This was the real Lucien. She hadn’t seen him at his strongest, but she knew she was staring into the eyes of the man who existed before his imprisonment. An unexpected heartache bloomed in her chest as she lifted her hand and rested it against his cheek.
When she first met him, Callie never would have believed she could come to care for this man, but somewhere along the way, she had. And that could prove to be more treacherous to her than the Savages.
When he withdrew before plunging into her again, it was still a little uncomfortable, but she was adapting to the size of him. She lifted her hips to take him deeper as she threaded her fingers through his hair and held his gaze.
Lucien couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers as he moved within her. She was so tight, hot, and wet it took everything he had not to come as soon as he entered her. However, he was determined to have her experience ecstasy again before he found his release.
The second he entered her, something inside him shifted and changed. What that something was, he didn’t know for sure, but he knew he’d found his mate. He’d discovered where he belonged, who he belonged with, and he was never going to let her go.
She smiled as she dragged his head down and kissed him. He didn’t taste like blood, as she’d originally expected. Instead, he tasted of something wild and free, as well as the minty flavor of toothpaste.
His hands caressing her body caused her to tremble while their kiss deepened into something more tender and infinitely more perilous to her heart.
As they moved together, sweat slickened their bodies, and she cherished his rigid body against her breasts and belly while he took and gave in ways that had her yearning for more. She was on the verge of begging him for release when his hand slid between their bodies and he stroked her clit again.
She’d just orgasmed, but his touch set off another wave that caused her toes to curl as she cried out against his mouth. Her fingers tightened in his hair, and she bit her lip as her eyes rolled back. She’d believed she couldn’t get any higher than earlier, but she was wrong.
Lucien caught her cry with his mouth as the muscles of her sheath clenched around his shaft. He groaned as he found his release inside her.
Shaking, Lucien gathered her in his arms and pulled her against him. He remained buried inside her as he rolled to the side and cradled her against him.
Lucien inhaled the fresh scent of her hair as he hugged her closer. There wasn’t much in his life that he’d ever been sure of, but he was certain he would never let her go again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
When Callie woke the next morning, she felt pleasantly sore and exhausted. They’d had sex two more times last night; it was a record for her, but she suspected Lucien would have kept going if she hadn’t been too tired.
The inviting warmth of his body against her back made her snuggle into him as his ginger scent enveloped her. The sun creeping around the edges of the curtains brought with it a reality she hadn’t experienced last night.
She had sex with a man she barely knew, a vampire no less, and she did it with an abandon that made her cheeks heat when she recalled it. She’d never been like that with any other man, and she doubted she ever would be again.
The idea of other men doused some of her happiness, but it was inevitable. They couldn’t stay together; he was an immortal being, and she was a human. She’d had everything stripped from her by the Savages, but she had to return to the human world. She couldn’t remain ensconced in this world of death. She did not belong to it.
Lucien’s arms constricted around her when she started to pull away. “Good morning,” he murmured in her ear.
Callie shivered when his warm breath tickled her nape. She’d experienced more orgasms last night than she’d ever believed possible. Despite her bone weariness and the sated feel of her body, she wanted more.
“Good morning,” she said, and her stomach rumbled loudly.
Lucien chuckled as he kissed her neck and inhaled her scent. Not only did he detect her inherent, sweet aroma, but his smell was also all over her, and he planned for it to stay that way for the rest of their lives.
Outside, a car door slammed, and he tensed. He’d left instructions for them not to be disturbed, no matter what, but if the Savages had found them, they wouldn’t care about those instructions. It was daytime, but that didn’t mean they were safe.
He listened to boots thudding down the sidewalk until they entered a room a few doors down. It was time for him to start putting off the inevitable and face his friends.
“I need a phone,” he said.
“I need a shower. I stink,” she muttered.
Lucien chuckled as he kissed her shoulder. “I think you smell wonderful.”
Callie basked in his words as she cuddled closer to him. Yes, reality was returning, but cocooned in his arms, she could almost pretend things weren’t as complicated as they were.
Lucien reluctantly released her and rose from the bed. He retrieved his jeans and tugged them on as she shifted on the mattress until she sat with her back against the headboard. The TV remained on, but he didn’t pay it any attention as he retrieved his shirt.
“Lucien, I have to go home.”
He stopped looking for his socks and turned to face her. “That’s not possible.”
“Maybe I can’t return to live—”
“You can’t,” he interrupted brusquely; he hadn’t expected her to be looking to leave him. He couldn’t lose her.
“But I have to get some of my things,” Callie continued as if he hadn’t spoken. He may have given her the best sex of her life, but he didn’t control her life.
“They’re just things, Callie. Let them go.”
“Not to me.”
She glared at him when he gave her a look that made her feel like he considered her a silly little human. Her teeth ground together. Carter had tried to control her life too; she’d refused to let it happen, and she paid for it. Despite the events of her past, she would not let it happen now. The only thing she had left to lose was her life, and she would risk it to retrieve some of her belongings.
“There are things there from my father that I will not let go,” she said.
The fire in her eyes and her glower told Lucien he’d messed up. He wasn’t used to having conversations after sex. Usually, he dressed and left, and sometimes he wasn’t the first one out the door.
However, he didn’t ever intend to leave Callie, and if they were going to spend an eternity together, they couldn’t start it off fighting all the time. It wouldn’t be the best path toward a happy life.
“There are probably Savages there,” he said.
“I’m not saying I have to go back right now, but I do have to return at some time and preferably before my rent is past due.”
“Fine, I will take you back there one day.” He said the words, but he expected her to forget about it once he got her somewhere safe, and after he managed to get her to agree to become his mate.
Callie suspected he was trying to appease her and thought she’d forget, but he was sadly mistaken. Come hell or high water, she would get back to her apartment. There were things there she could never replace.
“I’m going to find a phone. Afterward, we can go to the diner down the street and get you some breakfast,” he said.