19. Nic

Chapter 19

I jogged back over the landscape we'd traversed in darkness last night, my feet slipping on the damp grass. It was later than I wanted—early evening now—but I'd made my way back here as fast as I could. I couldn't stay away from Leia for too long.

I shook my head as I ran. A female had never made me so weak. Yet I didn't feel weakened at all. Leia's power coursed through my veins, strengthening me. Our bond made me a stronger vampire, a stronger king.

And I couldn't wait to fucking see her.

As I approached the strange little crackerbox house, so tiny in its construction, I was unsure how wolves used it as a place to live at all, especially when they preferred to travel in packs, the grunts and moans of a fight sliced the air. I picked up speed. What the fuck? These fuckers were supposed to be protecting Leia, and now there was a fight right outside the fucking house?

Hell, no. Not near my true mate.

I slowed as I neared the edge of the tree line, and crept forward, my fangs threatening to descend as the fighting continued.

Leia flew through the air, tossed by a shifter female, and I lurched forward, then stopped, leaving deep grooves in the trunk of the nearest tree as I raked my fingernails over it. Fury erupted inside me, but Leia clambered to her feet and rushed forward again, her fighting technique more enthusiasm than skill.

Aimée stood to the side and fended off Leia's blow, then battled her backward until Leia stumbled and landed on her ass.

"Oof!" Her exclamation filled the air as she hit the ground hard, and she was slower to stand as she rubbed her hand over the area where there was sure to be a bruise.

Part of me wanted to kiss it better, part of me wanted to storm over to Leia and demand what the hell she thought she was doing. I could always slit the shifter's throat on the way. Her hands had no place on my mate.

But Leia used her arms to ward off more blows, still breathing hard. Then she bent forward and wheezed, and I almost stepped out into the open. But instead of Leia keeling over, the space filled with the most glorious sound.

Her laughter.

She laughed harder and beckoned both of the other women forward. "Come at me then," she taunted, as she took a swaggering step toward them. "If you think you've got what it takes."

I could have run so fast I would have grabbed Leia and taken her back to the jetty almost before Aimée or the shifter woman knew I was even there, but the sound of Leia's laughter held me back.

She was sparring with two women who could break her in half as easily as look at her, and she was having a better time than I'd seen her have in days. I couldn't take this away from her.

But either I moved, or I made a noise, or simply her blood ran as fast as mine did when we were near each other, because she turned around. For a moment, she didn't spot me, and her gaze scanned the trees then back again, looking past me a couple of times before I stepped forward and offered her a rueful grin for disrupting her fun.

"Hi," I murmured.

"Nic!" She ran toward me, and her name on my lips was the sweetest of sounds.

"Hey, we're not done," Aimée called after her, but Leia gave her the finger before she slammed into my arms.

"You're back." She searched my gaze and pursed her lips a little, and I chuckled, lacing my fingers behind her.

"Of course I'm back. Where else would I go?"

Those lips… Always tempting me to kiss them, no matter her expression.

"Oh, I don't know. Finding my dad, saving the world without me?"

I laughed again and smoothed my thumb over her mouth. "Would I dare?"

She narrowed her eyes a little, and I relented.

"Okay, so I would. I'd do anything to keep you safe and make no apology for any of it." I shrugged. "That's just the kind of guy I am."

"Hey, Leia." Aimée waved to get her attention. "Are we still practicing over here or what?"

"Or what," I yelled back without taking my eyes off my mate. "I'm handling Leia's practice now."

As Aimée made loud kissy noises, Leia buried her face against my chest, and I lost another piece of my heart to her. This fragile human female trusted me completely, and I needed to talk to her about what our future held—what I wanted it to hold.

"Leia—" As I spoke her name, Aimée yelled too.

"Hey, Nicky, don't forget that teaching her how to fight is more than just fucking in the yard."

I flipped my sister the finger, too, and she laughed. Leia backed away, already adopting the fighting stance the others must have taught her. Chuckling, I followed her, my movements a little more predatory than ordinary fighting ones. I would have followed Leia anywhere.

"You going to show me what you've learned?"

She grinned. "Absolutely."

I matched her grin and beckoned her forward, mimicking her movements from earlier. "Come at me then." I even borrowed her same taunting tone and took a swaggering step toward her. "If you think you've got what it takes."

She ran through a few moves, and I let her get a couple of hits. She definitely didn't have vampire speed or strength, but she had plenty of the same enthusiasm I'd seen when she fought Aimée and the shifter.

The evening grew darker, and her eyesight began to suffer for it. She misjudged a step and landed hard against my chest. Instinctively, I wrapped an arm around her, holding her against me, steadying her.

"Hey now," she whispered. "I don't think anyone has taught me this fighting move."

"Oh, really?" Shit. Her scent was so tantalizing. I dropped my head toward her, stopping short of taking her mouth. If she didn't want to kiss me, she didn't have to do a thing. Just stay where she was and look at me.

