Forged in Blood: A Dark Paranormal/ Fantasy romance (Broken Bloodlines Book 1)
Forged in Blood: Chapter 40

The doors open and students pour out of the building onto the pavement, laughing and talking. My girl will be one of the last people out. Alone, but no doubt with a contented look on her face. I admire her for not needing anyone else to complete her, but there’s a dull ache in my chest when I think about her sitting in her classes by herself, with nobody to laugh with or copy notes from if she zones out. I hate that for her, but I hate more that she believes she’s friendless because she’s the kind of person people don’t want to be around when that’s not remotely close to the truth.

I knew from the moment we met her that she was special. Xavier and Axl picked up on her unique scent, but her soul called to mine. The undeniable attraction went deeper than her being sexy and curious. And now I know why. Because she is inherently different from the rest of the world around her. An elementai. Unique. Powerful.

And humans, while they lack the knowledge to even begin to comprehend her kind of power, there is something in their baser selves that senses it. An old survival instinct. And that’s why they shun her—they’re afraid of her, and they don’t even know it. And she has been so used to that treatment all her life that she doesn’t notice when the type of creatures who are inherently drawn to her try to befriend her.

She walks out of the building, and as I expected, she has a smile on her face. She shields her eyes from the sun, and I take a moment to study the sinful curve of her hips and the toned muscles in her thighs in those tiny skirts she insists on wearing.

The second her eyes replace mine, that soft smile of hers spreads wider, lighting up her whole goddamn face. And fuck, it burns me up from the inside knowing that she smiles like that for me. I adjust my rapidly hardening cock, my mouth watering at the promise of tasting her and fucking her as soon as I get her alone.

I jog toward her, and her grin grows stronger with each step I take. “Hey, Malachi,” a nasally voice says as I pass, but I pay no attention.

My girl does though. That incredible smile falters as she glances away from me, and I want to rip out the tongue of whoever dared speak my name like that in front of my girl.

I reach Ophelia and shield her body with mine, grabbing her jaw and directing her attention squarely back to me. “Right here is the only place you need to be looking, sweet girl.”

Her cheeks turn the same color as her hair. “Hi,” she whispers, sounding nervous even when she has no need to be.

“Hi, baby.” I take her backpack from her and shrug it onto my right arm, slinging my left one over her shoulder. “Did you have a good day?”

“I did actually. Did you get some sleep?”

“A solid seven hours. So I’m good to go all night.”

Her breath catches in her throat, making me laugh. I run my nose over her jawline. Fuck me, she smells so good that I’m tempted to bite her right now in front of all these people. Bite her, then throw her up against the nearest tree and sink my dick inside her. “I’ll take it easy on you, sweet girl,” I assure her.

Her blue eyes widen. “Do you want to bite me too?”

I lick my lips. “Since the second I first smelled you.”

Her brow furrows. “But I’m just one person. And if you all bite me … I kind of need my blood to, you know, live.”

I run my knuckles over her cheek, and the way she looks at me, so full of longing and a trust that I haven’t earned yet, makes warmth spread in my chest. “We can’t take too much blood. It’s impossible.”

Her frown deepens, and that cute spot between her eyebrows pinches together. “Why impossible?”

I lean closer and she shivers. “It’s evolution, baby. Once we bite you, we’re incapable of harming you, and that includes taking too much blood.”

She blinks. “But you bite people all the time.” Her voice is little more than a whisper as we make our way across the quad.

“But you’re different, sweet girl. I thought you already knew that.”

“I don’t understand, Malachi. Last week, you told me that I meant nothing, and now all three of you …” Tears steal the rest of her sentence. I stop and cup her face in my hands, kissing the salty water from her face. Even her tears taste incredible.

“That was cruel, baby, and I’m so sorry. It fucking breaks me to think of how much we hurt you. But we weren’t allowed to taste you. We were ordered to push you away. A vampire’s oath to his sire is unbreakable.” I press my forehead against hers. “Tell me you understand?”

She sniffs. “I guess I do.”

