by Tessa Bailey
A muffled boom brought Elias’s head up.
Another one had him clutching at his chest. Her world had already narrowed itself down to him, but now it was nothing but a cocoon holding them both, connecting them through the sudden change. Something blossomed inside of her in that moment fossilized in time, the gravity of what the loud beating meant drawing an awed sob from her mouth.
“Roksana,” he heaved, a shudder wracking him. “My heart is beating.” Wonder and gratitude crossed his handsome face. “You are my mate.”
She should have been reeling. Screaming.
Or denying it, despite the obvious truth.
But she could only think back to the first time she’d met him in that Vegas casino, how fate seemed to be propelling them from one minute into the next with an invisible hand, and a voice whispered in the back of her mind human or vampire, you knew you were his mate.
Like a key turning in a lock, a sense of purpose fit into place inside of her and she could only follow instinct. Please him. Give this to him. With greedy hands, she reached down to grip his hard buttocks, hauling him back into motion. “Don’t stop, don’t stop…”
“Jesus, you’re my mate. That means I can come inside you, Roksana,” he gritted out, the rhythm of his hips turning frantic, jaw going slack. “Ah, baby, baby, first time I’ve come in years and you’re giving me such a tight place to put it.”
Oh she had an idea. Her own orgasm was hurtling closer, like a bus heading toward a collision with a wall. It was going to decimate her, but she couldn’t stop tilting her pelvis at just that perfect angle, so the trunk of his sex would grind on her clit. Couldn’t stop clenching and unclenching around him, swelling that male part of him until every inch of her was not only filled to capacity, but every erogenous zone was being exploited. “Faster, faster,” she sobbed, her fingernails digging into the flesh of his backside—and then, clouds broke in the sky of her arousal and the sun blared through, beaming her up into the wide, blue yonder. “Elias!”
“Roksana. Mine, finally. My mate.” He bore down one final time and heat melted throughout her femininity. And in her chest from watching Elias in the throes of immortal abandonment and masculine gratitude as his body released for the first time in years. His body jerked violently several times, his shoulder muscles flexed, the veins in his throat standing out, amber detonating in his eyes.
Wetness coated the point where their bodies joined, spreading down her inner thighs until finally Elias collapsed on top of her, the sound of his heartbeat dancing with hers.
“Holy hell, vampire,” she breathed shakily. “If it was possible for vampires to get a woman pregnant, we would be having triplets in nine months.”
Elias puffed a laugh and lifted his head, staring down at Roksana with so much affection, tears began to leak from her eyes. And they fell even faster when dread slowly bled into his expression.
What now?
She could almost hear him asking that same question.
Elias was her enemy. The man she was going to kill.
She was his one true mate. Now that he’d drunk from her…
He could only drink from her. Nothing and no one else could sustain him.
And she still didn’t know why he was there tonight. Were they in competition?
Roksana’s heart rebelled stubbornly, willing her to forget the past, forget his most recent deception and follow its dictates. To simply…be with him, despite him being a vampire and her being a slayer. As if that were realistic.
Tears clogged Roksana’s throat as she rolled from beneath a rapidly stiffening Elias and fixed her dress. She’d just slept with the enemy. The man who’d locked her in a room, rendering her helpless while draining the life from her best friends. And she hadn’t just slept with him, she’d given herself over to him completely, defenses gone.
“Roksana,” he said, a warning clear in his tone.
A warning for what? Not to freak out over her inexcusable betrayal?
Before she could ask, footsteps came from the direction of the staircase and the man of the house came into view, a gun extended in his hand. “If the two of you are finished, the game will resume now.”
There was a loud snap, followed by a bloodcurdling scream from the fae.
Roksana was only given the tiniest window to watch in wonder as the man’s arm bent at an unnatural angle, seemingly with no assistance, before Elias blocked her view. His back bristled in front of her, wrath evident in the pitch of his growl.
And then everything went up in flames.
Angry red fire ripped along the perimeter of the room, tearing in zigzags on the ceiling, bursting out of light sockets. Roksana had never been one to cower, but the explosion was so unexpected, instinct dropped her into a crouched position, arms wrapped around her ducked head. What the hell was happening?
Slowly, she lifted her eyes and peeked through Elias’s braced legs to find the man of the house trapped in an incredible blaze, his gun forgotten at the top of the staircase. His squeals rang out, his hands batting at the flames, but that only seemed to make the fire rage harder.
That’s when Roksana realized Elias hadn’t moved. He stood still as a statue, heat radiating from his back, thighs…all of him.
“You’re doing this,” she whispered, her voice swallowed up in the pandemonium.
Tucker appeared at the top of the stairs, giving the burning fae wide berth and taking in the scene in a sweeping glance. “Damn, son. You got fire powers?” He scratched at his chin. “Jonas is going to be jealous.”
Oh my God. Elias was protecting his mate.
A vampire’s powers were latent until his mate was threatened, at which point they made themselves known with a vengeance. The danger had caused his abilities to manifest and now…he was about to burn this enormous house down. While they were still inside.
More importantly, while the marriage decree was still inside.
