Page 19 of Make Me Bleed (Sanctuary #2)

CHAPTER 18

FOREVER

J ulian’s remains are still smoldering when I snag Hank’s hand, send an appreciative look toward Bridget, then drag him away from the crowd in the square.

The rest of the sanctuary will realize what just happened in a moment. Right now, they’re stunned, but one of our number is dead. Granted, Julian deserved it. He challenged my beloved.

Only one problem: no one besides Mayor Lou, Bridget, and Conall have any idea that Hank is my beloved.

I already planned on cleaning up so I could return to the den and be with Hank. However, I can’t see why I should. I guess I was stickier than I thought since my hand is covered in dirty and stray blades of grass from where I hit the ground. When Hank bows over, brushing one from my cheek, I realize it’s there, too.

Most of the blood that came from tearing Julian’s head off of his neck disappeared when he went from his grizzly to his gloriously naked body. He’s dotted in it, the added details making him even more attractive as he tells the entire sanctuary that I’m his.

Well, he’s mine , and I don’t care how possessive it makes me. The idea that all of Dyea is seeing his sculpted form, his wide chest, his broad shoulders, and his erect cock… I can feel my eyes turning red from bloodlust, and that didn’t even happen to me during the worst of my thirst.

He’s big, but I’m determined. Jerking his hand, getting him to move, I ignore the growing mumbles from the crowd as I dash over to my house, Hank stumbling behind me as the force of my tug has him coming along with me.

I open the door, push him inside before the others can ogle his tight ass, then close the door.

Hank takes one breath, his eyes flashing again as his bear comes to the forefront.

“I smell the vampire in here,” he growls.

Good point. Julian lingered in my house too long, and while my nose isn’t so delicate as to disentangle his scent from mine since we both smell like vampire , I trust Hank. He likes my scent. He’s gotta hate Julian’s now.

“Come with me,” I tell him, guiding him past the offending couch and into the kitchen.

He rasps, “Always,” moving with me so it’s easier to lead him toward the door that leads out back.

We slip out together, the house a barrier between us and whatever is still going out in the town square. The sounds are muffled. Muted. I’m hoping that Conall has taken control of the scene, sending everyone inside and locking down the sanctuary until he can find out from Hank and me what exactly happened.

I’ll tell him. I’ll be happy to. However, he’s just going to have to wait until I’m so irrevocably bonded to my bear, no one can ever try to separate us.

That’s what Julian tried to do. He must’ve realized how close I was to finally accepting Hank as my beloved and this was his last ditch effort.

For what? Power? Is that what he wanted?

Oh, well. He got justice instead, and now I’ll have my forever.

But first?—

He’s watching me closely, chest still heaving though it looks like he’s trying his damndest to get his rage under control. Once again, Hank is doing everything he can to keep from frightening me, but it’s moments like these that I really do think that he forgets that I’m a vampire.

Hank just got so furious that another male hit me and tried to claim me that, in response, he challenged Julian and tore off his head . Nothing says ‘I love you’ more to a violent supe than a reaction like that.

Blood and violence are as much a part of his type of supe as it is mine.

So, no, I don’t care about the blood. Just like I’m sure Hank wouldn’t care one bit that I’m covered in dirt except that it’s a reminder that the other vampire managed to strike me before my beloved could intervene.

Now it’s just the two of us again, and he’s watching me closely like he’s always done, only he’s started to prowl around me as though desperate to touch me, but unsure if I would welcome him.

I can’t just jump him. Not right now. Not like this. He’ll think that I’m doing it in some strange way to thank him for saving me from Julian. And while I do appreciate it—and watching the fight was as arousing as it was terrifying—that rogue has nothing to do with the mating dance going on between my honey bear and me.

He’s mine. He always has been.

More importantly, he’s the only male I could choose.

Julian wanted to own me. Peter wanted to possess me.

And Hank?

He just wants to love me.

It’s time I let him.

First, though, I close the gap between us. Grabbing each of his arms in one of my hands, I tether him to me. Slowly, slowly, I pull him again until we’re standing next to the large boulder behind my house.

The sun’s starting to go down. I barely notice the way it ducks behind the trees, bringing the shadows of the night with its descent. I’m focusing on Hank only, trying to pull him out of his berserker rage, bringing the big teddy bear back to me.

