“Ma minette.” I caught the endings of a smile as she turned around. Damn not being able to read her mind. It was driving me crazy. “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing. Did you need something?”
The coldness in her tone had me pushing from the wall. I walked toward the closet as she continued scanning through the dresses.
“We need to talk. What happened—”
“Is done,” she said, cutting me off. “You made the decision you felt was best for you. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Not just for me,” I stressed. “For us.”
A smile reappeared, but not a nice one. “Right. I see how a higher title benefits me so much more than the one I carry already does.”
“It does benefit you. And it benefits me. Do you know how many queen and kings still live? None besides Aetas,” I growled. “That puts us above everyone. The title you carry is shared with a few, but you will be a queen now. No one can ever take that away from you. No one.”
Tessa’s head shook as she pulled out a deep red, silk gown. “I care not for titles, Marko. What I wanted was revenge. Although …” she trailed off, something flashing over her features before she walked passed.
“Although, what? Revenge can still come. I took that into account when I made my request. Hunter can still die.”
Her head shook as she dropped her robe. “I’ve changed my mind for the time being.”
“What?” I walked to put myself in front of her. “What do you mean, you’ve changed your mind? Hunter is going to die, Tessa. He has to for everything he’s done.”
“Enough. The time has come and gone. He lives and he will continue to.”
My hand locked around her throat, drawing her to me. The red dress caught on her hip before pooling on the floor. “You forget who you’re talking to, ma minette. I say when it is time to end a conversation. Never you. Not here” I said, tightening my hold.
“You think you can stop me,” she said, switching to French. “Let me see you try.”
We’d done this before. The fight was real and one we both relished in. No gifts. Pure force—and hardcore fucking to end it off.
My fingers tightened on her throat as I slammed her onto the bed, throwing my weight on top of her. I could barely settle before her thighs locked around my waist and she used my momentum to flip us to where she was on top. Her claws sliced deep into my cheek and the pain left my vampire surging to the forefront.
“Oh, you did it now.” I threw my weight to the side, rolling us, again, as I grabbed to pin her arms down. No matter how strong Tessa was, she was no match for me. Her shoulders thrashed back and forth and I pulled her wrists higher above her head to lock in one of mine. “Apologize.”
“I will not. You deserved more for your betrayal.”
I growled, using my free hand to grip her face so she’d have to look at me. Blood dripped just to the side of us from my wound, but I had no intention of making it stop. Tessa would be covered in me before this was over with.
“Apologize.”
She made sounds as she fought harder. I reached down cupping her breast and pushing my fingers into the flesh. As my thumb brushed against her nipple, her breaths turned heavier.
Leisurely, I worked my way in until I was rolling the hard nub between my fingers. When she still didn’t speak, I pinched, drawing out a cry from her.
“Say the words, ma minette. I did this for us whether you see it or not. You will always be higher ranking than Hunter. You will rule,” I said, dropping my voice.
“Will I? Or will you, King Marko Delacroix?”
My teeth clenched and my lips brutally crushed into hers. I didn’t want to know what she meant by that. I didn’t want to reach within the depths of my mind and flirt with my own longing need to take my place on the throne. That was over. I wouldn’t think of it. I couldn’t.
“Say it,” I said, breaking away. “Last chance.”
The second of silence was enough. I flipped her over, bringing my hand down hard over her ass.
“Say it!”
“More.”
Whack! “I do this for you.” Whack! “Can’t you see that?” Whack! “It’s all for you. Whack! “Everything.” Whack! “For.” Whack! “You!”
Sobs exploded from Tessa and I blinked past the sudden anger that had nothing to do with my vampire.
Was this for her? Suddenly, I wasn’t so sure anymore. There had been a moment when I decided…
“I love you,” I said, pulling her to her knees, positioning myself behind her. “You know I love you.”
“I know.” She sobbed again as I jerked at my belt and ripped my pants open. My cock was so hard. So fucking thick that it was aching worse than it had in months.
My fingers dipped down and I couldn’t contain the possessive rumble that left me. Tessa’s pussy was so wet. So swollen and ready for me. Heat enveloped my digits as I eased two inside of her channel. The way she stretched to fit me was almost too much for me to handle. How long had it been since we’d made love, fucked, anything? Shit, I couldn’t remember. Days, but too fucking many for me to care to think about.
Blood dripped along her back and I rubbed it over her skin as I deepened my fingers. Small moans were beginning to fill the room and I withdrew, letting her juices coat my mouth as I sucked her into me. Tenderness could come later. Her energy told me she needed the hardcore pounding of my cock just as much as I needed to give it.
“You’re going to apologize,” I said, rubbing my tip along her entrance. When I eased inside, I let her adjust just enough for me to surge forward. A cry echoed along the walls and I didn’t stop slamming into her.
My hands held to her hips, drawing her back, just in time for me to thrust into her roughly again.
“You love me. You know I do what is right by you, now tell me.”
Dark hair swayed and I grabbed it, jerking her head back as I buried myself inside of her and held still. The spanking had her pussy clenching around me like a vice.
“I …”
Whack!
