The Council Ch. 06

Loretta wanted to believe him but knew he was capable of telling whatever lie he wanted to. She kept her lips firmly closed, refusing to give in to the desire which was sweeping through her body. She wanted to relax against him, to wrap her fingers in his wet hair and kiss him with all the hunger she felt deep inside. But he had been with another woman, whether or not he had done anything with her, it had been his intent to do so and that hurt.

“Loretta,” he groaned softly, his lips never ceasing their subtle dance across hers. “Let me into your sweetness. You know you want to, I can feel it in your body, I can scent it on you. You want me.”

His words only served to anger her more because she knew they were true. She relaxed slightly and his grip slackened as he sucked in a deep breath. The breath whooshed out loudly when she elbowed him in the ribs and managed to slide off his lap and make her way around the desk away from him. She had sucker punched him and she should feel bad about it but she knew she hadn’t hurt him, not really.

“You think it’s that easy, Andrei?” she asked arching an eyebrow at him. “Are you seriously that dense? You admit to wanting to sleep with another woman and think everything’s okay because you didn’t actually do it? Is that how you think relationships work?”

His eyes flashed with irritation though he bit down his initial angry retort. “Obviously I need to be enlightened on the subtle nuances of being in a relationship with a woman. It’s not something I have any experience with,” he remarked drolly. “Though I was unaware that I was actually in a relationship with anyone when I chose to spend my evening with Marcia.”

He challenged her to argue with him, watching her emotions flicker rapidly across her face. If she challenged his statement she would be lying and they both knew it. Just because she had decided they were mates during their last encounter, at no time had she told him of the fact nor had he acknowledged it in any way.

“Shall we call this one a draw, Rose?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. “I didn’t bed Marcia and you got to humiliate me in public for considering the possibility. I personally believe I’ve come out the loser in the whole thing but I’m willing to concede if it will alleviate your hurt feelings.”

Lord, she was a stubborn little thing. Her set expression told him she still wasn’t entirely happy, that she wanted more from him. He had no idea what more he could possibly give her. He was conceding more than he really wanted to. It galled him to do so but he wanted her so badly he was willing to give her what she needed, within reason.

“Do you want the words, Loretta?” he finally asked softly. “Is that what you need? Fine. Marcia left me cold tonight because she wasn’t the woman I wanted…no I craved to be with. I’ve thought of nothing but you all week and it’s driven me insane. I thought if I indulged myself with another woman I could get you out of my mind. It didn’t work; I just craved you even more. You’ve won, little wolf. I accept the inevitable. I am your mate and no woman other than you will ever do for me.”

Loretta’s heart lurched in her chest as he accepted her as his mate. She heard the rest of his words but the last sentence was all that mattered. Her mate was acknowledging her even though it looked as if he was ready to choke on the words.

Andrei was hers. Her mate. She almost couldn’t believe it had been that easy, though the last hour had probably been one of the worst in her life so calling this easy probably was the wrong word for it. She saw a concerned expression cross his face before he was moving towards her swiftly.

“Loretta?” he said softly, reaching out and brushing his thumbs over her wet cheeks as he cradled her face gently in his hands. It was only then that she realised she had started crying. She never cried. She didn’t do weeping and all that other girly stuff but tears were most definitely flowing down her face and didn’t seem to want to stop anytime soon.

“Don’t cry,” Andrei whispered softly, his heart twisting painfully as he stared into her eyes. “I’m sorry. Please don’t cry.” He had no idea what he was apologising for. Hell, he had no idea when the last time he had ever apologised to anyone was. All he knew was he couldn’t stand to see his wolf crying. She was so strong, so feisty and spirited. Seeing her so vulnerable tore at his heart, pulled out a tender side of him he didn’t know he possessed.

She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, holding him tightly as he wrapped his arms around her in bands of steel. “Asshole!” she managed to choke out, joy surging through her in huge waves.

He chuckled as he rubbed his cheek against her hair, revelling in feeling her melt in his embrace. She could call him whatever she wanted, as long as he could hear that soft sound in her voice, the one that he knew instinctively was special and just for him.