This rock is where Hank perched me that time he snuck into Dyea and offered to feed his mate. I ease myself on top of it, hoping he remembers.

If he’s the male I think he is, he’ll only have one response to it…

He blinks, the fury bleeding out of his gaze as he looks me over. I see the moment he comes back to me, remembering how Julian flung me around like a rag doll.

Hank inches closer. “Lise… Are you hurt? That bastard… are you okay?”

“I’m a vampire,” I remind him gently. “I was healed almost as soon as I hit the ground.”

He curses under his breath as he takes a few stormy steps away from the rock. “I shoulda stopped him before he could get his hands on you.”

No. No . I don’t want angry Hank. I want the Hank who looks at me in pure devotion, not like he isn’t worthy of my love and affection.

And there’s only one way I can think to do it.

“But the thing is… healing takes up a lot blood.”

He’s right in front of me in a heartbeat. “Do you need more? Drink me, darlin’. Take everything I have.”

I plan on it.

“Is that okay?”

“I toldja,” he says, emotion turning his voice gruff. “This body is yours. Take my blood. Take my fuckin’ heart. It’s all of yours.”

“Then come here, beloved.”

He does.

When he’s within my reach, I lay my hand against his throat with one hand. With the other, I take a firm hold of his erection. I stroke it, enjoying the way the big bear melts against the boulder, his shoulder bumping into mine as he falls forward.

His eyes are half-open, but there’s enough confusion in them that I have to explain.

“I need your blood, Hank,” I say throatily, “but I need this more. I need you . And after you take my blood, I’ll gladly accept everything you have to offer me.”

It takes him a moment to understand. It’s probably harder for him to focus since I’ve grabbed him again, increasing the pressure of my hold to keep him from bucking into my fist. This is his first time, after all, and he’ll be marking me. I don’t want him shooting his load too soon so I squeeze him and purr up at him as he grits his teeth, eyes going crossed.

“Honey bear?” I murmur.

He shakes his whole body, though not so roughly that he knocks loose my grip. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I gotta have this wrong. You’re tellin’ me to… what? Bite you? Take your blood?”

“That’s right.”

“But… wouldn’t that trigger that blood exchange I’ve heard tell about? I asked around, you know. When… unh… when I found out you were a vamp. Then you confirmed it when you said you were worried about someone bitin’ ya. If I do… and then I mate ya… we’re bonded, Lise. You know that, don’t you?”

Oh. I do.

In answer, I release him.

For split second, disappointment shadows his face. He must think that he’s made some huge revelation that I’d never thought of before, that now that I know that we’d end up formally bonded in the eyes of all supes and the magic that makes us this way, I’ve changed my mind.

Not likely.

I’m Elise van Duren. When I want something, I go for it, and I don’t stop until I have it. It might take me a while to decide that I want it—that I need it—but the decision-making is the hard part. After that?

The rest comes easy.

When I start to slide down the rock, Hank backs away, giving me space. I have to bite the corner of my mouth to keep from smiling, especially when I grab my dress and hike it up to my hips. I use one hand to keep the skirt bunched before using the other to shimmy my panties down.

He watches in baffled amazement as the material snags on my heel.

My shoes made it during the confrontation with Julian. Now? I kick one foot, then the other, sending them flying into the distance. My underwear goes with the left heel.

I’ll have to remember to get them later.

Once I’m as naked as I can get without asking Hank to undo my zip and help me out of the dress itself, I march over to the rock again, making sure he’s watching every jiggle of my ass as I go.

Only then do I go up on my tiptoes and bend over the boulder, bracing myself up on my elbows so that the rock doesn’t jab into my gut as I look over my shoulder at Hank.

I swear, he’s standing there in his skin, but all I see is a bear looking back at me.

“Elise?” My name is strangled in his deliciously deep voice. I don’t think he’s even aware of it, but he’s taking over stroking his cock as his eyes are glued to my ass. “What are you… I don’t… You can’t …”

I can.

The vampires will have fled, each gossiping about what happened to Dyea. If a shifter decides to come snooping, that’s on them. This is my territory, and if I want to mate my bear out here behind my house, then I’m going to do it.

