Page 27 of To Crave Deeply
I nodded as tears started to flow. “Hi, Jasper.”
And then he was kissing me. His lips were hard and fierce against mine before I could even say another word.
It was desperate, with tongues and teeth, and he was touching me everywhere, and I couldn’t stop touching him. His hands fisted my shirt while mine were buried in his hair. His knees buckled beneath us and then I was straddling his hips, and his erection hit me in just the right spot to make me moan deep into his mouth.
This kiss was like fire, wild and all consuming. It was unstable, volcanic, and Jasper plundered my mouth with a vicious frenzy. He robbed me of my breath, and that was okay because I didn’t need to breathe. I just needed him.
Jasper broke the kiss, our faces still close, close enough that our noses are almost touching. He slowly blinked a few times, like he wasn’t sure where he was or what was happening. Like he surrendered completely to the moment and got lost in it.
“How are you here?” he croaked, his voice breaking with all the emotion. His mental guards were down, and I could feel it all. He was usually so fastidious about his mental shields that for me to feel anything he was feeling meant that he was definitely more agitated than usual.
I thought back to all that I went through on the other side and winced.
“It’s a long story, and I’d rather only tell it once.”
Jasper nodded, and I released the breath I’d been holding. “Okay. Let’s gather the team and you can tell us everything.”
He stood and pulled me up with him. He made to head to the meeting room, but I caught his arm and stopped him. There was something we needed to take care of first.
“Come with me,” I murmured as I pulled him towards a side room. I glanced over to Torsten who was still standing silently waiting in the hallway. “Can you round everyone up for me? Please?”
He gave me a small smile and nodded before heading off down the corridor. I was grateful that he was giving me the time with Jasper because I wasn’t going to be able to focus until I’d made sure he was okay.
“Lori, what are you doing?” Jasper asked as I shut the door behind him.
I folded my arms across my chest and hit him with a firm stare. “When was the last time you fed?”
He grinned sheepishly. “I... um...”
“You haven’t been feeding, have you?”
“I couldn’t. You weren’t here and I couldn’t face the thought that—”
I placed my hand against his lips and silenced his tirade. “I’m here now and I want you to feed. I need you at full strength because I am going to need your help for what’s to come.”
His eyes darkened as his hunger took root. The black of the beast spread until there wasn’t even a glimmer of blue left sparkling in his eyes. He nipped at my fingers, and I felt the sharp lethal points of his fangs scrape the pads of my fingers. An involuntary shiver rippled up my spine as he prowled closer, stalking me like his prey. And for now, I was. I was his food source and the darkness in me craved the euphoria that I knew came with his bite. He was a powerful vampire, and his venom was no different. It was a potent, heady concoction that turned my brain to mush and made my body a slave to the pleasure he gave me.
“Your heart is racing,” he whispered as my back hit the door. One of his hands rested on my waist while the other slid along my jawline and into my hair.
“Sorry,” I muttered, my breath suddenly trembling.
“Don’t be.” He grinned wolfishly. “I like it.”
Oh, god. Why was that so hot?
“Stop toying with me, Jasper.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his voice deliciously low before the hand in my hair clenched the strands painfully and yanked my head to one side. He trailed his tongue up the long column of my neck and I let out a moan.
There was no build up, no anticipation. Jasper must have been ravenous because he sank his fangs into my neck like a man starved. The flash of pain was intense, but it lasted mere moments before the venom of his bite was sending me headfirst into a tumultuous storm of pure bliss. The rest of the team must have heard my scream; it was loud and erotic and fuck… I melted into a puddle of pure pleasure.
I may just have died all over again.
Chapter 10
LORI
Torsten had gathered everyone in the common room rather than the one we usually used for meetings. I was grateful because it felt more homey in here. The giant fire was roaring, keeping the cool winter chill at bay, and Jasper sat next to me with his fingers entwined with mine. He hadn’t stopped touching me since I’d returned and I had to admit, I kind of liked it. Before the Gathering, we’d only just taken the next step in our relationship. Yes, we’d had some mind-blowing sex and that had triggered a True Vampire bond, something that connected our souls for eternity. But we never really got a chance to explore our new dynamic. We’d gone to the Gathering and fought the angels. And then I’d died.
