Chapter 11

It was their last night together and Bryce wanted it to last forever. Kyle and Liv had taken off as soon as darkness swept over London. Kyle was hungry, but Bryce assumed it was more than that. He wanted time alone with Liv. He couldn’t blame them. They were young, and still lost to the mist of each other. Elora and Corbin must have spent a good portion of the day up, for they closed off their curtain to lie down and rest. Erin was going over her weapon inventory and Derek was studying maps, committing each twist and turn to memory.

Bryce peeled back the curtain to find Tori lacing up her boots. “Going out are ye?” he asked, disappointed that she had not invited him.

“I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I showered and got dressed.”

“Ye took a shower and didnae think to ask me to join ye? Tsk, tsk.” He shook his head, knelt behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, breathing in her heather scent and wanting desperately to make love to her one more time.

“Why don’t we go hunting?” He nipped at her neck, and then pulled at her shirt with his teeth, revealing her bare shoulder. “And then, find someplace where we can be alone.” He ran his tongue lightly over her shoulder, tracing a light circle. Then he placed a gentle kiss on her skin and returned her shirt back over her shoulder.

“I’d like that.” Her voice was soft and filled with sadness. It tugged at Bryce’s heart. More than anything he wanted to keep her safe.

The two got up to leave, and as they did, Bryce noticed Kane through the slightly open curtain. He was sitting up, wide awake, his eyes fixed on a sleeping Jasmine. Bryce peeled the cover back, Kane looked up.

“Did ye get any sleep?”

Kane shrugged. “On and off. I’ll be fine. I just wanted to make sure she got enough rest. She’s been through a lot.” He spoke low so not to wake her.

“Are you okay, Kane?” Tori asked.

“Me? Yeah. I’m fine. I just know what it’s like to lose someone and feel alone. I can relate to her, ya know?”

Bryce put his hand on Kane’s shoulder. “Aye. We all can relate to her.”

****

After they had hunted, Tori asked Bryce to show her some of London. He pulled his gaze away, not wanting to deny her the one thing she asked. “I don’t think it’s wise, lass. The streets aren’t safe. Ye saw whit happened to Belinda. We best be getting back.” Tori dropped her gaze to the street and nodded. Her expression perfectly melancholy.

Bryce placed one finger beneath her chin and lifted her head up. Her hazel eyes glistened beneath the light of the full moon. She was so beautiful, he could look at her forever—and that was his intent. This would not be their last night together, but regardless, he would treat it as such. “I promised ye we’d be alone, and I am a man of my word.” Tori melted into his touch at his words, her eyes filled with love for him.

When they arrived back at the building, Bryce hopped up onto the fire escape, then swung around and offered Tori his hand. The two climbed up swiftly, but when they reached the landing where the loft was, Bryce gestured for Tori to keep going. She followed him up to the roof where he had several candles waiting. Pulling a lighter out of his pocket, he began to light the candles illuminating the bed he had made out of blankets and pillows.

“When did you do all this?” Tori asked, a sweet smile creeping up causing Bryce to feel pride in his small gesture. She appreciated the little things, and he was happy to do them for her.

“When ye were in the shower. Figured ye didnae invite me, so I might as well make myself useful.”

“This is beautiful. Thank you.” She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. He pressed his lips against hers and lightly licked the corners of her mouth. He could taste her last victim. The taste of blood caused his fangs to lengthen. Tori licked playfully at the sharp point of each fang before stepping back and removing her sweater, and then her bra. A dark swatch of fabric fluttered to the ground. Bryce bent down and picked it up, studying the plaid for a moment.

“I wanted to keep your tartan colors close to my heart, so I cut a piece before we left. Silly, I know—”

Bryce stopped her from speaking by kissing her so passionately that Tori stumbled back. But he had her firm in his grasp. He grabbed two fistfuls of her hair and kissed her with everything he had left. That one small token that she kept hidden from him was so attractive to him, he couldn’t think about anything else but being inside her.

Slowly, he was able to get his urges under control. He sucked on her bottom lip, feeling how it slipped out of his mouth, her taste sweet on his tongue. He stepped back and opened his eyes to look at his bride. Her pale skin shone like white marble beneath the reflection of the full moon. Bryce wanted nothing more than to worship this goddess before him. He removed his own shirt and fell to his knees before her, his tongue against her taut stomach, his hands stretched above caressing her perfect breasts. Off in the distance, the two vampires were able to hear a faint howl. It was Dante. They had no way of confirming, but they just knew. Another midnight had gone by without the return of his wolves. The urgency of their predicament made their need to be together all the more crucial.

Moving at vampire speed, the rest of their clothes were discarded, and Bryce laid Tori down on the blankets, placing his mouth over hers, claiming her over and over again with the power of his kiss. Slowly he slid down her body, his tongue glazing over her breasts, down her stomach and finally reached the part of her that was equally delicate as it was enrapturing. Slipping an arm beneath her thigh, she hooked one leg around his shoulder and down his back. She was exactly where he wanted her.

Placing his cool tongue against her sex he began to give her long soft strokes. He was moving very slow, making sure not to miss any part of her. Tori gasped and arched her back, grabbed at his hair and held him down in place, her forcefulness causing him to smile. Dragging his tongue over her swollen lips he repeated the gesture over and over until he felt her bundle of nerves swell and tighten beneath his mouth. Placing his hands on either side of her hips to steady her, Bryce began to flick his tongue against her, relishing in how she writhed her hips, smashing her sex against him and then pulling ever so slightly away to taunt herself. Finally he felt his mate begin to shudder as her orgasm exploded. She cried out—louder than she probably ever would have if she were not so lost to the ecstasy.

