Page 26 of Between Bloode and Death (Between the Shadows #5)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Val didn’t know what had taken over her, but Khent didn’t move when she stepped closer. His eyes burned, a bright red that seemed to glow.

She tentatively moved her hands to his chest. The feel of him, so solid and real, snapped their connection into place. Her energy slid over his, moving with him and merging in such a way she felt helpless to do anything but touch him everywhere.

His eyes narrowed, but he remained still, waiting for what, she didn’t know.

“My forfeit,” he said, his voice impossibly deep. “You owe me, female.”

Passion flared hot, and she didn’t care about danger or revenge or anything except quenching her thirst for a taste of him.

Val brushed her smaller body against his, awash in his aura. Though powerless to make him do what she wanted, she tugged at his shoulders for him to bend forward.

He did, and she kissed him.

Her mind went blank as raw hunger consumed her.

Khent reacted as if she’d set him on fire. He spun her around, her back against the wall, and held her up by cupping her ass so they could continue their kiss.

She ravaged his mouth, taking as much as he gave, an exchange of desire she’d never felt in her life.

He groaned, and the sweet sound accompanied words in a forgotten language as Khent slowly took charge. His seduction was anything but subtle, yet she couldn’t stop herself from moving where he positioned her, bending her neck so he could suckle there before he gently nipped her throat.

The small bite made her moan with pleasure, and he sucked her in, a whisper of a kiss over her wound before he pulled her under him…on his bed.

She gasped, not having expected the speed and strength of his move.

He stripped her clothing away piece by piece, leaving her in nothing but the vampire draped over her.

“Ah, I see it now,” he murmured, his power blazing.

“It?” she whispered, wanting to see him as well.

She ran her hands through his hair, enchanted when he closed his eyes and tilted his head so she had better access.

The strands felt like satin, dark as night and clean, the smell of life and death so intertwined.

A fine cologne she could linger in forever.

Khent’s hands kept moving, and before she knew it, he was naked as well.

She stared at him, aware of his surprising muscle. He always appeared sensual and graceful in his clothing, not as ripped and, well, hung, as she could now see.

“I hunger for you,” he admitted with awe.

Not anger, not sarcasm or belittlement.

She wondered if she might be dreaming. None of this seemed real.

“Is this a dream?” she asked out loud.

“I don’t care,” he growled and kissed her once more.

He cupped her breasts, teasing her nipples, and she felt liquid warmth all over, so aroused she feared she’d come too soon from some sensual petting.

His mouth left her lips to nuzzle her cheek.

She automatically turned her head, giving him access to her throat. Wanting him to bite her so badly…

Instead, Khent slid down her body and put his mouth between her legs.

“Wh— Yes,” she managed on a cry as she shattered into a million pieces. And Khent kept lapping her up, licking her through the orgasm that refused to stop.

Without pause, he glided up her body and in one push slipped inside her, his cock thick and long, as if made for her. Khent didn’t give her time to come down. Instead, he pulled away, then thrust as deep as he could go.

She arched up into him, her body clamping down around him while he rode her. Slowly, with heavy, unhurried thrusts while she continued to come, her body locked in ecstatic spasms until he shoved one final time and whispered her name.

The feel of his climax settled over her like a warm rush of rain, cleansing her from the inside out, his seed and his power enhancing her pleasure. She felt high, Khent the drug of choice that made little sense. That someone so in control of death could make her feel so fucking alive.

He clutched her to him and pumped again, moving in and out though he’d just come.

“Khent. Oh, yes. Please.”

“Yes, Valentine. Take all of me.” He fucked her harder and stared into her eyes, mesmerizing with his pleasure.

He shocked her by nipping his lower lip with his fangs, then lowered to kiss her.

Sharing his bloode?

She wanted it. Wanted him.

She yanked his neck down and plastered her mouth to his, jolting at the rush of connection once more. A feeling she shouldn’t have had with a vampire.

Vampire bloode could be toxic to humans. Damned if she cared. At this point, after having experienced Khent, death could have her.

Khent didn’t slow down. He took her harder, but not enough to hurt. Instead, the possession felt demanding, carnal, a claim of ownership that turned her on even more, were that possible.

“Yes, that’s it. Suck me dry,” he growled and came again, rotating his hips to empty all of himself inside her.

His fingers found her clit, and she seized around him as he spent. He kissed her, pricking her mouth with his fangs. Sharing her blood with his bloode. A feast of need she feared would only grow fiercer the more they touched.

When Val finally got her breath back, she opened eyes she hadn’t realized she’d closed and saw Khent staring down at her with lazy satisfaction. It should be illegal how good-looking he was. Like a statue of male gratification in all its inherent beauty.

He smiled, and his bright teeth and fangs looked perfect, like the rest of him.

“Finally. All mine.”

She felt too replete to argue, though she had to tease him back a little. “You mean mine.” She caressed his nape with her short nails, and he shuddered. “My reaper.”

Something about her statement startled him, because he leaned closer and stared at her with an intensity he wore right when he climaxed.

“Something wrong?” She loved touching him. How had it taken her this long to have sex with this guy? Granted, she’d been hiding from him for months. But had she known he was this magical in the sack, she’d have jumped him long ago.

“Ah, no.” He blinked. Then kissed her again. To her shock, his softened shaft swelled once more inside her. “Valentine Darkmore, what magic is this?” He groaned, withdrew from her, then turned her onto her belly and pulled her up on her hands and knees.

“What—”

She gasped as he entered her, feeling impossibly huge. “Oh fuck. Again?”

“Yes. Again,” Khent rasped, moving faster. “I must… yes, my sweet.”

She felt the rush of his seed once more, a warm power jetting into her while he moaned. But he didn’t stop moving.

And she couldn’t stop herself either, needing all that he had to give.

Even the bits that he didn’t know he had buried under all his surface strength. That inner magic only the Power inside Val could see…