by J. N. Baker
Josh grabbed me from behind as I dove for the door, yanking me back into his chest and wrapping his arms around me. “Keep your voice down,” he whispered into my ear, his touch calming me. “You’re going to draw attention to us and you aren’t supposed to be here right now. Let Baldric handle it.”
I took a deep breath and twisted around in Josh’s arms so that I was facing him. Standing on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to the edge of his and he relaxed slightly. “Alec still thinks I belong to him,” I murmured against his mouth. “I’m going to show him how wrong he is, and you will not stop me.”
Tossing an elbow into Josh’s ribs, he released me with an oof and I darted from the room.
There was hell to pay.
The heavy wooden doors nearly flew off the hinges as I stormed into the meeting room.
Baldric’s eyes met mine and alarm flashed across his face and a hint of…was that fear?
“Zoe!” Alec shouted, reaching for me.
I extended a hand toward him and the look of relief on his face quickly changed to shock as the bolt of lightning slammed into his chest, sending him careening into the far wall. I didn’t give him a chance to recover—or teleport his traitorous ass away from me. I grabbed him by the throat, pinning him to the cold stone. It felt like just yesterday that I’d had Alec in this same position…when I’d found out he’d lied about Josh’s death. Part of me wished I’d just killed him then.
“You tried to buy me with Annie’s life?”
“Zoe,” he gasped, “I can—”
My fingers tightened, sparks shooting from the tips, coiling around his neck and searing his skin. “Don’t you dare say you can explain,” I snarled. “I trusted you, Alec, but now I know everything. Every. Fucking. Thing.”
Like attacking Josh and leaving him for dead, I wanted to say but bit my tongue. That wasn’t exactly something I wanted to bring up in front of Baldric, lest he wonder why Alec wanted to get rid of Josh.
“Please,” Alec rasped. “You have to believe me. I did it all for you—I love you.”
“Don’t,” I snapped. “You don’t get to say those words to me after what you’ve done. I am not yours. I never was and I never will be. I don’t want you, Alec. I’m his. I was always destined to be his. It took me longer than it should have, but I finally see it now. I choose him.”
The man in question shifted in the doorway, muscular arms crossed over his strong chest, ice-blue eyes watching closely in case Alec tried anything.
Throwing my previous almost-lover to the floor—God, I was so happy I’d never crossed that line with him—I moved to Baldric’s side, standing far closer than I ever would have before. The wannabe-king stiffened and then relaxed beside me as my arm brushed against his. His arm came up around my shoulders and I didn’t push him away. Instead, I twisted against him, bringing a hand up to the back of his neck and yanking his lips down to mine to the utter dismay of all those in attendance.
Baldric’s lips were surprisingly soft against mine, yet another thing I hadn’t expected. I willed myself not to vomit in his mouth as I allowed him to deepen the kiss ever so slightly.
I broke away from Baldric and narrowed my eyes on Alec once more.
“This is my home now,” I continued, choking back the bile the words threatened to call up all over again. “This is where I chose to be. And this is where I will stay.”
The expression on Alec’s face was sheer horror. “I know you don’t mean that,” he said, scrambling to his feet. “He’s controlling you.”
“No, Alec, he isn’t,” I said. “And you shouldn’t be here. The king and I have a deal. You being here risks all of your peoples’ lives. People I also care about.”
“Zoe—”
“Stop,” I snarled and Baldric’s grip on my shoulder tightened. I took a breath and leveled my gaze on the man who likely did love me in some twisted way. “For the kindness you showed me when I was trying to cope with what William turned me into, you won’t die today. But if you ever step foot back here again, risking Annie’s and Cody’s lives like you have today, I’ll drive the blade through your blackened heart myself. Now, get the fuck out of my castle.”
Alec’s jaw dropped and then his face hardened to the point I thought he might be dumb enough to try attacking.
“You heard my future queen,” Baldric’s deep voice bellowed. “Get out.”