I sigh and hug her to my chest.

“Was I forbidden because of my blood? Because the professor knew you’d get sick after one taste and need more?”

I nod. That and so much more, but now isn’t the time to tell her everything. And not only because I’m thinking with my dick and my primary goal is to get her somewhere where I can have her alone, although that’s the main reason. It will take me at least another ten minutes to get her to the house, but we just passed the library. I pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist.

“Malachi, what are you doing?” She giggles. “People are watching.”

I nip her neck. “Let them watch. I heard you’ve been neglecting your studies, fucking around with my brothers instead of having your head buried in those books. So I’m taking you to do some studying, naughty girl.”

She bands her arms around my neck. “We’re going to study?”

“Well, I’m taking you to the library, but what we’ll be studying won’t require books, baby.”

Her eyes sparkle. “What are we studying?”

I arch an eyebrow. “Anatomy.”

She shakes her head, trying to wriggle out of my grip, but she has zero chance of doing that. “No. Not in the library. Take me home.”

“That’s gonna take ten minutes, and I can’t go that long without fucking you, Ophelia.”

Her chest heaves as she sucks in a heavy breath. “So do the special run,” she whispers.

I press my lips together to stop myself from laughing. “The special run?”

She rolls her eyes. “The one where you move super fast. Like on the night I first met you.”

I shake my head. “Can’t, baby. Too many people around. Can’t go drawing the attention of the humans.”

“But you can fuck me in the library? You think that’s not going to draw attention?”

I shrug. “Not the kind of attention that will get me in trouble with the professor. Besides, people fuck in the library all the time.”

“They do not!”

I can’t help but smirk at the look of indignation on her face. “So maybe we’ll be the first.”

She glances around and chews on her bottom lip. “People are already staring at us.”

“Because my hands are on your sexy little ass and you’re so fucking hot.”

Sorrow clouds her features now. “Don’t tease me.”

I stifle a growl and place her on her feet. Taking her hand instead, I pull her along with me, making her run to keep up with my long strides. My girl doesn’t think she’s hot? I’ll show her exactly how wrong she is.

As soon as we’re inside the library, I head for the art history section at the back. Nobody who comes to Montridge to study art history actually studies, at least not in the library. When we reach the end of the narrow passageway, I drop her backpack and herd her back against the shelves.

“Malachi,” she whispers, her eyes darting in every direction but the place I want them.

I grab her chin and squeeze, forcing her to look at me. “Eyes right here, sweet girl. Nobody comes back here. Nobody will hear us. Well, so long as you don’t scream too loud.” I wink, but she’s clearly still nervous. I guess I’ll have to do something about that.

I slip my hand beneath her miniskirt and replace her panties, tugging them out of my way before she can utter a word of protest. She gasps when I sink a finger into her tight channel.

“Goddamn … Fuck, Ophelia.” I push all the way in. “You’re so snug and wet, baby.”

“M-Malachi,” she whimpers.

I take her hand and place it over my throbbing dick. “You think you’re not hot, sweet girl? You’ve had me hard like this for weeks with just the thought of being inside you.” I tip my head back and groan as her tight pussy squeezes around my finger. “And I’m probably going to nut in my fucking jeans if I bite you right now.”

She pulls down my zipper, slips her delicate hand inside my boxers, and wraps her fingers around my shaft, and I bite on my lip with the effort of not roaring her name.

“Take out my cock, baby. I’m going to fuck you.”

“Right here?” she pants, her breath hot against my neck.

“Right here. Right now. So take out my cock.” I slip another finger inside her tight pussy, and her back bows as a keening moan rolls out of her lips. I press my lips to her neck. “Do it, Ophelia.”

My submissive little powerhouse does as she’s told, and as soon as my aching cock is free, I slip my fingers out of her and wrap her legs around my waist once more, pressing her back against the bookshelves.

“Malachi, I need you,” she groans.

