21. CATALINA

TWENTY-ONE

catalina

My eyes fluttered open as hair tickled my chin. I moved and soreness radiated down my arm, forcing me to freeze against the foreign black silk rubbing against my exposed skin. I wore absolutely nothing. My heart jumped into overdrive as memories flickered behind my eyelids. A familiar sweetness that accompanied the Crimson manor overpowered my senses. A scent that always clung to the vampires. I stared up at the ceiling illuminated by a low golden light shining from somewhere in the room.

Asher dragged his nose over the throbbing pulse in my neck.

“I have you,” he murmured into my throat. His arms were snaked around my waist, holding me tight to his torso. I slid my hands to his shoulders, glad I hadn’t woken up alone. “You smell better than anything I’ve ever encountered, Pet.” His tongue lashed the crease where my neck and shoulder met before grazing his teeth over my thin flesh. I was addicted to this sensation. The licks, his breath on my neck... all of it. I wanted him all over me.

“When did you return?”

“A few minutes ago. I came directly to you.”

I lifted my head, seeking Tobias. He’d been the last face I’d seen before I passed out.

“He’s not here,” Asher said.

I returned my attention to him. “You’ve been all wrapped around him,” he trailed off, irritation coating his words. He cleared his throat. My face heated. I was especially sensitive and Tobias experienced the backlash. I’d have to apologize later to make sure I hadn’t made him uncomfortable.

“If I didn’t know your motto of ‘no commitments’ I’d say you sound jealous,” I said wryly. “Don’t worry, Asher, I’m not expecting anything from you.” That wasn’t the only reason there could be nothing between us. Another was the obvious him-being-a-vampire thing.

Asher frowned and his pupils dilated, the irises flashing red and just as quickly returning to their normal blue. “You best not think of fucking anyone but me.”

I blinked at the sudden order. I was honestly speechless, but I shut down the butterflies going wild in my stomach.

I wrinkled my nose and snickered. Did he not take anything serious?

His eyes thinned. Whatever he was about to say cut off as I gripped the back of his head and pulled him to my mouth. I only had him for a bit longer now that Ren’s location was confirmed, so I needed to take advantage of the short-term pleasure he effortlessly wrenched from me. I’d run out of time. These brief memories would be all I had when it came to having a vampire lover because when I was long gone, I was through with the fantasies. He sighed against my lips, pressing his chest into me. With a sudden burst of motion, he scooped me to the side, so my hair fell over the edge of the bed. My body sank into the mattress and Asher used his knee to prod my legs open. I groaned, lifting my hips. I needed his touch and his bite to erase Matt’s.

“Is your pussy wet for me?” Asher hummed, the seductive sound shooting strikes of electricity to my clit. Pushing up to my elbows, I peeked at the smooth skin between my thighs, as if there had never been marks. It’d still bled after Matt was ripped off me . . . or I thought I’d been bleeding?

He settled over me, his hips caged by my legs as he sank over me. Asher’s lips pressed into mine, prodding them open and dissolving my confusion. His tongue flicked into my mouth and I sucked on it, needing more of his sweet taste. The groan he released caused a wave of moisture between my legs.

Asher reached down and pressed his palm over my pussy, grinding on me. I whimpered and pushed up, arching my back to get closer to the pressure. His long fingers speared inside me. The sudden invasion sucked the oxygen from my lungs in the best way. He swirled the digits in my core, caressing the walls of my pussy.

I clenched around them, heat spreading from my belly and increasing with each swirl.

He retracted his fingers and lifted the glistening digits.

“So terribly wet,” he chastised. He brought them to his mouth and licked them clean with long swipes of his tongue. I watched in awe, suspended by desire. “Rivals the delicacy of your blood.”

Before I could even think of how to respond, he thrust them back in with shallow pumps.

I gritted my teeth, writhing up to get more of him in me, but he kept them from going any deeper.

“Asher,” I moaned, panting so hard my nipples brushed against his shirt with each inhale.

“Yes, Pet?” His teasing tone... I curved my fingers into his shoulders, scrunching the cotton. “Tell me what you want.”

“Please, Asher. Put your fingers inside me.”

He hummed, the sound verging on a purr. I bit my lip, then he offered me sweet relief. Fingers thrust into my core and his thumb swirled on my clit, adding stimulation.

