Dark Embrace (Principatus)

by Couper, Lexxie

  There had been no more after that. He’d taken her bleeding, lifeless body outside the walls of the family mansion and left her for the sun’s incinerating rays. And when her disappearance had finally registered with their father, all Frederik could say was, “Ezryn will be heartbroken.”

  Ezryn, Ezryn, fucking Ezryn.

  Snagging a fistful of his wife’s hair, Haral shoved her head downward, forcing the head of his cock against the back of her throat, controlling her every action. The right of the overlord. Supreme control. He’d hungered for it his whole life.

  Now it was his, and he would do whatever it took to keep it. Including destroy his twin brother. It had nothing to do with his parents’ favoritism. Truly, it didn’t.

  Too many vampires still spoke of Ezryn’s noble strength and the reverence afforded him by the most ancient of vampires. Too many still remembered his quiet presence in court and his merciful power.

  Too many still questioned the oracle’s proclamation after the blood trials. And that number grew with every cursed night.

  Once Ezryn was completely out of the picture, once the rest of the vampire race realized the prodigal son was not going to come in, metaphorical sword drawn, and seize back that which was rightfully his, Haral could stop worrying about rising factions, rebellions and revolt. Once that occurred, it was only a matter of time before he convinced his race it was time to treat humans exactly as they should be treated—as cattle.

  And then he would be the undisputed leader of the most powerful creatures on the planet and have everything he wanted. All thanks to Ezryn’s humiliating, shameful, disgraceful demise.

  Which was only fitting really. Because all he’d ever wanted was everything his brother had.

  Everything.

  And now that included the Principatus.

  Inari weaved her way through the mass of tourists and locals crowding the main drag of Kings Cross, their faces turned into grinning masks of gaudy colors by the flickering lights of every strip club, bar, pawn shop and café lining its length.

  She dodged a few groping hands, suppressing the urge to scream. Or rip the arms from those daring to touch her. Entrapment of the Homo-sapien kind was not on her agenda tonight. Tonight she hunted demon.

  And how are you going to do that, exactly? You’ve spent the last four hours trying to find the fucker with no success at all. Not even your Principatus soul can detect the creature now. It’s as if it decided to stop stalking you and go on a holiday.

  Inari sank her nails into her palms. She knew what the trouble was, and it had nothing to do with an absent demon. In fact, the trouble was the very presence of a demon. Just not the one she hunted. Ezryn, master vampire, bloodsucking demon and all-around bane of her existence was all she could think about. How the hell was she to track the unseen non-human who had made her neck raze with warning fire if she couldn’t stop thinking about the arrogant vamp, his smug chuckle, talented mouth and wicked grin?

  How in all the levels of Hell was she to be a demon assassin when she wanted nothing more than to fuck a demon?

  A growl of frustration rumbled in Inari’s throat. The whole thing was ridiculous. As soon as she found and destroyed the unseen demon she hunted now, she’d find Ezryn and remove him from the picture as well. Surely one less vampire in the world of man had to be something the Powers would approve of, whether They ordered the kill or not. She’d find him, terminate him and get on with her life. Maybe then she could get some peace in her dreams.

  Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. You might actually convince yourself one day. Like in about a million years.

  Sliding through a particularly dense gathering of young males, Inari wrinkled her nose. Even when she wasn’t in her Principatus form, she still had a demon hunter’s heightened sense of smell, and these guys smelled bad. “Excuse me,” she said, trying to work her way through the group. Bachelor party. Had to be. The ritualistic indulgence of a human male about to enter a binding contract. With that much booze oozing from their pores, turning their breaths to intoxicating fumes, there was no other explanation. Inari had always found the practice bizarre. She wrinkled her nose again, pushing her way through the drunken mob. This close, she realized it wasn’t just bizarre. It was stinky as well.

  “Hey, sssexy!”

  The slurred greeting fanned her ear. She turned and glared at the leering speaker just as he snaked a pair of hands over her hips and grabbed her ass cheeks.

