Page 5 of The Blood Shadows (The Rose Vampire Coven #5)

I an’s mind was blown, and at that moment, he didn't know what was real or what wasn't, so he held onto Nox and buried his face against his chest. "How, what, why. . ." The words spilled out. Nox gathered him close and held him until he felt calm enough to talk.

"They shot you." Ian saw it and felt the jolts as the rounds hit, but there was no sign of injury. He ran his hands over Nox's back, and there were no wounds, only tears in his clothing indicative of gunshots. "Your clothes have holes, but you're not bleeding." He looked up at Nox with eyes that were pleading for an explanation.

"As you admitted yourself, there are strange things that exist in this city, and not all have explanations," Nox spoke quietly, his cheek pressed against the side of Ian's head. "I am not an ordinary man." Ian listened closely and let the word sink in. Nox had given the impression of mystery, and the supernatural Ian had felt it from their first meeting. What he saw tonight sealed the fact that Nox was so much more than met the eye.

“Those men they got away, we should call the police make a report we should do something.” Ian’s mind shifted to the automatic and he started spouting what little he knew to do in such a situation.

“They didn’t get away. You saw the car crash and burn. I made sure they will not come for you again.” Ian gripped Nox’s shirt beneath his jacket needing the contact and the grounding that being this close gave him. He saw the car veer off the road and smash into a streetlight. He saw it burst into flames and then Nox was back. It was coming back to him now.

Nox was gone for a brief moment and Ian had stood alone and then he was back, and the car exploded. He held Ian and then they were in this room. “Did I black out did you drive us here?”

“No, I brought us here.”

“You went after that car. You destroyed them.”

“I did.”

“What are you, Nox?"

“Look at me and then search your mind. You have the answer.” Nox lifter Ian’s chin up and then took his lips in a devastating kiss. Ian had thought about this kiss ever since getting the quick very chaste kiss on the cheek yesterday. But this was so much more thrilling than he’d ever imagined.

The kiss went on, and it deepened into a salacious exploration. Nox continued to hold his chin, keeping pinned in place for this sensory onslaught. Ian felt a slight pinch to his bottom lip as Nox's teeth grazed over the kiss-swollen flesh. A tremble passed through Nox, and then his embrace seemed to lock. Ian was pressed tightly to his chest, and their bodies clung together. He was so much taller and larger and yet they fit perfectly.

Ian felt Nox’s breath on his neck, and it stirred him to turn and trail kisses hot, wet kisses beneath his ear and down his neck. In response Nox did that turning thing again and Ian felt the movement in the pit of his stomach. It felt like vertigo and then they were standing in a bedroom.

"Are you magic, Nox?" Ian asked, trying to work out what was happening.

“I am vampire, and I am demon, and you are my beloved.” Ian looked up at him capturing his gaze and held it as he probed and searched looking for the purpose of such a response. The longer he stared things began to happen Ian could see his mind was opening to what stood before him. It wasn’t assumptions or supposition it was a gradual understanding of what he was looking at.

Nox’s face all the hard lines and the dark eyes with the fire behind all came into stark clarity. He could see the vampire and he could sense the demon. He shouldn’t know what he was looking at never having seen a vampire or a demon and honestly never realizing that they may be real until this very moment.

"It will become clearer," Nox said in a soft and deep voice. "My world is opening to you. The veils and the shields are dropping."

“Why?” Ian was mesmerized by what he was being introduced to and how his little sense of reality was being blown apart. Nox was otherworldly and yet he was still strong, substantial, gorgeous and absolutely breath taking. His parentage added to his mystique and alure and Ian wanted him now even more than he had yesterday. The word beloved was lingering in his mind, and it felt binding and eternal. “Why am I seeing this?”

Nox ran his fingers through Ian's hair gently and lovingly and looked at him like he was precious. Ian had never experienced the feeling of being special, but with Nox, he felt adored. "You are my beloved. You are Fate's gift to me, and my world is welcoming you." Ian couldn't help the smile that stretched across his lips. He reached up and touched Nox's cheek. The flesh was warm and firm, and he felt a thrill of sensations through his system. Nox turned his head and placed a sweet kiss on the palm of Ian's hand.

“I see you Nox.” Ian was enthralled. “You move with the air currents and through shadows you are like winding and twisting smoke. You travel silently and unseen. You are so beautiful and graceful.” Ian amazed and kept touching Nox needing the contact and reveling in it even though it made no sense at all.

“I see you too, Ian.” He kissed him again it was softer this time but still powerful and had Ian opening eagerly. The buttons on Ian’s shirt opened one by one and Nox rubbed his knuckles against the soft flesh as the white cotton shirt fell open. His hand smoothed the hard planes and soft curves of Ian’s chest feeding the fire that was burning deep in his heart.

Nox slipped off his jacket and dropped it onto a chair and soon Ian’s shirt was off and joining the jacket on the chair. “You have a lovely body Ian, and I ache to experience every inch of it.” It sounded more like Nox was talking to himself it was a slow and low breathless compliment and Nox never took his eyes or hands off Ian’s bare chest.

“I want to see you too Nox. Let me help you with this shirt and tie.” Nox smiled and his eyes bore into Ian. The man had sex appeal that could melt stone and Ian felt a tremble pass through him at the thought of where this night was headed.

Soon, the shirt and tie were with the other clothing items in the chair, and Ian got his first look at a half-naked Nox Samara. The body under that suit was just as impressive as he thought, and maybe more so.