I'd drink her in any way I could. Her gaze, her lips, her pussy… Her blood. Just the thought of all the ways I could taste her sent a surge of lust to the base of my cock, and it stiffened, jutting against her.

She laughed, the sound low and throaty this time. "And that's definitely not a move either of the girls had."

"I'm just special like that." I couldn't help flirting with her, teasing her with my words, even as I pressed closer to her and rubbed up against her a little. A small groan rumbled through me, and my fangs pressed against my gums, making them burn. "Do you really always want me?" My head dropped lower still. Pure invitation.

She inhaled softly, and for a moment it seemed like she might deny me. Instead, she stretched her arm up my body, curling her fingers into the hair at the base of my neck. "All the time," she breathed.

Then there was no distance between our mouths anymore as she pressed her lips to mine, already teasing me with her tongue. And I kissed her back like she was the air I needed to breathe.

She moaned and the soft noise aroused me further. I groaned, not wanting to break our kiss to tell her how much I desired her. She tugged my T-shirt from the waistband of my pants and her hands roamed over my back, caressing my skin. I dragged my lips from hers, trailing my mouth along her jaw and down her neck, nudging the neckline of her T-shirt with my chin.

"I want you," I whispered. "I want you so badly, Leia. Say you'll stay by my side always."

I punctuated each of my words with kisses as I took her to the ground, to the soft moss beneath us and the shelter from view offered by the night and the shrubbery.

She arched against me, her fingers still tangling into my hair as she pressed her breasts to my body. I ran my hands over her curves and pushed her T-shirt up so I could press the soft swells that were usually concealed by fabric.

"Be my bride," I murmured. "I love you, stay with me."

She stilled, and even my heart paused as I waited for her reply.

"Be with me." I tried again. "Let me turn you. Say you'll stay. It's the greatest thing I can ever offer you. The only gift I have to give. And I want to give it to you."

Fear that she might refuse seized me, and I kissed her with fervor, stroking my hands over her warm skin, luxuriating in the softness of her.

Her gaze met mine, her eyes gleaming.

"I'm human," she whispered. "And there are so many things I don't want to forget. My mother, not least of them." She shook her head then focused on me again. "But I'll be okay. And we have this. We have now."

She tugged me back toward her and took my mouth again, her kiss almost painful as she pressed her blunt teeth against my lip.

My heart was heavy in my chest, but I could try again. I could show her my love this way. Prove myself, and I could talk to her properly after. Explain it all. Make it more than a desperate man blurting declarations in the midst of passion.

I reached underneath her and unhooked her bra before pushing it over her breasts and out of the way. I took one of her nipples in my mouth, then the other, sucking gently until I elicited soft sounds of pleasure from her. Her thighs moved beneath me, like she was trying to create the friction she needed all by herself.

"What are you doing?" I murmured as I cupped my hand between her legs.

"Making it feel nice," she whispered back.

"Getting a head start?" I lifted an eyebrow. "Two can play at that game."

I lifted myself away from her so she was aware of all of my movements, and I stroked my palm over the length of my shaft. It almost hurt. I wanted her touch, her hand, but her eyes widened as I teased us both.

I slipped my button free and unfastened the zipper, groaning as my cock had room to thicken and grow.

Leia pushed at me. "On your back, Nic."

I rolled over, my hands clasped beneath my head, and she settled between my thighs. "Hmm. I like this view." I looked down my body and met her gaze before she pushed my pants down my thighs and freed my cock completely.

"I quite like this view too." She bent over me, her soft hair tickling my skin where it touched me, and I held my breath in my chest as her tongue flicked out, drifting over the tip of my cock. She licked the head a little, and I fought not to lift my hips toward her, not to tug on her hair, not to beg for more.

Instead, I hissed my satisfaction and murmured soft words of encouragement. I wanted this. She made me feel worshiped as she ran her tongue up my shaft and cupped my balls in her palms.

"Please, Leia." I lifted my hips a fraction—an offering, not a demand.

She looked at me again, meeting my gaze as she opened her mouth, and I released a groan as she took my cock inside it. So slowly it was the most exquisite torture. She bobbed her head, taking more of me.

This woman could make me lose control. I reached down and tucked loose strands of hair behind her ear. Such soft hair. Soft skin, too. And she was mine.

"I want to touch you. I want to be inside you, Leia." I tried to keep my voice steady, but it was more difficult than I'd anticipated as I continued to watch her lips on me.

She drew away and I closed my eyes to listen to the rustle of fabric as she removed her pants, the removal of sight making the anticipation even sweeter. Then she placed a hand on my chest and bent forward, her hair tickling against my face and neck this time before she kissed me.

I flicked my tongue against her lips and lifted my hips toward her, not offering anymore. Begging. My cock nudged against her entrance, and she was wet for me. Ready.

