“Wait, stop.” She wiggled more, kicking out her legs as she tried to separate us. I laughed under my breath, spinning her over to her back and biting into her brutally. Her body jolted in pain and she cried out, fighting harder. Venom oozed from my fangs and I doused her with the maximum amount I could release at one time. Something I’d never done with her before. I wasn’t in the mood for their rough play. I just wanted her my way.
Almost immediately her body softened. She wasn’t going wild with lust like only a normal amount would produce. No, she was floating now. In heaven and blissfully drugged on my power.
“How does that feel? Better?”
I worked the nightgown down from her arms, exposing her breasts as I pumped into her at a leisurely pace. Her head turned back and forth and her hand rose, only to fall back to the bed. As her eyes rolled, I lowered, cupping her breast while I moved my lips in next to her ear. “I think you’re beautiful when you’re high off of me. That feeling you’re experiencing right now, that’s the way I feel about you all the time. You’re everywhere within me. You take me over until I know nothing but you.”
A whimper left her lips and I paused. For someone who was supposed to be enjoying herself, she wasn’t giving me that impression.
“Relax. Feel me. You’re so fucking wet. When you come, you’re going to love it.”
Tessa’s mouth opened and she sucked in a deep breath. A moan slipped free and a grin came to my face. I gripped under knee, spreading her legs wider as I rotated my hips, thrusting.
“M-Mar—”
“Shh,” I said, pushing deep. “You’re thinking too much. You’ll ruin it. Be still and let me make love to you.”
Pleasure rushed through me while I took in her body. Everything about my queen was perfect. Everything.
Tessa’s head turned to the opposite side and her fist clenched. I grabbed her wrist as her arm swung out to the side. Small sounds were beginning to leave her and I went faster, knowing her body had to be reacting to the impending orgasm.
“Fuck. That’s it, love. Come all over my cock. I know you want to.”
The strain was evident in my tone as I watched her breasts sway at my force. Her nipples were so tight. I didn’t hesitate to reach forward and roll one of the hard tips between my fingers. The pressure I applied had her trying to move again. Her restrained hand pushed against mine, but with my weight being held up solely by that arm, I barely even felt her.
“You’re tightening around me. How does it feel? Is your heart racing? Is it the best feeling you’ve ever experienced?”
My excitement had me going faster. I let go of her hand, putting mine out to the sides of her as I let my cock slam into her. I was already getting so close and I knew her orgasm was going to set me off. It almost always did. This was still so new. So fucking good.
“O-off.”
“I’m about to get you off. Come.”
Tessa’s palm pressed against my chest, only to fall to her own. Her head was shaking again, getting quicker in the movements.
“No.”
The word was but a whisper, but I heard it perfectly clear. Anger rushed through me at her stubbornness and I went harder. “Come.”
“Mon Dieu.”
“Oh, God, indeed. Now let go, ma minette.”
Her screams filled the room before I could even finish talking.
Like someone had flipped a switch within her, Tessa’s eyes flew open and her body thrashed through the spasms. I could tell she was still weak as her fingers gripped into my biceps, but I was too wrapped up in my own release. Her pussy clenching around me made cum shoot from my cock without pause. I was lost again. Deaf to the French words that poured from her mouth like acid. They were angry, I knew that, but I couldn’t decipher what they meant. Not initially.
“I hate you. I hate you! You rape now, is that it? Get off!”
Her fists pounded into my chest. The impact was nothing. A brush against my muscle for all the damage she was trying to do.
“Rape? I don’t think your orgasm would accuse what I’ve done, rape. You loved it.”
She hit me again, this time harder. My drug was wearing off and so was my patience. Tears were close to spilling from her eyes and it pissed me off. How could she say I’d raped her after what we just shared?
“Off.”
“I. Will. Not.” My teeth ground together at the challenge in her eyes. “You say I rape you, perhaps I will show you the difference. That way next time you don’t get so confused.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she hissed.
“You doubt me?”
