Fuck.
This is bad.
The sharp spike of fear is instantly swallowed by the pleasure of his bite. I orgasm hard, wrapping my legs around his waist in an attempt to get him closer, deeper. To make this wave last forever. He keeps fucking me in a borderline frenzy, his mouth latched onto my neck. My blood is flowing freely, too freely, but I can’t quite bring myself to care. Not when he’s so close.
His strokes lose their steady rhythm and he grinds into me as he comes. I hear shouts in the distance, but I don’t really care about that, either.
At least I don’t until Rylan lifts his head and snarls. The sound is beastly and far too deep to have come from his throat. In fact, he feels bigger all around right now, as if he’s put mass onto his muscled frame while I wasn’t paying attention.
He pumps into me almost leisurely, but his eyes—now fully silver—are on something outside of the bed. I start to turn my head, but stop when pain flares to life with a strength that makes me gasp.
That brings Rylan’s gaze back to me. His eyes drop to my neck and he licks his lips. Blood covers the lower half of his face. It covers everything. Him. Me. The bed. Too much blood, even for me.
“Rylan!” That’s Malachi’s bellow. Close enough to rattle my bones.
Rylan gives himself a shake. He’s moving strangely, as if not quite at home in his body. Slowly, so so slowly, he releases one of my wrists and uses a claw to cut his neck. His blood joins mine on his skin, but I can’t quite make my body obey my command to lift my head and drink.
Something akin to true fear flashes over his face. “Fuck.”
“Feed her, you idiot!” That’s Wolf. He sounds almost…worried.
Rylan carefully slides his hand under my head, his claws tangling in my hair, and lifts me as he lowers himself down. My lips touch his neck and fire lashes my tongue. Another swallow and I’m able to latch onto him. Not as well as he could with his superior teeth, but enough that I can drink freely from him. Each mouthful of blood chases away the cobwebs that had sprouted in my head. I swear I can actually feel my body knitting itself back together, muscle and veins and skin.
Gods, he really fucked me up.
He’s already hard inside me again, and he starts to withdraw, but I dig my heels into the small of his back. I manage to lift my head enough to say, “Just a little more.”
It might be my imagination, but Rylan makes a sound that’s filled with relief. “Consider it done.” His grip on my head goes gentle and he moves against me, in me, leisurely as I drink from him.
This time, when my orgasm comes, it’s softer and nearly sweet and Rylan follows me over the edge immediately. He eases out of me, but doesn’t move away entirely. I’m shaking. Or maybe he’s shaking. I can’t tell.
Malachi and Wolf descend on us. Malachi yanks Rylan off me, his big hand wrapped around the other vampire’s throat and murder on his face. I struggle to sit up, but Wolf is there, climbing behind me and pulling me between his legs to rest against his chest. He has a knife in one hand and presses the blade to his forearm with the other. “You need more.”
“Malachi.” My voice is hoarse. I’m not sure if it’s from fucking or damage done by Rylan’s bite, and I don’t care. “Get your hands off him.”
“He almost killed you.”
“Let him go.” My words ring with a foreign power, making my tongue feel like it’s sparking. It surges out from me in an arrow aimed right at Malachi.
He drops his hand as if burned. Rylan staggers back a step and slumps against the wall. He looks like shit. I feel like shit. Tomorrow, I’ll be worried about how close we got to the point of no return. I’ll torment myself with how to balance the bond so it doesn’t happen again. I’ll do a lot of things. Tomorrow. “Just leave.”
“Little dhampir.”
“Leave.”
He hesitates, clearly fighting the command. I’ll regret this tomorrow, too. I close my eyes so I don’t have to see him stalk out of the room, and I almost manage to contain my flinch at the way the door slams behind him.
Wolf shifts behind me and I open my eyes. “I’m angry at you, too.”
“Be angry later. You need this.”
I ignore his uncharacteristic seriousness and focus on Rylan. “Sit down before you fall down.”
