Page 27 of A Bond Beyond Blood (The Butcher’s Daughter Trilogy #1)

Growling impatiently, Jacqueline dug her fingertips into my scalp to deepen the kiss and I slipped my arms around her waist, then spun her away from the wall.

Using memory alone, I strode back into the bedroom and turned as I reached the bed, then lowered us onto it, holding her to me as I leaned back, feet braced on the floor.

She moaned and pressed her hands to my chest, then broke the kiss, pushing up to ride my cock.

So fucking beautiful like this, my girl, with her hair falling around her in waves, her small tits bouncing, stomach flexing, muscular thighs bracing me on either side.

I ran my hands up her stomach, over her breasts, thumbing each nipple into peaks, then I slid one hand behind her neck and brought her back down to me so I could lick into her mouth again, but the second she dug her fingernails into my chest, my fangs extended and I caught the fleshy side of her tongue, drawing just a nip of blood.

The monster roared with delight, hunger skating through my veins like fire. It burned up my spine, my throat, desperation clawing at my flesh as I strained to contain the craving.

I froze, my entire body rigid as hunger on the verge of madness pressed against my skin, the beast I kept caged and tethered struggling to break loose now that I knew .

Now that I knew without a doubt, she tasted as close to heaven as I expected she would.

No donor could come close; no feeding would ever truly satisfy me again.

“Vinny?” she whispered, her body tensing above me. “Are you okay?”

Just a hint of copper in her breath made my limbs jerk, my hands flexing on her supple flesh, Just that tease of her blood and I almost gave in, almost succumbed.

I gave my head a quick shake and closed my mouth tight, stopped breathing altogether, then turned my head to the side and squeezed my eyes shut until I could find my self-control.

“No,” she whispered, rocking her hips to bring me back to her as she cupped my chin. “Don’t shut me out.”

Seconds ticked by slowly as I found my composure, bit by painful bit. Once my fangs were sheathed, I opened my eyes, stared at the wall beneath the window as shame and regret sent ice through my veins to cool the fire that had raged in my blood just moments ago.

“Vincenzo,” Jacqueline whispered, my name on her lips a prayer worthy of saints—not monsters. “Please don’t hide from me.”

“I’m not hiding,” I said through clenched teeth, the words coming out more fiercely than I intended. I gripped her hips so she’d stop that goddamned rocking. “I hurt you.”

“What—no, you didn’t.”

“I cut you.”

Her breath caught, then she whispered, “I didn’t feel it.”

My eyes flew open as my head whipped to face her. “I can taste you, Jacqueline,” I growled, willing her to understand the gravity of this.

Her cunt throbbed with impatience as she rolled her hips, claiming my cock even as I tried to get through to her. “And... what?” She searched my eyes. “What does that mean?”

I chuckled darkly. “It means I want to devour you, little Fiorino.”

She smiled, though her nervousness was evident in the whites of her eyes and the way her lips trembled at the edges. “Yeah? What else is new?”

Shaking my head at her ability to crack a joke while I struggled against my deepest, most base desires to make a meal out of her, I circled her waist with my arms and rolled, careful not to jostle her too much as I placed her onto her back on the bed.

“Is that okay?” I asked, positioning myself at her entrance once more.

Jacqueline bit down on her bottom lip and nodded.

I could do this. I could keep the beast caged and give my girl what she wanted, needed.

“You’re still in control, okay? You remember what to do if something happens?”

She nodded again.

“Good girl. Now hold still while I fuck you into this bed.”

A shiver raced up her spine, visibly shaking her body as I pistoned my hips and sank inside her sweet heat. With one hand holding her thigh against my hip, I lowered the other between us and pressed down against her lower belly until I could feel the head of my cock pushing against my palm.

Jacqueline and I groaned in tandem at the new sensation, and I jerked my hips faster, harder, driving into her in such a way that each forward thrust teased that sensitive inner wall.

I dug my fingers into the softness of her belly and fucked her into the bed as promised, smiling when she let out a series of grunts and moans that signaled the finish line was near.

“That’s it,” I told her, the words broken up by each thrust. “Come for me, sweet girl.”

It didn’t take long for her to obey, and as soon as she started to fall apart, those delicious quakes tumbling through her body, I draped my body over hers, cradled her face in my hands, and stared into those brilliant blue eyes as I followed her right over the edge.

R unning a gym patronized by vampires and humans alike was a full-time job.

But paying Carmine back? That was something that followed me home, consumed my downtime. The massive debt left for me by my father wiggled its way into even the best moments.

Like this one.

Cuddled up on the couch with Jaqueline, damn near the most normal experience I’d had since becoming a vampire back in the 1950s, the vibration of my phone buzzing on the countertop drew my attention away from the cheesy romcom she’d picked, setting my teeth on edge.

I struggled to ignore the call, knowing who it would be without even looking at the device, but my gaze continued to pull away from the television with every vibrating buzz.

“Do you need to get that?”

Reluctance wasn’t even the right word for the way my body rebelled at the thought of leaving this position.

With a sigh, I said, “Yes. It could be one of my employees down at the gym.”

Jacqueline pushed up and my body ached in the absence of her warmth, but I maneuvered out from under her and strode to the breakfast counter.

“Want me to pause it?”

I nearly made a sarcastic remark about not needing to watch this movie to know how it ends, but then I glanced over my shoulder and the sweet look on her face halted my tongue. “Sure,” I said instead. “I’ll be quick.”

Placing a kiss on her forehead, I strode out onto the front porch and closed the door lightly behind me, then pressed the button to answer the call.

“Vincenzo, my boy,” Carmine purred before I’d even managed to say hello, the sound of his deep voice making my hackles rise. “Is this a bad time?”

As if you give a shit.

“You missed the last drop.” The fact that he didn’t wait for a reply when he asked if it was a bad time was just par for the course. Carmine’s time was the only time that mattered.

I’d expected this call, knowing damn well my explanations would have fallen on deaf ears. “Some things went down last weekend. I gave the money to Marco on Monday—”

Carmine sighed. “In all the years you’ve known me, have I ever given you the impression that I’m interested in your personal life, Vincenzo?”

I grit my teeth, bracing myself for whatever came next. When the silence lingered on longer than expected, I scrubbed my hand down the back of my neck. “I’ve never missed a drop—”

“Which is why I haven’t sent my men to collect you.”

I tensed. There would be a but ; there always was.

Carmine wouldn’t let this slide, regardless of my stellar record or good standing.

Regardless of the way he’d always called me son and never missed an opportunity to tell people how fond he was of me—or how dear to him my father was.

So dear, in fact, that Carmine allowed my old man to get into this debt in the first place.

A missed payment was a show of disrespect, no matter the circumstances.

And we’d already confirmed Carmine cared little about those.

“You’ve disappointed me, Vincenzo.”

“How much?”

Carmine chuckled and the sound grated on my ears like nails on a chalkboard. “Double. For the next three payments.”

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back. “Carmine, I—”

“Buon anno, my boy.” He hung up before I could respond or beg for leniency, which I knew—which everyone knew—was not a concept Carmine entertained. He didn’t go easy on anyone, and he certainly didn’t negotiate. Carmine Donati’s rule was law. Plain and simple.

And I’d fucked up when I missed that payment drop because I’d been so consumed by Jacqueline’s injuries and Elias Bristol’s return that I’d lost all goddamn sense .

Buon anno indeed.