Dalakis Passion: Harker's Journey Read online

  Leaving her breasts wet and aching, he kissed a path down her stomach, nibbling at her waist and hipbones as he went. Using his wide shoulders, he wedged her legs wide-open and draped one of her legs over his shoulder so that she was totally exposed to him. She couldn’t close her legs even if she wanted to, which she didn’t. Instead, she opened herself even wider to him, holding nothing back.

  Bending forward, he breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of her arousal. Her hips rose towards him as she finally found her voice. “Please,” she whispered. She wanted for him to taste her, to take her. Her blood was pumping thickly through her body as a great need, unlike anything she’d ever experienced, rose within her.

  Taking his time, he traced the moist folds of her sex with his fingers before bringing them back to his mouth and tasting her essence. “This is mine. From this moment forward, you shall have no other.” His eyes pierced the darkness and she could feel the barely contained anger swirling around him.

  “Only you,” she promised, hoping to calm the violence she sensed swirling within him.

  “It is my nature to take.” He moved closer to her waiting heat. “What is mine, I hold.” His warm breath feathered over her clitoris, making her burn with desire.

  Promise or threat, she didn’t know and didn’t care, for at that moment, he licked at the sensitive folds of flesh even as he inserted one long finger inside her waiting body. His teeth closed gently over her clitoris and held it captive as he flicked his tongue back and forth over it. Throwing her head back on the pillow, waves of pleasure washed over her body.

  Instead of satisfying her, it only served to make her hotter. An unfamiliar wildness grew within her as he continued to pleasure her. Power and desire surged through her blood. Passion consumed her.

  Pulling her foot back over his shoulder, she placed it on his chest and pushed until he released her. As she scrambled away from him, he growled at her, like some beast deprived of its intended mate. In reply, she hissed and launched herself at him.

  She thrust her tongue into his mouth and began moving it in a parody of sexual intercourse. To help relieve the ache in her breasts she rubbed them up and down the hard planes of his chest, moaning when the dark, crisp hair rasped her nipples. Her hands reached between his legs and she wrapped them around his throbbing cock and began to pump her hands up and down.

  In a frenzy of heat and desire, he answered her.

  Holding her head captive in one large hand, he began to plunder her mouth. Almost savagely, he pushed her legs apart and shoved several fingers deep within her vagina and began to work them up and down. Johanna pumped her hips in time to his fingers even as her hands continued to do the same to his cock.

  With barely restrained violence, he pushed her hands away from his body and tore the remains of her nightgown off her. “On your hands and knees, so I can take you from behind.” His dark command filled her with fear and longing, but not for a moment did she consider disobeying him.

  The need to have him inside her was too great to deny as she rolled to her hands and knees and thrust her bottom towards him.

  “Spread your legs wider.”

  She immediately obeyed him, pushing her legs open until they could go no further. He knelt behind her with his knees spread inside her open thighs, making sure she couldn’t close her legs. His chest covered her back as his hands came to rest on the mattress beside hers. His body caged hers completely.

  Flexing his hips, his cock forged its way deep inside her. Johanna bit her lip as a combination of pleasure and pain shot through her. His cock was large and hungry and her pussy was small and untried. He paused for a moment when he reached the fragile barrier of her virginity, and whispered what sounded like a prayer, before piercing through the veil. Johanna cried out at the sharp pain, but it almost immediately began to dissipate, replaced by a deep feeling of satisfaction.

  It was unlike anything she could ever have imagined. Her breasts hung heavy in front of her, nipples hard nubs that ached for his touch. She could feel the hot juices of her arousal, mixed with her virgin’s blood, coating his cock. The air was heavy with desire and anticipation.

  When he was seated to the hilt, he bit the back of her neck, holding her totally immobile. She felt totally dominated by him, and she reveled in it. The flames inside her burned even higher as she felt his teeth pierce the delicate skin on the back of her neck. He sucked long and hard, and she could actually feel the blood inside her body rushing to him. Her body reacted violently and she came hard and fast. Her inner muscles clasped his cock in a hard vise, but he did not move. She shuddered as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. Johanna wanted to slump forward onto the bed, but he did not relinquish his grip on her neck and she was suspended there as he continued to drink from her.

