Red as Blood

by Anna Santos

  “Now that you mention it,” I said, trying to loosen the collar of my jacket. “Maybe we should get up and—”

  Marlena didn’t let me move. “No dancing. We have the best seats to see the show.”

  “What show?”

  “Now that you’re mine, Dorian, you need to know something about me.”

  My eyebrows rose. Hers? “I want to know everything about you, my queen.”

  She whispered in my ear, “I’m not a normal human. I’m a witch.” She moved back with a chuckle. “Are you scared?”

  I shook my head. “Of course not. Vampires aren’t afraid of witches. I always knew there was something special about you.”

  She smiled, apparently satisfied with my answer. “I’m going to tell you another secret.”

  I leaned closer to listen.

  Whispering in my ear, she said, “I drugged them.”

  I frowned, unsure of what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”

  She pointed at the jar of wine on the table. “The wine, I added a power aphrodisiac to it.”

  I swallowed nervously and looked at my cup. My chest and stomach burned. “Why?”

  “Because I thought it would be fun to see them squirm with desire while fornicating with each other.”

  Her crude words made me open my mouth in disbelief. “Did we drink the drug, too?” I undid the first buttons on my ceremony jacket.

  “Of course. I didn’t want us to miss the fun.” Her finger caressed a path down my chest. “They’ll be too preoccupied with fucking each other to care about what we’re doing. They won’t be able to judge me when I take you as my new husband. We’ll need to get rid of the king, of course. Let’s not talk about that.” She waved in dismissal. “Drink more. I want you wild.”

  I took the cup to my lips and pretended to drink.

  “Come on, don’t be afraid.” She pushed the cup, and the wine spilled down my chin and soaked my clothes.

  Marlena giggled.

  I jumped in my chair when her tongue licked my jaw. I wasn’t expecting that but tried to remain still and let her have her way.

  “You look so tense. Relax,” she uttered, patting my shoulder. Smiling, she added, “You came back because you felt it too, didn’t you?” Marlena grabbed my hand and held it against her bosom.

  “What?” I asked, trying to move my hand but not wanting to expose my feelings of discomfort.

  “The attraction between us. You never acted on it because I was married, and our love was doomed. Now that I’m almost a widow, we don’t need to pretend that we aren’t attracted to each other.”

  I gulped. That woman was delusional.

  “I think I’ve loved you from the moment I saw you. So handsome in your black attire, forced to dance with a spoiled princess to please your father.” Her chest moved under my hand with her deep sigh. “I treasure all the moments we spent together when I had to make conversation because Snow was too dull to handle it. I’ve thrown parties to please you, so we could spend more time together. We had so much fun. We’ll be having a lot more now that we don’t have the old fool and his daughter to keep us apart.” She leaned closer, and her breath fanned my mouth. “I’ll give you the world, Dorian. You just need to trust me, my love. We’ll be unbeatable together.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll be the King of Meadows and, with my help, the King of White Cloud.”

  “My brother is the heir to the throne, but my father isn’t planning to abdicate any time soon. He’s young for a vampire.”

  She smirked. “So innocent and beautiful. There are other ways to become king without abdication.”

  “Isn’t being the Queen of Meadows enough for you?” I asked with a soft voice and slightly curving my lips up.

  “Ruling one kingdom isn’t enough for what we have planned.”

  My interest piqued. “We?”

  “We.” She smirked and caressed my cheek. “My sisters and I are planning to take back our world from the outsiders. They came through their portals, bringing foreign magic and enslaving the humans to their will. My kind was here first. We’re going to reclaim our world and send them back to where they came from.”

  I blinked as I processed her crazy ramblings. “Are you talking about the fae?”

  “Because of them, your people and my people have been under attack by monsters breaching the barriers between worlds. If we cast them away, we can close all of the portals and live without the fear of being exterminated.”

  “The fae aren’t responsible for the monsters,” I assured her.