  “You’re tha hottest thing I’ve seen aw night,” the young man—barely in his twenties by the look of the fluff on his cheeks and the seamless skin around his eyes—murmured, his breath like a seedy hot fog on her face. “’Ow ’bout a root, then?”

  Inari raised her eyebrows, the pit of her belly clenching. “How ’bout you get your hands off my backside.”

  The drunken idiot grinned, stumbling slightly as he tugged her against his hips. He ground his crotch into hers, his erection thick and pudgy behind the material of his trousers. “Wassa matter?” He swayed and his mates laughed around them. “Doncha think I’m fuckable?” His fingers dug into her butt and, an angry spark igniting in his bloodshot eyes, he slammed her harder to his groin. “I’m gettin’ married t’morrow. My fiancée thinks I’m fuckable.”

  The group of intoxicated morons around her cheered, surging forward in a swaying, lumbering wave. They pushed her from the middle of the footpath, mindless of the pedestrians flowing around them. “Fuck him,” one of them mumbled. “Suck his dick,” another slurred.

  More hands joined the groom-to-be’s on her body, grabbing at her breasts, her hair. One of the party rammed his body to her back, sinking his fingers into her hips as he humped her backside. “You feel so fuckin’ good, bitch,” he grunted, his breath sour with rum. “So good.”

  The Principatus in her existence stirred, pushing against a barrier Inari felt in her core. She glared up at the man holding her, clenching her fists. “I suggest you all fuck off, or I’ll show you how fuckin’ good I am.”

  “Fuck, Johno,” the man behind her mumbled, his hands sliding from her hips. “I don’t think she’s a prostie.”

  “C’mon, slut,” the groom growled, ignoring his friend’s revelation, his words suspiciously free of any slur, his gaze clear and feverish as it drilled down into Inari’s face. “You dress like that, you’re only asking for one thing.” He rammed his dick against her belly. “I’m more than happy to give it to you. Me and my mates here.” He grinned, licking his lips as he did so, grinding his erection into Inari with insidious intent. “Think of it as a wedding present.”

  “Think of it as an execution.”

  The deep male voice rumbling from behind Inari’s left shoulder made the groom flinch. His mates fell silent, their stares suddenly locked on the new arrival.

  Hot electricity shot through Inari’s body. She pulled in a swift breath, her pulse quickening. By the Powers, it was him.

  Curse it, why won’t he leave me alone?

  The groom drove his fingers harder into Inari’s backside. He squared his chest, jutting out his chin in a fierce show of aggression. “How ’bout you fuck off and mind your own business, mate? The little lady and I were just about to take this somewhere more private, weren’t we, gorgeous?”

  “I think the ‘little lady’ would tear your balls off,” Ezryn stated. The crowd around them parted and, like the dark, malevolent creature he was, her master vampire appeared beside the groom, towering over him, black eyes glinting red flames, lips curled in a lopsided grin. “That is, if there’s anything left of you after I’m finished.”

  His grin stretched wider, revealing a pair of pointed incisors no one in their right mind could ever mistake for fake.

  The groom’s face drained white. His mouth opened and closed, making him look for all the world like a suffocating fish.

  Inari stood motionless, her stomach churning. She should be throwing the groom off her and driving her size six pointed boot into his balls. She should be telling him
and his friends to run away. Now. A master vampire had threatened their lives. In fact, she should now be doing exactly what she’d been reborn to do—destroy the bloodsucker before he uttered another word. Instead, she was frozen, the very sight of Ezryn stealing her ability to move.

  Not your ability to get horny though. By the Powers, your crotch is already damp with—

  She cut the unnerving thought dead, fixing her attention on the human holding her. He too seemed frozen, his bulging stare locked on the vampire to his right, his mouth working in soundless words.

  With a slight tilt forward at the hip, Ezryn gave him another grin. “If you don’t want to be drained like a can of beer, I suggest you run away.” He touched the tip of his tongue to the tip of his left fang. “Probably now would be wise.”

  A hot, squirming sensation heated Inari’s belly. Excited? What was she doing being excited?

  Eyes bulging further still, the groom stood motionless, staring at Ezryn. And then, with a very girly whimper, he dropped his hands from Inari’s ass and fled, shoving his way through the busy sidewalk to disappear in the crowd.

