Page 96 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“We should do something together tomorrow. We’ll . . .” Her voice trailed off as I came up behind her, teasing the skin on her neck with my lips.

“We’ll spend the day tomorrow doing whatever Presley wants to do. But I think right now he needs some time alone to rest. You do too. It was a long day.”

“I’m not tired.”

“You will be.” I kissed the soft skin where her pulse drummed.

Biting her didn’t always lead to sex. Okay, maybe it did, but it didn’t have to. It came naturally. Tasting her blood brought us closer on a whole other level I was certain didn’t exist in human capacity. I missed being human a lot less when that’s what I got to have instead.

I savored the way her shoulders dropped as I wrapped my hands around her stomach and continued assaulting her neck with my lips.

“Mrs. Calem, you look intoxicatingly beautiful tonight.”

She drew in a breath. “You’ve never called me that before.”

“I’m testing it out. Seeing how it feels to say,” I said with my lips at her ear.

Girlfriend was a nice title, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t anything close to what I truly felt for her. I’d already thought ahead, and every day that passed, I looked forward to the end of the cold and the end of our pain. I would take her somewhere sunny and bind her to me for everyone to see. All of my brothers would be there and likely obnoxious and embarrassing, and I couldn’t wait.

Her hips moved back and into mine while I slid the sleeve of her shirt down to expose the skin on her shoulder.

“What’s the consensus?” she asked while I kissed her shoulder.

“I love it. Are you partial to Burns? You can always keep it.”

“No. Not at all . . .” I grabbed her stomach and pulled her harder into my hips. The pressure of her sent my mind racing. I wanted to strip her, but I had to be patient.

My mouth salivated as my fangs descended. “I think I’d miss calling you Burns. But I like Mrs. Calem better.”

“Me too.”

A part of me wanted the blood-drinking to stop, but a much larger part of me didn’t. I wanted to taste her, and I loved being the only one who could. I liked having a part of her no one else got. Her blood was mine.

She fell into my rhythm as I grinded into her from behind and sank my teeth into her skin.

It didn’t have to lead to sex, but I couldn’t stop myself from gliding my hand up her shirt to caress her chest as I drank. Her bare breast filled my hand as I teased and touched her till she moaned for me. The sounds of her set my blood ablaze. I wanted to mark her. She opened herself up to me, arching her neck and letting me take more of her blood. The warmth of it on my tongue sent me into a frenzy that had me squeezing her tighter.

Her yearning sighs sent my blood south. We spent a lot of our time working toward an unknown future, but this was our time. It overwhelmed me till my head swam with images of need.

Training and The Legion didn’t always leave us enough time to enjoy each other’s company. I missed all of it. The nights sitting on the roof at OBA. Secret getaways to the pool. There wasn’t time for any of that with the battle looming closer and closer. There were only stolen moments that reminded me of what we were fighting for.

When she turned to me, her face was flushed. “For the record, I’d love to have the Calem name.”

I pulled her to my lips again, this time harder. “Sorry, that was just so hot. We can stop.”

“You want to stop?”

“No. Definitely not, but . . . I still don’t know how I feel about everything, and this seems to lead to sex, and I just want to make sure you feel comfortable—”

“Aaron.”

“Yeah?”

“Just touch me.”

“Okay.”

She didn’t need to tell me twice. I let her take my clothes off, and the blush in her cheeks deepened. She took her time, and I stroked her slowly and deliberately, careful to brush next to themost sensitive areas on her chest and thighs. I knew where she wanted me to touch. It ended with an index finger underneath her jaw and my thumb on her bottom lip.