I jolted, the sensation almost too much. A moan crawled up my throat and I writhed against him. He groaned, deep and long as his cock pressed into my thigh.

My hips jerked off the mattress, my heels digging into the foam as my channel throbbed around his fingers. Asher didn’t let off on the rhythm, wringing the orgasm from me. I whimpered at the sensitivity, cringing back, but he didn’t relent. Asher chuckled at my frantic tugging of his shirt.

“Fall apart for me, Pet.”

I panted and stared up at his glittering blue eyes.

“We’re not done.” I blinked at his smirk, but he slid down, disappearing from sight.

“Since your pussy has never been claimed, I’m assuming my pet has not been licked before me,” he murmured in a pleased rumbled.

I squeaked as his tongue flicked against my clit. I gripped his hair, stopping his progression. My chest heaved as I peered down at him. His tongue flicked out again and the barest red flashed in his eyes as he narrowed them. He hummed low, as if making a discovery, but just as quickly the expression passed.

“Yes, I have been,” I said breathlessly—lying. His fingers dug into my thighs, and I hissed at the abrupt pain. His expression darkened, but he didn’t question me as his red eyes shut tightly and he exhaled sharply.

I tensed. Had I said something wrong?

“A-Asher?” Uncertainty bled from my tone. Asher shook his head hard, a short exhale brushing against my wetness.

“You bring out the possessiveness in me, Pet.” His lips quirked. “I never thought it’d be possible.”

That pleased me more than I could express, but my smugness swiftly faded when his mouth attached to my clit and he sucked.

I screamed, jerking up, but he was relentless, sucking and flicking the bud.

My fingers wove into his hair, and I tugged, whimpering, trying to get him to give me a second. Lids fluttering, my mouth opened on a silent cry as the wave of release crashed into me. Asher chuckled against me, and my toes curled at the vibration. I could not think.

His warm tongue lowered to my slit, and he dipped it into the heat, licking up my juices.

“You taste like heaven, Pet.” His fingers dug into my ass as he devoured me like a starved man, elongating my orgasm with shocking ease.

I panted, lifting my head. He stared up at me, his puffy lips wet from my release. I bit my lower lip, unable to handle the erotic sight.

The light in the room glinted off his fangs and my body clenched, lips parting.

“Bite me,” I whispered. Unlike with the other vampire, I wanted this one.

His grin widened.

“Beg me, Pet.”

“Asher,” I whimpered. “Please. Please. Bite me.”

His extended fangs sank into my thigh and he pulled at the wound, moaning against my skin. With my fingers curling into the blankets, I panted. A low throb at my core was already starting up again. His tongue licked over the punctures, and he pushed to his knees.

“Jaxon needs to feed, Pet,” he murmured, eyes glinting with lust. He hadn’t yet fed from me so what did that have to do with me? A hard touch fisted my hair, wrenching a yelp from me. My bare chest heaved as Jax hovered at the end of the bed, his harsh eyes peering into mine. Jax didn’t allow me a word as he yanked my head to the left to expose my throat.

I sucked in a shaking breath, my pulse skyrocketing.

“ Mild, hon ?r m?nsklig ,” Asher snapped and although I didn’t understand, it sounded like he scolded Jax. His demanding tone calmed my heartrate even though it shouldn’t have.

Jax dropped to his knees and bowed over my throat. He didn’t even let me get a syllable in edgewise before he struck, sinking his fangs into my throat. Pleasure chased the sting away and I moaned, my hips jerking. Asher’s grip held me down.

Jax’s grip in my hair stiffened and he groaned against my throat. After another long pull of blood that I felt to my clit, he lifted his head.

“Fuck.” He hissed, red painting his lips. He seemed to be battling internal demons; squeezing his eyes shut tight and shaking his head as if trying to dislodge something. I panted, my hips moving side to side in search of relief. His grip on my hair turned painful as he forced my head to the side again, leaving Asher within sight.

Asher’s jaw line flexed as Jax struck his teeth into my neck again, more violently. It should have shot fear through me, but fuck. It was delicious. I whimpered and twitched, grinding my hips in needy little movements.

Asher unbuckled his slacks and his thick cock sprung free, the piercings glinting. He gripped my outer thighs and shoved them wide, his glistening cock extended. He reached down and grabbed the base, sliding into me. The piercings massaging my core as he pushed in.

