Sliding in behind her, Rufsur brushed her hair aside and kissed her neck. “Just relax and let me wash you.”
She had no problem with that.
With a sigh, Edna leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes. “You’re spoiling me.”
“I delight in it.”
He sounded so sincere that even her inner skeptic remained silent.
Edna’s defensive walls were crumbling, and she felt like a flower bulb that had been stubbornly refusing to unfurl its petals for over three centuries until Rufsur came along and coaxed her to blossom.
She was enjoying him too much, but lying on his hard chest while his big hands smoothed over her breasts felt too good to let doubts and worry ruin the pleasure.
For the next couple of hours, she was going to turn off her overactive mind and just feel.
The gentle glide of his soapy hands over her breasts had her nipples tighten even more, and as his thumbs and forefingers wrapped around the achy tips, a throaty moan escaped her lips.
Rolling them gently, he kissed her shoulder, then licked it, and finally nipped at the soft skin. “You’re good enough to eat.”
The images his words evoked had her core tighten in anticipation.
Reading her body as if he was attuned to every nuance, Rufsur slid his palm down her belly and cupped her hot center. “Are you wet for me, my delight?” His breath tickled her ear.
“Yes.”
As the heel of his palm pressed against the top of her slit, massaging gently, he kissed up her neck until he reached her ear, nipped it lightly, then kissed his way down to her shoulder.
Rocking her hips on his palm, she was grinding her ass against his hard erection at the same time, and given the harsh breaths fanning over her neck and shoulder, he was getting just as worked up as she was.
“I think that I’m clean enough.” She reached behind her, took hold of his straining shaft, lifted up, and then pushed down, impaling herself on his hard length.
Rufsur groaned. “You feel so good, my delight.”
She repeated the move, lifting off him and then pushing down again. “How about now?”
“Even better.” His fingers closed on both sides of her hips and he lifted her, then slammed her down.
As the water sloshed over the side of the tub, flooding the floor, Edna shifted to her knees and leaned forward.
He followed, easing onto her back and wrapping one arm around her middle. Bracing his weight on his other arm, he pushed back in.
The penetration was deeper at this angle, wresting a gasp from her throat.
Bracing her hands on the tub’s back lip, Edna dropped her head and watched as he surged back in.
It was so arousing to watch his shaft pistoning in and out of her.
His mouth latched onto her shoulder, but he didn’t bite down. Instead, he licked and sucked on the skin until his thrusts became too powerful and too fast to maintain the seal.
She loved how he felt wrapped around her, his massive body straining, his chest muscles bunching against her back, but she loved how he felt inside her even more. The fullness of him, the smooth glide that was a perfect fit.
As his arm tightened around her belly and his fingers found her engorged clit, the pressure built up in seconds and then snapped. The orgasm blazing over her body melted her bones and muscles, and if not for Rufsur’s arm holding her up, she would have collapsed.
And then he hissed, and a moment later, she felt the twin incisions of his fangs. The sharp, burning pain ignited another blaze, and as the cool venom entered her vein, a third and a fourth.
Soaring on a euphoric cloud, Edna floated, weightless, boneless. But it didn’t last long, or at least it didn’t feel as if a long time had passed, and yet when she came back down, she was lying on Rufsur’s chest.
“I need to stop passing out like that,” she murmured.
He kissed her shoulder. “Why? Don’t you like how it feels?”
“I love it. But I don’t like losing control.”
“I know, baby.” He cupped her cheek and turned her head so he could kiss her. “But you can let go with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
43
Kian
Kian headed to the gym with mixed feelings. So far, Richard had been induced by Bowen, Leon, and Arwel, and none of it had worked. He also hadn’t bonded with any of the females he’d been with, but he was well liked.
Out of the females, Ingrid and Marla seemed to like him the most, but more as a friend with benefits than a potential mate. Leon and Bowen considered him a good friend, and Arwel had spoken on his behalf, but that was probably because Jin had asked him to do it.
The truth was that Kian liked the guy as well. Even though he was pushy and far from smooth, he was light-hearted, and his company was pleasant, which was the reason Kian was giving him another chance.
The affinity wasn’t strong, but it was there, so maybe Richard had very diluted genes, and that was why he hadn’t transitioned yet.
There was also another possibility.
All the other Dormants who’d transitioned successfully had a prior emotional connection to an immortal. In some cases, the bond had been just at the beginning stages of forming, and in other cases, it had already been pretty solid, but Richard had none. Perhaps a bond was another factor in the transition?
Then again, Eva and Kalugal had no connection at all when they hooked up all those years ago, and she transitioned after only one bite.
Perhaps only male Dormants needed a bond to transition?
Or maybe Kalugal being three-quarters god had something to do with Eva’s quick transition. Given that Jacki was a weak immortal, which meant that her genes were also diluted, her transition should have been more problematic, but thanks to Kalugal’s venom, it had been quite effortless.
So much was still unknown that the process seemed to be more alchemy than science.
Unlike Richard’s first ceremony, this time only a few friends accompanied him to the gym. Bowen and Leon were there, as well as Jin and Arwel, Wendy and Vlad, and Ingrid. Merlin was there as the supervising doctor in case anything went wrong.
“Thank you for doing this for me.” Richard extended his hand to Kian.
“No problem.” He shook it and clapped him on the back. “I hope this time it works.”
“And if it doesn’t? Have you given any thought to letting me stay in the village as a human?”
“I have, but I don’t have an answer for you yet. Let’s wait a few days and see if my venom does the trick. If it doesn’t, we will revisit the issue.”
Richard nodded. “I’ll pray to the Fates. Maybe they will take pity on me.”
Kian put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe it’s not meant to be, and your fate awaits you in the human world.”
He shook his head. “My gut tells me that I belong here.”
The problem was that Kian’s gut was telling him the same thing, but that was neither here nor there. It was up to the Fates.
“I’m not going to repeat the ceremonial words. As far as I’m concerned, Bowen is still your initiator. Do you agree?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s do it.” Kian clapped Richard on the back again, kicked his shoes off, and stepped onto the mat. “Come at me.”