The Dresdan Coven Trilogy

by Amber Ella Monroe

  “Head to my sanctuary. Remember how you always told me about your dreams of escaping to the mountains? You’ll be welcomed by my coven members. They know who you are.” His breath tickled her face. “Black Mountain—”

  “No, I’m not leaving you. Never again.” She lifted the steak knife from the bathroom counter and slit the skin just above the vein in her wrist. Blood pooled immediately.

  Vicq jerked upright. “Elaina!”

  “Drink.”

  His eyes widened at the sight of the thick, red fluid draining down her forearm. “Despite the Dresdan infection, part of you is still human and delicate enough to harm if I were to take too much. The amount of blood I require to completely heal will kill you. Slumber is the safest solution.”

  “I’m stronger than you think.” She shoved her wrist at him. “I’ve always trusted you with my life. You know when to stop feeding. I’ve told you before...I’ll be your Donor for life.”

  Vice lifted her wrist to his mouth and licked the wound. “It has been your heart I have wanted all this time, not just your blood.”

  His eyes closed and his forehead creased in concentration as he savored the small amount of blood. The sip was not enough to give him the strength he required.

  When she looked down at her wrist, she saw that the regenerative properties in his saliva had healed her split skin. “You refused me?”

  “One of us must stay strong. You do understand that, right? You remember how it was before.”

  Elaina nodded. Not only did she need to stay strong for him, but she also needed to stay strong for herself. “I remember.” He protected her. She protected him.

  “I need sleep. When night falls, we’ll journey again.”

  Before she could voice her protest, Vicq rose on shaky legs, cradling her in his arms. He carried her into the bedroom and laid her across the covers then stretched out beside her and stroked strands of hair back from her face. As his eyelids fell over his irises, his facial features softened and his hand grew slack, then stilled on her cheek. He’d willed himself to slumber with his arms wrapped around her.

  She lifted her fingers to touch his neck. He’d even stopped his pulse. She buried her head against his chest but couldn’t feel or hear the familiar rhythm of his heartbeat.

  Curling against him, Elaina sighed. She closed her eyes and followed her lover into a deep sleep.

  Chapter 8

  Elaina’s eyes flew open and deep hazel ones stared back at her. The adoration in them brought her back to reality, but so did the feet shuffling and people moving about outside of their hotel room door. Her memories came back to her in flashes. The night before and escaping with Vicq. An attempt by District 5 to capture her. Their escape.

  Vicq grinned. “You still snore when you sleep.”

  How long had he been awake staring at her, listening to her snore? “It’s not funny.”

  Yet, she was silently elated to have woken up next to him. For the past four months, she’d slept alone in her bed, taking in each day for what it was. So many mornings she’d risen, thinking that she’d never know what true love felt like again. She’d never experience how it felt to have someone care for her, more than they cared for themselves.

  He made a straight face. “I wasn’t laughing.”

  She reached out to touch the skin on his stomach. The wound in his torso had healed completely. New skin covered where the deep gash had disappeared.

  Her gaze traveled up to take in his appearance. As a result of his heritage, he had an even, dark olive complexion that complimented his silky black hair. She loved the way it gleamed under the moonlight whenever they’d spent time under it together in the past. Four months ago, he’d kept his hair trimmed and cut short, but now it had grown slightly past his shoulders. He’d also lost weight, either from being held so long in his prison without feeding or because he’d failed to seek the nourishment he needed thereafter.

  “I don’t like seeing you suffer. I’m glad you’ve healed,” she said.

  He moaned as her fingers slid across his soft, tight skin, following a trail of hair to his waistband. “The pain is gone from there, but I ache in other places.”

  Her cheeks grew heated at the same time she caught sight of the erection behind the zipper of his jeans. It had been so long since she’d been with him, yet she remembered how it was. How generous he could be as a lover. He was skilled in the ways of giving her pleasure. Their past endless nights of practice had seen to that.

