“Solon,” I say, breath catching in my throat. “I—”
He grips my chin, pulls my mouth to his, kissing me.
Soft, full of life, lips and tongue moving in sweet synchronicity.
The kiss causes birds take flight in my chest, spreading through the rest of me, until they become something hot and wild and free, and then he’s moving me backward, our hands roaming over each other, grabbing, holding, pulling, trying to get closer and closer until my back slams against the floor-to-ceiling window.
With a grunt he reaches down and grabs my ass, lifting me up and pressing me against the glass while I wrap my legs around his waist. He quickly unzips his pants and shoves my dress up to the waist, then braces himself on the window as he pushes himself inside me.
I cry out softly, already wet as sin, and expand around him, feeling the heat between us begin to build, the connection fusing us together in bands of gold.
His lowers his head, his mouth about to go to my neck, but he pauses, staring at me. “Does it hurt?” he whispers. “Your neck...”
I almost forgot about the chunk the vampire took out of me. I can’t even tell if it’s healing or not, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.
I shake my head, running my hand through his hair. “No. I’m okay.”
His mouth goes tight, eyes glimmering. “No one will ever hurt you again. I won’t let that happen. I won’t.”
“I know now what happens if they do,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry you had to see that,” he says softly.
“I’m not,” I tell him. “I saw what you would do for me.”
“I will do so much more for you.” He swallows, eyes shooting sparks. “You’re mine, Lenore. You always have been. Mine and only mine. Forever mine.”
The possessiveness of a vampire is truly something, but with Solon it’s on another level. And I love it.
Then he bites my ear, thrusting back inside me, with fevered urgency this time.
I moan, gripping him tight, making a fist in his hair, and he slams his cock up into me, binding us together, his teeth razing over my jaw, my chin, then up to my mouth, sucking in my lower lip, fucking me with his tongue.
Devotion. I feel his devotion in every ounce of his touch, every thrust of his hips. I feel like he might just belong to me after all.
As if hearing my thoughts, he lets out another rough growl and pushes me back against the glass even harder, his speed picking up, fucking me like a tireless machine. His breath is raspy at my ear, shaking with exertion. I feel the strength in his muscles beneath my hands, know how powerful of a creature he is, and soon a cracking sound is filling the air.
I turn my head to the side in time to see the glass behind me starting to crack, long spidery lengths spreading along the window.
We’re twenty-two floors up.
“Jesus,” I swear, grabbing his neck as he keeps pumping up into me, the window splintering more each time. “Solon. You’re going to shatter the window.”
He pulls his head back to look at me, eyes glazed. “You’d survive the fall.” He gives me a twisted smile. “Probably.”
Before I can say anything to that, he’s whisking me off the window and turning me around, pulling out of me right before he throws me on the bed where I bounce, landing on my knees.
Then his hands grip my hips positioning me on the mattress, and I hear a tearing sound as he rips my dress right in half. Seven thousand dollar’s worth of red silk falls around me like a pool of blood.
He’s on me again, kneeling from behind, then there’s a moment of silence, a pause where I can hear both our hearts racing, the sharp exhales of our breath, and then he dips his head, running his tongue from my pussy to my ass.
“Oh god,” I cry out, my head in the mattress, fingers curling around the duvet. He eats me out like a man starved, face buried, licking, sucking, flicking his tongue over every wet inch of me, the sound obscene, turning me on even more.
Then, as I’m coming, shaking, crying out, he positions himself and pushes his cock inside me, a low hiss emanating from him. “Fuck, moonshine,” he says, his voice strangled, and then he slowly pulls out, dragging over every fevered nerve, because I’m still coming, my body still pulsing.
Everything becomes a blur and my mind turns off, perhaps short-circuiting, and I just hear and smell and feel.
The loud slap of his hips against my ass.
The feel of his hand on my waist, gripping me so tight, his palm so large and warm and strong.
The smell of our sex in the air, spicy, heady, fully intoxicating.
He picks up the pace and the intensity and it’s all I can do to hold on, afraid that if I let go of the bed, I’ll go right through the headboard.
But then something changes.
Solon keeps saying, “I need you, I need you.” His voice raw and desperate.
And while my heart is tumbling over itself at hearing those words, knowing this powerful creature needs me, maybe as much as I need him, something else is happening. I can smell it, sense it.
The darkness.
Oh god.
“Fuck!” Solon cries out, fucking me harder now, wild, savage thrusts, his nails now scraping down my back, getting sharper and sharper. “Fuck, Lenore, I’m sorry.”
His words break off into a low, rough groan that then builds into a growl, a roar, something inhuman, a sound I’ve never heard come from him before.
His cry shakes the room, shakes my bones, and I’m still being fucked, and now I’m scared because I can feel him changing inside me, growing longer, thicker, and I can feel him changing behind me, the darkness taking over.
The beast is here.
I lift my head to look behind me, getting a sense of something tall and large and dark, something beautiful and terrifying, but he places his hand on my head and pushes it down on the bed.
“Don’t look at me, don’t look at me!” he growls, his voice no longer his.
