She continued down the hall and into the bar, taking a seat. Her eyes followed Alek.
Viv visibly shuddered when he gazed her way, sending an icy chill down her back.
The cat walked through the room and out the front door.
“Shit.” She’d looked forward to knowing the cat better.
“Are you prepared for what will happen if you cage that tiger?”
Viv knew very little about Case other than that he owned the Looking Glass. His long pale blond hair gave away the fact he was a white lion and the scent of fresh human blood coursing through his body told her something else—this cat was powerful. Case had no problem with his vampyre side and he had no problem breaking through her barriers to enter her mind.
“Case, we don’t know each other well enough for you to screw around in my head. Don’t do it again.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than the ferocious cry of a wild beast lanced through the club. The doors and walls were unable to hold out the sound of pain. Viv’s heart wrenched. Fear pounded through her veins, matching pace with her cold blood.
“Now do you understand why I asked?” Case made no pretense as he waved his hand, stealing the previous minute from the mind of every human in the room.
His power should have frightened her. Hanging with Law and Dace, Viv was well aware of the Sovereign Kind who sustained their lives with human blood. They became strong vampyres and, aided with the senses and abilities of their animal, they were deadly creatures to be reckoned with.
“Fuck you.” Viv stood and walked back the way she’d come to collect the brothers. “Let’s get out of here,” she snarled.
Viv and the brothers arrived at the royal mansion and rested on the balcony above the practice arena. Law and Dace regaled her with stories about their life in Europe while Viv told of her own rogue battles. It had been decided back at the club to wait until nightfall so she could travel with them to join the prince to help sort out whatever his quarrel was with his mate. Reign warriors were impervious to sunlight but the strong desert rays would harm the oldest of vampyres, even at sunset.
The Kind possessed all her ancestors’ traits. What made her people dislike and fear them was their ability to walk in daylight in the guise of their beast—or as the undead. No one understood exactly why the mixture of both bloods caused this phenomenon.
Alek had arrived before them and remained seated in a dark corner of the office. His emerald eyes bored into her. Somehow he’d managed to slip past her normal blocks and Viv had felt him a few times but she hadn’t been able to get in his head again. This trip to find the prince and his woman was not going to be an easy one. Not if Alek kept digging in her mind and glaring at her as if she’d done something unthinkable. Fucking cats. She should have stayed in Europe.
Law flashed from the seat and his head jerked toward Dace. “Goddamn it.” Viv turned in his direction. The amount of energy emanating from him meant he’d been in mental contact with the prince. “Phoenix is pissed.”
Viv knew the name well. The Siberian tiger was legend even among vampyres.
“For Chrissakes.” Dace’s teeth ground together, trapping a low growl.
“Seems we need to join our little brother sooner than expected,” Law said.
“What are you not telling us?” Viv rubbed up and down her arms as her body shuddered. Her eyes peered into the dark room to see Alek’s reaction. His eyes glowed red.
A shaft of lightning ripped through the silence. Fire lit on a practice form at the far end of the arena. The flames cast shadows around the walls as hurricane-force gusts blasted through the courtyard and blew up into the room with vengeance. Dust swirled through the study, followed by the strong scent of anger.
Shit. Now Viv understood everyone’s anxiety.
Phoenix wasn’t the devil but he probably knew him well.
Alek glared out at the small group on the balcony. “What Law didn’t tell you is that Phoenix will be traveling with us.”
* * * * *
Alek knew the instant the cat materialized in human form that he was going to take the brunt of his anger.
“You’re all jackasses.” Phoenix’s silver-gray hair billowed around his shoulders. He glared at Alek.
Fuck. He didn’t need this bullshit now.
“What in hell, Alek, you’re the leader.”
Alek felt all eyes on him. “I was stripped of the Reign leader title.”
“I’ll kill your ass if anything happens to a hair on Karra’s head. Understand?”
Could it get any worse? He’d spent half the night glaring at a vampyre who had him and his crotch tied in knots, a woman he could never make understand all that was happening in his life. And now this shit.