“You’re what?”
“I’m…”
Whack!
“Sorry! I’m sorry. I should trust in your decisions. Even if I don’t understand the motives.”
Peace settled within and I pulled back, slowing my pace as I began to thrust again.
“You really should. What I do, I do for us.” Lie. The internal whisper was my own voice. No one else’s. I tried to push it away, but I couldn’t ignore the guilt that was beginning to surface in the pit of my stomach. I shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, I knew who I really was. Had I thought loving Tessa could change my make-up—my DNA? I’d always been afraid this part of me would return.
“Marko?” The passion in her voice had me letting go of her hair and pushing her to the mattress to lie on her stomach. I stayed inside of her, still fucking. Still taking what was mine.
“I love you.”
I whispered the words against her ear, wedging my hand under her hip to play with her clit. Within seconds, Tessa was shaking with spasms and rocking against me. With as built up as I was, I knew I couldn’t hold back anymore. My fangs shot down and I went for her neck, biting and pushing in my poison just in time to have another orgasm follow the first for her. The jerky movements beneath me had her pussy clenching and my own release was automatic. But it wouldn’t have been had it only been a second later. Something foreign, something different, hit me hard. My vampire grew defensive, sucking against her vein harder as I tried to detect what it was that was off.
“Marko, you’re hurting me.” The words were breathy, barely decipherable with the way my pulse was roaring in my ears. “Marko?”
Tessa’s top half of her body jerked, but I was already wrapping my arms around her, holding her still. Memories came, flashes of the last few weeks, but nothing that I could place as different.
“You’re hurting me!” The French broke through the foggy rage and I eased on her ne
ck, somehow managing to break away. “T'es un salaud. What were you thinking?” she asked in English.
“I’m a bastard? What the fuck is that in your blood?” I spun her over, pinning her underneath me as she tried to scramble away. “What is it?” Not what … who? I could feel the tinge of it being a vampire. “You tainted our bond by bringing in someone else? Whose blood did you drink? Who did you bite!” My hand locked around her throat, and for the first time since I’d found my love for Tessa, my vampire was overpowering it. Just like before her change, when she was my slave.
“You go too far,” she wheezed out, slamming her energy into me. The force sent me flying back, but I barely landed before I was already rushing back toward her. What I was going to do, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t get a chance to find out before I ran right into her shield. The impact only fed the anger.
“Whose? Who is it? Are you fucking them, too? Are you giving away what is supposed to be mine?”
My fist slammed into the invisible force and I moved back with it as it extended and Tessa climbed from the bed, reaching for her red dress. It only had me grabbing my jeans and putting them on angrily.
Without a word, she went to the restroom and slammed the door. The water turned on and the dismissal sent me over the edge. Heat seared into my being and for the first time, I put everything I had into destroying her protective barrier. The wall rippled and gave way the exact moment I heard her cry out.
And I was running again. Right for the bathroom door. It flew open at my push and I froze, feeling every emotion I harbored, vanish.
“Tessa? Oh my God, Tessa.”
I rushed to her unconscious body, falling to my knees and pulling her into my arms. Blood oozed from the large gash on her forehead, but it wasn’t the cut that was my concern.
“Jesus. Breathe, ma minette. Come on.”
My head lowered and I pressed my lips into hers, blowing oxygen into her. A loud crash in the distance barely registered as I slapped against her face and tried again.
“Breathe, Goddammit!”
More breaths.
A loud gasp filled the room and her eyes flew open, wide.
“I’m sorry. Please. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I only wanted in. I wanted …”
Fuck, I didn’t know what I would have done in my rage.
“You have to let go,” she groaned, trying to break free.
“No, I want to hold you. I’m sorry.”
“She said let go.”
The threatening tone had my eyes narrowing. I looked over my shoulder in time to see Aetas lay his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. I jerked the robe down from the hook and covered Tessa’s body.
“I don’t believe I heard a knock, nor did I invite you into my private chambers.”
Aetas pushed Hunter behind him, only to step closer. “When I experience pain from a vampire linked to me, I don’t need permission to enter. Now, move.”
“She’s my concubine,” I said, standing and lifting Tessa in my arms. “That overrules everything—rank, ties, bonds, links, royal blood. The princess is mine eternally. The day she said those vows was the day you no longer had authority over what happens behind closed doors. This is a private matter and it doesn’t concern you. Now leave so I can make sure she’s okay.”
“I’m fine. Just put me in bed.”
A tear escaped, regardless that she wasn’t outwardly crying. I’d hurt her, badly. Just how much, I wasn’t sure. She was still blocking me. Where she was mentally strong, my physical strength far outweighed hers. I never knew the extent until now. I’d never allowed myself to find out.
“I said leave.” I didn’t wait for them to obey before I pushed past them and headed for the bed. The moment I laid her down, her body jolted. “Talk to me, ma minette. Let me feel.”
“Marko?” The sob tore my heart to pieces. “I’m sorry. I was so mad at you.”
“No, shh. I know you were, but this isn’t your fault, it’s mine. Open yourself. I have to see how bad this is.”