  Her vision blurred, and just when she was afraid she might faint, he retracted his teeth. His tongue bathed her neck, easing the sting. “Better than the finest wine,” he whispered in her ear. At least she thought he whispered. All she knew was that she had heard his voice in her head.

  Pulling back slightly, he wrapped one arm around her waist, anchoring her as he began to thrust heavily inside her. Unbelievably, she was immediately aroused again, and she began to push her bottom back to meet his pounding thrusts. His other arm moved down between her spread legs and began to tease her clitoris with light feathery touches followed by firmer strokes.

  Her whole body was vibrating around his and she heard a purring noise coming out of her mouth. She was totally out of control as he plunged his cock in and out of her body.

  Her heart was hammering in her chest as the flames of their passion threatened to consume her like a living beast. Her breasts swayed as she was pushed forward by the force of his thrusts. They felt heavy, and the motion was incredibly stimulating to her senses.

  She could feel herself coming again and surrendered to it. As the flood of sensation filled her, she heard his low moan and then she could feel him come inside her. His cock pulsed deep inside her as his hot semen filled her. This time, she fell forward and collapsed in a heap on the bed.

  He swore under his breath, but she was in no shape to respond. Then she felt herself being turned gently in the bed. His strong arms came around her and she was wrapped tight in his comforting embrace. Johanna would have gladly stayed there for eternity.

  “I may hold you to that.” His voice echoed through her mind. She smiled at that whimsical thought.

  The way he held her made her feel special and treasured. His lips were soft on hers as he kissed her, lingering for a moment before sighing and gathering her tighter in his embrace. “I apologize. In my eagerness, I took too much. There is no excuse.”

  She lounged comfortably in his arms as his words washed over her. “I will give you some of my blood, but only a little. Enough so that I may always find you, but not enough to change you.”

  He raised his wrist to his mouth and punctured the skin with his sharp white teeth. When the blood was flowing, he held it to her mouth. “Drink,” he commanded.

  Her will deserted her, as she felt compelled to do as he asked. When his blood hit her tongue, it sent a wave of longing through her. It was hot, delicious, him. Long before she was ready, he was easing her away from his wrist. His eyes never left hers as he ran his tongue over the puncture wounds, healing them instantly.

  “You will have the time you need to live your life. I cannot guarantee how much time I can grant you.” Easing his arms from around her, he tucked her gently under the covers. “Sometime soon, you will have to choose your fate.” In the blink of an eye, he was fully clothed and was once again the dark stranger standing at her bedside. “From this moment onward, every night the moon is full, you will be mine. I will have something of you for myself.”

  Johanna nodded as she began to drift off to sleep, already counting off the days until the next full moon. Satisfied masculine laughter filled her brain, and she sighed with pleasure as she fell asleep.

  The
next morning, she felt slightly hung over. She awoke tucked in her bed, and her first thought was that she had partied too hard the night before. When the coolness of the sheet touched her skin, she realized she was naked. Sitting up quickly, she clasped the covers to her chin and glanced around the room. Nobody.

  The door was locked, but the window was still open a crack. The curtains billowed in the breeze, and she shivered as a cold gust of wind skittered across her shoulders. Her nightgown was lying on the foot of her bed, ripped to shreds.

  It was then she noticed the soreness between her legs and the aching of her leg muscles. Slowly she peeled back the covers and saw a slight smear of blood on the inside of her thighs. The faint smell of sex drifted on the air.

  “That was one heck of a dream.” Her voice shook as she spoke aloud in the empty room. Her hand shook as she wrapped the sheet around her naked body. Gingerly, she slid off the bed and made her way to the window. She peered outside the window, looking for signs that the man in her dreams had really been here with her. A cold gust made her shiver and she quickly pulled the window shut and set the latch tight. An echo of male laughter rang in her head.

