Queen Takes Knights (Their Vampire Queen Book 1)

by Joely Sue Burkhart

  I pressed against him, wrapping my arms around his waist. Breathing in his comforting scent, soaking in his strength. “He said he would find me in Eureka Springs.”

  His chest rumbled beneath my ear, a soothing sound not unlike Daire’s purr. “If you want to find him, then that’s where we’ll go. If you don’t…”

  “My nest will be there. I saw it.”

  He lay back, drawing me onto his chest so every inch of me pressed against him. His big hands stroked up and down my back, soothing me. “Then he must be Blood. That’s a good thing.”

  I lifted my head so I could see his face. “But he said he couldn’t be Blood because he was already dead.”

  Alrik’s eyes flared a moment, then narrowed. “Did he give a name?”

  “Nevarre.” I could see the connections flaring through his mind, lightning fast. A raven with Druid magic. Seeking me at my future nest. “Could he be the king that Greyson mentioned? What is a king anyway?”

  “Queens are rare among our kind, a blessing from the old goddesses, but a king is only born once every thousand years or more, and usually killed at birth or at least exiled. They’re not a blessing, but an aberration.”

  Babies, killed or exiled? That seemed extremely drastic. “Why?”

  “Kings are born with power of their own. They don’t need or even want a queen, which makes them extremely volatile. Honestly, they’re usually driven mad before they reach adulthood, overcome with powers they can’t control, urges they don’t understand, and no one can help them tame those dark needs. As a young male, I heard the tales of Aima kings gone mad, ravaging entire nests, killing his queen mother and any other heirs. Slaughtering Blood as easily as humans. These stories were our form of the Boogie Man, I guess. Even the Skotos Triune will exile a king to protect their queens.”

  “The raven didn’t seem crazy, just… angry. Angry that he was too late. Do you have any idea who he could be?”

  “A raven with Druid magic would very likely be from the Morrigan’s house.”

  I didn’t know a lot about ancient goddesses, but even I knew that another name for the Morrigan was the Phantom Queen. I buried my face against his throat and a heavy pang thudded my heart. “I bit him, but I didn’t have fangs. It was awful. I had teeth like Greyson.”

  Unbothered by my admission, Alrik kissed the top of my head and squeezed me gently. “I won’t mind whatever teeth you have.”

  He might not mind crocodile teeth on his queen, but I felt his unease through the bond. He wanted me safe. That meant more Blood. But he wanted to remain as my alpha, too.

  If a king was meant to join me…

  Did a king overtake the alpha’s position? I was afraid to ask, but his worry told me that his position would very likely be at risk.

  Which I didn’t like. Not one bit. I wanted him and Daire like this. Every night. I couldn’t imagine anyone else inserting himself between us.

  I felt Daire before I heard him. In his warcat form, he padded into the room and jumped onto the bed beside me. I rolled over and rubbed my face into his fur and he rumbled out a deep, bone-rattling purr.

  :I believe someone approaches, my queen.:

  My heart pounded and ice trickled down my spine. But Alrik only folded tighter against my back, pressing me against Daire. “He said someone, not a threat.”

  Daire shifted to his human form, letting me feel his fur melt away to hot muscled flesh. “I feel someone out there, but I couldn’t get a good scent yet. I’m guessing he’ll arrive midday.”

  I closed my eyes, relaxing back into their arms. I pulled up the tapestry of our surroundings and immediately, my attention was drawn to the east by a red glow, like a campfire burned in the wilderness. I touched the glow, soaking in as much as I could despite the distance separating us. Male. Older, scarred, tough. At my touch, he flared brighter and I had a sense of galloping hooves. “That’s what you looked like when I first felt you.”

  “Then a third Blood will soon join our ranks.” Through our bond, I felt Alrik stretch toward that red glow. He prodded, hard, and the glow flickered and warmed, but it didn’t go out or blaze taller. Just hotter. He blew out a breath and seemed satisfied with whatever he’d found.

  I rolled over and looked at him, one brow arched. “What was that about?”