My knees buckled as fiery agony shot through my insides like a firestorm. The core of my stomach was blistering to the point that I could barely stand. If I wouldn’t have been leaning on the bed, I would have collapsed.
“Oh, shit. Shit. Here.” I went to cut my wrist when Aetas threw me to the side.
“If it is your powers that hurt her, your blood will only intensify her pain.”
“I said this wasn’t your problem!”
Nearly black eyes shot to me and Aetas’ anger had me slowing in my advance. Plenty of times I had seen him mad, but not like this.
“One more word from you and I take back your title. One word.”
“I am not the ruler” Tessa said, reaching for Aetas’ hand. “I have failed.”
“Because you neglect to learn,” he said, calmly, turning his attention back to her. Such care was in his eyes as he looked at her. It had my stomach turning as he continued. “But I will teach you, and you will be stronger than any vampire to walk this earth, besides myself. I promise you that.”
My eyebrows drew in, and my gaze went to Hunter, who was limping to the other side of the bed. He was in pain, too, but where I clutched to my stomach, he was favoring his right leg. Aetas and his damn lessons.
“How does this feel? Is the heat cooling?”
“Yes. Thank you, Master. It’s a lot better.”
Tessa sniffled, placing her hand on top of our leaders that was hovering just over her midsection. He turned his palm over, squeezing her fingers.
“I’m glad I could help, but you were right, Princess. Just as I was when I told you before. You’re not physically ready. Especially now that Marko has weakened you. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you continue to rule. With the others coming, we both know it would not be in your best interest. Yes, Marko may be by your side, but we both know a ruler cannot depend on others. They have to be able to save themselves.”
Tessa gave a stiff nod, turning her head away from me as another tear escaped.
“What do you mean, I weakened her?”
I swallowed hard, trembling through the overwhelming fear and sickness that swarmed me.
“Come.” Aetas waved me over, nearly crushing my wrist as he grabbed on and jerked me to her side. The need to fight against his hold was there, but he was already putting my palm over her stomach. “Become in tune with the princess. Feel.”
The pain in my stomach returned to a dull burn, but that wasn’t what had my breath hitching. There was a something within the layers of pain. A hollowness that I couldn’t quite understand.
“She’s damaged, Marko. Her shield may have been up, but she wasn’t protecting herself or prepared for such a savage attack. Your power went beyond the physical force she was casting. You hit the source—where her powers come from. And you did so to an extent that she might possibly forever be weakened. I’m not saying that over time she still won’t be more powerful than you or anyone else, but we’ll never know how strong she could have been.”
“No,” I said under my breath. “Tessa?”
She was still facing away from me, and still open. I could feel her pain. The betrayal she harbored left the nausea I was experiencing even worse. What was I doing? She’d done nothing but try to be fair to everyone and rule as one should, yet, here I was, hurting her at almost every opportunity.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Had I known, I would have never …”
“But you did,” Aetas cut in, flinging my hand over to the side. “Did you do it on purpose? Does your greed run so deep?
“Stop it,” Tessa shouted, facing us. “He did not mean to hurt me like that. What’s done is done. All of it. Marko will rule. I will heal. And then I will restart my lessons.”
My eyes widened as I looked down at her. “You’re leaving? You’re going back with Aetas?”
Emotions, pain, it all vanished, leaving me cold and alone in its departure as Tessa closed herself off. Light green eyes met mine, clouded wi
th more tears. But they didn’t fall. She held them in as she nodded. “This is for the best. Some time apart would do us good.”
“But …” My head shook, confused. “I know an apology doesn’t fix what I’ve done, but to leave? Tessa, think about this. Remember how it was before when you were with Aetas. Don’t leave me. I can make you better. I can help you heal.”
Something flickered behind her eyes as she stared up at me. What it was, I wasn’t sure. But I felt she knew something she wasn’t telling me.
“This is for the best. You don’t understand right now, but I need you to trust in me. I love you, Marko. Never doubt that.”
Tessa’s words pushed into my head and the need to ask her whose blood she carried within our own was there, but I couldn’t do it. Tessa would never betray me. I knew that in my heart, so what were her reasons? What did she know that I didn’t?
Chapter 11
Tessa
“All rise!”
Seduction and lust swirled through the room at Aetas’ booming voice. Even for as loud and demanding as it was, the appeal sucked everyone in like a light in the midst of a dark dungeon. We all adored him, needed him as he pushed back the cloak from his shoulder and grabbed the crown. I was strong enough to know what I was feeling was an illusion he was casting upon us all, but I couldn’t stop the emotions, nonetheless.
“For the guests here tonight, for the members of this city—we gather here for the coronation of a new king. For the beginning of something that could be truly phenomenal. A new blood line. A new ancestral chart to go down in our history. Master Marko Delacroix’s powers have gone far beyond expectation. The gifts he holds makes him unique. His pairing with Princess Tessalyn Delacroix have been a good match to these powers. I’ve seen them. I’ve felt them. Since it’s been centuries since our last coronation, the laws have been updated accordingly in the best interests of the times.”
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