knelt beside him, lowered her head and licked the head of his cock. His essence was
intoxicating and she buried her face in the hair of his groin and breathed deep. Lucian's
fingers tangled in her hair, guiding her mouth back to the bulbous tip. Opening her
mouth, she lowered it over his length, taking him deep.
Lucian murmured his encouragement as she wrapped her hand around the base of
his shaft and pumped. Her tongue traced the pulsing vein as she pulled her mouth back
to the tip and then plunged down once again. His testicles were hard and heavy in her
hand as she rolled them between her fingers. More liquid seeped into her throat as she
continued to suck and lick his length.
His pleasure was hers. Her nipples were harder than they'd ever been before and
her pussy burned with need, but she wanted Lucian's pleasure more than her own. His
sac moved closer to his body and she knew he was close to coming.
It shocked her when he pulled away from her, pulling his cock from her mouth and
holding her away from him. "Not this time. This time, I want your beautiful, tight ass."
She could barely make out his guttural words. But when she did, she immediately
rolled over on her hands and knees, spreading her legs wide to accommodate him.
He swore softly and fluently and she heard the sound of a drawer opening and
closing. Then she felt a cool jellylike substance being rubbed on her behind. This time,
Lucian's finger easily slipped past the tight muscles of her behind and she felt only
pleasure. Then it was gone, leaving her wanting more.
"Put your hands on your ass and spread your cheeks wide." She felt his lips as he
feathered kisses across both mounds before blowing softly on her heated cleft. The
sensation had her moaning once again and she laid her forehead on the mattress.
Reaching her hands around, she grabbed each mound and pulled them apart, exposing
herself totally to him.
"Perfect." Lucian's finger probed her tight opening once again and its cool gel
coating allowed his finger to slide in easily. She shivered as his thick finger filled her.
Swearing under his breath, he withdrew his finger and gripped her waist with his
hands. Delight felt the tip of his penis at her tight opening. He pushed his way past the
resistance of her flexing muscles and stopped.
Pain and pleasure rocked her body. Part of her wanted to pull away from the pain,
but a larger part of her wanted the pleasure she knew she could have. Making her
decision, she pushed her bottom towards Lucian, driving him deeper.
"Fuck, yes." Surging forward, he didn't stop until he was buried to the hilt. Delight
panted hard, breathing into the pain. Lucian held himself still as her body adjusted. She
could feel his cock throbbing deep inside her bottom. It set off an ache inside her pussy
as her inner muscles clenched around air.
She didn't know how much time passed, but finally the worst of the burning pain
was gone and the pleasure began to grow once again. When Lucian finally began to
move, he rocked gently within her, barely moving. Bolts of desire shot through her until
it was no longer enough.
As if he'd read her mind, Lucian slid one of his hands around to her stomach. His
warm fingers combed through her pubic hair, stroking her swollen clit, before surging
into her pussy. She arched into his fingers, and as she did so, his cock slid almost out of
her behind. He drove into her ass at the same time he thrust his fingers into her pussy.
Every part of her was crammed so full of Lucian, she didn't think she could take
anymore. Then he thrust again. Harder and faster, going even deeper.
Delight adjusted to the driving rhythm he set. Her ass burned, but the pleasure was
overwhelming. He bent over her, plunging deeper as he cupped her breast with his free
hand. Pinching the swollen nipples, he sent her over the edge into oblivion. Her body
convulsed as she came hard. The muscles of her pussy and her ass contacted hard
around him.
Lucian yelled his release. Delight could feel the hot flood of liquid in her behind as
she continued to come. He pounded into her bottom one last time before arching up.
She felt herself melting into the mattress as her hands fell away from her behind and
dropped to the bed.
Lucian was still coming when he bent over her. She could feel his hot breath on the
back of her neck. "Mine." He buried his teeth in the curve of her shoulder and drew
hard.
Shockingly, she felt her body convulse again. Desire and pure fire shot through her
blood, flooding her body. She could feel every sucking motion at her neck between her
legs. The pleasure went on and on, until he finally retracted his teeth from her neck. She
shivered as his rough tongue lapped over the small wound, closing and healing it.
Then she shuddered as Lucian pulled out of her behind. It was still painful, but
Delight didn't care. She'd never felt so sexually satisfied in her life. Dropping to the
mattress beside her, he pulled her into his arms, pushing her mouth towards his chest.
"Drink."
Spurred on by his command, Delight licked at his salty skin before sinking her teeth
into his chest. What once would have been appalling to her was now beautiful. It was a
sharing and giving between them just as their lovemaking was.
As she drank her fill, she could sense his deep pleasure at providing her with what
she needed. His hand cupped the back of her head, caressing her hair, as she took his
life-giving blood into her starving body. "Drink, my love. I will always provide what
you need."