Her lids lowered in rage. “Do you love me?”
Silence stretched between us and I pushed from her body, too conflicted by my racing thoughts. I did love her. More than anything, but she’d hurt me by calling what we shared rape. All I wanted was for the sex to be the best she had ever had. Now this? I wasn’t used to the pain that came with this emotion.
“You ask me if I love you. What about you loving me? Does one accuse a person of such a crime when they have powerful feelings for them? Do you not love me? Is that it?”
Tessa crawled to the edge of the bed, forcing her legs over the side. Her body shook as she stood on wobbly legs. “You’re a fool to ask that question, Marko Delacroix. Would I be here if I didn’t?”
“Where else would you go? Maybe here is all you have left? And you seem to like headquarters.”
Dark hair swung over her shoulder as she spun to face me. One king size bed separated us, but it wasn’t going to keep either of us at a safe distance if this fight escalated.
“You think I want to be here? I want my city back. I want to go home. One that is gone because of you! Aetas wouldn’t have allowed for something like that to happen if he ran a city.” The last was said under her breath as she stumbled to grab her robe. Red flashed before my vision and I flew, scrambling over the bed as I tackled her down. In that moment, I was Marko, feeding from his hate of me as she hit the floor and I pinned her with my body. The room faded and so did my thoughts. Back and forth they came and went until I barely could recall what I was doing or saying.
“You dare compare me to him?” I gave her a good shake as I bared my fangs and surged back to her throat. I bit hard, raking my claws down her arms as she screamed and thrashed underneath me. The scent of blood perfumed the room, igniting the crazed vampire within me. I couldn’t think. I knew nothing but the crash of hatred and jealousy that was rocking my insides.
“Stop! Stop!”
Flesh shredded beneath our fighting limbs. The screams were getting louder, grating my ears as she kicked and hit at me. She was so slippery that it was hard for me to get a good grip, but I kept trying. Kept grabbing and trying to restrain her.
My poison left me again, leaving an ache behind so intense that I couldn’t help but jerk away from her neck. The crimson that met me as I slowly rose to my knees was enough to break through the evil haze. Tessa was covered in blood. Deep slices were opened revealing the damaged muscle below. I blinked hard, not believing what I was seeing. For seconds, I couldn’t move. She was unconscious from my venom … and still bleeding out.
“Jesus. Fuck.” A deep growl exploded through the room as my hands shot to my head. I was spinning. Falling into a place I’d never been before. Who was I? I didn’t know anymore. She said Aetas, as if I were her savior, but that wasn’t me. But I wasn’t Marko either. I was some creation I’d made by mixing our blood. A monster, in love with a woman who I felt couldn’t love me as much as I loved her. One who would come to hate me. Nothing I did was right. I couldn’t control myself in this form, but would I ever be able to again? I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t un-mix the blood. What was done was done.
My fingers locked in my hair as I tugged through the anxieties. All I could do was stare down fascinated and terrorized at Tessa’s mutilated body while she bled all over my floor. What was I going to do? How was I going to fix this?
Was there even a way to?
My eyes rose to the mirror as I took in Marko’s face—one I hated and loved. It was too soon to change back into me. My plan wasn’t nearly as far as I wanted, but how much longer would I have a choice before I lost my mind completely?
Chapter 28
Tessa
I awoke from the darkness, crying out through the sting that had jolted me awake. Grogginess made it hard to open my eyes, but somehow my lids stayed open long enough to see Marko’s hand drawing back, holding a bloody rag.
Memories filtered through and my head fell to the side as I let them sink in. Aetas was losing it. He was more unstable than ever. I couldn’t begin to know what was going through his mind, or even how to understand it. Had he always been this way and I never knew? Sure, he’d done some bad things to me over the time I had known him, but to go this far? Marko had been right. Love, it ruled him. But not as his true self, as a twisted version of Marko. Did he even consider himself Aetas anymore? I had hoped to test it by throwing in my jab, but I hadn’t expected that reaction. Quite the opposite.
