He stared at her then barked out a short laugh. “No. Not at all. I would never do that to you.”

  She could see the truth on his face: he was as shocked by this attraction as she was. “What's happening to us?”

  He ran a thumb over her mouth. “My people have one true mate. Most never find their match. My brother did, with Sara, a human.” He looked at her steadily. “And here we are.”

  Sienna struggled to wrap her mind around his explanation. He thought she was his mate? “So, what? You're my soul-mate? That's so cheesy.”

  “Something like that.” He didn't smile.

  She licked her lips and dug her fingers into his arms. “You're serious.”

  His eyes flared. “Yes.”

  “What about choice?”

  He leaned in, rubbing his cheek against hers. “I don't know how to stop it.”

  She trembled and turned her head, catching his lips with hers. “I don't know what to do.” She kissed him, pouring all the loneliness she felt into him. He wasn’t lying about being her perfect match, she could feel it, inside, where before there had only been emptiness.

  “We have to let it happen,” Jasper said, breathing into her ear. “Once the bonding has begun, it could damage us if we tried to stop it.”

  She refused to think about how little she really knew about him. Refused to dwell on where he'd come from. He let his hands trail down her back and she shoved closer, excitement racing through her when he groaned and pushed his erection into her hip.

  “This is insane,” she panted.

  “I promise I would never hurt you,” he said, sliding his hands beneath her shirt.

  She arched her back, reveling in the warmth of his fingers. He splayed his hands on her back and she melted into him, kissing him again. When he bit at her collarbone, she wrapped a leg around his hips.

  “Sienna, Jesus. You're so beautiful,” he murmured, hand on her ass. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around him as he strode out of the room, kissing her on the forehead, her cheek, her jaw.

  “Where are we going?” She tried not to think about what he'd told her. She didn't want to think about where he'd come from. Desire sparked along her spine and she tilted her hips until his cock pulsed against her clit. Even through their clothes his heat seared her.

  “Bedroom,” he gasped.

  She threw her head back. “Not going to make it.” She dug her fingers into his shoulders and he stumbled, tumbling her onto the stairs. She didn't let go. He fell heavily on top of her. Sienna didn't care. He was so hard and hot and everything she'd always wanted. He kissed her again, the sharp points of his incisors adding an extra edge of danger.

  “Your teeth—” she managed to say as he licked down her neck.

  “I'm sorry.” His voice was low. Wrecked.

  She shook her head and wrapped both legs around him again. “No. God, I don't care. I know who you are.” Even as she said it she realized she meant it. I may not know his entire life history, but I know how strong he is, inside, where it’s truly important. And I know he makes himself vulnerable every time he kisses me. She could see it in his eyes.

  He groaned and shoved her sweater up, baring her breasts. When she saw the look on his face, half desire, half fierce possession, she decided she'd never been so happy to skip wearing a bra in her life. She tightened her thighs around him, jerking him back to awareness. He held still for a moment longer, shuddering as his dick twitched against her, then bent his head and took a nipple into his mouth. His teeth worried at the bud, teasing it until she cried out, sparks of heat racing directly to her clit. His incisors were sharp little points of pleasure, biting into the soft skin of her breast. She grabbed his hair and hung on.

  “Off, take this off,” he muttered, pulling at her top.

  She took it off and flung it away, not caring that she was half-naked and spread out on the grand staircase of his mansion. She tugged at his shirt, popping buttons. “You too.”

  He smiled, quick and savage, then tore it off the rest of the way. She gulped. His chest was a thing of beauty: thick muscles and smooth skin and beautiful, dusky nipples. Her fingers twitched, desperate to touch, but before she could he had her on her back, legs twisted as he fought with the button of her jeans.

  “Let me,” she said, wondering when her voice had acquired that husky tone. She unhooked her pants and shoved them down, not caring that her panties went with them. “We're doing this, then?”

  “Yeah.” He dragged her boots off and threw her jeans somewhere.

  She swallowed, shocked at the look of desperation on his face. “Jasper?”

