Soon enough, I came hard. But he didn’t stop. He continued his assault until he’d pushed me into another orgasm. Still, though, he didn’t stop. I tried to wriggle away. “No, I want you inside me.”

“Give me one more,” he demanded. I hadn’t thought it was possible to come again, but when he zapped my cl*t with his thumb I was gone. “Good girl.”

While I lay there being racked by aftershocks, he trailed the tip of his tongue up my body, tracing the dips and hollows. Then his mouth latched onto a taut nipple. Nope, he wasn’t done teasing me yet – typical. I wasn’t sure whether I was pleased or annoyed…Maybe a bit of both.

He sucked hard and raked my nipple with his teeth the way I liked it. He gave the other breast the same attention, not stopping until I was squirming and moaning once more. “Jared” I gasped as I was roughly flipped onto my stomach. Looking back at him over my shoulder, I scowled. “Oi!”

He just smiled, licking along my spine. I knew that impish look – it meant that the teasing still wasn’t over. Just as he had to my front, he traced the dips and hollows of my back with his tongue, occasionally pausing to deliver a sharp nip.

“The downside to you healing instantly is that I can’t mark you.” He licked the curve of my shoulder. “I want you all marked up.” His teeth sank into my shoulder just as two fingers plunged inside me. Swallow. Thrust. Swallow. Thrust – the rhythm was driving me insane. Just when I was ready to start cursing him, he withdrew his finger and his teeth, and flipped me onto my back. He loomed over me, his face a mask of utter resolve. One hand scrunched in my hair while the other gripped my hip.

I smiled into piercing hazel eyes that were huge pools of need. “Good evening.”

Jared’s sensual mouth curved. “Happy birthday, baby.” Then he slammed home, wrenching a gasp out of me; I was so wet that he was balls-deep in just one thrust. We both groaned as my muscles clamped around him. He didn’t give me a moment to adjust, and I hadn’t wanted him to. Instead, he tightened his grip on my hip and began ruthlessly pounding into me. “You feel so f**king good, Sam.”

Locking my limbs around him, I scratched at his back and arched to meet his thrusts. Each one was hard, fast, and powerful; making me feel totally and utterly taken. His pace was relentless and frantic, building the friction inside me. But I wanted more of him.

Reading my body well, he hooked my legs over his shoulders and shifted his angle, going even deeper. “I need your mouth,” he growled, curling over me.

I reached up to meet his kiss. It was as dominant and possessive and drugging as always. I drew his tongue into my mouth and sucked on it, smiling at the throaty groan that escaped him.

“Bite me.”

I raked my teeth over his shoulder and then bit down, drinking deep and loving the masculine, spicy taste of his blood. He upped his speed as the effects of my Sventé saliva fed the tension building in him – I could actually feel his orgasm approaching, and it was speeding along my own.

“Come with me,” he breathed. Then he groaned as he buried his face in the crook of my neck and bit down hard. With each gulp of blood that he swallowed, my body wound that much tighter until after only mere seconds I exploded around him with a scream. His teeth sank deeper as my body milked him, shoving him into his own cl**ax.

Finally his teeth released my neck and he delivered a sensual lick to the swiftly healing bite. “I don’t know how it is that you make me come so hard, but I’m not complaining.”

I chuckled. “Right back at you, Michaels.”

He let my legs fall from his shoulders and nipped my bottom lip. “As you already found your gifts, I don’t have any birthday surprises for you,” he grumbled.

“That’s okay. I don’t like surprises. So, um, did you teleport the gifts back here?” I asked casually. He wasn’t fooled.

Shaking his head, he sighed. “You can’t wait to get back to that game, can you?”

“It’s addictive!”

“I thought you might like it…since it features lots of violence, gore, and combat.”

“My character has more depth than that, you know,” I snapped playfully.

“Hmm. I guess I should let you get back to your game before you seriously hurt me.”