  Something had happened. Johanna just wasn’t quite sure exactly what. All the physical evidence screamed that last night’s erotic adventure had been more than a dream. It had been all too real.

  Goose bumps covered her skin as she peered out the window at the rising sun, desperately trying to mentally organize her scattered thoughts. She grasped the edges of the sheet tighter to her breast, trying to warm her chilled flesh.

  Logic escaped her, but real-man or dream-man, he was part of her life now. Johanna somehow knew that to be an irrefutable fact, just as she knew the moon would rise this evening. She predicted that she hadn’t seen the last of him.

  Chapter Three

  Her prediction had proven correct, and over the years, he appeared to her faithfully on the night of the full moon. Johanna no longer questioned if her dreams were real. She accepted him as part of her life, wanting, no, needing to share her life with him.

  As she’d grown older and moved away from home, their trysts had gotten longer and had varied. The sex ran the entire gamut from playful to passionate, slow and easy to hard and fast, and everything in between. Afterwards, he would gather her in his arms and they would talk about their lives.

  Johanna shared all her hopes and dreams with her phantom lover. When she’d shyly asked his name during one dream, he had given her a wicked smile and replied, “Call me Cris.” Over the past twelve years, there was no subject they hadn’t covered.

  He knew about her estrangement from her family, who thought her weird and slightly crazy. She sometimes talked to herself and knew things she shouldn’t know, and this frightened her mother and father. Like the time she knew her father had been in a minor car accident before he’d called home to tell them. There was also the fact that she could always find misplaced items just by thinking about where they were.

  She’d never told anybody about her dreams or how, at times of stress or great conflict in her life, she would hear Cris’ calm, soothing voice urging her to a certain path. After the voice had been right several times, she’d always trusted it. In fact, one night it had saved her very life…

  Johanna broke off her meandering thoughts as she stopped and surveyed her surroundings. The castle was getting closer and not a moment too soon. The afternoon sun was lowering in the sky and she didn’t want to be on the road by herself after dark. She glanced around, slightly nervous all of a sudden. The woods were dark with shadows, and the locals had warned her that wolves still roamed freely deep within them. She could only hope that either Mr. Dalakis would be kind enough to drive her home or that he could arrange transportation back to her hotel. At this point, she’d take horse and wagon. Anything that didn’t include having to walk.

  Picking up her pace, she continued to limp along, her thoughts drifting back to the night she had almost died…

  It was during her college days. She’d left the library late one night and had been hurrying back to her small apartment. She’d been lost in thought, thinking about her research project when the voice had shouted at her. “Run.” She hadn’t hesitated, but run as if her life depended on it.

  The pounding of footsteps behind her pushed her even harder. She didn’t look back, but followed the directions in her head as he told her which way to turn and where to go. The glare of lights and the screech of brakes slamming didn’t slow her down. A loud thump filled the night air, and she knew a passing car had hit whoever had been chasing her.

  She kept running until she reached her apartment. Three times she dropped her keys on the floor before she was steady enough to jam it into the keyhole and turn it. Once inside, she slammed the door shut, locked it, and collapsed on the floor as tears poured down her cheeks.

  Deep soothing tones broke through her terror and eased her shattered senses. At his urging, she had taken a long hot bath and tucked herself in bed. She drifted off to sleep to the sound of him singing. She didn’t understand the words, but somehow she knew it was a lullaby from his childhood. “I promised you I would protect you,” he reminded her. Curling her arm around her pillow, she had slept.

  She woke once in the middle of the night and could feel his arms wrapped around her. His large body was practically covering hers in a protective embrace. Heat radiated from him and Johanna snuggled closer.

  One of his hands flattened against her stomach before slowly inching its way up to her breasts. Lazily, he circled one breast and then another, kneading the supple skin with his fingers before placing his palm over one of her distended nipples. She’d been cold when she’d first awoken, but now she was burning with desire.