  “That’s what they led you to believe.” She kissed my cheek. “I’ll show you how evil they can be. Don’t worry, my love. You’ll find out about the secrets that are being kept from you, and, together, we can fight them and unite all races against them.”

  “As you wish, my queen,” I uttered, unsure of what else to say to that nonsense. I plastered on a smile. “Shall we drink more and celebrate our freedom?”

  She laughed, and it made my ears hurt, but I didn’t wince. Her mouth brushed my ear. “Once we’ve done partying here, I’ll show you my bedroom. You’ll find out how a mature woman like myself can offer you unbelievable pleasure.” Her nails grated the skin on my neck, and I tried not to move an inch.

  Her hand moved down. “I can’t wait to see what’s under there.”

  I captured her hand before she moved lower.

  “I can be so naughty. Do you want to find out now?” she whispered, pressing her lips against my earlobe.

  I secured her hand against my chest and moved my head away. “Your Majesty, you need to control yourself, or I might lose my restraint in public and show my fangs. That would be unfortunate. I’d rather show them in private, where we could become wild together.”

  She giggled and fluttered her eyelashes. “So wicked. I’ve never fucked a vampire, but I’m eager to try.”

  I gritted my teeth momentarily before whispering, “I’ve never fucked a human, and I can’t wait to try it.”

  She shrieked in excitement. “Oh, you’re making me so hot!”

  I mentally cursed but focused on my task. “You have beautiful …” I gazed at her necklace and smirked.

  “I’m glad you noticed them.”

  “They are hard not to notice.”

  “You didn’t seem interested in them when we were together. You always looked me in the eye. That was one of the things I liked about you,” she slurred.

  I raised my eyes to look at her face. “I appreciate a woman’s intellect more than her outside beauty. Though, we’re past that now and are talking about carnal desires.”

  “Carnal desires.” She giggled, covering her mouth. “Always so tactful about what you say.”

  “You deserve nothing but poetry from me, my lady.”

  “Poetry is nice, but I like men of action, too,” she whispered, sliding her finger along my cheek and down my neck. “You can tell a lot about a man by the way he fucks his wife … or his mistress.”

  “I’m not just a man, I’m a vampire. You’ll find that human sex rules don’t apply to us,” I said with a sly grin. “Now, shall we drink some more?” I reached for the cup and poured wine to give to her. “We can dance after this drink,” I enticed her since I knew she wanted to show me around.

  Her eyes narrowed when she drank from the cup. Wine slipped down her chin and into her cleavage. She laughed, and I searched for a napkin. Placing my hand behind her neck, I used my other hand to clean the wine off her cleavage. She didn’t protest and even stuck her breasts out. My fingers wrapped around the chain and broke it. I pressed the napkin against her breasts and used that moment to pull the chain and hide the key in the hand behind her neck.

  “You have no idea how hot I am between my thighs, and you’re barely touching me,” she whined. Her hands wrapped around the material of my coat. “Do you enjoy seeing me flustered while doing nothing about it? Don’t you want to slide your hand under my skirts and make me c
ome? Don’t you want to please your queen?”

  I had to pretend to feel sick, so I could leave her side and finish the other part of my plan. Still, her words were enough to make my stomach twist and turn. There was only one face I wanted to see gasping with pleasure, and it wasn’t Marlena’s. I had hoped that she’d be groggy with the amount of wine she drank, but she only seemed hornier.

  “Are you feeling all right, my prince? You look paler than usual.”

  Her words snapped me out of my torpor. Blinking, I gulped and faked feeling nauseous. “I might have drunk too much wine. Alcohol doesn’t agree with me.” I covered my mouth. “I think I’m going to throw up.”

  “Oh!” She leaned back and reached for a glass of water.

  I shook my head. “I need blood. I have it in my quarters. Just stay here, and I’ll be back once I’m feeling better.”

  She seemed flabbergasted by what I was saying but let me leave the table and didn’t try to follow me.