Alec vanished into thin air and the self-proclaimed king’s attention snapped to Josh. “Make sure he left the premises,” he ordered, releasing his hold on me. “Pull every guard. Have them scour the castle to make sure he is truly gone. If you find him hiding anywhere, kill him.”
Josh nodded, ducking out of the room and leaving me alone with Baldric.
The man who likely thought I’d just confessed was mine by right of Fate. Shit.
“I know there was minimal truth to your words,” Baldric said, turning to face me. I was beginning to think he really could read minds, despite what he’d told me. “But I thank you, nonetheless,” he went on to say.
I shrugged. “He deserved it.”
“Regardless,” he said, tentatively putting his hand on my shoulder, “I thank you for your loyalty. Even if it was only for revenge purposes.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze, “anytime.”
His hand went from my shoulder to my chin, lifting it until my eyes met his. His jet-black irises flashed a rich violet as they took me in and I gasped, stepping out of his reach.
“What is it?” Baldric asked, concern in his voice and darkness returning to his eyes.
“N-nothing,” I finally said.
Baldric took one of my hands in his, looking at the freshly burned skin that was already starting to heal. He tsked at what remained of the bandages before bringing my hand to his lips, kissing my palm.
I yanked my hand out of his grasp. “No!”
Baldric’s face hardened once more. “I apologize. I overstepped.”
I bit the inside of my cheek and then shook my head. “No, I’m sorry. It’s just…Alec used to do that same thing.”
He was silent for a moment. “Understood. It will never happen again.”
Josh stepped back into the room, bowing only slightly. “The vampires did a full sweep. There is no sign of him. He is gone.”
“Check again,” Baldric ordered. “I want guards posted throughout the night. I want to be prepared in the event he foolishly tries to come back.”
Josh nodded and retreated once more to relay the king’s orders.
The king’s intense black eyes shifted to me. “You should return to your chambers and stay there for the remainder of the evening. I will have your dinner brought to you and post guards outside your door and around the castle. You will be heavily guarded.”
“You’re locking me away again?” I shot back with more venom than I intended, already feeling my slight freedom slipping away.
“I am trying to protect you.”
“Right,” I mumbled. “Where have I heard that before…”
I obediently sulked back to my beautiful prison on Baldric’s orders.
As I moved through the castle, I couldn’t help the way my eyes darted to every dark corner, half expecting Alec to show up at any moment. I was still reeling over his treachery. Unlike the betrayal he’d made me believe of Josh, his betrayal was real. He’d used Annie—put her life in danger—to keep me for himself. Not to mention how he’d tried to kill Josh to force me to choose him. Top it all off with him daring to step foot into Baldric’s kingdom and risking the deal I’d literally paid for with my damn life…
I’d meant what I told him. If Alec came back, I’d kill him myself.
Stepping into my room, I exhaled, leaning against the door as it clicked shut behind me. The torches had all burned out as had the two large fireplaces, leaving the room as cold and dark as the endless night outside my open window.
Open?
A hand snaked out of the shadows and grabbed me, spinning me aro
und and throwing me against a wall.
Josh’s lips descended on mine, his solid body pinning me to the icy stone wall, but I didn’t feel the cold. All I could feel was Josh’s fire consuming me, blessedly burning me from the inside out. I wanted to feel his blaze within me for the rest of forever. And forever was a long time. And even that wouldn’t be long enough with Josh.
Never had things been so intense between him and me. Sure, there was attraction—attraction we both stupidly tried to ignore for years. We’d always had chemistry, which only seemed to go stronger after my transformation. But now that he was one of the Chosen as well, it was like that pull between us had been dialed up to a thousand. We couldn’t resist if we tried. He was made for me, and I for him.
I meant the other thing I’d told Alec too. Josh was mine.
He was what kept me feeling alive—human. Even if his kiss was otherworldly.
