Out of the darkness, p.18
Out of the Darkness,
p.18
Harlee shook her head. “I’ve seen it before. The lengths people will go to for power. It’s a very heady lure.”
“Power makes people insane. Or at least corrupt. Me, I just like sex. And speaking of sex,” he said, wagging his eyebrows at her.
She laughed. “You have a one-track mind and I’m trying to change the subject, Duncan.”
“Harlee, you’re a beautiful, special woman. But you’re not my woman. And you do love Adrian. You can deny it all you want, but the love is there in your eyes.”
“That I do,” she admitted.
“But?”
Should she admit her uncertainties? “I don’t know about Adrian.”
“You mean you don’t know how he feels about you.”
“Yes.”
“Easy enough to find out. He’s on his way up here.”
Her eyes widened. “He is? Oh shit!” She scanned the room for her robe, spotting it on the chair and heading for it. Duncan grabbed her wrist.
“Uh-uh. You want to know how he feels about you? Let’s find out right now.”
“No, Duncan!”
She tried to jerk from his grasp, but he tipped her chin and wrapped her in a tight clinch, kissing her just as the door opened. Without looking, Harlee knew it was Adrian. The musky scent of him filled her from across the room, aphrodisiac to her senses.
Duncan lifted his lips from hers, his sea-blue eyes filled with teasing mirth.
Uh-oh.
“You’re a special man, Duncan,” she whispered. “Warped, but special. Somewhere out there is one special woman for you.”
“God, I hope not,” he whispered back, holding her tight. “What fun would that be?”
Adrian coughed. Duncan pulled away and winked at her. Harlee reached for her robe and slipped it on, catching Adrian’s scowl as he entered the room.
This was going to be interesting. She almost felt guilty for leading him on this way.
Almost.
“Was I interrupting?” he asked.
“No,” Duncan said. “We had just finished.” He made a show of adjusting his zipper.
Harlee stifled a laugh and Duncan caught and held her hand. “The other night with the three of us was somethin’, darlin’. I think we should do it regularly, don’t you? A regular threesome?”
“You think so?” she replied, slipping into the chair and grabbing the pot of coffee sitting there to pour a cup.
“Are you two out of your fucking minds?” Adrian said.
“Why?” Duncan asked, slipping into the other chair and filling a cup. “Any reason you wouldn’t want to do that? Can’t say I had anything to complain about, Adrian. Surely you didn’t either, from the way you fucked her.”
“Enough, Duncan,” he warned, glaring.
“Nah, I can’t say I had nearly enough of Harlee’s pussy the other night. Not nearly enough. I say we go at it again tonight.”
“That’s it!” Adrian advanced on him and Duncan shot out of the chair like a bullet. The two of them were nose to nose in an instant and Harlee just stared at both of them in shock. Adrian’s face was red with rage, Duncan’s lips curled in amusement.
“So, Harlee, I guess you have your answer. I think I need to go now.” He backed away from Adrian, picked up Harlee’s hand and kissed it, and sauntered from the room.
Harlee grinned at his departure, then turned to Adrian, hands on hips. “Well?”
“Well what?”
Oh, he was really pissed. His face was contorted in rage and his fangs exposed. “What was that all about?” she asked, keeping her voice calm and even despite the tension emanating from him.
“What?”
“That macho display of temper. You have something to say, then say it.”
“Fine.” He turned away from the door where Duncan had retreated and faced her. “The other night when I bit you, the bite was a little more…permanent, because that time when I bit you, you bit me. Which means we mated. A blood bond. It’s like a vampire marriage.”
“And this means?”
“It means there will be no more ménages. You don’t get to fuck anyone else. I don’t get to fuck anyone else.”
“You were going to tell me this when?”
“I was going to get around to it, dammit. I’ve been busy.” He glared at her as if this was all somehow her fault.
Harlee rolled her eyes. “Gee, that was romantic.” She turned away, sat back in the chair and picked up her coffee.
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“Yes.” She sipped her coffee and reached for the newspaper.
“Goddamit, Harlee.” He stormed over, threw the paper on the floor, tossed the coffee cup across the room and hauled her to her feet, pinning her arms at her sides. “You have to goddamned pay attention while I’m trying to tell you I love you.”
Her eyes widened. “That was an I love you?”
“It is now. I love you. I’m not very good at this sort of thing.”
“Clearly.” Her lips twitched, warmth flooding her body. “I love you too, Adrian. Now kiss me.”
He did, his mouth descending on hers, first rough, as if he were angry that he loved her. But then his lips gentled and his arms came around her back, his body molding to hers. He cradled her head in the back of his hand, the other resting on the small of her back.
It was perfect. It was romantic, the way love was supposed to be. Just the two of them and he was holding her, and her heart was pounding against his, her blood boiling with need for him. Her pussy throbbed and moistened and she rocked it against his hard-on, whimpering against his mouth.
He tore his lips away and stared at her, his eyes dark as he pulled the robe from her shoulders and pushed her back against the wall. Time stood still as they stared into each other’s eyes while he unzipped his jeans and pulled out his cock.
Harlee reached for his shaft, felt the throbbing pulse of his life force and stroked it, rewarded with a drop of pre-cum gathering at the slit. She rubbed her thumb over his cock head and he groaned. She shuddered at the sound, bringing her thumb to her mouth to taste his salty fluid. He took her mouth and sucked his own juices off her tongue, sucking harder while he positioned his cock between her folds and lifted her leg over his hip, then thrust inside her.
She cried out, her blood on fire, her fangs descending and biting into his lip as he fucked her. Tiny quakes of pleasure pulsed in her pussy with every thrust of his cock, drawing her closer and closer to the precipice of completion. He groaned and his canines descended, pricking her lower lip and drawing blood. They both drank of each other as they made love, drawing their strength from each other with each thrust, each suck of their tongues. Harlee tightened against him and cried out, flooding him with her juices as she came, shuddering.
Adrian groaned against her mouth and bit hard on her lip, pouring his cum into her pussy as she held tight to him and closed her eyes, wanting it to go on forever.
When it was over, she retracted her fangs, licking his wounds until they closed, feeling more complete, more satisfied than she ever had before. She wanted to hold onto him like this forever, never let him go. He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, climbing in next to her and pulling the covers over them both.
She liked feeling his chest against her back, his arm over her, cupping her breast, the rhythmic beating of his heart against her. With Adrian at her side, she felt safe, complete.
But she also knew there were loose ends that needed to be tied up, things left undone.
“The government is going to wonder where I am.”
“I know. But you are the ‘in’ to help free our people. We’ll work it out.”
Somehow she knew that. And for the first time in a very long time, she felt she had a purpose. Maybe the first time ever. She hadn’t realized until just this moment that maybe she’d never felt…needed. And now she did. Her “family” needed her. Both her families—the vampires and the lycans.
“I love you, Harlee. I’ve never said that to a woman before.”
Somehow she knew that too. “I love you too, Adrian.”
The rest would fall into place. This was only the beginning.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jaci Burton is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author who lives in Oklahoma with her husband and dogs. She has three grown children who are all scattered around the country having lives of their own. A lover of sports, Jaci can often tell what season it is by what sport is being played. She watches entirely too much television, including an unhealthy amount of HGTV, which has given her the ‘lets remodel every room in the house’ bug. When she isn’t on deadline, Jaci can be found at her local casino, trying to become a millionaire (so far, no luck). She’s a total romantic and loves a story with a happily ever after, which you’ll find in all her books.
Connect with Jaci online to learn more about her upcoming titles.
www.jaciburton.com
Out of the Darkness
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Jaci Burton, Out of the Darkness