When she sensed she'd drunk enough, she retracted her fangs just by thought and
then, as he had done to her, she carefully licked the wound to heal it. The tang of his
blood was still on her tongue and she savored it. It surprised her just how quickly she'd
accepted the need to drink blood to survive, but she supposed that it was much better
than being appalled and afraid. She suspected it was her practical nature that allowed
her this easy acceptance.
As much as she longed to stay in the cocoon of their love nest, she knew the time
had come to face Chase and Miss Nadine.
"And Detective Cassidy." Lucian's chest rumbled beneath her cheek.
"You can read my mind?" The thought didn't upset her as much as it would have a
few days ago.
"Yes. And you can read mine." Shifting, Lucian rolled over and came up to sit on
the side of the bed with her still clasped in his arms. His easy strength continued to
amaze her. He smiled at her. "You will find that you are much stronger as well." Giving
her one final kiss, he stood and lowered her feet until she was standing next to him with
his arms still wrapped around her.
"They're all here, aren't they?" She wasn't usually a coward, but she was loath to
lose this moment with Lucian.
"They have been waiting for over an hour for us to appear." A wicked grin crossed
his harsh face, making him look younger and more carefree. "I must thank Stefan for
keeping them occupied."
She could feel the heat in her cheeks, as she buried her face against his chest. "Oh,
God. They'll take one look at that satisfied smirk on your face and know what we were
doing."
&nbs
p; Lucian shrugged, totally unconcerned. "It is to be expected. We are now bound
together by the customs of my people."
She froze as his words penetrated her embarrassment. "Does that mean that we're
married?"
"Yes."
"But I don't feel married." She could feel him tense, the muscles of his chest
tightening beneath her cheek.
His fingers flexed in her hair as he gently pulled, tipping her face to meet his
solemn gaze. "What we share is deeper than a human marriage. It is unbreakable."
Delight shrugged, burying her regrets. She'd always imagined a wedding with
flowers, a pretty dress and a nice reception. Nothing fancy or expensive, but something
special.
His face softened and his fingers relaxed their grip. "Ah, Delight. I cannot bear to
see you so sad." He stroked her cheeks with his fingers. "You shall have your wedding.
Cris and Johanna will want to come, and of course, Stefan, but other than that, it will be
as you desire."
Her heart clenched in her chest. He was looking at her with such love, she felt like
the luckiest woman in the world. They would have their share of problems, but they
would deal with them together.
"Thank you, Lucian."
He nodded and stepped away from her. "First, we must deal with the problems at
hand. Then we will make plans."
Chapter Nineteen
When she and Lucian entered the room, Chase was wearing a hole in the expensive
Oriental carpet that lay on the living room floor. His movements were slow and stiff,
and he cradled his left hand against his chest as he walked. His head snapped towards
the door at the muted sound of their footsteps. Frozen in place, he stared at her, his eyes
examining her from head to foot.
She hurried towards him, but he met her halfway, moving as quickly as his injuries
would allow. Wrapping his good arm around her, he held her tight against his chest.
Hugging him now, it shook her to her core to remember just how close she'd come to
losing him.
"Are you all right?" His grip tightened briefly before he released her. "It's been two
nights since you were shot." He scraped his fingers through his hair, making it stand
upright. "I've been so damned worried."
"Let's sit down." She let him lead her to the sofa on the pretext that she needed to
sit, but really it was for her brother. He looked ready to fall down. His face was pale
and drawn, and his eyes were bleak and bruised. As he sat next to her on the sofa, she
got a good look at him. Delight knew then that this ordeal had changed him as well,
and not for the better. Gone was the openness and easy humor of youth. Instead, it had
been replaced by a general guardedness and an air of mistrust.
"He wouldn't tell me anything." Chase scowled at Stefan, who was leaning
unconcernedly against a beautiful oak fireplace.
"There was nothing to tell." Pushing away from the mantel, Stefan crossed his arms
over his massive chest. "She was with Lucian. She was safe." He shrugged as if that was
all that any of them needed.
"I wanted to see for myself." Chase turned his back on Stefan, ignoring him totally.
Delight caught the quick grin that crossed Stefan's face before it returned to its normal
somber lines.
"Sorry to break up the family reunion, but I need answers." Sam Cassidy pushed
out of the plush wing-backed chair where he'd been sitting. "We've long suspected
Prince of a list of crimes including several murders, but have never been able to gather
enough evidence to make any of the charges stick. The man was brilliant, violent, half-
mad, and inspired a loyalty among his men that was downright scary. The case is
officially closed. With the lack of evidence to suggest anything else, it's assumed that a
rival crime boss had Prince and his right-hand man killed inside Prince's own club. A
simple territorial take-over. A falling-out among criminals."
