Chapter 17

After spilling my ugly past to Valen, I ended up falling into a fitful sleep. More than once, I was woken up by Valen rubbing my back, trying to soothe me. Though it worked, I would eventually start dreaming about the closet again once I drifted back to sleep. Or the priest standing over my bed, splashing me with holy water while chanting in Latin. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, I finally managed to fall into a deep, dreamless rest.

I woke with a moan on my lips, and my body already on the verge of a satisfying orgasm. All thoughts of my disturbing dreams were forgotten as my back bowed with the pleasure that was centered between my legs. “Valen,” I rasped out in a sleep roughened voice. I reached down and grabbed onto his hair, holding him to my pussy. I was probably pulling his hair out by the roots with how hard I tugged, but all he did was groan, making the vibrations send me into orbit.

As I was still shaking, Valen climbed up my body. He had a wicked gleam in his eyes as he licked his glistening lips. “Are you sore?”

I blinked up at him in a daze. “What?”

Valen moved one of his hands to his shaft, which was thick and shining with fluid at the tip. The head was almost purple as his thumb swept over it, smearing the fluid around. “Are you sore, Mate? I want to fuck you into the mattress until you forget your name. But if you’re sore, I will have to mark your pussy from the outside.”

I glanced down at myself as if I could see the effects of our mating from the outside, then wiggled my hips a bit. Surprisingly, I felt fine, great even. “I’m not sore,” I whispered, a blush creeping over my cheeks and down my neck.

“Good,” he grunted. “It’s probably a benefit of our mating.” He positioned himself at my entrance, his gaze watching his movements with a starved expression as he swiped the head of his cock over my clit. I jolted at the contact, still sensitive from my wake up call.

“What do you mean?” I asked breathlessly, then gasped as he let go of himself and pressed forward slowly. I didn’t know if I would ever get used to his size.

He closed his eyes as he slid inside until his hips met mine. Then he opened them and stared down at me with a heated intensity that set my blood to a slow simmer. “I would have to ask someone to be certain, but I believe our mating has many benefits for the both of us.” He withdrew slowly as I bit my lip to keep my sounds of satisfaction in. He then slammed forward hard enough to send an electric jolt of pleasure through me. “Increased healing. Matched longevity. Stronger control over our abilities. Stop holding back, Mate.”

Then he was pounding into me at such a fast pace it took my breath away. There was no chance I could have held back. My cries were strangled, caught in my throat, but it was impossible to try to keep them in. Soon, I didn’t care to try as I became lost in the pleasure.

My broken chant of “More. More. More.” was met by the slapping of our skin and the grunts and low growls that escaped his chest. With a final snarl of “Mine!” he thrust one last time and held still. The pulsing inside of me and the feel of his hot release filling me had me tipping over into oblivion for the second time that morning.

I must have dozed off again for a minute, because I came to with the feeling of a warm, wet washcloth being gently swiped over my center.

“Good morning,” I croaked out as Valen nuzzled the side of my neck. His low chuckle had goosebumps breaking out over my exposed skin, and a delighted shiver ran down my spine. I felt… wonderful. Better than I ever had in my life. A wave of contentment washed over me, and I raised my tired arms to wrap around him as he tossed the washcloth to the floor with a splat. “Thank you,” I whispered into his neck.

I had to loosen my grip as he pulled back to stare down at me with warm green eyes. “For what, baby?”

I swallowed as I looked up at him. Feelings I wasn’t ready to examine swirled in my chest. “For wanting me.” I thought of how he could have rejected me, of how he almost did at the beginning before we got to know each other a little better.

Valen frowned, a crease forming between his brows as he studied me. I wanted to reach up and smooth the line away but held still instead of giving in to my impulse. “It was never a matter of not wanting you. From the moment I sensed your presence in the club, I was drawn to you. I was just scared.”

He looked so vulnerable at that moment that I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I lifted my head and placed a kiss on his jaw. “But not anymore?” I asked quietly.

He shook his head and ran his gaze over me again. “No, Kallista. I’m not scared of being close to someone anymore. To you. You are the only one I want to be close to.”

I blinked back the sudden moisture that filled my eyes. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.” My throat felt tight with emotion as that feeling in my chest warmed and grew.

He pulled back from me and sat up on his knees. “Good. Then get up so we can make plans and get something to eat.” He smacked the side of my ass as he slid from the bed, making heat coil in my belly and a blush creep along my cheeks again.

