Xavier: Vampires in Europe (Vampires in America Book 14) Page 23

  Not a pretty bra. The thought floated through her thoughts and was gone before she could remember why it mattered, when he unhooked the front closure of the tight sports bra and let her breasts spill free. He caught them one at a time, squeezing, pinching, his calloused thumb strumming her nipples with firm strokes that hurt so good. She almost came in that moment, the release of her breasts from their tight confinement, the rasp of his skin against hers, the aching need filling her every pore.

  But Xavier pulled back with a guttural oath and ripped her pants open to the sound of tearing fabric, then yanked them down her legs, taking her panties with them, cursing when he realized they wouldn’t go over her boots, then splitting them right down the center seam with a roar of furious impatience.

  Layla laughed, desperate to have him inside her, crazy with it and him. She spread her legs wider, bending her knees, and grabbing his shirt to pull him down on top of her until their mouths crashed together, blood flowing as his fangs cut into her lips, and he licked it up greedily.

  Muscles flexed when he reached between them to rip his own pants open. She had a moment to enjoy the hard length of his arousal against her thigh, and then he was gripping her hips and pulling her onto his erection, slamming deep inside her with a determined thrust.

  She cried out when he filled her, shocked by the sharp ache of flesh that hadn’t felt any man’s cock in a very long time, much less one as big and thick as Xavier’s. Xavier, her mind whispered. Finally, he was hers. But for how long? that same whisper asked.

  Before the last word of doubt penetrated her thoughts, he was pulling out and slamming in again, his hips driving with a force so desperate that she had to cross her legs behind his back to keep their bodies together.

  He leaned down, bringing their faces close, and the eyes that met hers were now fully engulfed in the pewter gleam of his power. He bent to lick the side of her neck, his tongue rough and hot against the delicate skin below her ear lobe. When he lifted his head, his fangs were on full display, slick and white below his snarling lips. “Say, ‘yes,’ Layla. Say, ‘yes’.”

  Her stomach clenched at the realization of what he was asking. Blood. Of course. He wanted to take her blood. She should have known. She did know. Sex and blood were linked for a vampire. She’d never let one take her, had never even had sex with a vampire. But still, she knew. His eyes darkened with emotion at her hesitation. Could he read the fear in her eyes? The doubt?

  For one second, she thought his arms stiffened, bracing to lift himself off her, to pull back from the connection they’d finally made. No. No, she wasn’t letting him go again.

  She looked into those amazing eyes and said, “Yes.”

  He sank onto her with a hard groan, his cock seeming to pulse inside her, growing impossibly longer, thicker when she felt the hard press of his fangs, the sharp pain as they sliced into her skin, the pressure when he pierced her vein, and then . . . .

  She screamed as her entire body seemed to convulse at once, every muscle flexing and stretching, every nerve coming alive while her pussy pulsed in hard contractions, and hot juices ran down her thighs. The orgasm was magnitudes above any she’d experienced before, rippling over and through her as it rolled on and on. She was aware of Xavier’s breath hot against her neck, his chest a heavy weight on her breasts, crushing her against the table . . . and then the rushing heat of his climax, while he lifted his head in a rumbling growl of triumph.

  She must have passed out then, because when she opened her eyes, she was on his lap, cradled against his chest while he stroked her hair and murmured sweet words, saying she was beautiful, that he loved her . . .

  Wait, what? She sat up enough to look at him.

  “Are you well, cariño? I was rough.”

  She blinked, feeling . . . foggy. Out of it. She must have dreamed that part about him saying he loved her. Xavier had never said anything like that to her before, not even close.

  “Layla?”

  She gave a weak smile. “I’m recovering.”

  His grin was pure male pride.

  Good grief. He was over three hundred years old and still proud of his dick. She rested her head on his shoulder. How could she describe sex with Xavier? Amazing? Exponentially better than any lover she’d ever had before? She swallowed a tired sigh. If he heard, she’d have to explain, and maybe soothe his ego. And sad to say, she was simply too tired for another mind-blowing orgasm.

  Xavier’s deep chuckle made her frown. Where did that come from? Had he read her mind? Could he? She’d never really asked. Eh, most likely it was more of that male ego preening at his ability to wear her out. Hah. Little did he know. Yeah, sure she was exhausted from him and a truly mind-blowing climax. But before that, the op at the compound had been both stressful and demanding. She kissed his neck with a smile. She’d never tell.

  She dozed a bit on his lap, coming awake to a bed that was not hers, with a delicious male body crushed against her back, a hard-muscled arm curved around her waist, and a very hard cock sliding into her pussy. He lowered his mouth to her neck, and she moaned, his kiss hot and open-mouthed, his tongue scraping over the big vein beneath her ear, as if plumping it for penetration. She pulled his hand from her waist to her breasts, crying out when strong fingers pinched her nipples to the edge of pain when he cupped one full mound and then the other. Reaching back, she stroked her hand over his hip and his ass, urging him even closer, feeling his cock swell when he shoved impossibly deeper inside her. She writhed under the weight of desire crushing the breath from her lungs and struggled to remain conscious, to make the moment last, even while her mind was lost in a flood of sensation that threatened to drown her.