Why did everything suddenly feel so right? Letting down his guard emotionally should have felt so very wrong and yet it felt perfect with Loretta in his arms. Was this what Alexei felt with Cedar? Did he feel this sudden feeling of completion?

Andrei had only ever truly loved one person in his life and that was Alexei. He irrationally ignored his feelings for Demetri. He had sided with Caleb so he was not in his good books at the moment.

Now he felt his heart open so his little Rose could bury herself completely inside it. He was stunned at how strongly she was wrapped within his heart. He had barely admitted their relationship to himself and yet, she was taking up residence instantly and irrevocably. He now had even more cause to ensure that he retained control of The Council. It was the only way to protect his heart.

Loretta took a deep breath and pulled herself together. She couldn’t believe she’d actually started crying because he accepted her as his mate. It was such a weak thing to do. She had expected him to make fun of her weakness but his response had been the exact opposite. Her vampire actually had a heart which was capable of feeling compassion. That was almost as surprising as him conceding defeat. She had a feeling Andrei Romanov was going to surprise her a lot over their coming years together.

“Can we get out of here?” she asked pushing against his chest until he released his tight grip on her.

His eyes narrowed as he stared down at her, searching her face intently. Her tone was brusque and very no nonsense sounding. Not very loving at all which was what he had been hoping for. “What did you have in mind?” he asked slowly.

“As much as we had fun in here last week, I’d prefer a little more comfort this time,” Loretta smiled with a devilish glint in her eyes.

The lustful expression on her face made his body throb and his own lust rise sharply. He smiled slowly and lowered his head to capture her mouth with his. This time she allowed him in to taste her sweetness and he groaned as her tongue pressed eagerly against his as his lips moved restlessly over hers. She tasted intoxicating, spurring his lust to an all time high. He didn’t want to wait, he was ready for her right now but she wanted a more romantic environment so he would control his needs for the moment.

“Where’s your purse?” he murmured against her lips, feeling her stiffen in his arms.

“Crap!” she groaned. “I left it on the bar. I needed both hands for the ice bucket.” She shot him a sheepish grin as he rolled his eyes and laughed softly.

“You will pay for that, little wolf. Though I’ll be kind because you were very inventive with your revenge.” He moved back to his desk and picked up the phone.

“Pietro, do you have Loretta’s purse?” he asked. He listened for a second and smiled. “Run down with it.”

Loretta let out a sigh of relief. “He’s not so bad for a vampire,” she remarked, her eyes running slowly over Andrei’s long body, a little shiver of anticipation running down her spine at the prospect of being alone with him somewhere with no interruptions.

“If you come here and I’m not around, stay close to him,” Andrei said in a serious voice. “He’s been with me for centuries and is one of the few people I trust which is why I’m not going to kick his ass for giving you that ice bucket.”

She laughed as he crossed the room and pulled her back into his arms, his head burying in the side of her neck as he nuzzled against her soft skin with a muffled groan. Damn she smelled so good and tasted even better.

“You did tell him to give me anything I wanted,” she whispered with a soft moan as his lips brushed against her collarbone and her knees trembled at his touch.

“I expected him to use some bloody common sense,” he growled back though there was laughter in his tone as he licked his way slowly back up her neck.

“In my defence, Andrei, I don’t know much about wolves,” Pietro answered walking into the office with Loretta’s purse. “I thought she was going to shift and drink in wolf form,” he admitted with a wry grin. “She’s ballsy enough to do something like that.” There was a hint of respect in his voice and an almost friendly glint in his hazel eyes as he nodded to Loretta.

Andrei raised his head and grinned at his friend. “She is that,” he answered. He actually sounded quite proud of her, enough to make Loretta quirk an eyebrow at him with a grin on her face. She didn’t think he’d be in a rush to have a similar experience despite his amusement at the first one.

He released her long enough to retrieve his car keys and hand them to his bartender while Loretta relieved Pietro of her purse.

“See that someone drops my car off at the house,” Andrei instructed. “I’m heading home for the night. Anything I need to know before I go?”