I rolled to my side and watched as he pulled on a pair of jeans with no underwear underneath. I watched, fascinated, as he tucked his cock carefully away before sliding the zipper into place. “What do we need to make plans for?” I asked as he dug around in the pile of clothes he bought me. He tossed another pretty sundress onto the bed with a wink. The dress was red this time, with trailing white vines around the hem. It was gorgeous.

“Get dressed, and I’ll tell you. If you keep laying there naked, looking like a goddess ready to fuck, I’ll take what you’re offering, and then we’ll never go anywhere.”

I seriously contemplated his words for a minute as his hungry gaze swept over me, but when he shook his head and turned away, heading to the kitchen. I sighed and sat up. I held the dress up before deciding that if I was going to be leaving the warehouse loft, I should probably wear undergarments. While he made coffee, I searched through the piles until I found what I needed and slipped them on.

I had the dress over my head and in place when he walked back over to me, holding out a steaming cup of fragrant coffee. I took it gratefully and then presented my back to him. “Do you mind helping me out with the zipper?”

“I’d rather help you out of it.”

I grinned into my cup at the words he spoke in his deep tone. I would never get enough of his voice. Once the zipper was in place, I walked over to the small couch and sat down on one end, tucking a leg underneath me. Valen joined me a minute later with his own cup and sat, taking up the rest of the space. One of his large hands rested on my exposed knee, and I almost felt like squealing in delight that this big, gorgeous man—demon—chose me.

He took a minute to sip from his cup before meeting my eyes. “We have to decide if we are going to stay and help take care of the vampire issue in this town, or if we are going to let the local vampire leader do his job. Frankly, I vote to leave. It’s not our problem. The vampires have Kings and Regionals for a reason. If they can’t handle their own business, then the Council is supposed to step in and do it for them.”

I nodded my head, not completely understanding everything he was saying but getting the general idea. Vampires had a hierarchy and took care of their own matters. The only thing that bothered me was that they didn’t seem to be doing a good job of it. Humans were suffering the consequences.

“What about the girls at the club? They need help now. I’m not sure they can wait for the vampires to figure their shit out.”

Valen was silent for a moment, considering my words, which I appreciated. No one had ever listened to me before or took my concerns seriously. “I might know someone I can call to get information about who we can contact. If I can get ahold of the local King or even the Council, then the whole problem will be out of our hands for good.”

“And what about me?” I thought about how the vampires were after me specifically. “How do we leave without being stopped by them, or worse, hunted down?”

Valen growled, and the hand he was holding my leg with tightened its grip. “No one who tries to come for you will live to see the dawn.”

That was actually a good point I hadn’t thought of. If we left during the daylight, then they couldn’t stop us. It wouldn’t keep them from following after the sun set, but at least we would have a good head start.

I nodded my head slowly. “Okay. I’m good with that plan. As long as you are able to get the right people involved first to make sure the girls won’t be harmed if I leave.”

“The only one I care about is you, but I’ll make the call,” he said with a grunt. He tilted back his head and finished the remains of his coffee before leaning over for a quick kiss on the lips. Then he stood and strode back to the sink and rinsed his cup before setting it aside.

He walked back over to the bed and sat down. I watched as he began to pull on a pair of socks and his boots. He shrugged a clean T-shirt over his head and picked up his leather jacket.

“Why don’t you pack your clothes into my bag? Try to fold or roll them as tight as you can. We’ll do our best to fit everything in my saddlebags when I get back.” He looked over at the piles of colorful women’s clothes he bought for me and shook his head. “I wasn’t thinking about taking you with me when I bought them. I was only concerned about getting you things you needed.”

I set my cup on the floor next to the couch and walked over to him. He was already taller than me by a great deal, but with me barefoot and him in his motorcycle boots, he was even taller. There was no way I’d be able to reach his face, even on my tiptoes.

I placed my hands on his chest and craned my neck back to look up at him. “Be safe while you’re gone,” I whispered. I wanted to tell him so much more but held my tongue, choosing instead to let him read my emotions through my expression. His eyes softened as he looked down at me. Then he bent down so we were almost at eye level.

“Stay safe, little Mate,” he said, then took my mouth with a savage kiss that left me breathless and my mind spinning. Before I could come back to my senses, he was already typing the code into the panel and pressing the button to open the lift. “In case you need it, the code is 9-2-5-1. But don’t use it unless it’s an emergency, got it?”

“Got it,” I replied, still breathless.

He stared at me for another long minute before hitting the button to close the doors. A second later, the motor for the lift began to vibrate the floor, and he was gone. I glanced around the room at all the clothes and sighed. I wasn’t sure if it was possible to get all of these clothes onto his bike. But they were too beautiful to leave behind, so I was going to do my very best to make it happen.