  “Xavier.” She heard herself whimper his name and wanted to pull back, to retreat from the dangerous edge of an emotion she’d buried long ago . . . locked away behind steel doors and too many years of denial.

  “I love you.” The words were whispered directly into her ear, impossible to deny, to pretend she hadn’t heard, that it had all been a dream.

  Tears flowed as relief and terror fought for dominance. She couldn’t do this again. Couldn’t lose him all over again. She’d never survive. Her teeth dug into her lip as she forced back a sob, and warm blood dribbled over her chin.

  Xavier’s thunderous snarl vibrated through her body. He gripped her jaw, stroked his tongue over her chin, and locked his lips against hers, sucking every drop of blood as he crushed her mouth under the strength of his demand. His hand drifted over her belly and between her thighs, thick fingers scraping along the skin of her pussy where it stretched tight around the width of his shaft, teasing her swollen clit, circling round and round, until finally he plunged into her hard and deep from behind, and pressed a firm thumb directly onto the engorged nub.

  Her cry was high and desperate as the orgasm swept over and through her body, as she drowned in a fresh wave of sensation when his fangs sank into her vein. The heat of his release expanded his cock until she thought the delicate nerves and tissues of her sheath would tear under the overwhelming pressure as he bucked inside her, climaxing over and over while her inner muscles gripped him tight.

  His deep groan of pleasure rumbled along her neck, his chest rising and falling against her back as she struggled to breathe. He collapsed on top of her, folding her nearly sideways under his weight, until he slid from inside her and rolled to his back, yanking her up and onto his chest.

  When she’d recovered enough to speak again, she asked, “Did you take my clothes off?” She’d intended to raise her head and deliver a glare with the question, but had decided it was too much work. So her breath drifted over his chest as she spoke, and she felt the deep rumble of his voice when he responded.

  “What was left of them. Would you rather have slept with them on?”

  She caught the laughter in his voice and looked up in time to catch
the edge of a smile on his lips. Unfortunately, she also caught the glowing numbers of the digital clock on his bedside and groaned. “I can’t sleep here today. I’m supposed to be your daylight commander, for fuck’s sake.”

  “I want you to do something for me. Or have some of your people do it.”

  “Really?” She raised up on one elbow to stare at him. “You’ve never asked me for anything before.”

  “Things change. You made note of Sakal’s arrival last night. I want to know if he’s on a schedule, and if he shows up there at the same time tonight.”

  She thought about that request for a moment. Why would he want to know that, unless he needed to know where Sakal was at a certain time? Unable to restrain her curiosity, she asked, “Why?”

  “Because I want to know when he arrives.”

  “Funny,” she said, not at all amused by the evasion. “Seriously, why does it matter tonight? Is there something I need to know? Some new development my people should look for?”

  “No. I just want to know he’s there.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re planning something. What is it? If it involves an attack, I need to know about it. My people need to know about it, so they don’t get stuck unprepared in the middle of something.”

  He rose up on one elbow to study her. “I’m sending a vampire scout team to reconnoiter his lair in the city. Is that a problem?” he asked with the cool arrogance he wore so well.

  “Probably not. I assume they know their jobs, but . . . why send vamps? Why not have my guys check it in daytime? Wouldn’t that be safer all around?”

  “Yes, if safety was the only issue. But it’s not. My vampires can go places that your people cannot, can sense things that your people cannot. And in the event of unanticipated attack, they can also handle and survive a significantly greater level of violence.”

  She tilted her head to one side and studied him with open curiosity. “You think he has a troop of vampires living somewhere—in either the city or the compound.”

  “It’s certainly something we would need to know.”

  Well, that answer that told her nothing, and certainly didn’t answer the question either. She considered repeating herself, using more direct language, but decided against it. It would be an exercise in futility. There was obviously something he didn’t want her to know and wasn’t going to tell her, no matter how many different ways she phrased it.

  She sat up and swung her legs off the side of the bed, grateful they were long enough to touch the floor. It was a very high bed, and she didn’t relish the idea of having her legs swing in midair like a child’s. “Okay,” she agreed. “I still need to get up, though. I want to walk the wall and check in on your daylight troops. After that I’ll go by the hospital, before we head over to the farm compound.”

  “I’ll stop by the hospital before sunrise.” He started to say more, but his phone rang. He picked it up, checked the display. “It’s Chuy,” he said, naming his lieutenant. He answered, but said only, “I’ll call you shortly,” and hung up.

  “Right.” She stood. “I’ll leave you to your people, then, and go check in with mine. She was pissed at the way he’d brushed off her questions, but didn’t want to make it more than that, so she leaned across the bed to kiss him. He immediately pulled her down for a deeper kiss, which very quickly turned into something more when his hands began doing delicious things to her body, which made his body respond in ways that made her want to stay right where she was.