  Luke got up from the table where he was entertaining a few females who were all over his vampire charm. I tilted my head in the queen’s direction. He took the hint and left to entertain the queen. He was charming and a lot better at flirting than me. I hoped he could stall her for a few minutes while I searched for the source of her magical powers.

  I found Alpha Drake at the top of the stairs as I paced to meet him on the floor of my bedroom.

  “Did you get it?” Drake asked, waiting for me to reach him.

  I showed him the key. “It was harder than expected, but I got it. Did you find the room?”

  Drake nodded. “It’s on the top of the main tower. I used fairy dust to reveal it.”

  “Good. I was worried. You took a lot of time. We had dinner and night has fallen.” I looked around. “The guards, did you get them all?”

  “Even the captain who didn’t fall asleep from our cider. I knocked him out with a punch. He’s in the dungeons with the rest of his men. My men also arrived safely, and they are patrolling the perimeter and pretending to be the palace guards.”

  “Good.” I pulled at my coat as the heat became unbearable.

  “Are you feeling all right?” Drake asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Is the queen entertained?”

  “Luke is with her. He’ll warn us if she comes this way, but she’s intoxicated, and I hope she can stay that way until we free the Fairy King. How’s the king? Is he awake?” I looked around. “Where’s my wife?”

  “She’s in your room, resting. The king has opened his eyes, but he’s still incoherent. The effect of the drugs will wear off. Meanwhile, we need to get going. We’re wasting time here.”

  I loosened the collar on my shirt. My body was burning up with the amount of aphrodisiac I was forced to take. “I need to do something before helping you.”

  Drake frowned. “What can be possibly more important than entering the secret room and freeing the Fairy King?”

  “The Fairy Queen taught you the ritual. You’re able to save the Fairy King without my help. It’s best if we part ways here.”

  “What are you going to do, return to entertain the queen?”

  “I can’t stand to look at that woman,” I muttered. “I’m going to find my wife.”

  “What?” Drake grasped my arm before I could circle around him and follow down the corridor to my bedroom.

  “It’s an important matter. I can’t— I’ll be fast. My guards are surveilling the queen’s trusted men, and she’ll be powerless once the Fairy King is released. I just need fifteen minutes.”

  “You sound distressed,” Drake said, probably noticing that sweat was covering my forehead. Something unusual for vampires that had a lower body temperature. “Did she poison you somehow?”

  “I have to see that Snow is safe.”

  “I understand. Hurry back,” he requested. “The queen might be weaker without the power of the mirror but not powerless. We might have to fight her and the nobles on her side if we don’t tie her up.”

  Nodding, I released my arm and sped away. I arrived at my bedroom in a heartbeat. Opening the door, Snow sat up and looked in my direction.

  “Dorian, it’s you. Is it all over? Did you check on my father?”

  I didn’t indulge her in a reply. Instead, I breezed to her side and looked at her gorgeous figure still wearing the clothes of my elite guard. She looked stunning in anything, but I found she looked extra hot in men’s clothes. I had no idea why. The only thing I knew was that I had to kiss and touch her for my lust to be consumed, and I could return to function at a reasonable level.

  Her voice had an edge of panic. “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes turning red?”

  “The queen … she added a drug to everybody’s drinks. I’ve endured all of her advances because I can’t stop thinking about you, Snow.”

  “What do you mean? What did she do?”

  “She added an aphrodisiac to the wine. The court has become wild with lust. I don’t know what she was thinking. I just know that I need you. Now.”

  “Need me? How?”

  Lowering my body over hers, I reached for her shoulders and brought her closer to my chest. “It’s faster if I show you.” I kissed her mouth.

  “Dorian,” she sighed against my lips. “Do you want to do it now?”

  “Yes. Forgive me if I’m not as gentle as I normally am,” I begged, cupping her face between my hands. “We don’t have a lot of time. Do you want me?”

  “Are you hurting? You seem in pain.”

  “I am hurting.”