  His inebriated companions looked at each other, their faces white and slack with stunned confusion. Ezryn flashed his fangs at them. “Boo.”

  With a scramble of feet, they bolted into the mass of people moving over the sidewalk.

  “Well, I think we may have ruined their buck’s night.” He chuckled, turning his black gaze on her. “And probably their trousers as well.”

  Inari looked up at him, her throat squeezing tight. She clenched her jaw, ignoring the curious pedestrians streaming past them. “Are you out of your bloodsucking mind?”

  He raised his eyebrows, doing a brilliant facsimile of shocked amazement. “Not that I’m aware of, but my first general may beg to differ. What did I do to make you question my sanity?” A relaxed, all too cheeky grin curled his lips, and Inari’s pulse quickened. Damn it, why did he have this effect on her?

  “Surely you didn’t want to go with that infant and his companions?” His gaze flicked over her body. “Although you are dressed for it. Did you go home and change? Or did you need a cold shower after we last met?”

  “Oh, stick a sock in it,” she snapped. Hot anger flowed through her. Damn, she needed to get her libido under control. If she was going to kill him, she had to stop thinking about sex every time she saw him.

  The grin playing with the corners of his mouth faltered, and a deep red fire danced in his eyes. He took a step closer, his stare holding hers. “Now that is something I would loathe to see happen. I must admit, I rather like that you think about sex every time you see me. Not overly keen on the idea of killing me though. Does this mean you’ve decided to disregard the three rules?”

  A cold, numb finger pressed at Inari’s heart. How did he know what she was thinking? She gritted her teeth, her eyes narrowing. “Get out of my head, demon.”

  One dark, thick eyebrow cocked. “Or what?”

  Without preamble, she slammed her palms against his chest and pushed.

  He stumbled backward, arms flailing, the shock on his face far from fake. The pedestrians around them burst into good-humored cheers and laughter, some clapping, some smacking Ezryn on his shoulders as they halted his progress. No one seemed surprised or upset by the events—why would they? It was Kings Cross after all. This kind of thing happened on an almost hourly basis.

  She fixed him with a level glare. “Stop stalking me, Ezryn.”

  His black stare locked on her face, but Inari didn’t wait to see what he did next. She spun on her heel and stormed down the busy sidewalk in the opposite direction.

  She needed to get away from him.

  She needed to focus.

  She needed to remember what she was. Wanting to fuck a master vampire would have to be considered grounds for expulsion from the order of Principatus. What would she do if that happened?

  Be a succubus once more? Or better yet, spend the rest of eternity screwing the master vampire?

  The mocking question flittered through her head, and for a split second, Inari expected the image of her dead sister to materialize beside her, dimples creasing her cheeks as she easily kept pace with Inari’s hurried stomp.

  “Shut up, sis,” she ground out before the mental apparition could do any such thing.

  Shove him? That’s the best you could do? Shove him? What are you going to do next, call him names?

  The contemptuous thought was hers this time, and she clenched her fists. Damn it, what was she doing?

  “Where are you going?”

  She started, Ezryn’s laughing question jerking her attention back to the here and now. He stood directly in her path, towering over her. He looked like every woman’s fantasy with his tousled hair, powerful physique and designer clothes.

  Before she could tell him to piss off, he grabbed her wrists and yanked her against his body, staring down into her face with that black, smoldering stare she knew all too well. She’d seen it every night in her dreams, felt its branding weight, its inescapable intent.

  Her pussy flooded with wet tension. Lord, have mercy, she was hungry for him. For his tangible sexual energy. As hungry as she’d ever been when she was still a succubus. Maybe more so.

  “Move.” She forced the word past her lips. “Before I tear your heart out and feed it to the stray dogs.”

  “You’re not walking away from me, Inari Chayse,” he murmured. He lowered his head until she saw nothing but him. “And I think tearing my heart out is the last thing you want to do to me.”

  Hot shame burned her cheeks. “You conceited, arrogant bastard.”