“Is that an order?” It’s a token of how out of it he is that his question is barely tinged with frost instead of its normal iciness.
I slump back against Wolf despite my best efforts. Damn it, he’s right. I need more blood. I’m dizzy and everything feels like it’s too far away. “You want to collapse because of pride? Suit yourself.”
Wolf presses his forearm to my lips. “Drink.”
I do, greedy pulls of his blood into me. I don’t know if it’s because Wolf’s Bloodline controls power over blood or if I’m just feeling better already, but I can actually sense it healing me. I take two more pulls and then push his arm away. “That’s enough.”
“It’s not enough.” Wolf’s arms tense around me as if he’s considering restraining me, but he finally lets them drop.
I fight my way to the edge of the bed and stand on shaking legs. Even with Rylan and Wolf’s blood coursing through me, I’m not going to be okay for a bit. But I’m alive and walking around, so that’s more than enough.
I stagger to Rylan, stopping just out of reach. For the first time since it snapped into place, the bond is quiet. It won’t last; I know that now. I’m still going to appreciate the reprieve.
For his part, Rylan looks just as shell-shocked as I feel. His body has gone back to normal. Vampire teeth. Human hands, not a claw in sight. I hesitate. “Are you okay?”
His smile holds no mirth. “I should be asking you that question.” His gaze lingers on my neck. I don’t know him well enough to read his expression, but it looks almost tormented. “This fucking bond. I don’t lose control. Not like that.”
“I’m fine.” My gravely tone threatens to make a liar out of me. I gingerly touch my fingertips to the newly healed skin of my neck. “By tomorrow, there won’t be a mark.”
“Mina—”
I let my hand drop. I don’t want his apologies. I’m not certain that’s what he’s about to say, but I don’t give him a chance. “Come on. We need to clean up.” The bed is ruined. Blood soaks the entire mattress. Changing the sheets won’t help. I glance at Wolf. “Do you mind airing out the spare bedroom? I think we have some sheets left over from the last shopping trip.” They’re always on the list since we go through them so often. Blood is a hell of a stain to try to get out, but the real problem is that they keep getting torn up when our bedroom games get rough.
His pale gaze flicks between me and Rylan. Finally, he climbs off the bed and gives a theatrical bow. “As the lady commands.”
“It wasn’t a—” He’s gone before I can finish. I sigh. “It wasn’t a command.”
“Semantics.” Rylan still doesn’t sound like himself. The icy distance that I find strangely comforting is nowhere in evidence. He doesn’t even argue as I nudge him in the direction of the bathroom.
I’m weaving on my feet, exhaustion pulling at my body, but it feels important to do this. The why matters less than following my instincts in this situation, so I turn on the water, wait for it to heat up, and then give Rylan another nudge.
Again, he doesn’t argue. He simply steps into the shower. But he catches my hand and tows me in after him. Neither of us speak. He doesn’t comment on the way I scrub the blood off his chest and neck. I don’t make note how his leaning on me suggests that he’s nowhere near as okay as he said.
By the time we’re done, I can barely keep my eyes open.
Strangely enough, I’m not remotely surprised to find Wolf and Malachi waiting for us. Wolf wraps a towel around me and sweeps me off my feet, carrying me out of the room with quick strides.
Not quickly enough to avoid hearing Malachi’s low words to Rylan. “I told you so.”
Chapter 4
I wake to the sound of voices. The men are in the next room, talking softly. I roll onto my back and open my eyes, staring up into the darkness of the bedroom. It would be the easiest thing in the world to pull the covers over my head and ignore what happened last night. What it signifies. Even if we ran to the very ends of the earth opposite each other, the bond would eat away at us until…
Could it kill us?
I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but that was before it physically propelled me across the room to Rylan. Before it made him forget himself enough to partially shift.
I could let the vampires deal with this current mess. They’re all older and more powerful than I am. I’m a fool if I think I can stand on equal footing with them in the coming confrontation, bond or no. They will always be stronger, always be more powerful.