Bryce pulled himself up to his knees and took his hard shaft in his hands. Knowing how wet she was right now was making him crazy with desire. “That was one, lass.”

He pulled her closer by the hips and got down on all fours so he could get himself deep inside her. As he entered her, he groaned into her ear, “Get ready for two.” He slid himself all the way in, and she moaned in delight, placing two firm hands on his ass and holding him close to her. “I want you deeper,” she said, her breath ragged, and Bryce obeyed, burying himself as far in as he could.

“I only feel whole when I’m wi’ ye,” He said as he moved with her.

“Oh, Bryce!” Tori moaned, her words carrying with them a dull ache as she dug her nails into the muscles of his back. “Fuck me hard, for I don’t know if we’ll ever have this again. Fuck me deep so I feel you inside me long after you’re gone.”

Bryce rocked his hips against hers, their rhythm steady like a dance. “This is not our last night together, Victoria. This is just one of a million memories that we will share.”

“Tell me you love me,” she begged.

“You know I do, lass.” Bryce began to slow down, his thrusts placing just the right amount of pressure on her core.

“Tell me you love me,” she said again.

“I love ye.” Bryce placed his mouth over hers and pushed himself deep inside her as he came. He felt her muscles tighten around him and then release as she gave herself over to her second orgasm.

“That’s two.” Bryce smiled and kissed her again. Tori laughed and flipped Bryce over so he was flat on his back.

“And I’m not even close to being done.” She slithered over him like a serpent, her tongue taunting him as she licked and sucked him from the neck all the way down to the dark trail of hair beneath his naval that she adored. She ran her tongue down the length of his shaft, tasting the salt of their lovemaking. Bryce moaned softly and tugged on a lock of her hair. She looked up at him lying flat on his back, his eyes gently closed, a smile of contentment curled across his face. She giggled at how easily he could turn from a savage grizzly to a sweet teddy. She rested her head there, and let out a soft sigh as her fingers wandered through the thin trail of soft hair that ran up to his chiseled abs.

“You’ve given me a beautiful life, Bryce.”

He shook his head. “I fear I’ve put that life in danger more times than I can count.”

Tori smiled. “I was dead before we met. You gave me life. No matter what tomorrow brings, know that you have given me an amazing existence. She laid her lips gently on his abs and grazed a hand over his chest. Bryce threaded his fingers through her hair, stroking her softly, trying to hold onto this moment forever.

“Yer my life, lass. Yer all I never knew I wanted. Ye’ve completed me in ways I didnae even know I was missing.”

Tori crawled up over him and kissed his lips, her hair falling over both their faces. Bryce’s hands ran down her back, his fingers memorizing her skin. Her thighs parted and she straddled him, inviting him to enter her once more. As she moved over him, her body became one with the moonlight while she danced beneath its glow. Her hands wound themselves over her breasts and up into her hair as her eyes shut and her head fell back. She moaned and rocked over Bryce while he watched his bride pleasure herself by riding him. He felt like he was watching her in slow motion. Savoring every second, committing to memory how the stars shone behind her like a fistful of shimmering glitter that someone threw in the air.

Alone they were strong, but when they came together their love ignited something more powerful. They were an explosion of beauty. Fireworks. That’s what their love was. Tori bucked against him one last time and stilled, a soft moan escaping her as she rode out the last wave. When she opened her eyes, she looked at him lazily as though she were drugged from the pleasures of their love making.

Bryce smiled at her. She ran a finger lovingly across the area where his dimple was. “And that, lass, is three.”

****

Tori gazed up at the stars. With her vampire eyes, stars appeared more like precious jewels than twinkling tiny nights. She ran her hand over Bryce’s chest, her head rested over his heart. “When this is over… what will happen?”

Bryce twirled a lock of Tori’s hair around his finger. “Whit d’ye mean? We’ll go home.”

“Home. So… back to New York?”

“Aye. Where else would we go?”

Tori sighed. “It just seems… silly to leave the vampires without a leader. What if they fall back into their old ways? You can’t offer them a new way of life and then abandon them in their hour of need.”

“Derek wishes to rule. He’s made that quite clear.”

Tori lifted her head and looked into Bryce’s eyes. “But is it his land to rule? You’re the oldest vampire Bryce. These vampires who are prepared to fight have sworn their allegiance to you, not Derek. They fight in your name. They carry your bloodline.”

Bryce chuckled. “I didnae know ye wanted to be a queen so badly, lassie.”

“This isn’t about me… this is about claiming what belongs to you. It’s about you taking back all that you lost.” Tori rolled off of him and started getting dressed.

“Ye belong to me. That’s enough. I dinna wish to live out my days in a castle dungeon below the city.” Bryce groaned and lazily reached for his pants.

“You’d rather sleep in a wine cellar below a bar?”

“That’s my bar. That’s my life. I like that wine cellar—besides, ye fixed it up really nice.” He batted his lashes at her, but she ignored his attempt at being cute—he didn’t need to try; the guy rubbed his nose, and he was pretty much panty-dropping sexy.

Tori tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and bit her lip. She looked at Bryce optimistically. “We could make a new life.”

“Aye, we could. But this is nae where we should begin it. Let’s nae talk of this now, my sweet.”

Tori pulled her boots on and walked to the edge of the roof. “Fine. But we will talk about it again.” Then she hopped off and onto the landing. Bryce followed and grabbed her wrist, running his thumb over her sun tattoo.

“I truly hope we do. For if ye are hounding me to reign, it means we’ve won the war.”