  Vicq drew her closer and his kisses rained down on her forehead. His lips pressed to hers and she accepted his kiss and returned it with love. Moments later, their breaths came in pants and their tongues entwined in a sensual frenzy. His fingers played in her hair, coaxing her deeper into the kiss.

  He dragged her against him, then over him. Her thighs fell into place around his waist as he came to sit in an upright position on the bed. His lips flirted along the edge of her face, chin, and finally found the crevice of her neck. The heat of his tongue laved against her skin, trailing along her pulsing vein. Her loins clenched in hunger for the release she knew he could and would give. Tingles rose up her spine, and her chest grew heated with lust. Her body had been neglected for too long. Now, it craved Vicq’s caress like never before.

  “Vicq.” Elaina lifted her chin as he nipped at the underside of her jaw. She wanted this so much, but... “You won’t want me anymore if I don’t stay human.”

  Vicq pulled back and narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

  “You prefer my human blood.”

  “I prefer you. They don’t know anything about the Dresdan. They don’t know what we prefer. Have your District ways set in again? Do you believe their lies?”

  She frowned, a little hurt by his accusation. “Don’t ever again imply that I find reason with District practices. What I meant was that you accepted me before as your human Donor. I’m not quite human anymore, am I?”

  “There is no other for me. Whether you are vampire, human, or hybrid…you are mine.” His gaze drifted down and then back up at her. “We’ve discovered a way for Dresdan to live without large amounts of blood from humans. An earlier mentality still exists that we need to kill to survive. We don’t.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “A scientist within my coven has found a link. We’ve always shared our blood with each other in the past because the agent in the vampire blood is even stronger than human blood. This is why Dresdan who murder their own kind drain them until the last drop.”

  Vicq took a deep breath and pressed his eyes closed for only a second.

  It was one reason why the District thought Dresdan so heinous. Because many of them killed their kind to grow stronger. Was he suggesting that all Dresdan lived off the blood of their kind? Would that not lead to their extinction in the end?

  She shook her head. “What does that mean?”

  “We have a bonded couple in our sanctuary. They’ve not taken an ounce of human blood since they were mated.”

  “So they feed off each other?”

  Vicq nodded. “And other Dresdan. There is a taste for human blood, but for them, it is no longer needed to survive. Do you remember how I told you that I grew up on a farm?”

  She nodded. He’d been a migrant worker with no family or friends after the premature death of his parents, trying to feed himself with whatever he earned that day. He had labored as a crop harvester until he’d befriended a vampire who had inducted him into the Dresdan lifestyle. Turned out the vampire had led the Dresdan for hundreds of years as their Master. He was later slain by one of his most trusted Superiors, Russo—who then became Dresdan Master.

  “There is a saying...you make do with what you have because you are completely satisfied with it, and you never long for anything else. Contentment. Leo describes his feeling as not only love, but contentment,” Vicq said.

  “Who’s Leo?”

  Vicq smiled. “The human male from the Dresdan prison I mentione
d earlier. After helping each other escape, I brought him to my sanctuary. He found a friend in Leila, one of the few females at our sanctuary. He was literally halfway through the transformation upon arriving. It was Leila’s bite and their blood exchange that ultimately changed him.”

  “Halfway...? Like me?”

  “Yes, like you, Elaina.” Vicq rubbed the back of his hand gently against her face.

  “In that case, there must be something in Leo’s blood like mine that allows the vampire agent to remain in a state of stasis.”

  Vicq nodded. “Like a host...”

  The perfect host was exactly what District 5 was after. Being a host was not fun. It was torture. Wanting and craving but not knowing why. Never satisfied because the human anatomy wanted something completely different than the vampire side.

  “Is it still a struggle to resist feeding from humans even when you share?” She asked.

  “The will to resist is what sets us apart from the other breeds of vampires.” He locked his gaze on her. “And, of course, we sometimes take it upon ourselves to rid your streets of murderers, abusers, and the like.”