If I hide, I’ll remain a pawn for the rest of my life, however long or short that ends up being. Dhampirs live longer than humans, but they aren’t borderline immortal like full vampires. I have no idea what the seraph lifespan looks like.
The list of what I don’t know only seems to grow longer with time, instead of shorter.
I sit up and sigh. There’s no help for it. The easy way isn’t the right way, and I’ve fought too hard for anything resembling freedom to simply hand off all the decision-making process to others. They might be more powerful, but I’m the linchpin in this mess.
Another soundless sigh and I leave the warmth of the bed and pull on the nearest piece of clothing—one of Malachi’s shirts. He’s updated his wardrobe a bit since we left the house, but he still favors the shirts that look like they’d be perfectly at home on historical romance novel covers. I like them. A lot. I’m swimming in all the white fabric, his tobacco and clove scent nearly as comforting as when he wraps his arms around me.
I’m still angry about last night. It irritates me to no end that I want him to comfort me while I’m mad at him. I inhale again, letting the last of my reservations fall away. As tempting as it is to hide from reality, I know all too well the reality will burst through the door without an invitation. Better to deal with things head-on.
The men haven’t stopped talking, but with their superior senses, they all know I’m awake and moving around. I pad barefoot out of the spare bedroom, down the hall, and into the sitting room where they’ve got a fire going.
Rylan is standing by the window, the light of the early morning putting his features in stark contrast. He looks as tired as I feel, his cheekbones a little too gaunt on his handsome face. Wolf lounges on one of the chairs. He’s got his leg dangling over the arm like an indolent king waiting to be entertained. Malachi sits on the couch, his elbows braced on his thighs. All three look at me with varying degrees of wariness.
I stop short. “We need to talk about last night.”
Malachi holds out a hand, motioning for me to join him on the couch. I almost go to him through sheer habit, actually take a step in his direction, before the memories of last night crash over me again. How he looked like he was going to murder Rylan. How I magically compelled him to leave the room against his will.
I don’t know if it’s sleep still clouding my mind or if the situation is just becoming too stressful and I’m in danger of shattering. Right now, I need to be calm and collected; an impossible task when every breath feels like I’m drowning, drawing in water instead of the air I desperately need.
I drop into the free chair. Disappointment flashes over Malachi’s face, but it’s gone so fast, I’m half sure it’s a trick of the firelight. I draw my knees up and wrap my arms around my legs. “We’re in over our head. I can’t control the bond, and it’s putting you in danger.”
Wolf snorts. “None of us were the one bleeding out last night.”
Rylan flinches, a barely perceptible movement I only catch out of the corner of my eye. I ignore it. “That was my fault. Or, rather, the bond’s fault. It never would have gotten so out of control if the bond didn’t exist and hadn’t messed with our control.”
“It was Rylan’s fault.” Malachi’s body might appear relaxed, but he looks like he wants to shred something with his bare hands. “He knew there was risk involved with resisting the proximity the bond demands. He played with your life.”
“That’s enough.”
“He’s right.” The words sound dragged from Rylan. “I knew there was a risk.”
I finally look at him. Even now, with the bond mostly sated, I feel the urge to cross the room and press my mouth to his skin. I clear my throat. “I knew the bond was being affected by avoiding each other, too.”
“You couldn’t know what it meant.”
That’s about enough of that. I level a look at each of them in turn. “I am not a child who needs others to make the decisions for me or take responsibility for my actions. Maybe I didn’t know the parameters of the bond, but there hasn’t been a living seraph in three out of four of our lifetimes. None of us have experienced a seraph bond before. As a result, there will be mistakes.”
“He almost ripped out your throat.” Malachi’s staring at me like he wants to wrap me up and shove me into a cage. All in the name of safety, of course.
