by Aubrey Ross
“I’m sorry.” He moved toward her slowly, his gaze holding hers, caressing hers with their ice-green beauty. “My approach was all wrong. You deserve more than demands and ultimatums.”
She took a step back. “Who the hell are you and what have you done with Seth?”
He smiled, a certain watchfulness seeping into his expression. “Your workmen will resume their tasks tomorrow morning, and your orders will be filled at a discount.” She narrowed her gaze and his smile spread. “I’m not trying to buy you. Let me apologize.”
“I’m more than happy to end our power struggle, but this doesn’t change the crux of the issue. I have a life here. I have friends, and I’ve poured my heart and soul into this club. I really want to see it succeed.”
“Can we sit down? This still feels adversarial.”
She motioned toward her makeshift office in the back corner of the room. “I’d offer you a drink, but all I have is coffee, and I know you don’t like it.”
“I’m fine. I just want to talk.”
They sat at the table, and Tess tried not to think about how much she wanted to touch him, to assure herself this was real. “How long has your family known you were alive?”
“Two years.” The admission came after a long pause.
“Then why…” She was too angry, too hurt, to put her thoughts into words. His mother had never approved of her, but his sister had been sympathetic. Why hadn’t someone bothered to notify her that Seth was still alive? Why hadn’t he? All she could do was glare at him with accusation in her eyes.
“Even after I escaped, the war still raged. I knew there was a very real possibility I wouldn’t survive. You had already mourned my death once. I didn’t want to put you through it again.”
He’d been protecting her. The logical side of her brain accepted the explanation, but her emotions still blazed. He’d deceived her, ignored her, then turned her world upside down.
How could she abandon all she was and all she wanted to be in exchange for marriage to a prince? He offered wealth and privilege beyond imagining, yet she would become a member of the royal family, bound by all the rules and expectations that entailed.
“I’m not sure I want the sort of life attached to you anymore. I’ve learned to appreciate freedom.”
“I’m a third son, Tess.” He reached across the table and took her hand. “We can have whatever sort of life we want. We can live right here if that will make you happy. Open your club. We’ll work together until it’s a smashing success. We can do whatever we want. You’re focused on details when the question is really simple. Do you want to build a future with me?”
She looked at their joined hands, unable to think with his gaze beseeching her. “I don’t know. I was fond of a young man I met one summer when I was just a girl.” Reinforcing her determination with a deep breath, she looked into his eyes. “We don’t know each other anymore.”
“Are you willing to get to know me again?”
“This isn’t fair.” She slipped her hand out of his. “How long will you remain patient? I was at court long enough to understand how it works. Every woman that caught your father’s eye was brought to his bed with or without her permission. Worse still, your mother accepted it as part of a sovereign’s right.”
“In Protina it’s an honor to give pleasure to your king. My father never took a woman against her will, and my mother had nearly as many lovers as my father.” He paused. “Still, I’m not my father.”
“You want me to believe you would remain faithful to me for the rest of your life?”
“Monogamy is a human concept. I won’t pretend to be something I’m not. A wife is honored and cherished above all others.”
“But there would be others.”
It wasn’t a question, and he didn’t reply as if it were. “Tell me about last night.”
She suppressed her gasp, but a guilty flush spread across her face. “What are you talking about?”
“Victor said you were attacked, but he neatly danced around the details. I want to know what happened.”
His Royal Highness had returned. She sighed. That didn’t take long. “If monogamy is a human concept, why the hell do you care? Something or someone was using me like a puppet. What took place was… beyond my control. That’s all that matters.”
“Compulsions are a vampire’s favorite trick.”
“It wasn’t Victor. This thing was in my head, not just messing with it.”
“Were you harmed in any way?” He stood and rounded the table, pulling her to her feet. “One of my guards is also a healer. Would you like him to examine you?”
“I’m fine.” He stood in front of her, easily within reach. Victor was right; she was an elemental person. She trusted her instincts, her intuition. If there was no chemistry between her and Seth, there was no reason to take this any further. She found him physically appealing, but that would never be enough for her.
As if sensing her train of thought, he cupped her chin and tilted her head back. His lips brushed over hers, warm and gentle.
I’ve wanted you since you were sixteen, he whispered in her mind. Thoughts of you gave me a reason to fight during my captivity.
He deepened the kiss, pressing her against his chest as his arms wrapped around her. She reached back and buried her fingers in his silky hair. Their breaths mingled first, then their tongues touched almost tentatively before they curled and stroked.
Suddenly he stiffened. His arms tightened then released, and he stepped back. His gaze gleamed with silver light, frosted over by mystic sight. She’d known he was clairvoyant, but she’d never witnessed a psychic trance. He remained motionless for what seemed like hours then the silver haze dissipated.
He swayed and she caught his upper arm, helping steady him. “I need to rest,” he muttered, twisting out of her grasp.
“Wait. What did you see? Why are you angry?”
He didn’t look back as he left the club.