Pietro shook his head in the negative. “Marcia was still grumbling but I used your credit card to transfer twenty big ones to her bank account. She stopped grumbling after that. I also had a quiet word with her about any thoughts of retaliation. Let her know that would most definitely be frowned upon. I hope I didn’t overstep the mark there.”

Loretta’s eyes had gone round with shock at the mention of giving the woman twenty thousand though Andrei didn’t bat an eyelid at the amount. When she looked up at him he was smiling widely.

“That’s perfect, Pietro. You heard what I expect from you if I’m not around?”

“Yes boss,” the other vampire sighed. “Keep the wolf out of trouble until you arrive and take her off my hands.” The laughter in his voice took any insult out of his words and Loretta found herself liking him even more.

He clearly would do anything for Andrei and by default he was including her in that because he knew there was something going on between them. He was smart enough not to ask what it was, he just accepted that for the moment his boss was interested in her and that made her important.

With a few final instructions about locking up for the night Andrei wrapped an arm around Loretta’s shoulders and ushered her quickly from the club, taking the back entrance. He was desperate to get her alone, to feel her naked body rubbing against his again. The speed with which she was walking made him smile. She was just as keen to be alone with him.

He was so intent on his needs that he didn’t even object when she insisted on driving her car after he asked if he could. Usually Alexei was the only person he trusted behind the wheel of a car but if Loretta was driving then he would be free to just look at her and marvel at how she was his and how he could be with her whenever he wanted to.

He gave her his address and settled back in the passenger seat to watch her as she drove quickly but very confidently. It suddenly struck him that she would be the first woman he would be taking to his bed. Hell, she would be the first woman he’d ever taken to his home at all. He didn’t allow many people into his private domain, preferring to have one place which was his and his alone.

Now he was inviting his wolf into it and instead of it making him feel uncomfortable, it was filling him with excitement. He wanted her in his home. More importantly he wanted to see her in his bed, nestled against his black, silk sheets, her creamy white skin contrasting with the sensual material. His cock throbbed painfully in his jeans at the mental picture. He wished she would drive a bit faster. If he were driving they would be home by now.

“I’m not breaking the speed limit,” Loretta remarked dryly seeing his eyes flicker to the speed dial. “Not only do I not want a ticket but I also don’t want to be wrapped around a tree somewhere because I was driving recklessly. I heal slower than you do remember, even with vamp blood to speed up the process.”

Her mentioning her injuries the year before brought a dark scowl to his face. Before it had simply been something that had happened, part of the war where casualties were to be expected. She had been hurt, close to death but he had healed her and she had survived. Now it felt different. Now he was claiming her as his, it was a whole other ball game. Someone had almost killed his mate and he felt a red hot fury erupt inside of him.

“Sandro is lucky to be dead,” he said in a cold, hard voice. “If he were still alive, I would kill him slowly, make sure he suffered for every broken bone he inflicted on you.”

Loretta smiled slightly, part of her thrilling at his protectiveness. She had no doubt he would do exactly as he said had Sandro still been alive but the vampire was dead now and had been for a long time.

“You shouldn’t let yourself get worked up over it,” she sighed softly. “It happened. It was a long time ago and I am fine now. You took care of that, Andrei.”

“No one will hurt you like that ever again, Loretta,” he said stubbornly, complete conviction in his tone. No one would ever lay a hand on his wolf again. He would kill them if they even thought about it. He tried to dampen down the rage he felt, knowing she was right. It was in the past and couldn’t be changed. It was the future he had to think of now. Still, he couldn’t let it go completely.

“How long?” he asked quietly.

Loretta stole a quick glance at him and then looked back at the road. “Did it take for me to heal?” she replied. “It was a lot quicker than it would have been without your blood, Andrei. I would have died without it and we both know it. As it was, the bruises were gone within twenty four hours, the bones took a little longer to knit together. Luke surmised it could be because my wolf DNA was fighting against yours, as humans heal a lot faster from vampire blood judging from Mara’s quick recovery from her injuries. I was in the medical centre for five days, able to get around with some help about three after that. All told, I would say I was back in shape to start training after about twelve days.”