His mouth moved over mine with a hunger I happily returned. A ravenous hunger that made me want to cry out as his lips traveled from my mouth to my ear.
“Seeing his lips on yours…” He trailed off, his breath scalding my skin and sending shivers down my spine. “You have no idea how hard it was to control myself—to keep myself from taking his damn head.”
“Josh—”
He silenced me with another kiss. “I have waited for you all these years,” he whispered against my lips. “I refuse to let you become someone else’s again. You’re mine, Zoe. You’ve always been mine. Just as I’m yours. I won’t lose you again. I won’t let him, or anyone else, have you.”
“No one,” I breathed, his words fanning the fire of desire building within me, making my entire body ache with need.
Josh pulled me farther into the room, putting more distance between us and the door—and any listening ears that might be outside of it. He shoved me into the far wall and my fingers plunged into his hair, tugging his mouth back to mine. His hands found my pants, yanking them open and sending the top button rolling across the stone floor.
He pulled away just enough to meet my gaze, his icy eyes on fire. “I told you this should be my job,” he whispered as he slipped his hand into my pants.
Josh caught the moan that slipped past my lips in a punishing kiss as his skilled fingers circled my clit, sending brilliant white light exploding behind my eyes. The man had hardly touched me and I could already feel the orgasm building within me. He brushed across the sensitive bud of flesh once more and my knees threatened to give out. Josh wrapped his other arm around me, supporting my weight as he continued his ministrations.
“I’ve got you, my angel,” he said, his breath hot against my face. “Let me take care of you. Let me give you what you need.”
“I’m no angel,” I managed to reply. Or at least I thought I’d replied. I wasn’t even sure I knew my own name.
He dipped a finger inside me and I whimpered, biting my bottom lip to keep from crying out as he pumped it in and out of me in painfully slow strokes. “You’re my angel,” Josh whispered. “You’ve saved me more times than I can count. And now we’ll burn together.”
And then he added a second finger and my head rocked back against the wall, overcome with sensation. Sure, I hadn’t been with a man sexually since the “accident” my senior year, but I wasn’t entirely a saint either. A girl had needs—even if she was a murderous monster living through the end of the world. But never had anything I’d experienced on my own come remotely close to this. It was like every nerve ending in my body was on fire. I was climbing higher and higher until I was almost afraid to teeter over the edge. It was too much. Too powerful.
But Josh didn’t give me a choice. He ground the heel of his hand into my clit and I spiraled into the best orgasm of my whole goddammed life.
Josh’s mouth slammed into mine, silencing my cry as my entire body shook, wave after wave of ecstasy washing over me. Even then, his fingers continued to pump in and out of me, wringing out every drop of pleasure as I pulsed around him.
Finally, he pulled his hand free, resting his forehead against mine.
“You’re hired,” I said once I found my voice. If he wanted the job of pleasing me, by all means, it was his. I was his. “Better than any vision.”
Before he could respond—or I could return the favor—a knock on the door had Josh jumping away from me. I scrambled to right my clothing as best I could as Josh made a dash for the window, slipping into the night as if he’d never been there at all. Only he had been there, and I was still feeling the effects of his presence as Lindsay cracked the door open and popped her head in.
“I have your dinner,” she said before entering the room, tray in hand.
“Thanks,” I mumbled from where I still leaned against the far wall, not trusting my legs to carry me across the room. I watched as she set the tray down and shut the door, hoping to God she didn’t plan on staying to eat with me tonight, despite the fact that the tray held its usual two plates of food. Shit.
Lindsay turned on me, face serious. “Okay, spill.”
I sank farther into the wall, wishing it would swallow me whole. “Excuse me?”
“I know about the kiss,” she said, sitting on the foot of my bed. “I want details. You owe me after taking off on me earlier.”
“W-what?” I felt the blood rush from of my face. Had she heard us? Was she going to tell Baldric? The Chosen in me started thinking of all the ways I could kill her and make it look like an accident, like choking on a well-placed fishbone.