Chapter Four
Seth folded his arm across his eyes, trying to decipher the vision with as much objectivity as possible. His visions were always confusing, but this one had been a disorienting meld of impressions and images, undoubtedly tainted by his reaction to each.
He lay on the bed in his hotel room, the curtains drawn against the flickering lights. Silence. Focus. He needed each if he hoped to unravel the meaning of what he’d seen.
Darkness caressed him as he summoned the clearest image to the forefront of his memory. Tess lying naked on a leather sofa, her legs sprawled as that wretched vampire ate her pussy. He could almost taste her cream and feel the softness of her pink flesh. But it was Victor who licked her, Victor’s tongue pushing into her core.
Jealousy blazed through him, threatening his concentration. So, they were lovers. He’d suspected as much all along. She was a mature woman in the prime of life, and he’d always sensed her passionate nature.
Once she’d believed him dead, it was only logical that she’d move on with her life. She’d been little more than a child when he knew her. So why did reality sting so badly?
He tried to dispel the image, to summon another aspect of his vision. The perspective shifted, closing in on her face. Her delicate features were contorted with the most disturbing combination of lust, fury, and shame. This wasn’t passion. Had Victor… no, the entity. This was how her behavior had changed. Seth understood why Victor avoided the specifics, but the detail was important to the investigation.
As his brain registered the true significance of the image, his gift allowed him to access the next image. Another sex scene. He tensed. Tess straddled Victor’s hips, eagerly riding his cock. She gasped and arched her back, taking him deeper. This was certainly not coerced.
Suddenly the vampire rolled, taking her with him. He rocked back on his knees and pulled her hips up to meet his downward thrusts. Seth fought the image, hating the burning fury consuming his soul. Anger was such a useless emotion.
The image shifted
slightly, and Seth watched himself climb onto the bed beside the fucking couple. He bent and kissed her mouth as Victor continued to fill her core. She kept her arms raised above her head, utterly surrendered, lost in the pleasure they unleashed within her.
Seth caressed her breasts, squeezing her nipples until she gasped into his mouth. His hand slid lower, easing between her body and Victor’s, feeling her slick flesh stretch around the vampire’s shaft.
Slow spreading heat passed through Seth’s body. He touched them both, pressing the side of his hand against her clit while Victor slid between his fingers. With a feral growl, Victor grabbed him by the hair and dragged his face up for a devastating kiss.
He allowed male pleasure servants to ease his needs from time to time, but it was nothing like this. Victor’s mouth was harsh and demanding, his tongue bold and thorough.
This was the memory of a vision. Why were the sensations still so vivid?
“I want to watch her suck your cock while I fuck her sweet pussy.” Crude. Explicit. So very vampire. Yet Seth found Victor’s words thrilling.
His gaze met hers and she smiled, her lips flushed and parted. Victor’s movements jostled her breasts and Seth couldn’t resist any longer. He arched over her face and guided his cock toward her waiting mouth.
No! I will not share my mate with a vampire!
“If you don’t, she will die.”
Seth turned his head toward the familiar voice, but the room was pitch black. “I told you to leave me alone.”
“Your protection is my purpose in life,” William reminded him. “What kind of guard would I be if I listened to you?”
“Monitoring my thoughts is just plain rude.” Seth sat up and scooted back against the padded headboard. William turned on a light. He sat in an armchair near the door, legs crossed at the ankles. His weathered features were stern, yet compassionate. Seth trusted him implicitly. “Why did you say that with such conviction?”
“I dreamed of her last night.” William’s gifts were vast and varied, which was why he’d been chosen to serve the royal family three centuries before. “Your future is bound to hers, but hers is bound to the vampire. All three of you must accept the dynamic, or she will not survive the conflict to come.”
“What dynamic? Do you sense a temporary sexual alliance while we battle this entity or something more substantial?” William seldom volunteered his opinions, so when he did, Seth listened.
“Both of you want this woman. That will not be enough. This must be a true melding of three souls, or all is lost.”
An echo of the excitement he’d felt in the vision zinged through his body. He was a dominant as was the vampire. How would this ever work? Rather than voice his concerns, he asked, “You’re certain the creature will attack again?”
“That was unclear. I couldn’t tell if the creature was attacking you three, or if you three had gone on the offensive, but there will definitely be another altercation.”
“What else can you tell me about the entity?”
“It’s ancient and far from home. It has attached itself to someone who enables it to remain here. Destroy this person and you will destroy the entity.”
* * *
“Emit Duarte,” Victor spat out the name, unable to expel the taint fast enough. “I should have known he was involved somehow.”
“The being we encountered was powerful, wily, and connected to that worthless bastard.” Anthony obviously shared Victor’s dislike for their longtime enemy. “Unfortunately, I can tell you little more than that.”
“Could there be more than one?” The possibility set Victor in motion. He paced the drawing room in their family’s manor house. The Zoltan estate was secluded in the mountains of Montana. Victor had teleported in, hoping to speak with his father. Darius had departed for Europe the night before, but Victor found his older brother recently returned from his adventure in Scotland.