  Biting her lip, Elaina glanced at him. “Was that your other option? You think we can share a bond like Leo and Leila.”

  “We share a bond now, Elaina.”

  “What if I stay this way? In-between.” The frustration in her voice alarmed her. “What if the Dresdan drugs that I’ve been given stay in my system forever, preventing my change? Will you leave me? Would you give up on me then?

  “Elaina, I love you.” He cupped her chin with his palm. “I first loved you as a human, and I will continue to love you no matter what you are or become.”

  “I love you, too. I just want to be strong for you. You’ll only want more and more of my blood, and eventually, I will be too weak to supply it. If I can’t give you as much as you need, I’m no use to you and can only get in your way. Isn’t that what a Donor is to the Dresdan? A blood slave only until the vampire finds a new treat?”

  “Absolutely not. Not for me. You are what I need.” He kissed her. “Let me show you how much I need you.”

  Vicq grabbed her waist with both hands as she leaned in to kiss him. He devoured her lips hungrily, pulling her closer into his embrace. Her center grew heated on his lap and she gasped when he slid his fingers down into her jeans.

  “Vicq?”

  He continued to nibble softly at her lips.

  “We both need a shower.” She pushed gently at his shoulders. “There’s blood all over us.”

  They both looked down at each other’s clothes.

  He grinned. “You’re right.”

  Before she could move, he lifted her and placed her on her feet. He lured her to the bathroom, pressing his lips to hers, forcing her to walk backward. His legs moved forward and she moved backward. His breaths were rushed and she could almost smell the bloodlust surrounding them. It always happened this way. Nothing was more sought after by the male Dresdan than a female whose blood ran wild with sexual lust. Even though he’d denied it last night, he needed her blood.

  In the bathroom, he yanked her from her feet, pressed her back against the wall, and pushed his pelvis against hers. He ground his cock into her and her sex clenched, wanting something more. Fumbling with her button and zipper, he peeled her pants open. He slipped his hands down against her stomach and abs. His fingers flirted with the curls covering the center of arousal. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, and lolled her head back on the wall.

  Vicq’s teeth scraped against the vein in her neck. His dick grew rock-hard against the front of his jeans. Her heart pulsed erratically against her breastbone, threatening to pounce from her chest. Her blood raced in arousal. It felt like she was on more than just a sexual high because a mix of emotions ran rampant through her body. He slipped a finger between her heated folds. Her breath hitched as he teased her silky wetness, stroking upward to tease her aching clit.

  “Vicq, I need it. Now.” Spending months without him, thinking he was gone forever had been tough on her.

  He carried her, placing her next to the shower, and turned on the water. The jets of water from the showerhead pounded against the floor of the stall and it took only moments for hot steam to rise up.

  They started with her shirt, raising it over her head. His tongue ran along his bottom lip, and then he bit one corner of it as his gaze swept her body. She reached behind her back and unclipped her bra. The fabric stayed molded to her breasts, but he slowly peeled the material away, revealing her to his inspection. Her nipples thrummed with pleasure under the sensitive touch of the pads of his fingers.

  “Me encantes,” he whispered, leaning forward to cover her nipple with his lips.

  Elaina felt as though her legs would melt beneath her and she grabbed on to the back of his head as he stroked her lovingly with his tongue. He sucked and molded her nipples until they were firm to the touch. She needed to feel him in her grasp, without the clothes covering him. She pushed him against the nearest wall just outside the shower and peeled his pants down his legs. His cock was erect and ready, throbbing and pulsing with arousal. On the way back up, she stroked the length of him in her palm. The veins trailing along the length of him plumped with his excitement. She wanted him to bury his rod deep within her and take away the emptiness.

  Elaina dropped to her knees and took the taut head into her mouth, rolling her tongue in the salty sweetness of him. He groaned out loud and brought his hand to her head to lead her into a rhythm. His balls tightened and constricted against her fingertips as he pumped within her mouth, inches from the back of her throat. She pulled away to remove the last article of clothing he wore, leaving him panting, his back still against the wall.