  He closed his eyes and bit his lip, even as his hands moved up her thighs, so gentle she thought she might scream.

  “Jasper, touch me, for God's sake.” She panted and grabbed his hips, then slid a knuckle over the bulge at his groin, flicking at him with a fingernail.

  “Sienna, if you don't stop, I'm going to come in my pants,” he gritted out.

  Deliberately, she opened her fist and cupped him. He groaned and knocked her hand away, scrabbling for his pants. She watched him press his palm to his cock before unzipping, face twisting into a grimace. He’d just hurt himself deliberately. She realized he wanted to wait for her before climaxing and that knowledge sent a pulse of need to her pussy so strong she gasped. She was wet and completely open to him and what they were doing was insane, but she didn't care. She didn't care about being rational or getting to know him better or any of that. She wanted him naked. Right the fuck now.

  He flashed her a look that she couldn't interpret and then he was standing up and shoving his pants down, toeing off his shoes. She licked her lips as his cock sprung out, the tip red and wet. She had to have him. She slid a hand down to her clit, rubbing her arousal into her own skin as he growled and fell to his knees.

  “Stop touching yourself,” he said, fingers going to her pussy.

  She grinned, suddenly feeling like she was playing with fire as she thumbed her way over his cock, pressing it against her core. They both shuddered.

  “Sienna,” he said, voice thick with something she couldn't identify. “Are you sure?” He panted, arms corded with muscle as he held himself over her.

  She circled his cock with wet fingers, enjoying the look on his face when she gently scraped the crown of it with her thumb. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat as her clit gave a pulse that told her she was close. “Yeah, I'm sure.”

  “There's no going back from this,” he said, looking almost sad. “And God help me, I don't want to stop, but I will.” His eyes were simultaneously wild and tender.

  She nodded and tilted him so that he was poised right at her entrance. “Don't stop.” His expression flared at the certainty in her tone, and then he pushed in, hard and relentless. She spared a brief thought for the pain—virgins always bled a bit the first time, right?—and then he shoved past the thin membrane and was inside her, face twisted with a desperate sort of control.

  “Sienna? Jesus,” he panted, his arms rock hard as he froze on top of her. “You haven’t done this before, have you?” A quick look of surprise chased across his features before settling into concern.

  She shook her head, wanting him to move. She couldn't understand why he seemed upset. His cock was hot and heavy and perfect and the momentary pain was already gone. She slid a hand down her pussy again, writhing when she tapped her clit. She ran her fingers around him, marveling at the heat and strength of his body. “No, I haven’t,” she said, not sure why it was so important to him. “Does it matter?”

  He growled and pulled out as she mewled in protest, then shoved back in, hard, as if he could barely stand to be outside of her body. “God, why did you let me? I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “You didn’t.” She bit her lip at the exquisite sensation of his shaft sliding into her. “I wanted you. You're the first man who has ever made me feel less alone.” She had to pause and think of a way to explain it: the fullness she felt wasn't all physical. He was inside her body, yes, but her soul was whole for the first time ever. She very carefully didn't think about his whole not-human thing.

  “God, Sienna.” He reached up and framed her face with his hands.

  She thought he might say something, but instead he kissed her, lips gentle as he pulled out and fucked back in again, and again, and again. She grinned and held on as his thrusts grew increasingly more erratic, her orgasm hovering just out of reach.

  “Jasper, please,” she said, twisting underneath him desperately. She was so close—

  He smiled at her, the sharp tips of his teeth mesmerizing. She opened her mouth, about to describe what it felt like, having him in her body, her first lover, but then her climax roared over her and she couldn't speak, couldn't do anything except moan and hang on. When she came back to herself, he was holding his body solid and still above her.

  “Lovely,” he whispered, then thrust gently, short, fast movements with his hips. She trembled and slid her hands down to his ass, hanging on as the pleasure slowly spiraled up again.

