BOOK 2 - Viktoria Ch. 07

Fangs out, Jael lunged, waiting for her shadows to pull him away. He stopped just short of biting her and inhaled, the familiar scent of vanilla and shadows swamping his senses. The other Viktoria hadn't smelled this way. She hadn't smelled like anything.

"Viktoria?"

"Yes, Lurky. It's me. This is real, you're awake now."

He drew his fangs down her throat. She shuddered against him and tilted her head, exposing more of her skin to his teeth. Was she the real one? Or had the mage just figured out a way to make him think she was this time?

Even if this wasn't really his Draga, he could make this Viktoria his. He would do it fast, before his memories changed again. At least he'd have a memory of having his Draga one time. His heart thumped in his chest. The powerful pulse sent blood surging through his body and venom into his fangs.

His heart had not beat for the other Viktorias.

Rearing back he finished kicking off his pants, tangled around one ankle, and tore at the tank top and leggings Viktoria wore, ripping them apart at the seams.

"Lurky! My clothes! You—"

That sounded like his Viktoria, but Jael cut off her words by taking her mouth, not wanting to hear any more of her cruel and tricky words. Whatever she was going to say turned into a moan as he slid his tongue between her lips. She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Impatient to be inside her and bond her to him, he shifted to settle between her legs and cupped a breast, rubbing his thumb over her nipple as it hardened for him. Sliding his erection through her wetness, he groaned as he thrust into her.

This Viktoria felt right. The scent of her desire was as he remembered from the night in her bedroom. But he still couldn't be sure this was real. Everything about her felt like his Draga, but she wasn't acting like his Draga. Was reality a place he'd never been and a woman who never called him by his name?

He pulled back and thrust again, sinking fully into her. Her legs lifted to encircle his hips.

Satisfied this felt real, but not sure how long he had before his memories changed again, Jael pistoned his hips against her, taking her in fast, deep strokes. She moved her legs higher, pulled him closer.

Releasing her mouth, he nipped along her jaw. He slowed his thrusts and fisted his hand in her hair, yanking her head to one side.

She arched her neck even more. "Do it, Lurky."

His fangs ached in his jaw, and dripped with venom. He pulled back and let some fall on her breast, using his tongue to spread it over her skin. When he laved his coated tongue over her already erect nipple, the bud darkened from pink to red and tightened against his lips. She writhed under him, growing wetter and contracting around him inside her.

Moving to her other breast, he bit, sinking his fangs into the plump, sweet flesh around her nipple. She cried out and arched her back as he lapped and sucked at the small punctures and her nipple. Her blood hit his system like a lightning bolt from the blue and he groaned, letting instinct take over.

He picked up his pace, the urgency to bond her to him pushing him to finish.

Pulling away from her he flipped her on to her knees, pulled her hips back and filled her again. One hand on her neck, he pulled her up so her back was against his front. Biting his own wrist he pressed the wound to her lips, growling in satisfaction as her lips sealed around it and she drank from him. She sucked hard, and it felt like she was taking what was left of his soul.

She was welcome to it.

Her small hands pressed on his arm, her lips sucking hard, but the wound had sealed. He sliced his neck with a sharp fingernail and pressed her mouth to that instead, groaning as she obeyed his silent command. As that cut healed, he forced her back down, and she braced herself on her elbows to take him as he rode her hard.

When she was close, he bent over her and struck, sinking his fangs deep into her neck, finally letting the venom he'd had building up for days flow into her. She screamed and her orgasm rode them both as she squeezed so tight around him he could hardly move as he let himself go and emptied himself into her.

Keeping her pinned against him and his fangs in her neck, he rolled onto his side, bringing her with him.

He fed.

He sucked, taking in mouthfuls of her blood. As he swallowed, his heart beat, a strong, steady rhythm that sent his blood, now combined with his Draga's, blazing through his veins. He didn't need his swords to feel the magic in her blood combining with his. A bond and a balm settled over his mind, easing the tortured feelings of past memories.

Sated, he licked over the bite to heal it and buried his face in her hair. "My Draga."

A shudder went through her and she snuggled closer to him.

But the mage wasn't done with him yet, and even as his Draga's hot blood filled him, something cold seeped back into him, and Jael slipped into memories. He fought to relive this latest one, the happiest one, but it was only one, and the painful horrors of his past were legion.

The bond he now shared with Viktoria would let her feel what he felt. He couldn't close it like she could, and he couldn't tell her to close him out to save her the pain before they dragged him away from her. As the memories threatened to tear his mind apart, he had the fleeting regret that now he was the biggest danger to his Draga.

To protect her, he went deep into himself, taking his agony with him.