wanted, what he needed, and she planned to give it to him. And he would never forget. She licked his blood from her lips.

Finally, she straddled Bo, sliding him inside of her-but just a bit. Then she pulled up.

“Oh, gods, Raven, I’ve missed you…” He tried to ease her down, but she hovered just above the tip of his shaft.

His eyes were almost all red now, and she felt his passions cresting. The air surrounding them was electric, pulsing with the beat of their hearts. The blood had quenched her lust enough to hold her over for a few more moments. Soon they would both be past the point of no return, and their animal natures would take command.

“I love you,” he said, obviously desperate to be inside of her. “I haven’t been with anyone since you, my love. Forgive me for staying away. You know you own my heart. Love me, Raven…”

He held her, pushing her down as he thrust deep inside. Raven’s skin, ivory against his tanned form, glimmered in the darkness. A growl resonated from within him, and she felt the same hunger. It inundated her. He stared into her silver eyes, and she saw everything he did, even experienced his emotions.

Still inside her velvet sheath, he turned Raven over onto her back and looked down into her loving eyes. Their gazes locked. His hot, hungry lips grazed her neck, wanting a taste. His tongue swirled upon the spot where he could drink, his hips slowly rocking against her. Back and forth.

“Mine.” He claimed her.

“Yours,” she answered.

“I mean it.”

“So do I.”

“No other will ever have you and live. No playful flirting. Mine.”

“Only yours. Go ahead…” She moaned. Her incisors extending further from the excitement, her hips rose to meet his. She moved faster beneath him. The hunger was in control. Her hands clasped his shoulders, and her fingers dug into his flesh. She rode another wave of pleasure.

Faster still she writhed. “Harder.”

The blissful pressure built. His cock slid in and out to the rhythm of their hearts. He was insatiable.

The growl from within him intensified into a howl as his hands found the small of her back and he lifted her closer. She wanted him to get deeper inside, making sure she’d come at the same time as he. Her head lolled back against the pillow, exposing her neck to him as he broke her skin with his sharp teeth. Raven wouldn’t trust any other shape shifter to taste of her blood. The passions were too intense, and he could rip out her aorta.

“Oh, Mighty Hekate!” she cried.

Flesh slapped against flesh as Bo drew her blood into his mouth, his hands pushing her ass up while he drove himself into her hot core. His fingers caressed her between her buttocks. Her muscles clamped around his cock. Her arms pulled him down. With her legs wrapped around his waist, she arched toward him.

“Harder,” she begged.

Her body convulsed with a powerful orgasm of seemingly endless waves. She gave of herself and took from him simultaneously as they climaxed. A delightful rush emanated from within her and spread wildly as every neuron fired and the world went stark white. Raven couldn’t tell who cried out louder. Bo grabbed the back of her head as he thrust his teeth deeper into her neck, sucking the blood that tasted like wine, causing them both to climax once more as his body shuddered with his release.

“Be mine, Raven. Always. I want you…”

“I want you, too.”

She kept him hard and toyed with him mercilessly until he begged to spill his seed within her once more. Their lovemaking lasted for hours as they reached the point of climax then slowed the pace. Raven understood when he’d reached the point of no return and, in the ultimate synchronicity, they found release, together-over and over-until the dawn came.