And his hand is no longer his, because it’s longer now, bigger than my head and I feel claws stretching out over my scalp. It holds me in place while he continues to drive himself into me and I’m nearly split in two.
Then he reaches forward with his other hand, bracing himself on the bed in front of me and I see it now, what it really is.
His hand is larger, completely black, with long claws at the ends. It’s still his flesh, but the blackness is heading up his arm and taking over his pale skin, flames licking the edges. It reminds me of when they purposely burn the fields before fire season, the flames low and smoldering, moving across the land and leaving blackened ash behind.
All this time when he was talking about the beast inside him, I really thought he was being metaphorical.
He wasn’t.
Oh god.
But I don’t have any time to dwell on the monster, because his cock hits me at just the right spot and I scream, unable to stop it from happening.
I’m coming again, my orgasm a tidal wave, sweeping the world out from under me. I’m lost to the undertow, drowning in desire and fear and a building sense of awe, while my body feels like it’s breaking into a million shining stars and I’ve been strewn across the night sky, flirting with the moon, and, and…
And it’s when this beast is inside me, his own guttural cries filling the room as he pours himself inside, still fucking hard like the savage animal that he is, that I realize the truth.
My truth.
Amethyst was right.
I’m in love with him.
Hell of a time to realize it.
“Lenore,” he pants, voice rumbling, still not quite his, but at least he knows my name. “Lenore.”
I close my eyes and rest my forehead on the bed as his pumping slows, knowing that something otherworldly just happened here, that I just felt Solon in the most real and raw way possible. I was exposed to the side of him he never wanted me to see.
He’s a monster at his core.
A beast.
And perhaps
I didn’t tame him, but I’m also not afraid of him.
Finally, he stops thrusting and he lifts his hand off my head, and I raise my chin in time to see the blackened ash reverse flow, quickly traveling down his arm, leaving only his luminous pale skin behind, until his hand is the familiar one I know so well.
He straightens up and then pulls out of me and there’s a moment when I feel him just kneeling behind me, trying to catch his breath, wrangle his thoughts. I know he doesn’t know what to do, what to say to me. He didn’t mean for any of that to happen, it was his worst fear come to life.
But I’m still here.
I’m still here, I tell him.
I hear his shaking exhale and then I finally flip over, turning around to look at him.
He’s back to his now naked, yet still formidable self, though his expression is as fragile as I’ve ever seen it, wary and close to unraveling.
“What are you?” I whisper.
Chapter Twenty-Two
There’s a circle of blood in the snow all around me.
I stand there in the middle, naked, frozen to the ground, ice spreading up my legs.
It’s quiet and empty all around, not a soul to be found, just the rolling hills of frosted white. The sky is a pale grey, light enough in parts that it’s hard to tell where the horizon is, and the sun is a faint glowing orb in the sky, close to breaking through the clouds.
A shadow passes over the land and I look back up to the sky in time to see black wings. They blot out the sun, blot out the world, enveloping me, like a giant leathery bird of prey.
But I don’t feel fear.
I feel safe.
I feel powerful, like I could fly up into the sky on these very black wings.
But then…then…
Everything changes.
The wings fade to smoke, just a faint shape hanging in the air before being carried away by the wind.
There’s an insidious hiss at my back and I turn around to see the cloaked figures creeping closer to me, white bony arms outstretched, pointing at me with nails that are far too long and curved.
“He can’t save you, Lenore,” a low, inhuman voice says from behind me, but I know if I turn around these creatures will attack me, the ones without faces behind those hooded red curtains. The ones that are all teeth. “No one can save you now. You’ll see, soon enough.”
I feel the presence come closer to me, then claws running down my spine, making me cry out.
“You won’t survive the Dark Order, and you certainly won’t survive me.”
With a violent thrust, his claws stab me in the back, breaking through my ribs, reaching right through to my heart.
I scream.
And then I wake up, tangled in sheets, the scream choking in my throat, panic seizing my body.
Then big, strong arms wrap around me.
I smell flowers and smoke and I know it’s Solon, holding me to his chest, his heartbeat trying to soothe me.
“Shhh,” he says to me, kissing the top of my head. “It’s alright. You’re having a nightmare.”
My eyes open to darkness and then the real nightmare of last night comes back.
Monster.
Solon turned into a monster.
I lift my chin to look up at him, his gaze going straight into my soul, a sad smile on his lips. “Unless you were dreaming about me,” he says quietly.
I stare, trying to recall everything about last night, even the things that I don’t want to. I remember it all, except I asked him what he was and he said he’d explain in the morning. I said there was no way I’d be able to fall asleep, but I guess I did. I’m still exhausted, every part of my body aching, but I’m ready for him to talk.
He nods slowly, hearing me, the tip of his tongue wetting his lips, causing an automatic ache inside me. I ignore it.
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he says to me, running his fingers through my hair. I close my eyes at his touch, marveling at how gentle he’s being after being so rough, grateful that he’s still in bed with me.
“What time is it?” I ask softly, burying my head into his bare chest.
“Almost five. Sun should be coming up soon. Should I get you a coffee?” He makes a move to leave but I grip him hard.
“You’re not leaving this bed.”
