And Aden laughed. He laughed! And then he dipped his head and nipped gently at her inner thigh before covering her body with his, sliding up inch by inch, letting her feel the firm glide of every muscle, his fingers dancing over her skin, kneading her breasts and rolling her nipples, until his mouth was on hers, and she was tasting herself on his lips.

Sid moaned into his kiss, pleading, desperate for the release he’d stolen from her, but overwhelmed by the sheer sensuality of his kiss.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please let me—”

He didn’t let her finish, shushing her before covering her mouth with his, swallowing her words as his warm hands swept down her body, his fingers dipping between her thighs, skimming over her clit without ever touching it, disregarding her eager thrusting against his hand as she tried to force him to give her what she needed. He ignored that as he had everything else, intent on his own diabolical torment as he slid first one finger, and then two, into the slick opening of her sex, pumping in and out, fucking her with his fingers, adding a third when her pussy proved so wet, so ready for him, that she was almost embarrassed at this proof of her wantonness.

But Aden didn’t seem to notice, or didn’t care. Maybe that was what he’d wanted all along, to prove to her that she was shameless in her desire for him. Without warning, his thumb grazed her engorged clit, and she cried out eagerly, her back bowed until she was lifted nearly off the bed. She panted his name, a breathless litany of prayer, hoping he meant it this time, that he was finished with his teasing, that her release was near. His fingers continued to pump in and out, his thumb circling the swollen bud of nerves without ever touching it.

He lowered his mouth to her neck. She felt the hard press of his fangs and sucked in a rasping breath. His hips maneuvered between her thighs, spreading them wide until she could feel the rigid length of his cock sliding back and forth between the swollen lips of her sex, bathing in her wetness. Sid wrapped her legs around his back, trapping him there, wanting to feel his thick erection plunging inside her at last, his fangs slicing into her vein.

He kissed her neck, and his tongue scraped over her jugular . . . but he didn’t bite her, and he still didn’t fuck her.

Hot tears filled her eyes. “Aden,” she whispered.

“What do you want, habibi?” he crooned, the length of his cock still sliding up and down between the slick folds of her sex.

“I want,” she gasped, “I need you inside me. I need to come.”

“Are you mine then?” he whispered, dropping tasting kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, closing his teeth over her lower lip with a playful bite that was just short of pain.

Sid nodded. “Yes. Yours,” she said, though she would have agreed to anything at that point, and Aden seemed to know it.

One half of his mouth curved into a slight smile as he reached up and tugged away the silk scarf that bound her wrists. Sid had time to frown, worried that he was going to release her without ever bringing her to orgasm . . . but then he was turning her over, pulling her hips up until her knees were braced on the bed, and her ass was in the air.

Grabbing her long hair, he pulled it to one side, baring her back as his strong fingers dug in, massaging her neck, stroking up along the delicate slope of her spine, until he reached her ass where it was pressed against his groin. He lifted his hand and brought it down in a sharp smack against her butt cheek. Sidonie cried out, but once again, it was more pleasure than pain as the sting of his hand sent a jolt of carnal delight directly to her over-sensitized clit, stabbing into her womb until her entire abdomen clenched with desire. She rocked back against his hips, feeling the velvet heat of his erection against her ass.

“Do you want this, habibi?” he growled, grasping her hips and grinding against her.

“Yes,” she said, more of a demand than an answer.

Aden bent over her back and reached beneath her to caress her breasts, sliding his hands along her torso to her belly and burying his fingers in her pussy. Sid moaned her bliss, twisting her hips from side to side and rubbing her ass against him. He slapped her other butt cheek, then leaned forward and murmured, “I like a matched pair.”

Sid threw her head back, feeling the same zing of sensation from his slap, overwhelmed by all of the things she was feeling—his fingers in her pussy, his hard length in the crease of her butt, the unexplainable shock of sexual pleasure that touched every nerve in her body when he spanked her. His thumb skimmed over her clit, and she sucked in a breath, waiting for him to steal her orgasm once again, to wait until she was pleading for release, and then cruelly abandon her. But then he stroked her clit again, and she couldn’t help the cry that escaped her lips as she rocked against him, her heart pounding, her breath rasping in and out of her lungs.

“Tell me what you want, Sidonie,” he growled.

“You,” she nearly sobbed. “I want you.”

