Demon Night

wet, but he still used his mouth, until she was grinding and twisting against his tongue. He braced his hands on the bed as he slowly pushed into her, not touching her except for that heated, stretching penetration.
    But that was all he took slowly. His harsh groans were punctuated by raw, erotic descriptions of her sex, his cock, her breasts and lips. Her legs shook. The pulse in his wrist beat a rapid pace.
    His tanned skin was smooth, unmarked.
    “Where did he bite you?” It ripped from her before she knew it had risen, but once it did she couldn’t stop its refrain. “ Where , Ethan?”
    His right hand slid toward her mouth, and she lunged toward it, gripping his forearm as she sank her fangs into his wrist. Ethan made a low noise behind her, a moan, a growl, and then he was lifting her left knee onto the bed and reaching around her hip, his fingers delving, stroking. She came apart, and Ethan turned her, his eyes never leaving hers as he filled her again, slowly, slowly until he shuddered over, into her.
    She still drank, and he carefully pulled her with him to the center of the bed, watching her face.
    His voice was soft as he pushed her hair back. “Will you try to send me something now?”
    She’d been trying. A song, a note. But he apparently hadn’t gotten them, so she ventured what she’d wanted to tell him. I love you.
    His expression didn’t change. A lick cleaned the puncture wounds, and she shifted around, spooned against him. “You didn’t hear me?”
    “No. Some nosferatu-born vampires can hear thoughts when they’re feeding, but so far as I know, no Guardian receives thoughts or sounds—only images.” He pushed his knee between her thighs; his opposite foot thumped against wood. “It may be it’s only with the focus of the Gift.”
    “Will your bed fit in here? You have permission to take anything of mine, if you need space—” She suddenly fell about an inch before sinking into his mattress. His deep sigh of relief had her rolling forward onto her stomach, laughing into the pillow that had landed with her. She turned her head, met his eyes.
    “I was jealous,” she admitted.
    He looked as if he was trying not to appear pleased with himself. “Hell, Charlie—it’d sure put me out if you went to someone else, so I reckon it’s only fair.”
    She was suddenly feeling pleased with herself, as well. Her smile pressed against her fangs, and she arched a brow. “Fair? I hit mean and low.”
    “That you did. It was awful dirty.”
    “Yeah, well, speaking of dirty, you apparently really like words that start with ‘P.’ Pretty, plump, pink, pus—”
    “You hush, Miss Charlie.”
    “And ‘F.’ I must say, you fraternize really well, Ethan.” She wriggled back against him to the sound of his laughter, let her hearing fill with the metronome beat of his heart. After picking up the rhythm, she let it fade, and wondered quietly, “What will it mean—what we did tonight?”
    “I don’t rightly know. Breaking through the spell will be real handy, but unless I can figure a way to hear sound and blood like you do, it won’t be practical except in the most critical situations.”
    “Because you’ll have to take me along?” she asked, and he made a sound of assent.
    “You fight pretty well, Charlie, but ‘critical’ would probably mean demons and nosferatu. And I’d sure hate to see you hurt.”
    “I’d like to help as much as I can, though.” She glanced at the clock. Only five minutes until sunrise. How frustrating—and frightening—that no matter what she did, she’d be asleep as soon as the sun came up. “But I guess I couldn’t even go during the day.”
    “Maybe not. Though if we teleported you halfway around the world, you’d wake up fast enough.”
    “I should wear more than this to bed, then.” She watched a minute tick by. “Do you think they’ll be able to use the symbols to provide vampires with living blood?”
    His long silence was only broken by his movement. He pulled her in tight; his arm was a heavy, wonderful heat around her waist.
    Finally, he said against her temple, “I’m not certain of that either, Charlie. The way I see it, it’s a matter of practicality again. Even if they figure a way to use the symbols and keep the blood living in a container, there’s still got to be a blood source, and artificial blood won’t have that energy. Guardians and vampires could donate their blood, but it wouldn’t add up to much; leastwise, not