I clapped a little. “Yay!” I literally shoved him off me as I jumped out of bed and dashed into the bathroom. A few minutes later, clean and feeling refreshed, I rushed into the living area. His throaty laugh followed me. As I’d expected, the PlayStation 6 was waiting there nicely, along with a stack of Stephen King books and the box that I knew contained a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings. But there was something else, too: it was small-ish, rectangular, and gift-wrapped. Sensing Jared behind me, I turned and arched a questioning brow. He just smiled mischievously and lounged on the sofa.

Well. I normally detested surprises, but I was strangely excited as I retrieved the gift from the table. It was roughly the size of a DVD…or a video game, I quickly realised. I tore off the wrapping paper. Then I could only gawk. No, this seriously couldn’t be what it seemed. It just wasn’t possible. The gift was in fact a video game, but it wasn’t one I’d ever seen before. It was called ‘The Hollow’…and it was actually a game based on The Hollow. Fascinated and stunned, I gave Jared a ‘what the f**k?’ look.

His smile widened. “I wanted to get you something that you would never have guessed in a million years; something unique. I had a team of people working on this, including vampires whose gift is technology-based. As you can see, you have the option of playing as different people within The Hollow – including me, you, and members of the squad. They each have the gifts, strengths, and weaknesses in the game that they do in real life. Even Dexter’s in it. There are lots of potential assignments and mysteries. The special effects are absolutely amazing. You could even think of this game as a method of training in” He grunted as I suddenly dived on him. “Does this mean you like it?”

Straddling him, I kissed him hard. “I bloody love it. I noticed that one of the ‘baddies’ in the game is Magda. This means I get to kill her over and over again, doesn’t it?” At his nod, I was so touched I almost cried. “This is the sweetest, most thoughtful thing that anyone has ever given me.” He laughed, and I wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you.”

When I finally pulled back, he slid a hand under my hair and squeezed my nape as he tugged my face to his. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth, coaxing a contented sigh from me. Then his tongue boldly swept inside, stroking mine, as his hands slid down my back to cup my arse. Releasing my mouth, he just stared at me…like he was drinking me in, like it was perfectly normal and acceptable to stare at someone. And it always annoyed me.

“Stop it or I’ll let Dexter spit venom in your eyes and temporarily blind you.”

He smiled, running his fingers through my hair. “No you won’t. Is it really so bad that I like to look at you? Like to look at you knowing you’re mine and that I’ve tasted every single inch of you?”

“Yes, it is. Now, can we play this game or what?”

“I’m not going to be able to pull you away from it without a fight, am I?”

“Nope.”

He just rolled his eyes. “Antonio has a birthday meal planned for you later. That means you can play the game until then. I have a feeling that the squad will want to play it too.”

Jared had been right. When the squad – along with Jude – came to wish me a happy birthday and each gave me a present, they joined me in playing the game. It was so well thought out. The first level was the try-outs. The second level featured a number of training sessions in the arena. Then each level thereafter was an assignment with a different ‘baddy’ each time. And of course things got harder and harder as the game went on. It even had bonus levels such as paintballing and swimming in the bat pool.

The players were so life-like that it was almost freaky. The structure of The Hollow was picture perfect – even the surrounding rainforest was amazingly identical to the one here. The squad took turns at playing as other people, boasting that they had better control of that person’s gift than they did. That caused some arguments.

Even Antonio and Luther had a turn when they came to pay me a visit. I would never have guessed that they were so competitive if I hadn’t seen it for myself. Some of the curses that flew from their mouths had even my eyes widening. Fletcher and Norm also had a turn – Fletcher played me, delighted to be able to use an energy whip.

Of course they all asked if Jared could have one made for them, even Antonio and Luther. But Jared refused, telling them that he wanted me to have something that nobody else had. Fletcher and Norm thought that was extremely sweet. Everybody else whined about it. I couldn’t blame them – it was even more addictive than ‘Vampire Nation’. So addictive that I played it until my eyes hurt, and I actually moaned when I realised that it was time to attend the birthday meal that Antonio had organised.