“Her mother ran off for God knows what reason and the prince, your prince, sent Karra as a warrior to protect her. None of that’s my business.” Karra was the daughter of the prince. She was not only a Reign warrior, she was wild and willful. “What did you expect me to do, Phoenix?”
Alek turned to Viv. Her mind was wide open. Shit, please tell me she is not going to interrupt Phoenix. Her discomfort pierced him like a knife.
Viv shook her head and before he could stop her, she spoke. “You guys really need to lighten up and get your asses moving.”
“Who the hell is she?” Phoenix didn’t deign to make eye contact with her yet.
His eyes pierced Alek with a deadly look as he waved Viv away like a nuisance. Did he smile? A blue arc of light left Phoenix’s finger and shot her way. It ignited a flash of anger in Alek’s gut. His teeth gritted together, holding in the hiss.
Finally, Phoenix turned to face Viv. “I smelled you a mile away. Vampyres. You reek of death.”
His fists clenched into tight balls. He had to sidetrack Phoenix before Viv said more. Alek, a Siberian tiger himself, was no match for the bigger cat or the man. No cat or vampyre was. Hell, nothing in this realm could touch him. Alek didn’t want her to tangle with the creature. An odd sensation slipped over his body at the thought of any one touching her. He shuddered in an effort to shake the feeling off.
“Like it or not…”
Before Phoenix could reply Alek put his hand up to stop him. “Let me finish. She’s the daughter of our prince, she goes where she wants. Karra chose to traipse off after her mother.” His eyes narrowed to slits. “You act like she’s mated to you.”
The temperature elevated in the room until it reached an unbearable level.
Alek’s hair lifted as electric energy blossomed into a mushroom cloud of dust, sending out shock waves of particles. Law and Dace retreated to a corner. Viv trembled but held her ground.
He had known the princess since she was a bare-assed babe. He’d trained her from a cub and Alek knew firsthand Karra had refused to give in to the Siberian tiger because he wanted her to step down as a Reign warrior.
Phoenix’s eyes flashed a red glow around the room that subsided slowly. He burst into laughter and the dust settled. Law and Dace chuckled in the corner. Phoenix grunted, “Yeah, it is a wonder we survived.” Long gray hair whipped around when he turned to the two men smirking in the corner. “Let’s bring your brother and his family back home?”
Alek’s head dropped. Just as Phoenix had, he’d read Viv’s scorching thoughts wondering how the sorry-assed cats had ever managed to feed and stay alive. She didn’t believe they were the smartest night creatures alive.
The woman had a serious death wish.
Trying once again to distract Phoenix, Alek flashed out to the balcony. “Who’s putting the fire out?” Flames crackled out of control and leaped around the arena, leaving a blackened path in their wake. He swiveled around to meet Phoenix’s steely glare. A smile lingered on his lips.
Fresh cold wind swooped down from the mountains, lifting desert sand into the air. It carried sheets of icy rain with it. That was going to make a hell of a news item for the front page tomorrow: High desert hit with unexplainable sleet and rain. Alek stifled the laughter the t
hought conjured up.
“You needn’t worry about who may or may not be my mate.” Green eyes pierced him with fire. “Think about your predicament and see if you can keep your eye on this woman.” Phoenix and the prince’s brothers disappeared in a shower of white light.
He turned toward Viv, who shook with silent fury.
“The bastard stripped me of my power to vanish. Who the fuck… What the fuck is he, Alek?”
Avoiding the question, he glanced back over the balcony and stared across the desert. Christ. Because of Phoenix she was unable to leave the palace and Alek was left behind to look after her. “No one knows who or what the fuck he really is. Vamp, cat or the devil. And, Viv, right now I don’t give a shit.” His cats hadn’t budged inside his body. No prowling, no snarling between them—their normal reaction if he even thought about not having sustenance from the prince for more than a day or two. In fact, his beasts were so at peace together he couldn’t believe it.
