exquisite care with her making sure he didn’t hurt her, but not now. Was it her imagination that he stretched her too wide, felt too big the way he overfilled her? Now he pumped fast and he pumped hard, his heavy testicles striking her sweet spot over and over and Charlotte cried out again and again as her body wound tighter. Desperately her hands gripped the smooth silk of the cushions as she tried to find a purchase, something to anchor her as he roared out her name and pounded into her even harder.
She was just about to climax when he pulled out and turned away.
Lying there totally naked, sprawled over the couch on the desperate edge of orgasm it took a disbelieving Charlotte a couple of deep shuddering breaths to realize her husband was not returning to her.
Chapter Three
New York
Hand in hand with her brand new husband (who'd have thought Marcus was a big softie at heart?) Anais stepped out of the elevator and found herself in the expansive basement of the skyscraper that held the world headquarters of Gillespie, Pattullo and Hindmarch.
Still holding her hand, Marcus tugged her down a wide corridor and shouldered through double doors.
She entered.
"Wow," whispered a stunned Anais as her jaw dropped.
They were standing in a brightly lit space the size of an aircraft hangar.
Except, this was no ordinary space.
The floor had a number of black cushioned judo mats spread out wide. The walls held what looked like a vast variety of battle sticks used in martial arts. At the far end of the area was a myriad of gym equipment including machines for weight training, running, elliptical, punch bags and two sparring rings.
She turned to study her bare-chested, bare-footed husband dressed only in loose black cotton pants. Now she knew why he'd insisted she wear her gym gear. Black hair caught in a high ponytail, she wore black cross-trainers on her feet, a black sports bra and yoga pants. From a small room, Centuri Commander Ian Macpherson stepped out. He, too, was dressed in loose black pants. His powerful pectoral muscles flexed as he padded towards them, loose-limbed like a big powerful feline.
Ian bowed low to Marcus.
When he lifted his head, his green eyes glittered with what looked like amusement as he took in her clothes.
"Good evening, Consort. Are you ready for your training to begin?"
Consort?
Training?
Bewildered, Anais turned to look at her husband and gave him big eyes.
"What training?" she asked, shelving the Consort question for later.
Marcus's dimple flashed in his left cheek.
A rare sight that never failed to make her heart beat faster.
He reached out to pat her head as if she was five years old, then slid his hand down her back to gently pat her backside once, twice.
"You're a newborn. It is time for you embrace our ways. More importantly, it is time for you to learn how to defend yourself."
Was it indeed?
She stared hard at his face, looking for the joke, and realized he was perfectly serious.
Anais bit down hard on her bottom lip, a move that never failed to arouse her husband. It was also a move that stopped her from laughing out loud. Neither Marcus or his Commander knew that she was an adept in Krav Maga. Doing her level best to look both overwhelmed and incredibly reluctant, she took a very careful step back.
A move that made the dimple blink again.
"You want me to fight ? With you ?"
Marcus took her face in his hands and dropped a tiny kiss on her nose.
"Don't worry, my wee darlin’. I'll go nice and easy on you."
Ian cleared his throat, his green eyes were most definitely twinkling now.
Irritation with both vampyres tickled in her belly.
What a pair of smug looking smart-asses.
She took another careful step back.
"Both of you are a lot bigger than me. How do I know you'll fight fair?"
Marcus had the bare-faced cheek to look offended.
"You know I would never hurt you." Taking her hand in both of his, he towed her over to the closest floor mat. "Let's try a couple of