My head lolled at the possession, and I throbbed around him. Asher kept his hands on my ass, keeping me balanced as he pulled out slowly. When his tip was at my entrance, my channel sucking at him to keep him in, he slammed back in.

I grunted at the harsh entrance. He repeated the move, picking up pace with each retreat.

Vampires were fast, but I never thought about how that could be translated in the bedroom. I choked out a sob. Jax’s hand lifted to the other side of my throat and he sucked in another harsh gulp. I cried out from the overwhelming sensations sending me to the highest peak I never knew could be reached.

Asher practically vibrated with how fast he moved. The sharp heat tingled up my legs, and I lifted my knees, pressing them into his side as he hammered into me incessantly.

My ears rang as my release washed over me and I panted, goose bumps lifting across my flesh. My stomach cramped from the strain, and another orgasm slammed into me. I lifted my hand and sank my fingers into Jax’s hair, sinking them into the short strands. He moaned again and his fangs sank into another section in my throat. My body twitched, gripping Asher’s dick and dragging out his release. Asher’s head tipped back, and he moaned, his thrusts turning jerky. This level of lust seemed like a fantasy, and I could live forever with pleasure this life shattering.

Asher suddenly pulled his cock out of my pussy and warmth sprayed over my bare belly. The heated liquid continued spilling as he rubbed his hand down his dick until nothing more came out.

He dropped forward but caught himself on his elbows before smashing me under him and in the process, rubbing his cum into my skin. Jax dragged in another mouthful from my throat and it spiked through my clit. Another orgasm swelled and I rubbed Jax’s hair between my fingertips, loving the silky feel as the wave climbed. Suddenly he yanked his fangs out with a roughness that pulled a scream from me.

I gawked at him, panting, as he sneered down at me. He swiped the back of his hand across his mouth.

“At least you’re of some use.” With that lovely comment, he backed out of the room.

Asher’s laugh dropped my stunned gaze down.

“Ignore him, he’s throwing a fit because you’re the most delicious thing he’s ever tasted, and he hates that.”

Well, then.

Asher crawled over my body so our faces lined up and his forehead pressed into mine as he searched my eyes, brows furrowed. Confusion flickered over his face. I didn’t understand why he kept looking at me that way.

He tipped my neck to the side as the tension in my lungs lessened. Asher didn’t exacerbate my anxiety, he seemed to calm it.

“My bitch of a brother didn’t heal you.” Asher dipped and laved the side of my neck, ticking the flesh.

I laughed and his chest moved with his amused chuckle.

“Vampire saliva heals everything?”

“Outer shallow wounds. Yes,” he murmured into my neck as he tucked me into the curve of his body, spooning me. I sighed, wiggling into him.

It was a wonder my heart hadn’t pounded out of my chest.

The door creaked and I lazily opened my eyes to find Tobias placing his removed shirt on the seat as he stepped over to the bed.

“What are you doing in here?” Asher muttered, tugging me tighter to him.

“You’re in my bed,” Tobias snapped. It was his room? That explained the black bedsheets, Asher’s were red . . . Tobias slid into the bed.

My body was too sated to get tense. He settled close, but not touching me. Unlike Asher who curled me closer as if trying to drag me away from Tobias. Even with the distance, I was surrounded, not feeling alone for once. Tobias turned, giving me his back, and I curved myself closer to Asher. I breathed evenly as my eyelids became heavy.

Yet worry wouldn’t allow me to be dragged under. Asher’s grip slacked and he hummed, deep in sleep. A loud clank echoed through the bedroom.

“What’s that?”

“Automatic blinds . . . sunlight,” he mumbled, voice heavy with sleep. His arms remained fastened around my waist, caging me. I wouldn’t be able to get free until he released me.

“Go to sleep, Catalina.”

I startled at Tobias’s voice.

“Sorry.”

He grunted and said nothing. My eyes traced the muscles in his back, he had a smooth back except for a few beauty marks on his shoulder. I had the oddest urge to kiss them. I fisted my hands, yanking my mind out of the gutter.

“Did I do anything earlier?—”

“You didn’t.”

I swallowed hard at his sharp words. That was a relief.

Tobias’s shoulders twitched and he rolled onto his back, tossing one of his hands over his eyes.

“Good morning,” I whispered, forcing my eyes closed.

The response came many moments later.

“Good night, human.”