Roksana ignored the ridiculous flutter of feminine pleasure and jumped to her feet, swaying a little bit over the loss of blood. Perhaps later, when no one was around, she would press a secret smile into her pillow—she’d induced a man to make fire—but right now, she had a job to do. “I’m going to go find some marshmallows and coat hangers,” she called, skirting past Elias, weaving through the enflamed fae and Tucker. Extremely aware of the need to hurry, she hopped onto the banister and slid down to the main floor, hitting the ground running and heading for the stairs leading down to the basement.
“Roksana,” Elias boomed, causing the overhead chandelier to shake, along with the floor. “You are not going anywhere without me.”
Her steps faltered on the marble floor, a dark, twisting yearning cropping up in her belly. Elias could no longer live without her. Was she really going to run away from him?
Yes.
Yes, because what was her other option?
Become her enemy’s permanent meal?
On the way down the stairs, her hand stole to her neck, noting the bite marks already seemed to be fading. Despite her self-recriminations over what she’d done, syrupy heat wound through her nervous system remembering the desperation in Elias’s bite. How needed she’d felt. How complete. How she’d never wanted it to end.
I shouldn’t have given in. Now I know.
Now she was aware of the deep mutual fulfillment. Would she ever stop needing it?
Needing him?
Ignoring the creeping desolation, Roksana paused at the bottom of the staircase, listening for voices. Surveying her surroundings and taking stock of potential challenges in her quest to retrieve the marriage decree. Fae Twin Number One still sat at the poker table, head in hands. Mourning his lost brother? Her fellow slayer and the other twin had been removed to God knew where. Tucker was upstairs with Elias—although not for long. They could move at the speed of light so she needed to be quick. Not to mention, the smell of smoke and ash was already reaching the basement. Get what you need and get out.
A too-casual humming noise
approached, tilting Roksana’s head.
Cosette approached.
An air of malice and grief and rage preceded her.
It appeared their friendship would be a short-lived one.
Gripping the top of the doorframe, Roksana swung into the basement feet-out, blocking the blow from an axe. The sharp edge took sliced off an inch of her sole.
Good thing she’d hung onto Elias’s credit card. She’d need a new pair of boots.
“Where is the man of the house?” shrieked the fairy, her eyes swimming with glittering crimson. “What have you done to him? To my home?”
The fairy levered the axe back and brought it down hard. Roksana remained in place as long as possible, before feinting left to dodge the blow, smashing a knee into the fairy’s nose. “Thanks for letting me borrow the dress,” Roksana said, delivering a savage elbow to the back of her opponent’s head, dropping her to the floor unconscious. “I’ll have it dry-cleaned.”
Not waiting so much as a beat, Roksana vaulted over the fairy’s slumped figure.
She snatched up the marriage decree from the center of the poker table and tucked it into the bodice of her dress, dashing back up the stairs two at a time. With the ceiling above fully engulfed in flames now, she sprinted through the luxurious foyer and threw open the front door.
It slammed shut, the hinges rattling violently.
Roksana whipped around and plastered her back against the door, her skin quivering with the awareness that Elias was right behind her. And he was, but this vampire was eminently more powerful than she’d ever seen him. Despite calling on every ounce of her common sense, she couldn’t help marveling over the amber fire illuminating his eyes, the rippling swell of his muscles, the possessiveness which was a presence unto itself…and knowing she was responsible.
A hot shudder cascaded down her spine, her body demanding she remain in his presence, but her mind compelled her to shake the door handle, attempting to free herself.
“The sun will be up soon,” she blurted. “You can’t follow me or you’ll die.”
“I will always follow you.”
Badump, badump, badump. Could she…hear his heart pounding? His heart. Lifting her chin, Roksana tried not to let him see how badly that resurgence of his past humanity made her want to weep and celebrate. “You have no choice but to follow me, da? I’m your mate.”
“I’d have followed you either way. I have always followed you and I always will.” He jabbed a finger in the air. “Do not pretend to think otherwise.”
“Please keep these sentiments to yourself,” she whispered, shaken. “True or not, they hinder my judgment.”
Elias’s nostrils flared. “They make you question if I’m still your enemy?”
“Nothing can question that,” she said hoarsely. “You didn’t even tell me you would be here tonight. No doubt you are working against me.”
“I’m sure it must seem that way,” he said carefully, scrutinizing her, visibly restraining himself from coming closer. “But do you believe it?”
“Yes,” she pushed through clenched teeth. Then softly, “I don’t know.”
Was that victory flaring in his eyes? “Give me your trust and hand me the decree, Roks. I don’t want to take it from you.”
Pain lanced her square in the stomach. One moment he made vows to follow her forever, the next he betrayed her. “You would sentence me to death at the hands of my mother, Elias?”
The very suggestion seemed to cause him pain. “Never.”
“Your actions tell me otherwise.” Horror of horrors, tears welled in her eyes, one of them rappelling down her cheek before she could swipe it away hastily with a wrist.
Elias made a choked noise. “No. No crying. Not you.”
“It’s the fumes from the fire.”