  He smiled, a lazy, indolent smile that made her pulse triple. “True. But I tend to answer to Ezryn much better.” He tugged her wrists farther away from her sides, jolting her closer to his hard, hard body. “Try it. Say, Master Ezryn and see what happens.”

  Volcanic heat erupted in Inari’s core. An explosive mix of raw anger and primal lust. She opened her fingers and spread them wide, flexing her wrists in his tight grip. “I have no master.”

  Ezryn lifted an eyebrow, pulling her arms behind her back until their bodies melded together. His knuckles grazed the curves of her ass cheeks, the feather-light contact sending sparks of wet electricity through her core. “Really? I thought all Principatus have a master.” He moved her wrists to one big hand, sliding his free hand up her ribcage, over the side of her right breast. “Y’know, the big guy? Flowing white hair, blinding white light, lots of clouds?” He brushed his thumb over the traitorous point of her nipple straining against the supple leather of her vest and she gasped, the sound escaping her before she could stop it. His eyes flickered at her response, the deep red fire in their black irises glowing brighter. “Isn’t He your master?”

  Inari closed her hands into fists, twisting her wrists in his grasp. She had to get away. Every molecule in her body was too aware of his potent force. Too aware and too aroused. “You really have no clue about Principatus, do you?” She flashed him a cold smile, letting him see her contempt. She just prayed to the Highest he didn’t recognize it for what it truly was—self-contempt. “Keep fucking with me, and you’ll see just how much leash my Master gives me.”

  The vampire’s nostrils flared and he lowered his head closer still to hers, eyes unreadable. “Oh, I haven’t even begun to fuck with you, Inari Chayse. When I do, you will know. Your body will be so consumed with pleasure you’ll be unable to function.” He moved his mouth to her ear, his lips brushing her flesh in a cool caress. “When I do, you will forget your other master in a heartbeat. All you will able to do is whimper my name over and over again. Master Ezryn, Master Ezryn, Master Ez—”

  Inari smashed her knee up into his balls.

  Ezryn let out a grunt. Pain ripped across his handsome face. He recoiled, slipping his hands from her wrists.

  With inhuman speed—whether that of succubus or Principatus, she didn’t know or care—Inari spun and slammed her heel into his chest in a b
ack kick hard enough to send him arcing through the air.

  “Holy shit!” someone yelped behind her. “Did you see that?” Someone else screamed, a high-pitched note of stunned disbelief. The crowd dispersed, some running, others tripping and stumbling just far enough away from Inari and Ezryn to consider themselves safe, more than one holding up their cell phones as they did so, recording every second of the excitement on the innocuous devices.

  “Help her,” a female voice screeched.

  “Help him!” a male voice laughed.

  Inari ignored them all, her stare fixed instead on Ezryn’s body landing on the sidewalk in a heavy thump. The crowd scurried farther away from him, eyes wide with a feverish thrill. A blinding light flashed as one of the onlookers took a photo.

  Run, the voice in her head that sometimes sounded like Tianya roared. Run now.

  She clenched her fists, darting her tongue over her lips in a nervous swipe. Run? Or take the bloodsucker out?

  In a blur of preternatural power, Ezryn was on his feet, his black gaze pinning her to the spot. “Shall we call this foreplay, Inari?”

  A siren wailed above the gasping crowd, high and loud. Inari narrowed her eyes, her stomach tight. The cops were coming, and somehow she didn’t think it was to bust the hookers.

  Good. Use the distraction. Run away.

  Run away? How do you kill him if you run away?

  How do you fuck him if you run away?

  She ground her teeth together, the damp heat between her thighs like a curse. “Let’s call it round one, Ezryn. Round two will see you dead.”

  More gasps and laughs came from the circling crowd. Another flash bleached the night. “You go, girl,” the same man who’d called for help for Ezryn earlier bellowed as someone clapped. A Kings Cross crowd through and through. Too jaded, laidback or high to recognize the real danger in the situation.

  Above the noise, the police siren grew louder. Closer.

  Inari’s skin prickled, something deep within her core knotting tight. Her muscles began to burn, her teeth to ache—her Principatus soul stirring deep within. Rising.