She cried out, her body clenching hard, grasping and milking at his cock, the erotic act triggering a massive orgasm all over again. She circled his head with her arms, holding him as he drank, his body moving in hers, until she felt she had one endless orgasm that tore through her repeatedly.
When he lifted his head, licking across the two holes to close them, his blue eyes smiled down into hers. She let her head loll back against the mattress, desperate for air when her body seemed incapable of breathing properly.
He waited until the last wave had receded before kissing her again. “I think you are beginning to believe I am real.”
She nodded, afraid to move.
“Just so I am certain, you are, for the moment, perfectly satisfied, because if you need me to continue . . .”
Teasing. He was teasing her. Playing. Couples did that. She’d read about it. Seen it in movies. She’d witnessed it out in the world—just not in her world. “I am more than satisfied,” she assured. “Not that I will complain if you decide you need to make another effort sometime quite soon.”
He smiled, and her heart nearly stopped. He was absolutely gorgeous. She wished she didn’t have so many scars. His fingers pushed at tendrils of damp hair on her forehead and his touch sent butterfly wings fluttering against her stomach.
“Do you mind if I raise the temperature in the pool? I will carry you in. The hot water will keep you from feeling sore.”
She didn’t feel sore. She felt delicious. She’d felt his every heartbeat, right through his cock. He’d stretched her ability to take him, yet there wasn’t a painful spot on her body. “You didn’t hurt me at all. Not in the least.”
“Nevertheless, I intend to take care of you.”
He lifted her easily into his arms, cradling her against his chest, over his heart. His hands on her body were so gentle she wanted to cry all over again. Instead, she turned her face into his neck and enjoyed the way he seemed to glide across the floor to the short distance where the pool she’d created waited for them.
“I did this.” She looked at it with pride.
“You did and it’s beautiful. Nice job.”
She held his praise to her. It wasn’t like she ever got compliments or praise for anything. She would be grateful for anything he noticed. Having him express his approval was huge and she hugged it to her. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Very much. It looks completely natural, as if it has always been here. It is efficient and does not take up too much space. You have a good eye. For someone who had no idea she could do this, you created the pool like an expert, which I suppose, technically you are.”
He floated into the pool with her in his arms and sank into the heat of the water. It felt like heaven, exactly what she needed.
8
Isai allowed Julija to move out of his arms to the other side of the pool. Before she got there, he waved his hand and she had a comfortable seat, just the right height for the blanket of warm water to hit her just above her breasts. She looked beautiful, all flushed and tousled, as if she’d been thoroughly made love to—and she had.
He’d grown to know her through their telepathic connection. He caught glimpses of her life and it sickened him that he’d been in the world and hadn’t been able to protect her. She blushed when he kept looking at her.
“You have to stop. I can’t think when you’re staring at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. A hungry wolf. You look as if you might devour me any minute.”
He flashed a small enigmatic smile at her. “It is a possibility.”
“I’m sorry I doubted you, Isai. Or even acquainted you at all with the likes of Barnabas or my father. I should have believed in my own ability to tell truth from lie.”
“Do not apologize to me, my little mage. They conditioned you to doubt everything. You will soon believe in yourself again and in us.”
She went underwater to rinse out her hair. He watched the strands floating across the top of the crystal-clear pool. She looked like a sexy water nymph. It was difficult to watch her and not have his body react in spite of the fact that he had just had her. One of the cats mewed and pushed against his arm. Without thinking, he bit into his wrist and offered his blood to the animal. The two had to be hungry to ask so soon. He didn’t mind. He wanted his bond solidified.
The shadow cats had shields preventing Anatolie from accessing either one. That gave Isai the necessary time to build the bond, so their loyalty would be absolute. He would also know what they were doing at all times. He couldn’t afford one or both cats to go after human or Carpathian blood. They would have to get used to taking what they needed from either Julija or him.
Julija watched him feed the big male. “He genuinely likes you.”
She sounded surprised, and he deliberately shot up an eyebrow. “I am likable.”
She made a face at him. “I don’t know, he hasn’t felt your hand on his rear.”