“I don’t particularly want to,” he murmurs, placing another kiss on the top of my head. “I’m afraid if I did, I might not ever see you again.” He pauses. “I wouldn’t blame you for leaving me.”
“I’m not leaving you,” I assure him.
“Even though you should? Even though you will?” His hold tightens around me. “You strive to see the good in me, Lenore. Even when faced by the very monstrous thing that I am. You want to see the good so badly. But I am what I am. I’m the opposite of good. And you’re going to break your own heart by believing in me.”
I lift my chin, his eyes meeting mine, looking like glass close to breaking. “Let me make that choice then. It doesn’t belong to you.” I exhale through my nose, gathering strength. “Now, tell me. What happened last night?”
His black lashes flutter as he closes his eyes. “That was the beast.”
“It was a literal beast, Solon.”
“I know,” he whispers, pain ravaging his voice. “I thought you could see that when I told you about Esmerelda.”
“I didn’t, I just…saw flashes of what it was like to be you. And the feelings. That feeling of darkness, madness, being all alone.” It’s breaking me all over again. God, to have been him back then, constantly changing from something bad to something worse, afraid of your own body, your own self, your own soul. To fear you don’t even have a soul.
“Tell me what you are,” I plead softly.
“I don’t even know,” he admits. “I just know that, at the beginning, this was what happened to us when we were made into vampires. I was…the first one.”
I blink at him. “The first vampire?”
“The first one made.”
My mouth drops. “You…you mean, Skarde is the one who turned you?”
He nods, his teeth set. “Yes. I am his first son. The original monster.”
I can’t believe this. All these questions I’ve had about the vampire king, and it turns out that Solon was the vampire prince. “You really are the Prince of Darkness then.”
His smile is grim. “My father, he didn’t know what he was doing when he made the pact with The Devil.”
My stomach twists, eyes going wider. “Wait, what? That’s how vampires were made, Skarde made a deal with the actual Devil? Satan himself?”
“I don’t have all the details,” he says after a moment. “Part of me doesn’t want them. But when my father called upon the darkness that night, wanting eternal life, this is how it was given. He was turned into a vampire, but it was the Devil’s creation now, and as a result, he had the Devil’s influence in him. When he created me, it was passed down. Both of us were forged in darkness.”
This is blowing my mind and it’s been blown so many times lately, I’m surprised there’s any part of it left. “So the beast is just, what, the Devil’s doing? The Devil himself?”
“Could be. You saw what happened, the flames. I’m just glad it stopped when it did. I still had control. I shudder to think what would happen if I didn’t.”
I reach up with my hand, placing my fingers on his jaw, feeling his stubble and cool skin. “I survived. More than that…I think I might have enjoyed it.”
A muscle near his eye twitches. “This is nothing to joke about, Lenore.”
“I’m not joking. I’m being honest. And I know you, Solon. I saw what you’ll do for me. I know you’ll always be in control, no matter what happens.”
His dark brows come together. “How can you be so sure?” he whispers.
“I just know,” I tell him. And deep in the heart of me, beneath that moonlit well, I know it’s true.
He gives a small shake of his head, staring at me in a
we. “You…,” he says in a hush, “you saw me, felt me, for what I really am, and you’re still so determined to be with me. To want me. You have to know what my love would do you to, Lenore. It wouldn’t save you. It would destroy you.”
I feel like I’m freefalling.
Love.
Does he love me?
Is that even possible?
“I know you think you can handle me, tame me, and you’re the bravest creature I know,” he goes on, eyes searching mine. “But this could be a mistake that you’ll pay for with your life. Are you willing to do that?” He closes his eyes. “The better question is, am I willing to let you?”
“You’re not letting me do anything,” I say firmly, reaching up to kiss him on the lips. “As I told you before, this is my choice to make, and I’ve made it. I’m here with you, and this is where I’ll stay.”
“Stubborn little creature,” he murmurs in amusement, kissing the corner of my mouth.
“Takes one to know one,” I reply. “Though you aren’t so little.” I nestle my head back into his neck, feeling a strange sense of contentment despite all the revelations. “Tell me more about your father.”
“How about I tell you about yours,” he counters.
He’s got me there. I hold strong. “After. You first. Do you still speak to your father? You told me Skarde was still alive.”
He exhales loudly through his nose, his chest falling beneath me. “He is alive, and I do not speak to him. We are…estranged, to put it mildly. Enemies, if you want to be more accurate.”
“What happened?”
“So much over the years,” he says in a weary tone. “Of course, I don’t remember a lot of the first bit because I was driven mad and he let me run loose. He couldn’t control me, and he stopped trying. He was a fan of the mayhem. But he always kept tabs on me, and after what happened with Esmerelda, I ran back to his side, where I stayed until the 1700s. By then I was starting to come out of the madness again. And then I started to grow a conscious. That became a problem.”
“Why?”
“Because my father is more the Devil’s son than not. He loved creating vampires. He loved the destruction. Hated humans, humanity, the whole world. Still does. I was the first made, but thousands were made after me. A lot of them didn’t survive, but some did. Yanik, for instance, he was made, that’s why he’s so old. He was that age when he was bitten.”
Black Sunshine Page 30