  “What are you doing to me?” She drew him down and licked his neck. She could feel the blood rushing through him on her tongue like a sweet, sharp candy. She wanted a taste.

  “If I am doing anything, you are doing the same to me, Sienna,” he gasped, putting his head down on her shoulder. “Look at us,” he said, biting her almost hard enough to break the skin. She felt a sudden spike of heat in her veins. She wanted him to bite harder, grab her tighter, but instead, he shifted so that when she looked down, she saw his cock, glistening with her pleasure, slide into her. She shuddered and he bit her again, closer to her neck.

  “Do it,” she murmured, staring at the juncture of her thighs.

  “Sienna,” he began.

  “No.” She shook her head, emphatic. “I want you to. Don't pretend I'm stupid.” She looked at him, at his grey eyes, stormy now with everything he wanted to keep her from knowing. “We've already shared blood. That's what started this, isn’t it?”

  He frowned. “There was so little, just a drop. It shouldn't have mattered.”

  “Oh please.” She laughed, moaning when the motion pushed her onto his cock. “Even that little bit was enough. You're not stupid, either.”

  “I'm not human,” he said, eyes gone dark with need.

  She swallowed, ran a hand over his chest. He shivered when she flicked at his nipple, shuddered when she let her nails bite into his pecs. “I know.” And she did know. She didn't want to think about the implications, she’d already made her choice, but she had to consider what it meant that she felt so drawn to him. She scratched at his skin, watched him shudder, and had a sudden desire to see him tied up, all control taken away so that she could use his body to show him how much she truly understood. He was a vampire, but not a revenant. He was a killer. He was the man who'd protected her and her mother. He was all of those things and probably more she didn't understand, but this was enough for now. Enough for her to make her choice. He was hers.

  “I choose you,” she said, licking her lips, willing him to believe.

  He closed his eyes and let his body relax, tucking his face into her neck. “So be it.” He opened his mouth.

  She shivered as the wet heat of his tongue traced her skin. He smiled against her, then slid a hand up to cup her jaw.

  “Don't move,” he said, the strength in his fingers conveying his urgency.

  She blinked and he put his other hand on her ass and squeezed, a finger teasing at her hole. She trembled, but didn't protest when he tightened his arms.

  “I don't want to hurt you,” he whispered, licking her again.

  “You won't,” she managed, desperate to feel him moving again. Her clit was so swollen she knew that just a little bit of teasing would push her over the edge again. She wanted to rub against him, force him to fuck her.

  “This is going to feel strange,” he murmured.

  She nodded.

  “Don't move,” he snarled, the tone going straight to her core.

  She clenched her fingers on him, knowing it probably hurt, and ground her teeth.

  “Jasper, come on.”

  He growled, the sound low and deep, and then suddenly sharp pleasure hit her. She orgasmed, her whole body arching as he suckled at her neck, lips and tongue hot and sexy. He licked at her and she climaxed again, keening with the heat-pain-pleasure of it and the next thing she knew he was shoving his wrist at her lips. She latched on and bit down, belatedly realizing that he'd somehow cut his skin for her and his blood tasted like the best drink she'd ever had: ambrosia and salt and sweet all at once. She swallowed and he bucked, his cock spearing into her so deep she felt him against her womb like a mallet ringing her bell and she came again, screaming into his skin. He climaxed too, in hot, thick jets, hips jerking uncontrollably. She held him tightly, legs locked around his hips.

  When he finally collapsed on top of her, she let her head fall into his hair. She licked her lips, chasing the last of his blood with her tongue. He smelled like cinnamon. He tasted sweet. The hole in her psyche was gone, filled with the knowledge that Jasper was there. Would always be there.

  Several long minutes later she realized they'd fucked on his steps. And she wasn't a virgin anymore. Jesus.

  “I hope you're not regretting it already,” Jasper murmured against her neck.

  She shook her head. “No. I'm just kind of … well, stunned. Or stoned. I'm not sure which.” Gingerly, she let her legs fall down. Her head felt like someone had stuffed it full of cotton.