My mate was wet for me, and I'd never felt more alive, more powerful. She rested back just a little, and her body stretched around me, welcoming me inside her. I held still, letting her set the pace, waiting as she lifted up and lowered back down, taking more of me each time.

She closed her eyes, her face radiant as she turned it toward the sky like she was seeking a moonbeam. I pressed my palms over her breasts, strumming over her nipples with my thumbs, and she sank lower on me, until I was buried in her.

Then she rose up and sank back down, grinding against me, finding her pleasure, and I met her, stroking the inside of her until she moaned and increased her speed, searching for something only I could give her—something that only I had ever given her.

I grasped her hips to help her, lifting her up and down my length until her mouth dropped open and I wanted to swallow her moans. Her warm body pulsed around me, and her movements froze as she held herself, shuddering through her orgasm.

"Come for me, Nic," she whispered, and I began to move again, faster and faster until she clenched around me again and my balls tightened, drawing up to my body before I cried out my release.

She flopped forward against my chest, and I stroked her hair away from her face as her breathing slowed. I stayed inside her because I liked to be there, joined to her.

"We have now, right?" Her words were soft, and I nodded.

We had now, but I wanted so much more.

As we lay quietly together, I straightened her clothes and drew her against me, content to simply hold her as I considered all of the things I needed to say. I wanted to turn her for all of the right reasons, but time and the prospect of Leia becoming a thrall was also an aspect I couldn't ignore. I'd withheld myself from her recently, not wanting to hasten her descent, but also not knowing if limiting the blood I took from her would help in any way.

The limitation also served to reduce my power gains, but no one else would know about that effect. I would be stronger when we were truly together, but that was fast becoming a secondary reason for wanting her.

Hell, who was I kidding? It was already a secondary consideration and slipping in priority every day.

I stroked her hair and rubbed the ends between my fingertips as she used my upper arm as her pillow and rested against me, her soft breaths bringing me absolute calm.

A howl echoed through the air, then another, and Leia sat up, her eyes wide.

"What are they doing that for?"

But I was already on my feet, tugging her toward me. "It's a warning. Something's wrong. Come on, I need to get you back to the house."

We dressed quickly then I half-carried, half-tugged her to the cabin, and once there, I pushed her gently toward Aimée. "Look after Leia. Don't let anyone get close to her."

"What's going on out there?" Behind her, farther inside the cabin, a large black wolf prowled, and part of me wanted to snatch Leia back to me, even though this was exactly why we'd brought her here, for the wolves' protection.

"Who's that?" I nodded in the direction of the wolf.

"Ulva. You met her earlier."

I nodded. The female who'd thrown Leia around with ease. Still, her ability to best a human was of no real importance. Her wolf jaws and claws and strength were a different matter, though.

Leia squealed a little as Aimée tugged her farther inside and stood between us. With Aimée in front of her and Ulva behind, I relaxed a little, some of the tension leaving my muscles.

"What are you going to do?" Aimée stepped closer to me and lowered her voice.

"I'll find out what's going on." The urge to protect Leia and vanquish any threat rose fiercely within me. I was her mate. It was my duty.

Aimée lifted an eyebrow. "Well, don't do anything stupid, my king." Then, in case I'd misunderstood her emphasis on the last word, she added. "I don't particularly want to be pledging my loyalty to Sebastian in the morning."

"Just protect Leia." I sought out my mate's gaze over Aimée's shoulder, and I met her eyes before nodding at her. "I'll be back for you soon."

Then, before I delayed any longer, I hurried away, already reaching into my back pocket for my phone.

I'd come alone, but this was a time for Sebastian, Jason, and Kyle to be here with me. Plus whatever guards Kyle could bring. But my pocket was empty.

"Fuck." My harsh curse grated from my throat. The phone must have dropped out while I was with Leia earlier.

Another howl sounded through the night, and I sped up, racing toward the sound. Then I slowed down as the trees and shadows seemed to move around me, and a new scent reached my nose—one that wasn't remotely canine. No, this one was death and decay and the grave dirt of the newly risen.

Not only newly risen—they were hungry. Their eerie groans echoed through me like a low-frequency hum as they sought the attentions of their sire to take care of them by providing their first meal.

An army.

Someone had brought a fucking army of newly sired vampires to the safe house where my true mate—still a human—was waiting for my return. I closed my eyes briefly as pain clamped my chest. I'd let her down again.

A ferocious roar and a snarl came from my left as a huge wolf took down three vampires, ripping their heads off, before it bounded further into the trees, where the ripping and slashing noises continued.

I shook my head to bring myself back to sense. I hadn't let Leia down. I'd brought her to the most protected place, and I was about to protect her with my own body. Rage fueled me as I attacked the nearest vampire, the bloodlust of war swelling through me.

I'd win this battle for her.

I glanced in the direction of the cabin. I needed to buy them enough time for her to run if she needed to escape.