“Yeah,” she drawled. “Your kiss with the king. Word travels fast around this joint. You’ll learn quick enough that there’s really no secrets here. Everyone knows everything.”
Oh, there were some things people didn’t know, and I was going to keep it that way.
“Oh, that,” I said, relief washing over me.
She scoffed. “Yeah, that. How was it?”
“It was nothing,” I told her, eyes falling to the now closed window. “It was just to piss off Alec.”
Lindsay snorted. “Yeah, right,” she said. “I can smell how turned on you are from here.”
I inwardly groaned. Damn shift noses. I hated that they were stronger than ours. It made hiding some things impossible. I couldn’t let Lindsay connect those same dots between Josh and me. She was too loyal to her precious king.
And her king wanted me for himself.
I flashed her a coy smile, braving the walk across the room to my bed. “I don’t kiss and tell. And I’m not feeling all that hungry tonight. I think I just want to take a bath and be alone for a while before bed.”
“I bet you do,” she purred. “Shall I have the king come and…assist you?”
“No,” I was too quick to say and Lindsay’s eyebrows hiked into her hairline. “I just mean, it’s been a long day and it’s just…” I searched for the right words. “I have a lot to process, you know?”
She chewed on her bottom lip a moment before standing. “Okay, I get it. Are you sure you don’t want me to leave the food for after your bath?”
I shook my head. “No, give it to someone else who needs it.” What I was hungry for didn’t come on a plate.
“All right. I’ll send someone in to draw a bath.” Lindsay picked up the tray and headed back toward the door. Before she left, she turned back to me. “Don’t worry about Alec. Baldric won’t let him take you. He’ll keep you safe.”
It wasn’t Alec I was worried about.
I wasn’t sure how long I’d spent staring at the closed window in my room before I gave up on getting any sleep. I knew Josh wouldn’t be foolish enough to come back. He’d already risked plenty by coming the first time. That still didn’t stop my eyes from darting to the glass with each brush of wind against the pane.
Sighing, I slipped out of bed, dragging one of the blankets with me. I wrapped it around my shoulders before padding over to the door. I cracked it open, surprised to be greeted with not one, but five of Baldric’s guards. Josh being one of them. Baldric wasn’t kiddi
ng when he said he’d make sure I was heavily guarded for the night.
“Are you all right, my lady?” one of the five who clearly hadn’t gotten the memo about my dislike for formalities said. I thought I saw Josh smirk in the shadows.
“Zoe will do just fine,” I told the vamp—at least, I assumed he was a vamp based on the slight metallic tinge to his scent. “I was just hoping to go to the library for a while. I can’t sleep.”
“We were told not to let you leave your chambers for the night,” Olive said, the only woman among the five guards.
“Well, what’s the difference between guarding me in this room versus guarding me in the library?”
The five of them exchanged a look and I suppressed a grin. Logic really had a way of screwing with people’s heads.
“Fine,” Josh finally said and Olive shot him a look.
“We have our orders,” she bit out.
“She’ll be just as safe within the library as she is here,” Josh said. “What’s the harm? If the king is angry, I’ll take the fall.”
The female vampire lifted her chin as she studied Josh. Her eyes slid to me, narrowing slightly. “After you,” she told me.
I woke curled up in an oversized chair in the library, the blanket from my room draped over me and a book still clutched in my hand.
“Had trouble sleeping?” a deep voice asked and I leapt from the chair, reaching for a sword that I no longer possessed. God, I missed the weight of steel on my side—in my hand. I’d gotten so used to always having a blade on me that I felt naked without one.
Baldric stood in the doorway of the library, his muscular frame filling most of the space. His face was serious but there was a glint in his eye and the hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
“I told you to stay in your room for the remainder of the evening, did I not?”
I ran a hand through my disheveled hair. “I don’t follow directions well. William should have informed you of that.”