  I noticed Snow gulp, and the rippling effect in her neck made my fangs itch. I clenched my jaw and brushed my fingers along her neck, undoing the buttons of her coat. She remained still and gasped when I cupped her breasts covered by the cotton fabric of the shirt. Despite the yearning, I fought to be gentle with her.

  “You can bite if you wish,” she whispered, offering me her neck.

  “I crave something other than your blood, darling,” I said, descending my hand to her lower abdomen and slipping it inside her pants. “You smell and feel aroused, wife.”

  Her face became scarlet, and she looked away, biting her lip and moving her hips to match the movement of my hand.

  “I like how you smell,” I mumbled against her neck, removing my hand to undo her pants and discarding her coat and shirt. “I want you naked under my body.”

  Snow remained quiet with half-closed eyes and red cheeks. It was unusual for me to tell her these things, but I was too far gone with lust to measure my words. I focused on the task at hand—getting rid of our clothes.

  She sat up and helped me with my coat and shirt. Our eyes met and fixated as our clothes fell to the floor. I got up from the bed and let my pants fall down my legs before I pulled her pants off and slipped the cotton briefs that molded her sex and gorgeous legs. Her skin was softer than silk, and I let my fingers press against it before I knelt over her and descended for a kiss. Our mouths met, and our tongues entangled. I raised her arms above her head and nestled my cock between her thighs. I slipped my fingers into her slit before I buried myself in her tight pussy. It was bliss every time we made love, but, this time, I was impatient and harder than ever. I needed to make sure that I didn’t hurt her. When she began gasping and squirming under me, I replaced my fingers with my cock and slid in effortlessly. The hot walls squeezed me and rubbed me when I began thrusting in and out. I cupped her left breast and thrust harder and faster.

  “Yes, so tight. I’ve missed this. I want you so much.” I hid my face against her neck, softly nibbling on it without drawing blood. I knew she enjoyed that. Her moans aroused me more and made me go deeper and grind harder against her pelvis. “I’m so hard, Snow. I’m always so hard for you.”

  “Oh, Dorian. Oh.” She gasped and tugged on my hair. “Don’t stop.”

  “I’m not planning to stop,” I assured her, taking in the sweet scent of our aroused bodies.

  Her moans became
out of control, and I had to kiss her. I didn’t want to alert anyone to what was happening in that bedroom. Not that I thought anyone would enter without permission. Especially when things were wild in the ballroom where everybody was horny and probably looking for somewhere to copulate. I hoped Luke was able to entertain the vixen. If not, she’d be going around the palace, searching for me. It would be unfortunate if she saw Snow. Worse if she knew I was embracing my wife.

  I looked at my wife’s breasts, bouncing up and down with perky and rosy nipples. They were beautiful. I wanted to suck and play with them, but I was too hard to stop the mating ritual. I had to come inside her to feel relief. Until then, I had her mouth to kiss and my hand to rub and squeeze her breasts.

  The pressure in my lower stomach inflamed, and my legs and ass tensed. I buried myself in her delicious molten core when my balls tightened, and my cock squirmed with the orgasm. A few more thrusts and she came after me. I plastered my body against hers and rolled in the bed for her to be on top of me. She rested her head against my chest but didn’t try to move. She seemed exhausted.

  I ran my fingers through her hair. “Are you all right?”

  “Just … breathless.”

  “Did I hurt you?”

  “No. It was great. I’m still trying to regain control of my limbs.”

  I chuckled and raised my head to kiss the top of her head. “As much as I wish I could stay and cuddle. I have to go. I left the Alpha to deal with the mirror on his own. I need to make sure that Marlena is entertained before we close the doors to the ballroom and arrest the remaining staff in the palace.”

  “Is my father awake? He was asleep when I left.”

  “Alpha Drake left an escort with him. He’ll be fine with the medicine we gave him. We’re more worried about the queen and the ones who obey her.”

  “We are outnumbered, but Belle assured me that her pack would help us. The Alpha is here with us, and he’ll open the doors to his men, so we can take the palace and arrest everybody who has conspired against my father.”