  Stepping into the shower, she beckoned him to join her. The warm water cascaded through her hair and down her back. She lifted her face to the stream and ran her hands through her tresses, gliding her palms across her cheeks and down her neck. The water did nothing to cool her heated core, and she opened her eyes to find him enjoying the show from outside the stall.

  The moment she turned her lips up into a teasing smile, he joined her under the stream. As the water beat down on their bodies, he took her lips once more in a kiss. “It’s been so long...”

  I know. Elaina turned around in the shower, facing away from him, and swiped her hair away from her neck.

  He grazed the top of her shoulders with his nose and lips, breathing deeply. His fingers splayed against her stomach from behind, and he pulled her gently against his hardened groin. He licked her neck as if preparing it for what she so desperately wanted. Feeding had become a part of sex for them before they were separated. Now that she understood his plan, all the options led to one path—remain his Donor or complete the blood bond. A choice given to her months ago. It was hers to make, and she knew what had to be done.

  Vicq bent down, showering kisses along her spine. He glided his palms over the curves of her ass, molding and massaging. Her position didn’t allow for her to view the show, but she did share in his anticipation. His lips and tongue felt hot against her curves and she grabbed at the slippery tiles in front of her, pressing her forehead against the porcelain. He kissed the bottom of her spine, just above the rounded globes of her ass—where he knew he would find a weak spot.

  Her body shivered in arousal. “Vicq, please take me.”

  He rose, brushing his rod against her. “As you wish...”

  Elaina readied herself, bracing her forehead against the stall. Small droplets of water collected on her skin, but they did nothing to calm her rising desire. His hand gripped her waist to prop her up for his entry. Fingers played with her clit and his cock slid against the folds of her sex. She shivered uncontrollably as he teased her and sent hot breaths to the back of her neck. A hand came around to press next to hers on the tiles.

  “Please—”

  He pushed up into her with one deep stroke.

  She gasped out loud, and then pressed her lips toge
ther to hold back a scream. He was outrageously hot and large, just like she craved.

  He thrust upward again, burying himself to the hilt. She bit her bottom lip and grabbed on to nothing but slippery tiles. A shudder ran through her core as he rocked his pelvis, adjusting her to his size. Liquid warmth flowed over his cock and the beginnings of an orgasm stirred within her.

  He pounded into her without warning, gradually increasing the speed and strength. Jolts of pleasure ran from the top of her spine to her clit and back again. Promiscuous hands traced along the front of her body—nipples, stomach, mounds, clit. She couldn’t hold back any longer. This type of release was long overdue. He’d conquered her body and soul. In that moment, she forgot about the predicament they were in.

  “Elaina. Amor verdadero.”

  She felt his control burst apart, and his hands tightened around her hips. Cold fangs connected with the flesh on her back. So near. Her climax danced just beyond the entrance to ecstasy.

  “Do it!” She commanded him.

  He groaned out loud, his rhythm now agitated but fierce. His groin slapped against her wet ass as he rode her from behind.

  Fangs pierced deep into her neck, and she cried out in pleasure-pain. She shuddered in release and joined him in climax. He siphoned her blood and sucked the tension out of her. His thick rod pumped hot seed inside of her. He gave and took, shivering in pleasure against her back. The wrenching orgasm flowed through every nerve ending in her body. Her toes curled under her as the euphoria from his feeding began to wear off.

  Vicq extracted his fangs slowly and gasped like a runner after a sprint. He rested his forehead against the back of her neck. It took a long while for them to regain their strength. The shower stream, once steaming hot, was now chilly. As she expected, his dick pulsed to life again against the folds of her sex.

  It had been this way since day one with him. He was only just getting started.

  With round one complete, most times he gave her a chance to recuperate before taking her again. He could go on and on until one of them tapped out.