This isn’t an argument I’m going to win. It’s written across all their expressions. I didn’t expect this seriousness from Wolf, but he’s surprised me a lot lately. Or maybe his self-preservation is stronger than his wildness. No one knows for sure what happens if I die, but we’re all convinced it’s bad.
Better to change the subject and circle back when I have an argument that might actually make them hold still long enough to listen. “You were awfully tense when I came in here.”
Suddenly, they all find other things in the room to look at, avoiding my gaze. Alarm bells blaze through my head. “Have they found us again?”
“No. You’re safe.”
“Don’t lie to her, Malachi. She’s not safe. None of us are.” Rylan’s staring out the window as if seconds from stripping and shapeshifting into some animal so he can run as far and fast from this conversation as possible.
If my father’s people haven’t found us and it’s not about last night… What else could possibly go wrong now? I glance from one to the other, finally settling on Wolf. The other two can hold out indefinitely if they decide I need to be left in the dark. Wolf won’t. “Tell me.”
“I—”
“Wolf.”
Malachi’s sharp warning is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Wolf laughs and slouches further into the chair. “Nothing much, love. Just ways it might be possible to break the seraph bond without killing all of us in the process.”
The possibility leaves me breathless. I slump back into my chair, my legs suddenly boneless. “We can do that?”
“Probably not,” Rylan says darkly, still staring out the window. “If it could be done, more people would know about it.”
Wolf rolls his pale blue eyes. “As I was telling you, seraphim were all but legend to most people until this happened. Just because you’ve never heard of a way doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.”
Something almost like excitement flickers through me. “How do we do it?” If there’s a way to remove the bond, then my chance at freedom isn’t gone after all. “What do you know?”
“So eager to be free of us.” Wolf laughs again, a high, mad sound that raises the small hairs on the back of my neck. He drops his foot to the floor and straightens. “I know a guy.”
“You know a demon,” Malachi cuts in. His expression is carefully closed down, offering nothing at all.
I blink. Wait for someone to laugh and let me in on the joke. No one does. They’re all watching me with devastatingly serious expressions on their face.
Demons.
Demons exist.
I don’t know why I’m surprised. Seraphim are, at least according to a number of human religions, the holier counterparts to demons. Considering what my people have done to other supernatural creatures, maybe demons are cuddly do-gooders. I clear my throat, st
riving to sound like my world hasn’t shifted on its axis yet again. “Are demons trustworthy?”
Wolf gives another of those wild laughs. “They’re demons, love. Demon deals have the reputation they do for a reason. They’re an option of last resort, reserved for the desperate.”
“Ah.” I press my lips together. “Well, we’re desperate. How do we get a hold of a demon?”
Rylan frowns as if deciding to be present in the conversation for the first time since I walked into the room. “You’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious. I know you think I’m a monster who wants to put a leash on your cock, but I didn’t choose this bond any more than you three did. If it’s not in play, then I have a chance to actually be free.”
“Mina.” I hate how reserved Malachi sounds. He’s studying me with those dark, dark eyes. “Even if your father doesn’t know that you’re part seraph, he will hunt you until he’s dead or you are. He can’t afford to let you escape.”
Because if I can escape, supposedly powerless bastard dhampir that I am, then anyone can.
I know Malachi’s right, and I hate it. I take a slow breath. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. The bond has to take priority.”
Wolf is watching me, too. For once, the ever-present mocking amusement on his face is nowhere to be seen. “The cost is always high for demon deals.”
I don’t say that I’m willing to pay it. I can’t, not without knowing what it is. “I’m not prepared to rule out any option until we’ve fully explored it.”
Malachi looks like he wants to argue, but Wolf has already jumped to his feet. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Now?”
“No time like the present.” He strides out of the room without a backward look. Knowing what I do of the man, he might be intent on his destination…or he might get distracted and disappear for a few days, only to show back up having totally forgot his intentions. Wolf is as wild as his namesake, and ten times as unpredictable.
Heir: A Bloodline Vampires Novel Page 3
