Page 18 of Red (Everdark Tales #1)

Unsure how long I’ve been descending into grief, waiting for the toxicity of silver to finally enter my bloodstream and end me already, I suddenly feel Julia lightly wiggling in my embrace.

I’m fully expecting the movement to be only my imagination as my eyes peep down on her.

The color is slowly returning to her face and she pops her lids open, looking confused.

“I thought I lost you,” I confess with the emotions I’ll never be able to properly describe, squeezing her tighter.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily, Big Guy,” she speaks in a quiet, shaky voice.

She’s still weakly, it will take her a moment to recover. Otherwise, it appears that our bond healed her shattered body.

“Oh, you’re bleeding!” She rapidly sits on my lap. “Alex, what is it?”

“Silver bullets.”

“How can I help you?”

“I need you to take them out for me. I can’t touch the silver, and my body is unable to reject them itself.” I know that the silver affects her in some way also, but on a much smaller scale.

She hesitates, probably realizing how much pain it will cause me to just rip them out of my flesh. Staring at her trembling hand on my torso, she says, “This isn’t sterile.”

I begin to laugh at her desperately grasping for excuses yet my chest burns alive.

I genuinely hate to pressure her, but it’s life or death situation—and since our bond snapped in place, our lives are now intertwined.

“Just do it, baby,” I whimper. “It stings like a motherfucker.”

She dips her finger in the hole on my torso with the apologetic look.

“I’m so sorry!” she cries as I wince.

“You’re doing so good. A little to the left,” I instruct her, feeling exactly where it’s stuck.

Using her nail, she successfully manages to remove it, which stops the bleeding. The wound doesn’t close immediately after the bullet is out, however.

“Why doesn’t it heal?”

“There’s a residue left, and it will take some time for my system to get rid of the toxins. I’ll be weaker for a while, but I’ll survive.”

Then she goes for the hole in my upper arm. This one is much less painful but still a bitch. Lastly, she takes out the one sitting in my thigh, which hurts the least.

“Oh, that was terrifying!” She clings to me tightly, sobbing, once it’s all done.

“Thank you.” I nuzzle into her neck. I don’t think she even understands she just saved me… both of us. “But don’t ever try to fight a vampire for me again.” She was ready to sacrifice herself.

Well, she did sacrifice herself.

“Don’t tell me what to do!” She argues, only being playful. “I can’t believe he turned!”

“Neither can I.” Now the fetor of his blood makes sense, though he did his best to mask it. A little too late for me to recognize it, but at least it’s over.

She turns her face and notices his ripped to absolute shreds body. “Is he gone?”

“Yes. This time I’m certain.”

“Good!” She grins at me.

“My love,” I start, gently, “you were badly hurt. You wouldn’t have made it… I couldn’t let you go.”

I wait for her to connect the dots. When she does, her pupils dilate and she touches the mark on the side of her throat. “Oh!”

“This may not be what you wanted. But to watch you die and do nothing, I wasn’t strong enough to endure. Julia, you’re my entire world. I can’t even imagine my life without you.”

“I feel the same for you,” she tells me. “And this is exactly what I wanted. Alex, I’m yours.”

I’m convinced she was gone. If she didn’t feel this way, she wouldn’t have returned to me. All the doubts I ever had about her feelings are long gone. But hearing her utter these words…

Fuck.

This made my entire existence worth it.

“Say it again.”

“I’m yours,” she whispers with a coquettish smile playing on her lips.

“Again.”

She giggles, her hands running through the fur on my head. “Kiss me.”

I do, losing myself in her completely. “I’m yours.” I breathe heavily, looking into her eyes.

“Damn right you are!”

I place my palms on either side of her face, and we kiss again as I ravish her mouth.

Julia breaks it off too soon for my liking. “Um, I feel disgusting. Do you think we can go back to the cottage?”

“No, it’s too risky. Although I doubt it, he might have called for backup. We can rest in the lair I’ve stayed at. It’s right by the lake so we can wash off there.”

She nods. And despite her objections about me being injured, I carry her to the spot that’s become my shelter for the past weeks.

Meanwhile, I have an entire conversation with Edwin, who’s been trying to get through to me this whole time. So I quickly bring him up to speed, and he decides to stay close until I get my strength back since he’s already on his way.

I put Julia down on the small beach before I undress her. She shivers as soon as the air hits her body, getting goosebumps all over her skin. It’s the middle of the night in October, a time I realize can’t be the most comfortable for her to bathe in the lake. But her clothes are soaked in blood, and so is her hair. Not to even mention I have Dean’s guts splashed over myself.

I go in first and dunk down, trying to get rid of the vampire stink and cleaning my wounds.

“Uh, it’s fucking freezing!” Julia complains immediately after only dipping her toes.

“Come here.” I smile from the distance. “I’ll keep you warm.”

With many high-pitched squeals and cuss words, she swims to me. I then take her into my arms, knowing my body heat will raise up the temperature of the water surrounding us soon.

She clings to me, circling her legs around my waist and arms around my neck. As I hold her tightly, she bends backwards to submerge her hair. I help her get rid of all the gunk.

“Silly, little human, putting herself at risk so recklessly.” I still can’t believe she did that.

“Hey, I saved your ass!”

“Yes, you did.” She died for me.