He shot Stefan a sardonic grin before continuing. "I'd push it," he paused for effect
and Stefan took a menacing step towards him. "But it was a clear-cut case of self-
defense."
"Sit down." Lucian's voice was low and pleasant, but everyone could hear the
underlying thread of anger beneath it. When the detective continued to stand, Lucian
heaved a disgusted sigh and motioned to the chair. "Please."
Stefan snorted, but Cassidy lowered himself into the chair, spread his long jeans-
clad legs in front of him, propped his elbows on the arms of the chair and steepled his
fingers together. He said nothing, but waited patiently.
The testosterone was so thick in the room that Delight feared she'd choke on it.
Deciding that being female and, therefore, the only sensible person in the room, it was
up to her to break the silence.
"I want to thank you for all your help in this matter, Detective Cassidy."
His face softened and he smiled at her. "It's my pleasure, ma'am. And please, call
me Cassidy. I think we've been through too much together to stick to formalities."
From what Delight had seen, everyone referred to him as Cassidy. She sensed that
it was rare for him to allow anyone to refer to him by his first name.
Lucian walked up behind her where she was seated on the sofa and placed a
possessive hand on her shoulder. Cassidy's gaze dropped from her face to Lucian's
hand and back up again. There was a look of male understanding on his face that
"Mine." The word echoed silently in her brain and she knew that it was Lucian's
way of telling her she was already his. She didn't mind that they belonged to one
another, but she was hardly ready to be claimed in such a blatant fashion.
Ignoring Lucian's rather large presence behind her, she picked up the conversation.
"Only if you'll call me Delight." She smiled warmly at the detective, knowing it would
annoy Lucian. "As I was saying, I appreciate everything you've done for me and my
family. You came so quickly after I called you."
The smile faded from his face and he became all cop, his icy-blue eyes flat and
watchful. "You should have called me before attempting your own rescue scheme,
Dalakis."
"I am used to giving orders, not taking them." Delight could feel Lucian's anger,
but only she knew that he was angrier at himself than at anyone else. Lucian would be a
long time getting over the fact that she'd gotten hurt.
"That's all fine and good, except you asked me to cover for you. And you've
already got some people in the department very interested in you." Pausing, he rubbed
the side of his jaw that was dark with stubble. "You know a guy named Zane York?"
Lucian glanced at Stefan and then shook his head. "Should I know him?"
Cassidy shrugged. "He was very curious about the incident in the alleyway and
asked me point-blank if you had some involvement in it. York is a good cop with good
instincts and he's very interested in you." He shot Stefan and Lucian an angry look.
"I'm just glad that I didn't know about you when he asked me. I wasn't lying to him
when I told him no." He glared at Lucian. "You put me in the rather awkward position
of having to keep certain information to myself."
"I'm sure we can find a way to com
pensate you for your trouble." It was the wrong
thing to say. Delight knew that as soon as the words left Lucian's mouth.
Cassidy jumped from his chair, his anger a living, breathing thing. "I won't dignify
that with an answer, but only because there's a lady present." His stance was like a
fighter's, loose and limber, ready to go at a moment's notice. "Hell, all I know is one
minute Delight is bleeding to death, then you're sucking the blood out of her, then she's
sucking the blood out of you, and then she's miraculously healed. Damned if I don't
feel ready for the shrink's chair."
He ambled towards her, picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. His old-
fashioned manner charmed her and his forthrightness pleased her. "If you need
anything, don't hesitate to call me." He shot a defiant look at Lucian and Stefan, nodded
at Chase and then strode towards the door.
"Cassidy." He stopped, but didn't turn around. Lucian swore and sighed. "Will you
tell anyone?"
"I should let you wonder about that." A low growl came from deep within Lucian,
but the other man ignored it. "But who the hell would I tell? Zane York? And really,
what would I tell him? That you're all vampires?" He swore under his breath, shook his
head as if he was arguing with himself, and finally turned back around. "Your secret is
safe with me."
Lucian gave her shoulder a squeeze before walking towards Cassidy and holding
out his hand. Lucian waited patiently and was rewarded when the other man
reluctantly shook the proffered hand. "I did not mean to insult you. I owe you more
than I can ever repay."
"Just doing my job," he shrugged.
"Few know our secret and only those that we call friend," Lucian paused, letting his
words sink in before he continued. "If you are ever in need of anything, you have only
to ask. You are welcome in my home." Lucian bowed formally.
A slow grin broke across Cassidy's face. "I'll bet that hurt."
Lucian laughed at the other man's easy humor. Delight shook her head at the
changeable nature of the male species. At each other's throats one minute, best friends
the next. Not that she minded. She liked Sam Cassidy. He had an easygoing manner
that hid a sharp intellect and a keen sense of humor.
"I'd like you to come to our wedding." Lucian looked almost as surprised as