“Anything is possible,” Anthony said, “but what you described is too similar to what we experienced. I’d lay odds that it’s the same being.”
“It will be easier to find Emit than to find a creature without a body.”
“That goes without saying.”
“So what’s being done to find Emit?”
“He’s not in any of his usual haunts. Father dispatched scouts before he left yesterday. If something doesn’t turn up soon, I’ll start smacking heads together.” Anthony paused, his expression turning thoughtful. “Father hoped hostilities would lessen after Edmond’s death.”
“If someone killed our father, would we slink away into the shadows?”
“We’re not Duartes.”
“Thank the Gods.”
“I presume you didn’t leave Tess unprotected,” Anthony said.
Victor shot him an impatient look. “You know me better than that. Rick Cameron is shadowing her, and others are not far away.”
“Why aren’t you with her? Once I touched Monique, I could hardly think of anything else.”
“Things have gotten complicated.”
With a warm chuckle, Anthony crossed his legs. The leather chair creaked as his weight shifted. “Complicated is what we do best. Is Tess not receptive to you? Father’s instincts were dead on with Monique.”
“Monique is a vampire. She understands how things work. Tess might as well be human. I’m not sure how she’ll react to my dark nature.”
“Do you find her attractive?”
“Unbearably. That’s not the problem.” He heaved a frustrated sigh. “She’s betrothed to a Protinese prince.”
“And you’re an organic vampire, descended from one of the oldest bloodlines in existence. Don’t sound so defeated. Do you sense a connection with her?”
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t usually kiss and tell, but I think this is important. The creature we encountered moved effortlessly from mind to mind. It attacked each of us in turn and we were powerless to resist its effects. When it turned on Jacob, the only way we were able to expel it was to bring him into our soul bond. By combining our abilities, we were able to accomplish what none of us could have done on our own.”
Victor glared at his brother. “Surely you’re not suggesting I share my mate with an Elf.”
Something in his tone made Anthony laugh. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m telling you what happened to me.”
Anthony’s descriptions made Victor all the more anxious to return to Las Vegas. If fucking an Elf is what it would take to keep Tess safe, then so be it. The sexual bond they’d triggered the night before was weaving, expanding, intensifying his connection to her, and his hunger for her.
He’d promised Seth one night to catch up in their twisted competition, so the report that the prince was alone in his suite came as a shock. Rather than break his word, he decided to confront his rival and find out why he was squandering precious time.
The same overdressed valet ushered him into the main room of the suite then disappeared into the adjoining bedroom. Seth emerged a short time later, dressed much as he had when they first met. “What are you doing here?” the prince asked bluntly.
“I don’t want Tess left alone. I thought I made that clear. Either you’re with her or I am, period.”
“Don’t you trust your men?”
The insolence in Seth’s tone brought Victor closer to losing control. He needed Tess, and he needed to feed. “That’s not the point. We made an agreement. If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll --”
“How much do you know about the Protinese?” Seth swept his arm toward the furniture arranged at their side.
Victor reluctantly sat in one of the chairs while Seth faced him on the matching loveseat. “I’ve never bothered to keep track of all the Elfin tribes. How many vampire clans can you name?”
“Is everything a competition with you?” Seth snapped.
“Why aren’t you with Tess?” Victor reinforced the question with a glare.
“My people -- my family in par
ticular -- move strongly in the gift of foresight.”
“Fascinating.”
“I had a vision about you.”
“Let me guess,” Victor said with a sneer. “I was brokenhearted because Tess had chosen you.”
“Actually she decided to keep us both.”
The implication hung in the air as Victor’s mind filled with tantalizing images. Strong, pale limbs entwined with his as Tess writhed between them. “Did my brother put you up to this?”
“I’ve never met your brother.” Seth seemed genuinely confused. “Why do you ask?”
“What exactly did your vision reveal?”
“The three of us in bed together.” He flashed a challenging grin. “We weren’t sleeping.”
This couldn’t be a coincidence. Victor hesitated for a moment. What did Seth gain by concocting such a tale, and how could he have guessed what Anthony had told him? “My brother and his mates were able to combat this creature, or one like it, by pooling their abilities. He suggested I consider combining forces with you rather than motivating Tess to choose between us.”
“And what are your thoughts on the matter?” Seth crossed his legs and met Victor’s gaze directly. His expression was guarded, but there was an awareness pulsing between them that had never been there before. That must have been one hell of a vision.
Victor studied the Elf. Seth was striking, exotic, obviously otherworldly. It was easy to see why Tess would be tempted by the prince, but would he find Seth’s taste arousing, would he crave his touch and ache to be near him? Already Victor’s cock was hardening in anticipation of a new adventure. Still, if all he felt for Seth was a mutual need for Tess, it would be foolish to bind their souls together.
“How would your family react to such an alliance?” Victor asked.
One of Seth’s pale eyebrows arched. “You’re considering it? I honestly didn’t think we’d get this far.”
“Tess is my mate. I can smell it on her, taste it in her cream. I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe and ultimately make her happy.”