Andrei frowned as he listened. Twelve days to heal was like a lifetime for him. He couldn’t understand why it had taken so long for his blood to do its job. Her back had healed almost instantly so why did it take so long for the rest of her bones to knit together? Was it something to do with their conflicting DNA and different healing abilities? Maybe she had needed more blood than she was given? If he had gone back to check on her sooner he could have let her drink from him again, possibly stopped her pain sooner.

Her hand rubbing against his thigh brought him out of his thoughts, his breath rushing out loudly at the sharp thrill of pleasure that her touch incited.

“I think we have other things to be thinking about,” she said lightly.

His hand covered hers and pulled it to his groin, pressing her tightly against his straining shaft. He groaned and closed his eyes as she squeezed him gently before removing her hand to signal to turn into his long driveway. He smiled as they pulled up outside his home. Yes, they definitely had more important things to be thinking about.

He had her out of the car and inside the house before she could blink, settling her feet on the wooden floor of the entrance hall and leaving her side briefly to lock the door and activate his security system. He had her back in his arms and was kissing her before she really had time to look around.

“Aren’t I getting a tour?” she laughed against his lips as his hands slid down her back to cup her ass and pull her soft curves tightly to his aching body.

“Tour tomorrow,” he groaned. “Sex tonight and lots of it. You have a week to make up for.”

Loretta laughed harder, her laughter turning to a little shriek of surprise as he picked her up effortlessly and blurred them both upstairs and into his bedroom. It appeared he really was impatient for her.

Andrei laid her almost reverently in the middle of his bed and then stepped back so he could just look down at her for a moment. The image he’d had in his head of her lying in his bed paled in comparison to actually having her there. He’d never wanted a woman in his bed before; it was his private place, the one place he could completely relax in. His wolf looked utterly perfect there as she gazed up at him with eyes smoky with her passion.

She sat up on her knees, her hands reaching behind her to unzip her dress. Andrei smiled slowly and crawled onto the bed beside her moving to complete the task. He wanted the pleasure of slowly unwrapping her sexy body for his eager hands and mouth to touch and taste.

He kept his gaze fixed to hers as he slowly peeled the dress from her body watching her pupils dilate as her breath sucked in sharply at whatever expression she was seeing on his face. He was hard and throbbing, aching to be free of his jeans so he could bury his cock deep within her. Whatever expression those needs drew out was obviously one his wolf liked to see.

“Stand up,” he ordered huskily, smiling when she tried to do so but found her heels were making it very difficult to achieve. They sank into the soft mattress beneath her and knocked her off balance.

The predator within him exulted in having her off balance. He liked to shake up his little wolf, to make her have to rely on him. He pressed his face against her flimsy black, lace thong and inhaled deeply as he helped her remain standing so he could tug her dress down to her feet. She smelled so delicious, so aroused as he nuzzled gently at the lace. He couldn’t resist pressing his tongue against the damp material as he pulled off her heels and tossed them along with the dress onto the floor.

Loretta’s hands threaded in Andrei’s thick hair as he teased her pussy through her panties. Her knees felt weak and she knew she would fall to the bed if he wasn’t holding her up so tightly. A dim part of her brain registered that he was trying to stamp his dominance on her, trying to set the boundaries to their relationship. For the moment she let him have his way because his mouth was doing such delicious things to her body.

Her knees trembled wildly as he brushed aside the flimsy material and his tongue scythed through her soft folds. Her grip tightened in his hair as he licked boldly, growling loudly as her juices flooded his tongue and mouth in copious amounts. Her arousal was intense, her need for him consuming her because they had been parted for so long. Her breath came out in short hard pants as she pressed herself eagerly against him, desperate for more, needing to reach her completion as soon as possible.

She knew she was being greedy, that they had all night to satisfy each other but Andrei stirred a need in her like no other. Instantly she was full of hunger, full of a deep need to soar to the heavens and back again. “Andrei,” she groaned hoarsely, a breathy plea in her voice.

He responded instantly, an answering growl erupting from him as he quickly ripped her thong from her body and pulled one leg over his shoulder to open her up more to his insistent mouth. The move increased her lack of balance and she had to grip tightly to one shoulder to hold on as he began to lick hard and fast up and down her wet slit, pressing against her clit briefly each time he reached the top.