  She could feel his hot breath on her neck as his lips nibbled the sensitive skin of her nape. Moaning, she tilted her head forward, giving him better access to her throat. His low, sexy laugh made goose bumps rise on her flesh, and she shivered. His sharp teeth closed around the lobe of her ear and he tugged gently on it before tracing the whorls of her ear with his tongue.

  Johanna could feel his cock prodding at her behind, so she pushed her bottom back against it and was rewarded when he groaned and tugged her even closer to him. “You are pure temptation,” he growled in her ear.

  She felt like a temptress. Wild and wanton. After the close escape tonight, she wanted to reaffirm that she was alive. Her blood was pumping through her veins, thick with desire. “I want you.” Her voice was little more than a seductive whisper.

  His hands left her suddenly and she felt bereft without them. Then just as quickly, they were back on her waist, turning her so that she was flat on her back in the bed with him looming over her, large and dangerous. His eyes were hard, edged with a need that only she could fulfill. Johanna arched her back, thrusting her breasts towards him, and was rewarded when the heat in his eyes grew hotter and his nostrils flared with desire.

  His mouth took hers in a searing kiss that set fire to her entire body. Her breasts ached and she could feel the moisture pooling between her thighs. Clutching his shoulders, she tried to bring him closer to her. But he was in control now and touched her nowhere but her mouth. His tongue dueled with hers as he plundered her mouth.

  Johanna rubbed her hands across the hard planes of his chest, wanting to stroke him everywhere. His hard muscles flexed beneath her fingers and his entire body turned to stone when she brushed his nipples with the tips of her fingers.

  Cris sat back between her spread thighs and cupped her breasts, pinching the tips lightly between his thumb and forefinger. Need built inside her, deep, hard and hot. Her legs moved restlessly on the sheets as she hooked them over his hips, trying to draw him closer.

  As if sensing her need for more, Cris slid his hands down the curves of her sides, caressing her hips before coming to rest on her inner thighs. Thrusting her legs wide apart, he lowered his head to her pussy, nuzzling the damp, slick folds before licking the heated flesh. Johanna clutched
the back of his head, pulling him closer to her.

  “More!” she cried as she tugged on his hair.

  Cris swirled his tongue around her clit before flicking it softly. At the same time, he pushed two of his fingers deep inside her empty sex. Her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers as he moved them in and out in a steady motion. Sensations of pure fire filled her as her body strained for release.

  She was close, so close to coming, when Cris pulled back again and sat between her legs. He was like a pagan conqueror, darkly beautiful and exciting, as his eyes devoured her. “Take what you want.” His voice was thick with need and touched her deep inside. A wildness overtook her. A compulsion to claim him as hers.

  Coming up on her hands and knees, she crawled towards him. He had challenged her and she would take what she wanted. What she needed. His chest glistened in the moonlight that shone through the window and she was reminded again just how massive and strong her dream lover was. Muscles bulged in his thighs, chest, and shoulders as he sat there. The only movement was the twitching of his cock as she moved closer.

  Placing her hands on his rock-hard thighs, she moved them slowly towards his groin. He didn’t move, but she could sense the tenseness in his body. His cock thrust out in front of him, proud and straining for her touch. She licked her lips as she stared at him, wanting to taste his masculine flavor. Liquid flowed from her pussy and she could feel it slip down her inner thighs. She was so hot for him.

  Wrapping her hand around his length, she pumped it up and down, loving the feel of him against her skin. It was hard and soft at the same time, steel covered in velvet. And she had to taste it. Bending her head, she licked a pearl of liquid off the tip. He groaned and his hands came up to grip her head, holding her in place.

  Johanna smiled. As if she’d stop now. She’d only just begun to explore. Swirling her tongue around the bulbous head, she lapped at it, loving the way he tasted. Closing her lips over the top, she sucked hard, moaning with delight as even more liquid seeped from the tip.