Forcing myself not to be an ungrateful bitch, I came away from the game, and changed into a little black dress that Fletcher had given me as a birthday gift. “Ready to go?” I asked Jared as I exited the en-suite bathroom.

His hands landed on my h*ps as his gaze explored every inch of me. “If it wasn’t your birthday meal, I’d say skip it so I could roll this dress up and bury myself inside you.” He nuzzled my neck, inhaling deeply.

I smiled, skimming my hands down his chest, and wishing the shirt wasn’t in the way. “You can do that later.”

“You can bet your sweet little ass I will.” He dropped a kiss on my mouth. “Come on, everyone will be waiting.” To my surprise, Jared didn’t teleport us to Antonio’s huge parlour room. Instead, he took us to…the beach. A strangely empty beach.

I frowned. “Where is” He twirled me around, and I gasped at the sight ahead of us.

“You look amazing,” Jared whispered into my ear as he started to lead me across the sand. No, what I could see ahead of us was ‘amazing’. Several tables were set up on the sand, all with white table cloths, lanterns, champagne glasses, and flowery centre pieces. I loved the beach at night, loved the way the moonlight played off the water. That was clearly why they had done this for me. God, I was spoiled rotten by these people and I probably didn’t deserve it.

With the exception of one table, all the others were seated with guests. On the first table sat Antonio, Lucy, Luther, and – groan – Collins and Eloise. On the second were Fletcher, Norm, Ava, and Cristiano. The third seated Butch, Salem, David, and Denny, while the fourth seated Chico, Jude, Harvey, Damien, and Reuben. My heart squeezed as I thought of the three people who couldn’t be here.

Everybody stood, smiling, as Jared and I went to the empty table in the centre. “Oh my God,” I said a little breathlessly. “I can’t believe you all did this.”

Fletcher looked at me like I was daft. “Of course we did this; we love you.”

“We wanted to make your evening special.” Antonio smiled. “I hope we manage to do so.”

I found myself wishing I was better at receiving things because I wasn’t sure what to say. “Thanks…It’s really amazing.” That seemed to satisfy everyone, because they all grinned and sat down.

Most likely sensing my relief, Jared laughed silently as he sat opposite me and laced his fingers through mine. “Neither of us is good at the whole expressing gratitude thing, are we?”

I shook my head. “Luckily they like us in spite of it.”

“You’re wearing your earrings,” he observed, leaning forward to gently finger one.

“Once again, thank you for them.” See, I could do gratitude sometimes.

“You’re welcome. I’m just relieved you like them. You’re not really a jewellery person. In fact, you’re pretty hard to buy for. And you’re even harder to surprise, since you insist on hunting your gifts down – I swear you’ve got a nose like a bloodhound.”

I chuckled, feeling ridiculously happy. A twinge of guilt immediately followed the feeling – here I was celebrating when Evan, Max, and Stuart were stuck in a cell, dying.

Jared squeezed my hand. “Hey,” he said gently. Of course he’d known where my thoughts had taken me. “They’d want you to celebrate your birthday.”

He was right, they would. That was exactly what I needed to hear. I was about to flash Jared a smile of thanks, but then his face morphed into a scowl as his eyes focused on something over my shoulder. Confused, I turned to track his gaze. Ah…Ava and Cristiano were approaching us.

Wearing her usual cheery smile, she bent and planted a kiss on my cheek. Being courteous for a change, I stood and awkwardly accepted the hug she gave me. I wondered if I’d ever be much good at physical displays of affection…Probably not.

“Happy birthday!” She handed me a gift-wrapped box. “Don’t open it yet. Wait until you’re alone.” Leaning in closer, she added in a whisper, “Well, wait until you’re alone with Jared.” Her cheeky grin made me laugh. “This is from me and Cris, by the way…Although it was me who picked it out. He’d blush if he knew what it was.” Well that certainly had me intrigued.

“We just want to wish you a happy birthday,” Cristiano said, his voice uncharacteristically rough. “You look beautiful.” When Jared growled, he held up his hands in a gesture of innocence, though his smug smirk was there. “It was just an observation.”