Page 131 of Vampire's Choice
The silky touch of his mind voice had her startled gaze snapping to him. He stood a few feet away, his muscular body loose but not relaxed, that roaring ocean the perfect backdrop for a night creature about to pounce on its prey.
Oh. Well, that put a different spin on things. She backpedaled, anticipation building as he began to stalk, the wings at half mast, adding to his looming, powerful presence.
“With what we both know about vampire dinners, I think it would be wise if I feed well beforehand,” he said conversationally. “And if your wish that I don’t use other sources still stands…”
“It does.” Her gaze flicked down, then up. “Like a stone erection.”
His gaze gleamed. “I’m hungry, Ruth. You’ll feed your Master in whatever manner I desire.”
She considered that. Bent and pulled off one boot, then the other, placing them out of range of the surf. “Don’t get my clothes dirty.”
“That depends on you. If you submit to me without a fight, you will stay clean.”
“Not a chance.”
She bolted. He cut her off, and she spun away on her bare foot to lithely head for the surf, kicking up salt spray. Kaela had said they could change into more informal clothing, after all, and Ruth had brought an overnight bag with some options. Though from the perfect appearance of the California overlord, her idea of informal might be Oscar de la Renta versus Versace.
She feinted when Merc grabbed for her, keeping out of his grasp. But he used his speed, his wings for lift, to counter her moves and corral her. Him playing the game heightened her response. When he finally made contact, she twisted, trying to throw off his grip. He moved with her, vaulting through the air, carrying her with him in a somersault of limbs. When he brought her back down, he dropped her onto her feet, and flashed her a challenging grin. She answered with the same and was off again.
More hand-to-hand. She got in a kick, but he slid away from the contact and turned, obscuring her vision with the slap of a wing—ow, asshole—then he had her around the waist, feet lifted off the ground, her body back against his.
When he put her down on one knee, he pushed the blouse off her shoulders, exposing the jut of her aroused nipples through her thin bra. She struggled, but he closed a hand over her nape, holding her still as he unclasped the back. The strapless garment tumbled free, and he divested her of the shirt, belt and skirt, tossing them above the tideline so they landed near her boots. Her two daggers, concealed under the skirt, joined the pile.
To do all that, he had to let her go, so she ran again.
This time he brought her down on the wet sand, rubbing it against her nipples, pushing it into the valleys created by her rib cage. She kicked, tried to hit pressure points with her flailing arms. He yanked her hips up against his groin, that rock hard erection, and rubbed aggressively against her.
“You would deny me.”
“Never. I just want to make you earn it.”
A chuckle, and he pushed his fingers under her panties, sliding them into her cunt, adding the pressure of his hips behind it. As he rubbed her perineum with her thumb, his cock pressed against all his digits, carrying the promise of what he planned to thrust into her next. “You make me do nothing, vampire. It’s all about what I want. Isn’t it? You have no power against me.”
He knew the words that would cut her loose in her own head. “Fuck you,” she managed, and groaned as he captured her clit in two fingers and pinched. Then he’d released her, set her on her feet and pushed her away.
She was disheveled, aroused, panting, off balance. He stripped off shirt and slacks and placed them next to her boots and clothes before they faced off again. The roaring surf had an undercurrent, a whisper that teased her ears and rippled over her skin. The darkness held a wildness, no light on the beach. Just the two of them.
“You’ll come to me now,” Merc said. “Kneel before me and take my cock in your mouth. You’ll serve your Master, and I’ll feed off of you.”
I’ll protect you. You have nothing to fear, from anyone.
She stared across the few feet separating them. “No one can protect someone from everything. Like you breaking my heart.”
“What I can’t protect you from, you’ll protect yourself from.” His belief turned it into a command. “You’d figure out a way to cut my heart out if I broke yours. I might be willing to let you do it. Is it your desire to serve me, Ruth? To treat me as your Master? You’ve said it is. Has that changed, just because we’re in an overlord’s home?”
She shook her head.
“Then do as I order.”
Her knees quivered, but they both knew what she would do. Wanted to do. As she moved toward him, she took in the breathtaking sight of his wings, the muscled chest and thighs, the erect cock. But especially his eyes, the set of his mouth, the luster the moonlight gave the brown locks of hair over his high brow.
There’d been times when Merc had held very little power over his decisions, or his life. His Dominance had always been there, but it had to be dormant, unexpressed. Controlling prey wasn’t the same thing.
She expected the Circus had provided him ample visuals to learn the mechanics, but when it had the space to surface, how had he explored the natural Dominant desire that had been there for so long?
Ask the real question, Ruth.
“Am I the first you’ve done this with?”