He knew she was teasing him, but after discovering the things Barnabas had done to her, he didn’t want anything that even came close to reminding her of that poor excuse for a human being. He let the cat finish and then closed the puncture wounds with his tongue.
“I must apologize to you for my behavior,” he said. “I had no idea you had this man treat you the way he did. I did not mean to resemble him in any way.”
She looked genuinely horrified. “If you think that, you need to look into my mind. I didn’t want you to see the things he did to me, but your ridiculous little spanking wasn’t even in the same league. Believe me, I never thought that at all.”
He stared at her, somewhere between shocked and amused, and with an urge to repeat his “ridiculous little spanking.” His woman had a mouth on her. He let the silence between them grow heavy until she realized what she’d said. Rather than react the way he expected, with chagrin or at least some tiny bit of remorse, she burst out laughing. He couldn’t help liking the sound. It filled the chamber, a soft, sexy little masterpiece he could listen to for the rest of his life. The sound also made him want to smile. It took a few moments to recognize that the unfamiliar emotion welling up in him was happiness.
He sent a wave of water at her with the flat of his hand. Instantly she retaliated, turning her back and throwing up water with both hands. He cheated, easily building a shield while keeping up a storm of water until she collapsed back onto the seat, laughing. He couldn’t help smiling again.
When the laughter subsided, she eyed him closely. “I really created this pool, didn’t I? No help from you.” She made it a statement, but there was a question in her mind.
“No help from me. Now, when you decide to take to the air, there will be help and you’ll be very careful to do exactly as I say and follow my instructions to the letter.” He meant it. Absolutely. Then she nodded, her eyes going wide, and all sorts of ideas on instructions came into his head, making his cock jerk. He dropped his hand to the growing length, fisting it casually beneath the water.
Her gaze followed the movement of his hand. “Do you think I could do that? Fly?”
“Why not? I think you are going to be able to do more than most of us can, even when you are fully converted. I think your mage blood will remain just as Lycan blood does.”
“A mage is more human than any other species,” Julija pointed out. “I don’t think of us as being more powerful. We’re well versed in the arts, both dark and light, but we appear and are the most human.”
“Simply because you cannot shift into another form?” Her reasoning eluded him.
“We live among humans, side by side. Our children grow up in the cities and towns. Most mages have married humans and turned their backs on their gifts.”
“This does not mean that mages are any more human than Carpathians. Perhaps it is easier for you to assimilate into their society, but you have to have your own doctors, right?”
She nodded. “Not that I ever went to one.” She ducked her head. “Especially after Barnabas. You can see the ugly scars on me if I don’t build an illusion.”
He dropped his hand from his cock, unfamiliar fury building in his gut. He didn’t like it. The emotion was disturbing in its intensity and the fact that he was a very dangerous individual.
“First, Julija, don’t do that.” He reached across the distance between them and lifted her chin. Her eyes met his and he felt the impact right through the swirling heat and anger churning in his belly. “You have no reason to be ashamed. That is part of their conditioning. They humiliated you and did their best to find a way to bend you to their will. They were not successful. You remember that. You stood your ground. You didn’t harm an innocent.”
Isai allowed his admiration to show in his voice as well as his expression. He detested that her family had done these things to her, deliberately undermined her confidence and misled her so she had no idea who she was or even what she was.
“You, sívamet, are odam wäke emni. In case you are not up on your Carpathian, it means ‘mistress of illusion.’ You are amazing when it comes to illusion, but it is because your illusions are very real, thanks to the Carpathian in you. They do not have to know you have become aware of that little detail. They are going to come at you and you will be able to defend yourself against any attack because you are both. Do you understand me, Julija? You are . . . extraordinary.”
Her eyes met his with a hint of shyness. That surprised him. His woman wasn’t shy.
“You make me feel extraordinary. I don’t know if I can do all the things you think I can, but I’m willing to learn, if you’re willing to teach me.”
“You know more than you think you do. There’s one more thing we have to get out of the way before we go any further.”
“Two,” she contradicted.
He studied her face. “Two then. You go first.”
“I want to know what your tattoo says. You said that belongs to your lifemate.”