Bittersweet Blood (The Order #1)

This was the point of no return. She didn’t care.

He stood up and lifted her effortlessly in his arms. Her body rested against the coolness of his chest as he carried her through the dark house and up the stairs. He kicked open her bedroom door and laid her on the bed. The curtains were open and moonlight streamed in through the window.

Staring down at her in the dim light, he truly appeared part monster, his pale face filled with a fierce predatory beauty. Her eyes ran down his body, snagged on the bulge in his pants, and her whole body tightened in anticipation.

He started to unbutton his shirt, and her eyes followed his movements. He paused halfway. “Are you sure? You say you don’t want to belong to me, but once this is done, I’ll not easily let you go.”

Tara hardly heard his words. He couldn’t stop now. Desire flowed through her like a living thing, but she didn’t have the experience to show him how much she wanted him.

“Please, Christian,” she said.

It was enough. He ripped open the remaining buttons, shrugged out his shirt, and tossed it onto the floor. He was beautiful, pale like marble, each hard line perfectly sculpted. His ribs were visible and his flat belly ridged with muscle. A line of dark silky hair bisected his stomach, disappearing beneath the waistband of his pants. She followed it down, swallowed and caught his eyes. They were hooded, gleaming beneath his lashes. He held her gaze as his hands went to the fastener of his pants and flicked it open. He paused before sliding down the zip.

Tara’s heart raced, the blood thundering in her veins. His soft laughter echoed in her ears.

“Scared?” he said.

He dropped his pants to the floor and stepped out of them. He was naked now, while she was still fully clothed and burning up. She couldn’t take her eyes from him. The silky hair thickened, forming a dark nest from which his cock rose proud, erect, almost vertical against his flat stomach. Pale glossy skin stretched tight, the head swollen, darkened with a faint blush of blood, and he was huge, though she had nothing to compare him to. She couldn’t take her eyes off his shaft, which jerked with a life of his own.

“You look as though you have never seen a naked man before,” he said. The heat rose in her cheeks, and his eyes narrowed. “Tara, have you seen a naked man before? Have you ever actually done this?”

Tara decided to misunderstand him. “What?” she asked. “Provide dinner for a vampire? Nope. Never. This is definitely a first.”

He smiled at her answer, and knelt on the bed beside her. She breathed in the musky, almost feral scent of him, and a wave of dizziness washed over her. He stroked her cheek.

“A virgin? I suppose it’s unsurprising considering your upbringing. But intriguing all the same.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. I never got the opportunity. But it makes no difference, so don’t worry that I’m going to go all weird on you. This is just sex, right?”

“Just sex?” A flicker of something flashed in his eyes. “If you say so, but I think you’ll find that there is no ‘just’ about what we’ll do together, and no, it makes no difference, but perhaps I would have been a little more discreet,” he gestured down the length of his naked body, “had I known.”

She looked again at his cock. It twitched under her gaze and her insides threatened to melt. She could almost feel him inside her the desire was so strong. She pressed her thighs together to relieve some of the tension, licked her lips, and heard him groan. He straddled her hips, and reaching between them, he picked up her hand, brought it to his body, and wrapped her fingers round him. He was cool and hard, the skin like satin stretched over steel. She squeezed, and his head went back. She released him and fluttered her fingers up over the swollen head. It pulsed, and he groaned again. He put his hand back over hers, stopping her movement.

“You’re wearing too many clothes.” He gripped the sides of her jumper, slid it over her head, then traced the black lace on her bra. “Pretty.”

He trailed one long finger over the soft swell of her breasts. His nail dragged across the swollen nipples, and lightning flashed to her groin. He repeated the action, and her hips rose of their own accord. Slipping a hand beneath her, he flicked open the catch of her bra, peeled the straps down her arms, and tossed it to the floor. He sat back on his heels and covered her breasts with his large hands. His palms were cool against the fiery heat of her skin. For a moment, they squeezed then drew down to frame her breasts as he took one pouting nipple between his teeth. She went wild beneath him as pleasure shot through her body. His hands held her still with ease as he kissed and licked her breasts, sucking on the sensitive nipples.