  She groaned. “No, no. There’s no time. I have to shower and—”

  He swung out of the bed with her in his arms, his mouth locked on hers in a deep, seductive kiss that sucked her in until she didn’t care about anything else. When they came up for air, his eyes were wild, drowning in the deep pewter glow of his power. “We’re showering together,” he announced, his voice deeper than usual and his gaze as predatory as a wild animal tracking his prey. She shivered under the weight of that stare and kissed him again, as he carried her to his shower.

  Oh well, how long could it take? She needed to shower anyway, so why not add a quick fuck?

  Layla thought about those words when she walked back to the barracks, comfortably relaxed and sore at the same time. The last few hours had involved more sex than she’d had in years. She hadn’t been celibate, but she’d been cautious, and she never stayed with the same guy for long, preferring to avoid the inevitable complications of a serious relationship—complications that always seemed to expect a greater career sacrifice on her part. She was, after all, a woman in a field of men. Surely, she’d prefer something more . . . suitable?

  “Fuck that,” she muttered as she entered the barracks and headed for her small private room. She’d told Xavier she needed to check in on the daylight troops, but they remained tucked warmly in their beds for now, and wouldn’t show up for duty until just before sunrise, when the vamps went off to sleep. Which meant she could grab a few hours of shut-eye before it was necessary for her to be awake and thinking rationally.

  XAVIER WAITED UNTIL Layla had left the bedroom and then his office, until she’d exited into the hallway and closed the office door, and then waited even longer, until he could no longer sense her mental signature in the vampire wing. He’d taken her blood twice during the hours they’d spent together, and though she’d done no more than unintentionally lick a taste of his blood, the combination was enough that he could track her at this range.

  She would have been unhappy, to say the least, to discover his plans for the rest of the night. And probably beyond angry at what those plans meant for the not too distant future. He could have confided in her. She’d been in the American military for several years, and involved in more than one highly sensitive mission. Add to that the obvious loyalty of the fighters she now commanded, and it equaled a person who could be trusted with confidential details. But it wasn’t only his life at stake if the plan went wrong, and so he’d made the decision to keep his plans secret. She could be angry at him later. And he had no doubt that there would be a later for them. He’d let her go once, and it had been the right thing to do. If she’d never returned to the Fortalesa, his long life would have gone on, very possibly with another woman eventually becoming his mate.

  But she had returned. And this time, he was going to let fate take its own path.

  Stepping into the hallway, he listened carefully to be certain he was alone. It wasn’t only Layla he wanted to keep in the dark. Only two other vampires knew of this mission, no one else.

  Striding down the dark halls under the vampire wing, he kept his senses attuned to the presence of others. Two hours from now, these same hallways would be busy with his vampires seeking the safety of their unground quarters before sunrise. But now they were nearly deserted, his vamps all out with whatever their night’s plans had been, whether work or play.

  He made a final turn into a short, dark hallway, with a lone door at its end. The enhanced sight granted by his vampire blood showed him the details clearly, especially since he knew the door, and the room beyond, were there. Most would have dismissed it as nothing more than a supply closet, if they’d found it at all. And even then, they would have been unable to open the door, since the well-concealed biometric lock was keyed only to him and the two others who knew of tonight’s mission.

  Chuy and Joaquim stood when he slipped inside and closed the door behind him. He waved them down and took a chair for himself, grateful that one of them—probably Chuy—had thought to bring a thermos of warm blood wine. He didn’t need the blood after what he’d taken from Layla, but he took the glass anyway, when Chuy poured and handed it to him.

  Taking a long sip, Xavier leaned back to face the others. “The raid on the rogue vampire nest? Did it turn up anything useful?”

  Joaquim frowned. “Our people discovered six vampires living in what was supposed to
be an empty building, not far from the docks. They were all questioned and executed, but had no knowledge of Sakal. They were renegades from Poland. They mistook the relative scarcity of vampires in downtown Barcelona as an indicator of lax oversight on your part.”

  “You’re certain of their story?”

  “Yes, my lord. I questioned them myself.”

  Xavier scowled. “That’s disappointing, though not entirely surprising. Sakal is much too weak to control any vampires on his own. His followers will be human, just like those we’ve already uncovered.” He sipped his wine before continuing. “Are we all set for tonight, then?”

  “We are,” Joaquim confirmed. “Though I’m still not convinced it’s wise for you to go alone.”

  “I’m not going alone. Chuy will be with me.”

  “And if Chuy”—he glanced at the lieutenant and said, “No offense, my friend,” before continuing—“is out of the picture for one of a million reasons that could pull him away during a mission like this, you’ll be alone. And we still have no idea of who’s really inside the damn sorcerer’s lair. He could have an entire army of vampires in there with him.”

  It was much the same scenario that Layla had posed, but Xavier’s response was very different. “I appreciate your concern, but as I said, Sakal simply doesn’t have the juice to control an army of vampires. He’s not even strong enough to be a member of my personal guard, much less to command the equivalent of one.”

  “And what of his sorcery?”

  “It doesn’t work on me. You know that. And while I hesitate to remind you of the obvious, I am a vampire lord, and a more than ordinarily powerful one. If Sakal has somehow used sorcery to corral an army of vampires under his command, there is no question that I could seize control and turn them against him.”

  “All true, Sire. But why not take both of us, as insurance.”