“I never thought you’d hurt me like this. How could you?”
I sobbed for the separation of my men. For this hell I was living so they could be safe. I didn’t regret my decision. I’d stay as long as needed, but seeing the man I love act in a terrifying way wasn’t sitting right with my mind.
“I’m sorry isn’t good enough. I wasn’t thinking. I can’t think,” he said pained. “This blood in me, it’s ruining everything.”
I forced my eyes open to see him watching me as he lifted the rag out of the bowl and brought it back to my chest. Drops fell into the wounds and my body convulsed through the electrifying shock that brought agony.
“Why haven’t you healed me? I am too weak to do it myself.”
“My dear queen.” His lips twisted and I let out a cry as he patted over me. “Perhaps I do not want to heal you yet. I know I should, but I want to see what I’ve done for just a little longer.”
“See what you’ve done? You want me to be in pain while you soak in your mistake?”
The bite against his bottom lip eased as he moved more toward the side of my breast. “I think it’s beautiful.”
My mind went blank. Words, thoughts, everything was gone as I stared at him in horror.
“When I first saw you, I was disgusted with my actions. Shocked … but then came awe. I was afraid. I love you,” he said, moving his hand back to the bowl. “I love you so much that I don’t feel as though I can ever get enough of that feeling. And I want more. My need for you is insatiable. That’s why I licked all the blood from your right side first. I thought by tasting you, tasting what I had done, that it would help. It didn’t. I only wanted you more. But the only way to do that was to physically take you inside of me. That’s just ridiculous. I don’t want to eat you. Then I wouldn’t have you. Unless, of course, it was just a tiny part of you that could grow back and heal.” His eyes came back to me. “So I did it. I took the tiniest piece of your skin and I ate it. It wasn’t enough. I came to realize I’m never going to be sated. This power you have over me is forever torturing. Now I’m trying to decide if I suffer through it, or I kill you and be done with it once and for all. What will be better for me?”
My body jerked to the side as I gagged. Pain was crippling and I didn’t want to know how bad it was. To the bone … close … it had to be. But I wasn’t as weak as before. Each second that passed, his drug wore away and I was becoming the smallest amount stronger.
“You’re sick,” I managed, between heaves. “You need help.”
“Perhaps. But tell me what can be done? Tell me and I will listen because I don’t want to lose you. Not really. This is killing me,” he growled pulling me back to face him. “Don’t you see?”
Still, I couldn’t stop the constant gagging that kept coming at envisioning him eating my skin.
“Tell me!”
I jumped. Not at the anger or power of his voice, but at the how it combined with the look in his eyes. Rarely did I get frightened, but this Marko scared me. “Heal me and we will talk this out. We will find a way. I l-love you, and you’re scaring me.”
Marko’s face hardened and he glimpsed back down to my chest. After a few seconds his expression softened and he was pulling me into his arms. “I’m sorry, ma minette. I am. If you could feel this love, this force that exists in my heart because of you, you’d see how bad this is. You say you’re scared, but so am I. And I don’t fear anything. For the first time, I think I’m truly in trouble.”
His voice cracked and I lifted my shaking fingers to touch his cheek. “We’re going to make you better, I promise. I’m sorry for upsetting you. This was my fault. I did this.”
“Do you love me so much that you can so easily convince yourself of that lie?”
“We fight. It’s what we do. My love is still the same.”
Emptiness settled within as Marko’s arm rose and he savagely tore into his forearm with his fangs. The crazed look was still there, buried behind the sadness and confusion that he was battling. I knew I had to tread lightly if I was going to prevent something like this from happening again.
Blood poured onto my chest, soaking into the slices that were covering me. Pain was present, but so was the tingling that came along with healing. I braved a look up, taking in the dark circles beginning to appear under Marko’s eyes. God, I had to make sure my Marko was okay. If Aetas was showing these signs, how bad off was Marko?
