"When am I?" Her voice was weak.
"Where?"
She shook her head. "When."
"You jumped out of a window two days ago." He kissed her again. "I almost caught you."
"So you brought me back?" His eyes were dark. Completely dark, with no sign of magic lingering in them. "Why?"
His thumb swept a line beneath her eye. "I know you need to feed. My ward doesn't hurt you, so why stop now?" His thumb moved to her mouth, teasing her lower lip. "You need me, Dahlia."
"You're an inquisitor." And she wanted to hate all of them right now. Her grief over Mei demanded nothing less.
He almost chuckled. "We've already been over that, and I'm fucking hard as a rock. Right now, I'm all yours, succubus."
She shifted, the pressure on her belly proving he told the truth, so she moved again. Nothing but skin separated them, and she needed exactly what he was offering. That he was so very beautiful didn't hurt at all. Besides, it was fitting. Let one of their own fuel the rampage she had planned. Dahlia smiled and reached for his mouth.
Thane met her eagerly. His teeth caught her lip, tugging once before his tongue invaded her again. She reached up, grabbing the shorter hair along the back of his head, and pulled him closer, refusing to let go. If he wanted this, then she'd show him exactly what she'd learned in a few thousand years. While her mouth drove him wild, her leg found his hip.
He cupped her ass, lifting her up the wall until both of her legs were against his back. Spread open, she was anything but vulnerable, but he paused. Slowly, his eyes took in all of her, savoring the view. She didn't want his admiration. She wanted his vitality, given in the form of his seed: nothing but chemicals and reactions waiting to fuel her.
Her body was a construct, made out of random bits of the world forced together by her own memories, but it was real. It wasn't really hers, but right now that didn't matter. It let her feel. It gave her the ability to absorb the only nutrition she needed: life. The tiny electrical, chemical, and kinetic charges that came from nothing but the living were the only sustenance her kind could use, and sex was the easiest way to get it.
Tilting her hips, she slid against him. Thane growled in pleasure, making no move to stop her, so she did it again. The third time, his mouth caught hers as his hands pulled her higher. Then down. The entire length of him pierced her to the core, forcing a wild cry from her mouth, and he drank it in. She pulled back, struggling for breath as he inflamed newly created nerves, but he held her.
One hand on her ass, one at the back of her neck, he buried himself in her over and over. His body was rock hard, each muscle rippling in his efforts, sliding against her sensitive nipples. While his mouth savaged her, his dick enticed, until she couldn't focus. Held like this, both of them balancing precariously against the wall, she'd met her match. Dahlia worked him, wringing his body with hers, knowing he couldn't last much longer, but he didn't need to. Hard, fast, and demanding, he was giving her everything she needed.
Every delicate spot on her body was on fire with pleasure. Thane's pelvis pressed against her clit with each stroke, driving her even higher. Buried deep inside her, when he shifted the angle, she was sure she couldn't take any more. Dahlia couldn't catch her breath. She couldn't think. She just wanted him, his life, and the revenge she was owed.
She wanted some person to remind her that she was alive. She needed to feel his body against hers for more than just his vitality. It pushed away the loneliness that had been suffocating her in the Abyss. It forced her to remember why she'd been willing to fight. For just a moment, she could feel like she wasn't alone.
Her mouth found his neck, kissing, then licking. The salt was sharp and pungent, begging her to take another taste. The sound of him moaning in pleasure vibrated from his skin to hers. As her core grew tense, her awareness focused on the pressure surging between her thighs, she nipped at his neck.
Thane thrust harder, the sensual bites turning him on. She bit again, dragging her teeth across his skin to leave her marks, and was rewarded with another groan. Lost in the throes of passion, they both wanted one thing, and it was so close. Like the pressure of her body against this wall, she could feel the pleasure building to a peak inside her, so she groaned before finding his neck again.
This time, her teeth drew blood.
She sucked, tasting the hormones of desire and excitement, her soul fueled by his life. Against her lips, she felt his moan, then his teeth found her shoulder, pressing only hard enough to dimple the skin. His body flexed, driving his dick into her repeatedly, and his rhythm never slowed. When her nails clawed into his skin, he swelled, filling her more than she thought possible, and the dam broke.
Slinging her head back, she forced her mouth away and cried out. She didn't need words, just the sound to prove her satisfaction. Her body tensed, clamping around him, wringing out a pleased grunt as he buried himself into her one last time. The force drove her into the wall. All she could do was hold on until the waves passed, clinging to him for his dear life. It wasn't just the power, but true pleasure. With a sigh, she relaxed and let her head rest against the wall.
"Gives a whole new meaning to devoured," he whispered against her ear. "There's blood running down my neck. Did you want that before I set you down?"
Lifting heavy lids, she found him watching. His face was completely serious. When he tilted his head, exposing his neck, she lapped at the trickle. It wasn't much. She'd only made a small puncture, but he'd known and didn't seem to care. Being in a body so new, she needed every drop she could get.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, then kissed the wound as one leg reached for the ground.
He dipped, sliding out of her, then cupped her face. "Still hungry?"
Something about this conversation felt incredibly awkward, almost like it was forced. He had to know that eidolon couldn't fuel each other. That probably violated some law of physics about creating energy or something. Most of her lovers never realized that their tryst gave her more than an orgasm. Oh, she enjoyed the pleasure as well, but she never told the people she slept with that they fueled her existence. Only Mei had ever cared if a lover had managed to satiate her body's requirements for vitality - and now him.
"No." She couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm fine."
"Good, because they want you at full power, Valka."
At the sound of her real name, her head jerked up. He shouldn't know she'd ever been called that! Shit. That was why she was back! He'd called her, and between her grief and disorientation, she hadn't even thought about it.
Then, in the dim light of the single candle, she watched him mouth the words, "I'm sorry." That was when she knew something was very wrong.