Besides, nudity isn’t a big deal to shifters. Neither is the actual act of mating. It’s natural, and as possessive as Hank is at the moment, it’s not like anyone will be able to see me. Not when he finally uses his big body to cover my back…

I arch mine, sticking my ass out in invitation to do just that.

And then, in a voice that rings with truth, I tell him, “You’re me beloved. You always have been, Hank, but until I wear your bite on my throat, something could happen. I don’t want to lose you. I want you to be mine.”

“I’ve always been yours.”

That’s also true. Even before we met, I held part of myself back for him. And Hank? He held everything back for me.

Until now.

A shifter’s instincts are powerful things. He’s managed to do what he could, keeping his distance in a misguided attempt to be the type of male he thought I needed. But coming down from his bear’s rage while his willing mate is bent over, waiting for him to mount here?

Hank is a good male. A strong male. Kind and generous, protective and mine .

He’s also a predatory shifter who is hard-wired to find his mate, claim her, and keep her.

The heat of his bare chest sears me through the top of my dress as he shoves his knees up against the boulder, caging my legs in when he braces his on the outside of mine. He bows over me, just like I thought; this moment in time, his mate vulnerable and wanting is for Hank alone. No one can see me, though he does brace his big body up on his left elbow to keep from crushing me with his weight.

WIth his right hand, he angles his cock so that he can insert himself right where he belongs. I shift my position when I feel the blunt head lodging at my entrance. I’m so hot, so wet, so slick that I take the first few inches easily. He’s still huge , thought, and thicker than I thought. Either that, or the last year of celibacy has led to me being tight and used to the intrusion.

It doesn’t hurt, though, and if I did? I would never let him know. He’s already groaning softly as he holds himself in place, as if me taking as much as I have is all he needs.

Oh, no. I can do better than that.

Relax, Elise. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that this is it. This is my forever. This is the moment I’ve waited thirty-four years for, and thought this is all new to Hank, this is an epiphany to me.

This male was made to be mine. Fate gave him to me.

I can take him.

I rear back, pushing up against him. At the same time, he can’t keep himself from shoving just enough to seat nearly his entire cock inside of me. He roars my name when he bottoms out, and I grin against the rock.

See. I knew I could.

I start to rock when Hank stays still. If he thinks my pussy giving him a hug is nice, the friction is even better, and the both of us start panting in rhythm as his instincts guide him to start fucking me for real.

“I love you, darlin’,” he grunts. “I always have. I always will. Fate made you mine. Now I’m doin’ the same.”

The claws on his left hand scrabble against the bolder, carving out divots as he grips it tightly instead of clutching me as he picks up his rhythm. I love seeing how wild this makes him, and I squeeze, laughing in delight when the roar that tears out of his throat could rival the one that escaped before he challenged Julian.

“Not yet, honey,” I coo, slowing down when I sense that he’s going faster. He’s chasing his orgasm, and while normally I’d have to point out that my lover has forgotten to make sure I come first, I’m still feeling mighty magnanimous over how hard he got me to climax earlier with just his tongue. Now that he’ll well and truly be mine, I’ll have to teach him everything I like, but that can wait.

After all, we’ll have forever…

Drips of sweat fall from his forehead as he lowers his head, pressing his forehead to that back of my hair. “Wait, darlin’? You expect me to wait ? I’ll do anything for you, but I think that might be askin’ too much.”

Maybe, but there’s something I need first—and if he wants his bear to recognize the shifter mate bond at the same time as my vampire side does, so does he.

“Bite me,” I command. “Make me bleed.”

Hank freezes for a moment, jerking his head up, his body straining over mine. Just like me, he knows what I’m asking now. I’m asking for everything.

I’m asking for him to make me his mate.

To accept that he’s my beloved.

I’m asking for an eternity, and as his thick fangs jab into the point where my neck meets my shoulder, swallowing the first mouthful of blood I’ve ever shared, I send up a silent thank you to Fate—and a secret apology to my beloved for being a selfish lover.

As Hank bites me, our bond snapping into place, he growls around his bite as he begins to come.

But me?

I went off the second he tasted my blood.

And, believe me, it was totally worth the wait.