Something had changed.
He thought about the vamp stuck here with him and decided he wasn’t letting her out of his sight. Jesus, what was happening to him? It’s not like he’d ever have a mate but if he could, she would top his list. A very, very short list since he’d tasted her blood, it now only held one name. Viviana—a brown-skinned, foul-mouthed, kick-ass vamp. Not the sweet little Bengal tiger Alek had thought to settle down with. What a mess.
A deep sigh slipped past his lips.
No way would he get involved with anyone but since she was there a little taste of her charms, more of her life’s blood…she was damn sweet. His cock grew into a sizeable erection and pressed painfully into his zipper. Maybe I can keep her from knowing about my feelings and the tie to the prince. There was no way she’d find out about his desire for another man if he kept his shields in place. He wouldn’t share his blood with her. His mouth watered as he thought about enjoying her body, tasting her some more.
Damn, he was hungry.
Not for blood.
Alek turned his attention back to Viv.
Only a couple hours before sunrise.
Viv watched his strong, broad frame stand on the balcony. Multihued hair blew around him in the desert breeze. His tight ass and long muscled thighs tugged at her. Her body fought with her mind as moisture slowly gathered outside her channel, warm in the folds between her thighs. She throbbed with desire. Her fingers itched to run through his hair, her hands ached to slide down his back. Having and holding him wrapped in her arms overrode every other thought. Viv wanted to see him naked and stroke every part of his body. His cock would be big and hard. She’d already felt it, had intimate knowledge of it. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips and damn, she still tasted his blood.
This was bad.
He hadn’t answered her and she’d felt the lion patterns in his mind again when she attempted to probe there for information. That wasn’t possible. She’d picked up stories in her travels about Kind mixing blood, having the ability to be two cats. It drew her back to the fabled tales about Phoenix. Were they true?
Viv wasn’t going to hang around and find out. Cat had her number and she didn’t like it. She intended to put some space between them and fast. The strongest, purest blood in Europe ran through her veins. I’ll be damn if I hang around here and let some upstart Kind rattle around in my head. Again, using all her strength, she tried to leave.
“You can’t go.” He spoke softly and continued to stare off into the distance.
“Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on but I’m leaving.”
He shifted his body and faced her head-on. “I tried to protect you.” His chest puffed out as he sucked in air. “Your power will eventually return but I don’t care about that—I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here.” His eyes gleamed with lust and he never looked away. “Be with me.”
“What?” Shit! No punches pulled here. She had the same feeling, the same need.
“You want me, I can smell it. And I’ve never wanted a woman, beast or vampyre the way I want you right now.” Two steps and he stood before her. He moved his hand to her neck and caressed it. His fingers slid up, feathered across her cheek, and she leaned into them. Strong hands.
“I want you to come in, see what I want from you.” His eyes blasted her with heat.
She fell into his mind like sliding down a slippery slope, tumbling headlong into his memories. One dark corner stood closed and shrouded in shadows. Hidden away from her. Bastard. He did not intend to let her all the way in.
“Why do you hide part of yourself from me?”
“I’m letting you see all you need to know.”
“Go to hell.”
His arms enfolded her, snatched her tight into his hardness. His cock bulged between them as his mouth crushed into hers. She wouldn’t open for him and Alek didn’t force her. He peppered her face with warm, sweet kisses. Licked her lips, nibbled on the lower one until it bled. Sucking on it, he groaned.
Viv couldn’t help herself when her mouth opened and accepted his tongue. His hands captured her breasts and kneaded them into wanton peaks. He tweaked and played with her nipples through the material of her shirt, his thumb and fingers drew slow, lazy circles around the nubs. Moving his hands lower, he slipped beneath her top. Her clothes instantly vanished.
Alek chuckled at her haste. “Some of your magic remains.” She bit his lip hard and her knees buckled at the exotic taste that flowed into her mouth.
He caught her up in his arms and naked skin pressed to hers.