  He chuckled and slid out of her, his half-hard cock slicking past sensitive tissues. She controlled a wince and let him gather her up, making sure his ass was the one on the hard steps.

  “It's too late, you know,” he said mildly, easing her hair out of her eyes.

  She sighed and looked at him. “I know.” He had the tenderest expression on his face—she would never have thought him capable of it if she hadn't just had sex with him in the grand foyer of his house. This was the man who'd ripped the head off of a vampire. Wait, no, a revenant, she reminded herself.

  “I lost my virginity on your stairs,” she muttered, blushing.

  He laughed and rubbed her arm with a warm palm. “Yes.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh please, drop the innocent look. I can tell you're all proud and ridiculous, just like a man.”

  He grinned. “I can't help it.” He kissed her, then his face sobered. “You realize we're bonded, yes?”

  She licked her lips as her heart knocked against her ribs. Oh, that, she thought, semi-hysterically. “Yeah, well, I kind of figured that's what the whole sharing blood thing was about.” She poked at that space inside, amazed yet again to find it filled all the way up with him.

  He stood up, holding her in his arms. She squeaked. “Jasper!”

  “Hush. Let's go to bed.”

  A thought suddenly struck her, ice skittering down her spine. “We didn't use any condoms. You said your brother and his wife had a son, so I know you can get me pregnant, even though I'm human and you're not.”

  “Don't worry.” He juggled her closer. He sounded completely indifferent.

  “Are you kidding?” she asked, voice shrill. “I'm not really ready to have a kid, you know.”

  He gave her a look. “The males of my people can control their fertility. We don't have children unless we want to. Calm down.”

  She stared at him, relieved, not sure whether to hit him or kiss him. She let out a breath. “You could have told me sooner,” she grumbled.

  He kissed her. “I'm sorry. It didn't occur to me.”

  She huffed, but he just carried her up the stairs. The shock of being with a man strong enough to lift her didn't wear off, even when he reached his bedroom. When he put her down on the soft comforter, she realized that he never turned on any lights.

  “I can see better. Why can I see better?” She looked around curiously. While his room wasn't bright, she could make out the heavy wood furniture and the soft expanse of his bed. He had a grey velvet comforter on it and she sighed as her bare skin touched its warmth.

  He shrugged. “That's part of the bonding. You inherit some of my gifts.“

  She narrowed her gaze, picking up on the slight tension in his shoulders. “You could see better than most of your people already, couldn't you?”

  He sighed and climbed into bed with her. “Yes. Remember how I told you I had some power?”

  She nodded. “But you've never fed on a human.” She blushed. “Well, except for me.”

  He shook his head. “That wasn't feeding. What we did was an exchange. Whatever blood I took from you I replaced with my own.”

  “And that makes the difference?” She leaned into him, savoring his warmth. For a vampire, he seemed oddly hot-blooded.

  “Yes. The revenants are those who feed and never reciprocate. There are also those whom the revenants enslave.” He smoothed a hand down her hair.

  “Slaves? I don't like the sound of that.”

  He shrugged, clearly not wanting to tell her. She gave him a stern look and he sighed.

  “Yes. The ones who attacked us were probably slaves. Revenants are rare, too rare for the number of attackers we had. Revenants make slaves by forcing their blood on a human, then denying the slave more. The humans who fall prey to that, well, they live a long time, but they're no longer fully sane, nor fully human. The longer they’re enslaved, the more they become like their masters. I call them revenants too, though technically they are different. Both are ruthless.”

  Sienna shivered. “That’s why they vanished into ash, isn’t it? That could've happened to me.”

  He gathered her close and held her tightly. “Yes. If I hadn't given you back my blood—”

  “No. Not you. I meant the attacks that have been happening. It's just random luck that I was safe in the forest and at the café.”

  “No, they wouldn't have attacked you. You're too strong. They feed on the weak.”

  She swallowed, thinking of her mother and her friends. “Why would a revenant make a slave?”

 

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