She felt a smooth drizzle of liquid, felt its cool touch as it rolled down between her butt cheeks to caress her overheated sex. She had a heartbeat to realize what he was going to do, to think that she’d never done that before . . . and then he was pinching her clit, and she was coming harder than she’d ever come in her entire life, and his cock was pushing into her ass, filling her in a way she’d never known, filling her so completely . . . He pulled her onto her knees, her back to his chest, his fingers still fucking her pussy, his cock buried in her ass. He gripped her chin with his other hand, turning her mouth to his kiss before he bared her neck and lowered his head, his lips just brushing the skin below her ear before his fangs sliced into her vein with a sting of sensation, his mouth hot as he sucked her blood, the euphoric in his bite lighting up every nerve in her body with exquisite, unimaginable pleasure.

And it was too much. Sidonie screamed as every part of her body crashed instantly into orgasm, muscles clenching, nerves firing with an ecstasy she’d never known before. She thrashed in his grip, his strong fingers holding her steady as he took her blood, his hips thrusting his cock into her ass, his fingers easing their caress of her clit, as if he knew that the engorged nub could take only so much before intense pleasure crossed into pain. His own climax struck as he held her, his fangs still buried in her neck, his groan rolling through her body as she felt the hot rush of his release filling her, pumping deep inside her until she was limp, and the only thing holding her up was Aden.

ADEN PULLED OUT of Sidonie’s sweet ass. She’d been so tight, as he’d known she would be, like a warm velvet glove around his cock. Holding her closely, he eased them both down onto the bed, cradling her limp body in the curve of his much greater strength. Her eyes were closed, and she seemed half-asleep as she smiled and snuggled closer to him. Aden stared down at her, a foreign sensation squeezing his heart. He cared for this woman. She was strong and passionate, innocent in a way that was at complete odds with her fearless persistence in pursuing the slavers who’d murdered her friend.

And for some reason, she seemed to trust him.

He let her sleep, drifting into a half doze that let his thoughts go their own way. Vampires didn’t sleep, not the way humans did. Their daytime sleep was far deeper and more restful than human sleep and inescapable because of their vampire blood. But he sometimes found this sort of half sleep to be useful, letting his mind drift over problems and solutions.

Such as who was left to challenge him, and when would they strike? Silas was the most obvious contender, his only real competition in the field. But there were others whom he couldn’t disregard. His opponent’s chance luck could be as fatal as superior strength. He’d have to meet with Bastien and the others first thing tomorrow night. Maybe the time had come to attack, rather than sit back and wait.

“What are you thinking?” Sidonie’s voice was the lazy drawl of a satisfied woman, and he couldn’t help his own smug smile.

“I don’t trust that smile,” she murmured, snuggling closer.

He kissed her forehead. “I’m not allowed to smile?”

She made a dismissive noise, then kissed the side of his neck, a liberty he allowed no one, but that he somehow allowed her.

“So what were you thinking about so fiercely?” she asked, drawing his thoughts away from his own confusing emotions.

He shrugged. “The challenge. What happened tonight needed to be done, but it doesn’t change anything. The challenge continues.”

Sidonie stroked a hand over his bicep, her fingers pausing to rub the line of his slave band.

“What is this?” she asked. “And the other arm, too. It’s like you covered the original tattoos with something different.”

“Because I did.”

“What did they used to be?”

“Are you always this chatty after a hard orgasm?”

He felt the heat of her blush before she answered. “I don’t know,” she said softly, not looking at him. “I’ve never climaxed that hard before.”

Aden felt a rush of concentrated pleasure at her words. It was almost like the sensation he got after defeating an enemy, the exhilarating high of victory. But it was a new experience in this context. He knew he was a skilled lover; he’d had hundreds of years to improve on what he’d learned about a woman’s body during his time in Zaahira’s brothel. But he’d always taken the satisfaction of his lovers for granted. He always got them off, but it didn’t matter. It was simply a by-product of his need for sex and blood.

But not with Sidonie. For some reason, she mattered. She was his. He didn’t know how long this new sensation would last, but he knew that he’d kill anyone who came near her. He blinked in surprise at the intensity of that thought. Huh.

“They’re slave bands,” he told her abruptly, not wanting to pursue his previous line of thought any further, and certainly not with her.

Her brow wrinkled. “Slave bands,” she repeated, clearly troubled by the concept.

“Yes,” he said, before she could ask the question. “I was a slave a very long time ago.”