And then she couldn’t talk anymore, because I jammed my cock in her ass and pushed hard. She was tighter than I expected, but she took me in two massive shoves because I didn’t give her another option. Her screams filled the room. I froze once I was in, to give her a few seconds to adjust. I’m not completely heartless.
“Out! Out! It’s too much!”
“It’s just right. I need you to hurt for me. I need to hear you beg, and then I need you to hurt me with your bite. Give me everything right back. Remember this, when you put together the cocktail to send through my veins and arteries, to every nerve cell in my body.”
I fucked her hard and fast, with zero mercy. I smelled blood, and no one had fed yet, which meant I’d split her open. I slowed and ordered her to make my cock a little fatter. She obeyed, and her screams once again filled the room, but I didn’t show any mercy when I resumed fucking her hard and fast. The energy from the other side of the bed seemed to be the opposite, as if Kieran was extra-gentle with Arabella to balance out my cruelty to Gwen.
In the end, Kieran exercised his place as the most powerful in our foursome, because when I heard his voice in my head ordering me to come, I unloaded into Gwen, and put the side of my throat at her mouth so she could feed.
And then I screamed like a little girl being stung by a host of bees, because it felt as if Gwen put acid in my veins. Every nerve ending in my body was set on fire as the acid pulsed past,my heart distributing the caustic poison whether I wanted it to or not. I’d asked for pain, and she gave me exactly what I’d requested. She also froze my muscles, so I couldn’t resist.
And she drank in my pain. She let me feel her enjoyment, as if my agony spiced my blood and made it more savory. She enjoyed the sweet maple taste for a special treat now and then, but she also enjoyed this. Smokey, peppery, savory. For vampires, pain has a flavor — it’s an acquired taste, but one Gwen had come to enjoy.
I also received glimpses of what Kieran was getting — the smooth taste of peace and bliss, of being taken care of and gentled.
Opposites.
Like the yin-yang symbol, we completed something in that bed. The universe had been out of balance, and we helped balance it. Pain and bliss. Cruelty and kindness. Two sides of the same coin, but made up of the same substance.
Balance.
The vampires left our bed and put the two warm-blooded creatures together, so I held Arabella. She soothed my pain, and I held her and let her. And again, the world shifted. I’d expected to be the one to take care of her, but she kissed me and held me and petted me until I relaxed, until the vampire venom burning me inside dissipated, so I could breathe again. Every muscle hurt. Every cell. I didn’t know when it would get better, but I didn’t want them tochangeme so I’d heal. I needed a reminder of the pain. Pain means you’re alive. It’s important.
* * * *
Arabella
I’d wondered if we’d ever reproduce the magic I felt when we healed Kieran, and now I had my answer. It wasn’t the same, itwas better. I wanted to be part of this foursome more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
“Does it bother you when the vampires make you study? You didn’t even know we were in the room.”
Ajax’s question pulled me from my reverie. We were upstairs in the coterie house, cooking. Our vampires were downstairs, dead to the world.
“When Sophia talked to me about sending me to the Master Vampire, she told me she was of a mind to have him help me focus, and I was excited about not having to do it on my own. I’ve disappointed my supervisors more times than I can count because I couldn’t focus. I hate feeling like a failure, but it wasso hard. Abbott took that away. I can’t think of anything else. It’s like there’s this tunnel vision or something. Nothing else exists but the lesson. No other thoughts. I don’t even know if the room is hot or cold, or even that I’mina room.”
“I would hate that. Once I got my willpower back, I knew I never wanted to give it away again. The blood servant thing is the best of both worlds. I belong to them but I’m not a slave.”
“Once I’d gone through therapy and this course that was supposed to help me learn to be independent — and completely flunked out — Sophia promised me I’d always be taken care of. No worry of where to live or what to eat. No stress over decisions. She wouldn’t have asked Abbott to compel my studies if she didn’t understand that about me.”
I’d thought he understood, and his next sentence put me a little more at ease.
“I understand about not wanting to be paid. I totally get why you want to be taken care of, but grabbing your willpower...” he shrugged. “I just needed to be sure. Neither of us is right or wrong. We’re making slightly different choices. That’s all. I like you just the way you are, and already, I have a hard time thinking about life without you by my side.”
My insides relaxed. He understood. It was going to be okay.
We plated our food and moved to the breakfast area. I waited for him to sit, and I took the bench across from him.
“We can’t establish a routine until we get home, but I asked the service who handles our cleaning duties to list everything they do. When I get the list, I’ll need you to look through it and see if there’s anything you can’t handle. We’ll grocery shop together, and we’ll figure out the cooking, but I assume we’ll do much of that together, too.”
Again, tension I didn’t realize I’d been holding seemed to melt away. I was going to be useful in my new home.
“The only thing I’m not certified for is managing money. I should be able to handle everything else. Abbott had a driver take me to the store when I needed to shop, so yeah, I guess that will be you. I’d asked him if I could take another cooking course, and he’d agreed, but it hadn’t started yet. It was how to grill and smoke meats.”
“Spence taught me to grill, but I wouldn’t mind taking a class. Maybe we can do that together.”
My smile squinched my eyes shut a little, and my heart expanded in my chest. The worst part about taking classes was walking in by yourself. Alone. I’d always wanted to be able to walk in with a friend.
“I’d love that.”