“The sun…”
“Shh, you will never be safer.” They vanished to a cool room that held no windows. Candles blinked to life, revealing walls of murals showing rainforests beneath blue skies filled with birds of every color. A bed much larger than king-size was covered in a jewel-colored quilt that looked so inviting. Deep, soft carpeting silenced each step. Fragrant lilies of every color filled vases placed on polished tables with intricately carved legs. “The prince keeps this room beneath the mansion for his vampyre friends. Nothing, no one, will harm you here.”
He sat her on the bed. Stepping back, he let his eyes devour her while she took in every inch of his body. Damn, what a cock. Viv liked what she saw, wanted to taste it. Her tongue flitted out and again laughter poured from him.
“You have a foul mouth and no modesty at all.”
Clamping her mind shut, she aimed a hard slap at his face. He caught her hand in a steel grip and held her firm. “And I like it. You make me hotter than hell.” He moved her hand to his mouth and planted a warm kiss on the underside of her wrist. His tongue swept across the palm to the tips of her fingers, where he nibbled playfully.
Alek sucked on each finger, sending tremors through her body.
She wanted him badly. A moan climbed from her throat and she mumbled, “Now.”
“Now, what? Tell me what you want.”
“Fuck me. Hard and fast.” Viv wanted to come.
“No.”
“Damn you, Alek, damn you to hell.”
“Soft and slow. I’ll make you beg for it. Let me in.”
I’ll never beg. Viv couldn’t hold him out any longer.
That’s my tough-ass baby girl.
He caressed her breasts, her stomach. Alek pushed her flat on the bed and kneeled on the mattress between her outstretched legs. His large hands touched and lingered on every exposed part of her.
They moved over her face and he stuck his thumb through her open lips. “Take it.”
She did. Viv pulled it in and sucked on it like a lollipop.
Leaning over, he used one hand to hold himself up while the other was pushed between her legs. His fingers traced a scalding path along the inside of her thighs. Moving up, he let them dance lightly across the shimmering platinum hair that dusted her pussy.
“Beautiful.”
She whimpered and that was all it took.
He reached down and pulled her legs high, hooking them over his shoulders until her as
s rested against his belly with her nether lips exposed to him. She opened her body, her mind to him, holding nothing back. She slid her hands up and down his arms, marveling at their warmth. For an instant Viv saw his soul shining through his emerald eyes and the look touched her in a place she’d never let anyone explore. Her cold, dead heart grew warm and she was sure it was Alek’s blood that pulsed through the chambers. She’d had such a small taste, wanted so much more. Then he leaned over, blew warm air across her already wet, swollen clit. His arms hooked around her thighs and brought her pussy up to his mouth. When his tongue touched her, she screamed. He licked the drops of moisture gathered in every fold. Long sure strokes set her on fire and she bucked up against his face shamelessly. Right now, in this moment, he owned her, could do anything he wanted and she’d love it.
Tell me what you want.
Grabbing a handful of his long striped hair, Viv ground into his mouth, tried to get his tongue deeper into her core. One hand continued to hold her in place while with the fingers of the other he plucked and tugged at her nipples until she cried out again. His hand massaged her breasts, cupping one after the other. Thumb and finger rolled the hard nubs until she was riddled with delicious pain.
His tongue continued to prod at her pussy and lap at the folds until her body was a mass of tremors. Each sweep through the creases left her breathless and weak.
Viv took everything he dished out. Until he bit her clit.
The animal roughness of his tongue ripped juices from her and then he licked her dry.
Alek raised his eyes and gazed at her. “I’ve never tasted anything this good.”
“Oh my God, Alek, please. I need your cock inside me. Please.”
Whatever you want.
Releasing his hold on her thighs, he let her ass slide down his bent legs and onto the bed. Spreading them wider, he played in her cunt, stroking his fingers back and forth through the wetness there. When he flicked her blood-engorged folds and circled her nub with his thumb, Viv thought she’d die.
You are dead, baby.
So are you. Now please, fuck me.
Quench Page 2