“It’s me,” I whispered. “You need stronger blood than my own. Is there anyone you can feed from within headquarters?”
His eyes darted to mine. “I will not taint myself with anyone else’s blood. They’ll dilute yours.”
I paused, trying not to look as rocked as I felt. “Maybe just this once to see if it makes you better? I want us back to normal. I want you to love me again without being angry at me.”
“I don’t want anyone else’s blood, ma minette.”
My lips pressed together to stifle the scream that wanted to come. If I let my temper show I’d only upset him more. That could be fatal for me if he was already teasing the thought of killing me to ease his suffering.
“Alright.” My voice was calmer than I felt. I reached for his wrist, bring the cut to my mouth to lick over. The power of his blood was stronger than the night before. He and Marko together may have been an explosive combination, but the power wouldn’t mean anything if Aetas didn’t get better.
“I need you to help yourself. For me. For us. I know you don’t want to taint my blood. I understand,” I stressed. “I wouldn’t dream of tainting yours within me, either, but I’m afraid of losing you. I love you. Please consider trying to feed from someone else, if only just once to see.”
Marko pulled me into his arms, holding to the back of my head as he wrapped himself around me. Our bodies slid together from the massive amount of blood covering me, but I tried not to think about it. Or the fact that he’d eaten a part of me. Jesus. I was going to be sick, again.
The vibrations in my chest grew as I shut my eyes. My wounds weren’t closed yet, but they were in the process. I could continue to do this. I’d just make myself forget. I’d block it out. I had to. I didn’t want to remember this day. Ever.
“Hunter?”
I looked up, making sure this fake Marko hadn’t detected my internal communication with my bonded. He didn’t appear to. His eyes were still closed as he held me.
“Fuck, I’ve been so worried. How are you? I feel sick. My equilibrium has been off and I’ve been so tired. What the hell is going on there? Does Aetas know about Marko yet?”
I swallowed passed the nausea. “No. Not yet. Aetas isn’t well. How is Marko?”
“Sleeping. I’m driving.”
“Where are you going?”
Hunter paused. “North. We held up in an abandoned house until sunset. It’s bad out here, Tessa. The humans, they’re doing searches of every place they can, trying to weed us out. It’s a fucking war z
one up here. Army, National Guard, fucking every military force you can imagine is patrolling the streets. Our kind is in big trouble. I’m not sure we’re going to find many of us left.”
My heart thumped hard and Marko stirred above, brushing back my hair. “Shhh,” he breathed out.
“I will come to you soon. Hunter, don’t tell Marko, but Aetas is losing his mind. He … hurt me. Bad. While I was unconscious … he …” I couldn’t go any further, I wasn’t sure if I could even say it in my thoughts.
“He what?” A growl roared through and I took a deep breath. How could I have forgotten Hunter’s overprotective nature? I was talking to him as a friend, but he was so much more to me again. “Tell me, Tessa. What the fuck did he do to you?”
“He … ate a piece of my skin.”
“He fucking what?!”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I rushed out.
“I hate this. You’re coming back to us the moment we get settled somewhere. Fuck you staying there. No. Hell no. If you don’t come within the first few minutes that we stop, I’m coming to you. And it’s not going to be pretty, Tessa.”
I opened my lids, staring in a daze. Did I have a choice? Hunter would come. I knew he would. And staying was risky. But if I left, Aetas would surely come looking, himself, and he’d bring the enforcers with him. Did we stand a chance running from not only our kind, but the humans, too? I just didn’t know the best course of action to take.
“Let me see if I can make Aetas better. I’m trying to get him to feed from someone besides me. He doesn’t want to, but I might have luck. If that’s the case, he might become more stable.”
“And if he doesn’t? If he kills you or hurts you enough to incapacitate me? Marko is too weak to help anyone right now. He is the answer to this, Tessa. He’s the only one that stands a chance to save us. Don’t put everyone at risk trying to fix this yourself. Trying to help Aetas is like trying to tame a rabid dog. You just can’t do it.”
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