Like Nox, he smoothed the palms of his hands over the heated flesh and basked in the sensations. Ian placed several gentle kisses to Nox's chest and the taste exploded on his lips. The contact was like nothing he'd ever felt before. Everything was supercharged, and a torrent of emotions was rushing through him.

Nox opened Ian's jeans and started pushing them down while Ian kicked off his shoes. The cool air brushed his overheated flesh when the jeans came off, and he stood there hard and expectant, hungry for whatever Nox had planned. Nox moved closer and took him into his arms, pressing Ian's naked body to him.

Nox was still wearing his pants, and the feel of the rough fabric against Ian's throbbing cock was both fantastic and terrible. Nox's hand moved around his back and cupped Ian's fleshy ass and squeezed while pressing him closer. Ian couldn't stop himself and started rubbing his needy cock against Nox's firm thigh, craving satisfaction.

He was suddenly bent backward still secure in Nox’s arms and Nox launched an onslaught of kisses and touches that excited and overwhelmed. He held onto him digging his fingers into the hard muscle of Nox’s arms and opened himself to everything. He was picked up and carried to the bed and so gently laid out like a prize or an offering.

Nox ran his hand down Ian's chest to his stomach and abdomen, and then he took his hard cock in hand, stroking it slowly at first and then faster, bringing Ian to the edge and then backing off. Ian moaned and squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them when the bed shifted, and Nox was over him, naked and wanting, staring down at him with eyes that devoured.

Ian spread his legs and reached for Nox, pulling him down and wrapping his legs around Nox's hips. He felt Nox's cock, thick and hard, press against his own and instinctively thrust upward. Nox pressed down and forced Ian's legs further apart, and then suddenly there were fingers prodding his hole, forcing inside, stretching and massaging the tight little muscle.

His breath caught in his throat when scintillating sensations radiated throughout his being. This was more than just sex; Nox was reaching deep into Ian's mind and heart and demanding devotion, faithfulness, and, above all, love. This was a commitment and a promise he could feel in himself and in Nox.

"I'm going to bond with you, Ian. A vampire bond is permanent. It is forever, and there will be no going back. I am yours, and you are mine." The words were serious, and Ian could feel the heaviness as he contemplated his future and looked into the eyes of the man who was asking for his body, mind, and soul.

Their union would seal the bond this act would signal a new and possibly fantastic beginning. Ian’s understanding of Nox and his world was coming into sharp focus and Ian was not scared. He saw his future and it was Nox. “You are mine and I am yours.” Ian repeated with promise and adoration. Nox had come into his life and began to fill every void. He no longer felt alone or afraid or as if no one cared or saw him. Nox cared and he saw him.

Nox was on the edge of stunned when he looked into Ian’s heart and saw the regard he held, and the growing tenderness and it was humbling. “I see you, sweetheart. . . so clearly." He plunged his three fingers back inside his precious lover and worked the tight muscle, loosening it in preparation. He used plenty of lubricant, not wanting to cause his beloved any discomfort. Nox had never been with a human before since in general they found his aura to be difficult and off putting.

In his many years of observation, he’d found humans to be hearty and resilient and tougher than they appeared. His beloved was soft and pliant and the most beautiful being he’d ever encountered but he also knew him to be thoughtful, strong in body and mind and most of all he had an open mind.

Nox kissed him hard and deep just as he lifted him and very deliberately and with pinpoint precision thrust his hard, engorged cock deep inside his lover. The tight heat and the tender embrace made him tremble with the need to push and drive deeper, but he held and waited for Ian to catch his breath. The room was flush with a quiet intensity, a spell of hope and love. It was intoxicating, Ian was intoxicating.

He proceeded with a slow stroke, and Ian held him, matching his rhythm. The sensations burning through him were building to a climax faster than expected. He slowed and took a breath staring down at his beloved and saw the same need shining back at him.

That look and the energy coursing through him at the touch and taste of his beloved brought his vampire and his demon essence thundering to the surface. His vampire pressing forward, desperate to mark and claim, and his demon presence marveling at the splendor of the touch of this human. Demons were solitary beasts, but he wanted this man wanted to own and be owned. Everyone agreed Ian belonged to him.

Nox continued to thrust while picking up speed as his desires peaked, and the urgency of the act took him over. This was the very first time that emotions were involved, and they were sharp, poignant emotions that demanded attention and satisfaction. Pleasure slammed through his body and struck, sinking his teeth into the soft, luscious flesh of Ian's throat, and he drank.

Their arms were wrapped tightly around one another, and Nox was still buried deep inside Ian’s channel. He came hard, filling him full, and at the same time, Nox felt Ian's warm release spread between them, the scent absolutely divine.

He drank deeply, feeling their bond uniting them. He finished, not wanting to take too much and leave his amazing lover lightheaded, and licked the wound closed, forming a tiny scar, marking Ian as his beloved.

He could feel Ian’s heart pounding against his and his breath coming out in rapid pants. Ian held onto him gripping him with an intensity that betrayed his need. “I love you, Nox.” They were coming together in mind and body and still that statement took Nox by surprise. “I just need to say it because what I feel for you is just so large and so overwhelming. Please don’t be scared.” Nox laughed softly at the genuine innocent of his beloved.

“The only thing about you that scares me is the thought of ever losing you.” Nox started and once again took Ian’s lips in a blistering, possessive embrace.