Page 7 of Winter Unleashed
“He seemed sincere. He said if it weren't for you, he wouldn't be here.
A small grunt came from his chest. “I’m not sure that’s true. He would have survived the turn without me.”
“Yes,” I said, moving to sit on his lap, “but you helped him figure out how to be a tribreed, how not to kill the humans he feeds from. If not for you, he’d hate himself more than he does now. He may not have made it this far without your friendship.” He grunted again, and I pressed a light kiss to his lips. “Tell me more.”
He stared at me for so long I thought he might not tell me anything else. “You’ve heard of couples so in love they forget everything and everyone else around them?” I nodded, and he sighed. “My parents were one of those couples. You know love doesn’t come instantly because Fate connects you with another, but for my parents, it did.”
He locked eyes with mine, and I leaned forward to kiss him again. I may not be ready for love, but he needed to know I wasn’t with him only because Fate had dictated it. I kissed him so he had no room to question my feelings for him. His arms tightened around my waist just before pulling his lips from mine.
“My parents were so in love and so in lust with each other there was no room for anyone else. If they hadn’t been the Vinur and Vinura, they wouldn’t have had children. The only reason they had two was because the Fae created me when my mother was already, unknowingly, pregnant. At least that’s Astrid’s best guess for how my mother had the first and only known set of shifter twins. Our parents had passed us to the servants almost the second we were born.”
“Who took care of Ciara?”
“My mother’s handmaid. She’d forced Ciara to learn everything a proper lady should.” He let out a little laugh. “She hated it. She wanted to learn to fight in battles, but she learned how to weave wool and take care of a family.”
“Poor Ciara. No wonder she’s so feisty now,” I said with a smile. “What else?”
“There’s not much more to tell you about my parents. The infrequent times we saw them, they were cold and distant. When my mother died, my father sent for me, but I didn’t go. He killed himself shortly after.”
I studied him for a little while trying to get a read on how he felt about what he’d just told me. As usual his expression gave nothing away. “Are you okay with that?”
“I am. We never had a relationship. It felt more like losing an old acquaintance than a parent. I’d lived my life without him, so his death didn’t affect me.” He kissed me again as his hands traveled over my body. “What else do you want to know?”
“Mmm, everything,” I breathed as I leaned into his touch and moaned when I felt him grow hard under me. “I want to know all the places you’ve been. What major historical events you’ve seen. And how many lovers you’ve had.”
His roaming hands stopped at that last question. His whole body stiffened as he pulled back to look at me. “Why would you want to know that?”
“You’ve been alive for nearly two thousand years. You must have had hundreds or thousands of lovers… Maybe at least one was famous?”
He laughed as he lifted me then set me down to straddle him. “I am sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn’t the slut of the family. That would be my sister. She’s slept with more people than anyone else I’ve met… I think.” He gave me a pointed look and wiggled his eyebrows. I smacked his arm, pulling a laugh from him. “Despite how long I’ve been alive, I haven’t had as many lovers as you’d think.”
“With a face, body, and cock like yours… I don’t believe you.” To emphasize my point, I rubbed against his impressive erection.
His hold on me tightened, and a groan escaped him when I shifted to take him inside me.
“Fuck, you’re so tight and warm andsowet,” he whispered with a growl. “You are like nothing I’ve ever felt before. It’s no wonder Isaac wanted to keep you for himself.”
I gasped when he moved his thumb over my clit. “Mm-hmm, and how many others have you felt?” I asked. Instead of answering, he lowered his head to take my nipple into his mouth. I let out a little laugh as I drove my hands into his hair. “Too many to count, eh?”
He grazed my nipple with his teeth before settling back against the headboard. “I don’t know the exact number, but it’s not nearly as many as Ciara claims she’s had.” He grabbed my ass and shifted our position to lay me back on the bed. “Do you want to keep talking?” he asked, covering my body with his and slowly sliding his cock back inside me.
“No,” I whispered against his lips.
Chapter Three
The next morning, we sat on the back patio for breakfast. Liam read reports from his various businesses while I worked on the next book in my mystery-romance series, The Chastity Files. In book seven, private detective and shifter, Chastity Brown continues her affair with a human police detective as they work toward solving their next case.
We worked in silence for a while before I decided to revisit our conversation from the night before. “Okay,” I said, pulling his attention from his work. “What I really wanted to know last night was if you’ve had any serious relationships? Or have they all been flings?”
His jaw twitched as he looked back to the piece of paper in his hand. He stared at the report from the children’s hospital with such intensity I expected it to burst into flames. After a few moments, he set the paper on the table and looked at me. “There was one woman. She was fun, adventurous, and different from any other woman I’d ever met. We enjoyed each other for a while, but it got too… intense. In the end, I left her. She was not happy about it. She’s one reason I moved around a lot.”
“Wow, that sucks. It must have been hard for you. Is she still alive?”
He clenched his jaw again before taking a deep breath. “She is.”
“Should I be worried?” I asked, wondering if she might come after me out of jealousy.
“Mr. Fraser,” Philip called from the house, “Dr. Jackson is waiting in your office.”