The Allies of Old; Book Two Renewal: Chapter Twenty-Three "Frustration and Hope"

Book Cover created in acrylic by the extremely talented @therealpaul

If you have not read the first book of the series, "Reborn", it is advisable you do so before reading "Renewal" or you will be lost. This link will provide you with a series summary as well as all sixty-eight chapters of Reborn

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

When they got back to the house Jared led Anna into the living room and backed away, arms folded across his massive chest. He was having trouble dealing with his conflicting emotions. The iron grip he’d had on anger and loathing towards the little troublemaker had been shaken almost loose tonight. He watched as she nervously fidgeted with her hands and it reminded him of the rule she’d broken and the danger she’d placed herself in.

“You disobeyed me,” he said finally.

She bit her lip, fear ebbing back into her body. She ducked her head and nodded hoping that he would be less angry if she was submissive.

“There have to be consequences for that. Leaving the safety of this property is dangerous. You’re lucky those Lyncane were not irrational as most are these days, believing that all vampires are Satan’s spawn. You’re lucky there weren’t any condemned vampires out there!” As he spoke his voice rose and she could feel him getting angrier.

She wished she could point out that daylight would have prevented said spawn from being out and about but decided speaking would not be to her benefit.

He took a deep calming breath. “Why did you leave this property?”

Damn, she had really hoped to avoid that question.

“I…needed to call someone and let him know I was okay.” She peeked at him and decided one more little lie might have been in order. Thunderclouds couldn’t have looked more ominous.

“One of those males?” His voice was deadly.

She shook her head and his eyes narrowed, his lips twisting into a sneer. “Thank you for reminding me that it’s futile to ask you questions when all you do is fucking lie.”

Her heart sank and tears came back to threaten her.

He crossed to her and tipped her chin up, studying her expression, then made a small sound of irritation. “I don’t. understand. you. You risked your life to help that male on the rooftop of London, then risked my anger to help a Lyncane stranger, and yet you have that goddamned lying deceitful tongue to go with your good deeds, not to mention you drink the blood of humans. You’re a headache of dualities!” He pushed his hands up through his hair, his lips peeling back in a silent snarl of frustration.

He focused on her again with narrowed eyes. “For now we’ll stick to the problem at hand. You left the premises without permission or protection and for that…” he picked her up off her feet and sat down on the couch settling her face down across his lap so that her head was hanging over the side of his legs.

She felt him tug her pants down and gulped in disbelief. Was he going to…

His hand struck her bare bottom and she cried out more from the shock than the sting. She heard his arm whistling through the air again and tried to scramble off of him but he pressed his hand in the middle of her back and held her there easily. She grabbed onto his leg as his hand made contact again with a resounding smack. She didn’t have time to register the pain before the next one came and took her breath away.

She found her breath again by the fifth hard slap and it came out as a sob. He flipped her over, his eyes glittering, and she burst into tears covering her face with her hands.

He hauled her up against his chest and she cried like a baby, though she didn’t really understand why. Yeah, it had hurt, but as far as pain went she’d suffered far worse.

She buried her face into his soft black shirt and when he murmured something soothing into her hair her tears slowed.

“I’m a male of my word,” he said quietly. “I told you there would be consequences if you left the property. Sneaking away is childish and if you behave like a little girl then I’ll treat you like one.” His voice was hard but lacked its usual scorn.

She nodded against him, feeling an odd sense of safety.

He gently gripped her chin and forced her to look up at him, then blinked in surprise at what he saw in her expression. Instead of resentment or reproach, her eyes were filled with repentance and…trust? She was so goddamned perplexing, who the hell was she? Where did she really come from? Once again he was filled with conflicting emotions. Headache of dualities and didn’t begin to cover it.

He frowned as he continued to stare down at her. He couldn’t trust her, she’d lied to him one too many times for that. But if there was even a remote possibility that her worst crimes were the ones against him…then he would feel like a real fucking bastard for the cruel way he’d been treating her.

He bent down and brushed his lips across her forehead in silent apology and she closed her eyes, sighing in contentment. She looked a little pale and it occurred to him the healing probably took something out of her. “You need to drink.”

Her eyes popped open and she readjusted on his lap hesitantly putting her arms around his neck. He cradled his own arms underneath her bottom so she wouldn’t have to stretch, holding her up in the middle of his chest. She kissed his pulse lightly and her fangs dropped, sinking into his vein, and she uttered a purr of enjoyment as she sucked.

He let his head drop back against the couch bringing her with him and closed his eyes. Her gentle tugging created sensation from the soles of his feet straight up through his body and his chest squeezed with strong emotion. Keeping one arm under her he brought the other one up and lightly massaged the back of her head. Her contented sounds grew louder and he found himself reveling in it, a feeling of tenderness washing over him.

Mine, he thought, and this time his entire being quaked and shifted in response.

When she finished drinking she brought her head up and looked down into his face which was tilted back against the couch. He looked serene and it filled her heart with warmth, hope for them shining through their dark beginnings. She tentatively touched her lips to his and he responded lightly. She moved from his mouth to his eyes, little butterfly touches, then down his cheek and back to his lips. She pressed her mouth against his more firmly and his lips lifted in a half smile.

“Do you want something?” he rumbled, brow raised.

“Yes. You.”

“Me what?”

He continued to smile in that lopsided way and she realized that she loved him. Completely adored him with every ounce of her being. He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen and he was hers.

“I want you inside of me,” she told him.

“Do you?” He gripped the back of her neck and pressed his lips on hers, the first kiss he’d given her since she was in heat. He slid his tongue into her mouth and she sucked on it eagerly making him chuckle.

Chuckle? That was a first.

He scooped her up and carried her into his room, another first, laying her down on the bed. He undressed himself quickly but took time with her. By the time she was naked his lips had touched her everywhere and she nearly cried with how gently he was treating her.

He went down between her legs and drew three earth shattering orgasms with his talented mouth before he moved up and slid himself into her. She dug her heels into the muscles of his backside as he pumped. His arms kept her cradled to his chest, his hand once again on the back of her neck making her feel precious. She felt tears leaking out of her eyes and he must have scented them because he stilled and pulled back. He brushed a finger across her wet cheek and started to say something, but she put a hand over his mouth.

“I’m not upset,” she whispered, “I’m happy. You have no idea how much I wanted you to hold me like this,” her voice broke a little and he pulled her against him once more.

He resumed his gentle rhythm and she could feel an orgasm building, but unlike every other time it built slowly and when it reached its peak, wave after wave of bliss infused her being, every inch of her skin tingling with sensation and she thought she might shatter into a million pieces from the exquisite pleasure of it.

She felt him thicken as he began to come and he growled low in his throat, continuing to thrust. After a long while he stilled, and keeping his arms wrapped around her he turned them on their sides.

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