Visibly dazed by her display of emotion, Elias seemed to finally recall the house was going up in flames. Suddenly they were outside on the stoop, Elias’s arms encircling her waist. Every nerve ending in her body pushed to the places her softness made contact with his muscle, but she forced herself to shove him away. “Where is Tucker?”
On cue, a car pulled up at the curb, the horn tapping out “Shave and a Haircut…Two Bits.”
Tucker saluted them from the driver’s seat, but Elias never took his eyes off her.
“You have to go and find cover. It’s almost dawn.” He didn’t budge and unwanted urgency clawed the insides of her throat. “Please.”
“You beg me to hide from the sun,” he grated. “But you’re trying to leave me behind knowing I can no longer survive without your blood? Your body?”
Pressure weighed down so heavily on her chest, she couldn’t speak.
Elias eliminated her personal space, reaching up to cup her cheek, and she was powerless to do anything but lean in to his touch. “If it was just my safety in question, I wouldn’t stand in your way. But it’s yours, too, and I don’t fuck around with that.” He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “People and places might seem safe to you, baby. But they could be the most dangerous of all.”
Frustration twisted beneath her skin like thorns. “Why does everything have to be a riddle, temnota moya?” His eyelids drifted shut, so she couldn’t search for any recognition of the nickname. There would be none anyway. Why did she continue to hope? She didn’t know. She just needed to get out of there now or she would give in to the gravity between them and stay. Give in to the responsibility of being his mate, his source of life, and never leave his side. “If you let me go now,” she whispered, “I’ll forgive you.”
Elias went extremely still. “For what I did in Vegas?”
She closed her eyes. “Yes.”
“No. I don’t accept,” he roared, eyes glittering. “I don’t deserve it.”
Roksana bashed at his chest with her fists. “There is nothing else I can offer you.”
He gripped her elbows, holding her still. “Marry me.”
Inside the house, a beam fell and shook the foundation. “Are you fucking crazy?”
“Not to rush anyone, but we’ve got about eight minutes until sunrise,” Tucker called through the rolled down passenger window. “And not for nothing, but the neighbors are bound to notice the house on fire.”
Elias didn’t even flinch. “Agree to marry me and I’ll give you a head start back to New York.”
“How do you know I’m going to New—” She ripped her arms out of his hold. “Oh, never mind. Go get in the car or you’re going to burn, damn you.”
“Your concern is a good sign. Say yes and I’ll go.”
This was complete insanity. Could she really make this man her husband knowing she would eventually kill him? Then again, wasn’t a piece of paper a mere formality considering she was already his mate? Elias would consider Roksana his either way.
“Six minutes,” Tucker drawled through the window.
“Fine, vampire! I’ll marry you.” Roksana shouted over her shoulder, already storming down the stairs, Elias hot on her heels. “It’s going to be my pleasure making you miserable.” She ripped open the car’s passenger side door, imploring Elias with her eyes to get in. “Do you care nothing for your own life?”
“Suddenly I’ve got a much stronger urge to survive,” Elias rasped, cradling the back of her head in his palm, winding her hair between his fingers and kissing her mouth possessively. There was a car door between their bodies, but she pressed against it anyway, seeking contact and felt him bump hard against it, too, pursuing a physical connection. Mouth open and hungry, his tongue speared into her mouth and licked it possessively, reminding her of the way he’d tasted her between the legs. How he’d looked, kneeling between her thighs. Dominant and prepared to serve, all at once. She whimpered and gave her tongue over, letting him possess it with a groaning stroke, before he pulled away. “Be safe until I can be with you again.”
A moment later, Elias was gone in a squeal of tires. In the approaching dawn, Roksana reeled in place on the curb, positive th
e last couple of hours had been a dream, until the sound of sirens pierced the quiet, reminding her to get moving.
Focus on the mission.
Not on the fact that someday soon, you’ll kill your own husband.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Coney Island, 2018
Elias leaned back against the headstone of a young mother, letting soil slide through his fingertips, the wind sifting it sideways. Like he’d done every night this week, he sat in the graveyard beneath the heavy moon and waited for a slayer to arrive, ready to hunt. Hoping it would be Roksana, while equally dreading the possibility.
Although his penance to Inessa had been served in Moscow, not New York, he knew damn well where slayers preferred to roam. To hunt. Where they searched for his kind, eager to snuff out their vile existence.
He awaited the battle just as eagerly, desperate to feel anything.
Desperate to be punished for his sins. His helplessness when she needed him.
After Roksana freed him from the prison beneath the facility, he’d felt like a fucking kid again, devoid of direction. Penniless. Feeling as if he didn’t know how to belong in the world. Like any dog, he’d been pulled in the direction of home. Not Los Angeles. No, he’d been called to the last place he felt normal. The last place that held good memories for him.
He’d gone back to Vegas.
It hadn’t been easy, figuring out how to travel safely now that sunlight could snuff him out. He’d used a stolen credit card to book travel to Vegas in an Internet café. It had taken several flights over the course of a week, stopping over in unfamiliar places so he could take cover from the light, before finally reaching Sin City once again.