Her nipples are as hard as little rocks, and I can’t help but lick. I bury my snout between her breasts, loving how soft they are.

“Now, I’m going to spoil and cherish you for the rest of our lives, baby.” I can’t wait until she sees her new home. What’s funny is that she genuinely thinks we’ll live like feral animals in the wilderness. And she still decided to go with me. Oh, how much I adore this woman!

“You can start by making love to me.”

Agreeing to her suggestion, I step out of the lake and put her on the ground. Immediately after which I fall down to my knees, starting to eat her pussy out. No matter how many times I’ve tasted her, I’ll never get tired of it.

She looks down on me, holding my head for support, and her moans bounce off the lake and reverberate through the forest.

Although loving her uncontrolled sounds, I chuckle. “Baby, be decent. There are campers out here.”

“I don’t care, I need you to fuck me.”

Abruptly standing up, I lift her up, and leap for the forest. Having her back pinned against the nearby tree, and her legs wrapped around my hips, I cover her mouth with my hand.

“Keep quiet. You wouldn’t want anyone to know you are begging a wolf to get railed in the woods at night, now would you?”

She whimpers inside my palm.

They would never get a chance to approach, but the intensity of the blood rushing through her body, lets me know how into it she is.

My teeth against her neck, sharper than any knife, grazing her throat. And she’s getting off to this, thrusting her hips to create a friction. I can feel a rush of moisture between her folds as it coats the head of my cock. I slide my raging erection against her slick lips, adoring just how soaked she is for me.

Her eyes shine brightly, pupils dilated, as she looks right into mine, pleading, “I want all of you.”

After the meaning of her words reaches me, my breathing gets heavy. But before I somehow convince myself it’s a bad idea, I toss her over my shoulder and drag her into my cave.

I gently place her down on the soft furs I’ve got here as a bedding. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she purrs, arching her spine, her legs spayed before me, waiting.

“Turn around, baby. I want to see you on your hands and knees for me.”

She does as I tell her and giggles, swaying her hips from side to side, teasing me. Her ass is absolutely lovely—round and juicy. And I need to be inside her immediately.

I groan. “You love it when I lose my mind for you, don’t you?”

She turns her head to look at me, but I know she can’t see anything but my glowing eyes in the darkness. “Yes.”

I wipe that little annoying smirk of hers as I plunge deep into her cunt without any warning, sliding all the way in until the swell of my knot presses against her entrance.

“Keep doing that,” I ask, to which she rolls her hips again. I watch completely spellbound. There are no words to describe what a perfect view it is to see my cock buried down in her.

I lean over her back, placing my fists by her sides, and I start rutting in her fast, just like the animal I am. All the overwhelming feelings of fear and despair after I thought she was gone float to the surface, and I’m not able to be gentle.

“Fuck, Alex! I’m...” No longer able to speak, she falls to her forearms as I keep pounding her even harder into the furs. She screams, soaking both our thighs with her release, while her walls clench tightly around my girth.

“Mmmm, you came so much for me.” The feeling of her pussy pulsing, greedily trying to suck me in deeper is insane. “Spread your legs wider.” I force myself inside fully, all the way to the balls as I hit her cervix. “Oh, baby, you feel incredible. You’re fucking made for my cock.” I throw my head back and roar. Nothing can ever compare to this feeling.

She squeezes her fists on the furs below us, arching her back, chanting profanities under her breath mixed with my repeated name.

I back out, only to thrust in her again. “How can I ever get enough of you?” And again. And once more after that before I still.

She constricts harder, reaching yet another orgasm while I throb, swelling up fully, and the lock is complete. My seed spills against her tight walls, coating her insides entirely, as she milks me, trying to pull my cum further into her fertile womb.

“You’re doing so well.” I yank her hair, and bring her closer, leaning her back against my chest. I then bite into my mark on her neck, and it’s the ultimate high. For both of us.

She writhes while her body trembles, and she involuntary tries to pull away but I keep her still as she cries from the pleasure. The pressure of the stretch alone certainly is an experience for her.

“Shh, I know it’s intense, baby. But you are not going anywhere,” I rasp, cupping her pussy to hold her in place. “Not until you take all of it.” I’ve got three centuries of depravation built up just for her. My knot continues to pulsate as I drain my balls, desperate to breed her.

Trying to get her more comfortable, I lay her down flat on her tummy, leaning over her.

She relaxes eventually, turning her face to my side, curving her lips in a little smile. “This is nice,” she mumbles, her eyes shut.

I lick her mouth, asking for permission to enter, which she allows me. “Are you okay?”

“Numb with pleasure. Ask me later.”

It feels like eons, but also not nearly enough time passes when I’m able to pull out. Panting, I watch my cum leaking from her cunt as it spills down her quivering, thick thighs. I could come again just from the visual.

Laying down next to her, I don’t even notice when I shift. I push her curls away from her wet forehead. And we join in a proper kiss this time.

I’ll never get over kissing her lips, tasting her with my human senses. It’s such a different sensation to experience her this way. I may like shifting much more than I thought, now that I know I can have it under control.

“I love you,” I rasp, burying my face in her curls.

She hums inaudibly in my chest before she passes out from exhaustion.

I wrap my arms tightly around her figure to bring her closer, running my hands up and down. Skin to skin—it’s been forever since I’ve felt human connection this way.

She is so soft. And warm. And all mine.