“I know, baby. I’m going to give us what we both need.” I shove her panties aside and nudge the crown of my dick at her slick entrance. My fangs protract, throbbing to pierce her sweet flesh. The scent of her wet pussy is almost as strong and alluring as the smell of the blood shuttling through her veins. My cock aches to be inside her, my veins burning with the need to make her mine and feel that same euphoria that my brothers feel each time they take her. I want to be tied to her forever. Want her to be mine.

“Ophelia!” I grunt as I ease inside her tight heat.

She claws at my neck, and I bottom out. Her head tips back and her mouth opens on a silent scream as she accepts every inch of me. I dust my teeth over her neck, and the animal inside me taunts me to bite her and drink her dry. I feel like I could tear out her throat with the need coursing through me, except that I already know that I won’t. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.

“M-Malachi,” she moans again, her snug cunt squeezing me tighter as I drive into her over and over again, nailing her to the bookshelves with each thrust of my hips.

“I can’t get deep enough, Ophelia,” I growl, my lips still on her neck. “I want to fucking climb inside you and stay there forever.”

“Then do it,” she gasps.

My blood is racing around my body so fast that my head is spinning. A desperate whimper falls from her lips, and that’s my undoing. I sink my fangs into her soft flesh, and my mouth is flooded with her. Her power. Her soul. Her very being. Her blood is coppery and sweet and fucking addictive. It ignites inside me like my veins are made of gasoline and she is the spark.

But it sates the animal inside me, and I slow my pace, enjoying the slow burn of torture when I pull my cock out of her before sinking back in. I slice open a cut on my tongue and let my blood flow into her vein while I feed, soothing the burning pain between her thighs so I can go on fucking her.

“Oh!” She pulls on the collar of my T-shirt, wrapping her legs tighter around me. “Malachi, I can’t stop … I’m going to …”

I place my hand over her mouth and muffle her cries, continuing to suckle at her neck and grind into her, chasing the euphoria of my release that’s only a breath away. And when it comes, it almost knocks me off my feet, crashing over me with the force of a tsunami.

My legs are shaking when I pull out of her, and I flick my tongue over the puncture wounds until they heal over. Lowering her legs to the ground, I press my forehead against hers.

“I can’t believe we just did that in the library,” she says, giggling. Her cheeks are bright pink as she looks around.

“I told you I wasn’t going to be able to wait.” I kiss the tip of her nose. “I would have fucked you this morning, only I knew how sore you’d be.”

She fists her hands in my T-shirt. “Thank you for waiting.”

“I would wait ten thousand lifetimes for you, sweet girl.”

Malachi. Where the fuck are you two? Axl asks.

I roll my eyes and tell him to go fuck himself. “We should get back to the house, baby.”

She rolls her shoulders. “Maybe I should go back to my dorm tonight?”

I know she’s not in any pain because I don’t feel it, and the blood I gave her will have her feeling like she’s invincible for at least the next twelve to twenty-four hours. So it’s not like she needs to take a break, although we would give her one if she did. I shake my head. “Not happening, baby. You live with us now.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “I do not. Don’t be ridiculous.”

I wrap my arms around her waist. “Yes, you do. And if you’re worried about needing a little downtime, I’m going to run you a nice warm bath when we get home. After you’re squeaky clean, we’ll order some takeout and watch scary movies. How does that sound?”

She smiles. “Great, except for the scary movies. I prefer superheroes.”

After fixing our clothes and grabbing her backpack, I thread my fingers through hers and kiss her knuckles. “Fine, you choose the movie.”

On our way to the house, I steal glances at her every ten seconds. She looks exactly the same, but she’s different. I’m different. I just willingly tied myself to her for eternity. And while I understand the professor’s concerns about her not being immortal, we can prolong her life as long as she has our blood. And I know as sure as I’ve ever known anything that I would die a thousand deaths before I let anyone hurt her. She’s mine for the rest of my life, and that’s all that matters.

She flashes me a sweet smile, and my chest aches with the promise of the life we’ll have together. She came here to me—to us—for a reason. Ophelia Hart is my reason for being.