  Daire chuckled. “It’s the Bloods’ way of seeing whose dick is bigger. Our big guy won, by the way. Rik is still alpha.”

  “As if there was any doubt.” He flashed a grin at my words and nudged me with his bigger dick. Daire kissed my nape, his still very impressive dick like a hot rod against my ass. Desire flooded me, my core already aching. In the night, I felt that red glow burn hotter. The campfire burst into wildfire as he thundered toward us. “We’re definitely going to need a bigger bed.”

  ~ * ~

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  Keep reading for a preview of Queen Takes King. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you know when it’s released. (Planning January unless I can get the cover bumped up earlier to December.)

  Chapter One

  Shara

  Two gorgeous men asleep in my bed.

  Merry fucking Christmas to me.

  I stretched and felt a dull ache between my legs, and no wonder. I certainly wasn’t used to having sex. Let alone with two men who were completely dedicated to blowing my mind as often as possible.

  I could do without the miserable cramps though. It was so unfair that I was a vampire, but still had to deal with a period that came like clockwork.

  I stared up at the ceiling, running through everything I’d learned.

  Just four days ago, my life had turned upside down. I still couldn’t believe it.

  Mom was actually my aunt and the man I’d called Dad wasn’t my biological father either.

  I wasn’t human. I wasn’t even half human. But Dr. Borcht didn’t know exactly what I was, either.

  I had enough Aima blood—directly descended from the goddess, Isis—to be a vampire queen. Hence the two lovers, who called themselves my Blood, sworn to protect and please me, no matter what I ordered. (So they claimed.)

  At some point when coming into my power the first time, I’d even died, though being a descendant of the goddess of resurrection had some major advantages.

  Last night, I’d killed the man who murdered Mom. I’d burned him to death. With my blood.

  It scared me how… okay… I was about that.

  I didn’t want to end up being a greater monster myself than the ones who’d killed my parents.

  I’d never killed anything before, except the occasional spider. Greyson Isador was a murderer. He was directly responsible for both of my parents’ deaths, and countless other humans he’d turned into his thralls, the gray lifeless demon-creatures who’d hunted me my entire life.

  He deserved to die.

  That didn’t make me feel better. Because I was still glad he was dead. And I was glad I’d been the one to finish him.

  What else would I end up being glad about?

  I had no idea what time it was, but I didn’t think I’d be able to fall back asleep. I tried to get up carefully without waking up the guys, but I lifted my head and Alrik’s popped open.

  As my alpha Blood, he was the biggest, baddest man I’d ever seen. He looked like he’d walked off a superhero movie set.

  “My queen?” He whispered, but my other Blood lifted his head too.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “We live to serve.” Daire stretched as only a cat can do, like every muscle in his body had a kink in it. “Even if it’s fucking six o’clock in the morning.”

  “It is? How do you know?”

  He rolled over and faced me, smiling so his dimple showed in his cheek. “I have no idea what time it is. It just feels early. Are you well?”

  “No,” Alrik said before I could, a frown grooving his forehead. “You hurt. Is this
normal when you menstruate?”

  “Unfortunately, yes. Though that’s a human thing. I have no idea why I’m so lucky to have cramps like this when I’m not even human.”

  I sat up, trying to think of a graceful way to escape to the bathroom when I’m sure I was bleeding heavily. “I really should have put a tampon in last night.”

  Alrik made a low, rumbly noise that was somewhere between the growl of a distant storm and the thunderous purr of some great beast. “There’s no need, my queen. If you lie back, I’ll be more than happy to clean you up.”

  Ew. Gross. It made me cringe. Human sensibilities, I guess.

  Daire cocked an eyebrow at me. “It’s our nature. Even more so for Rik. He’ll be hard pressed to leave you alone for an hour when you smell so…” He inhaled deeply, running his nose along my arm. “Good.”

  As the alpha Blood, Alrik would evidently be the one to mate with me, if I ever decided to have a child. Aima women only menstruated when they were in heat, ready to breed. The better to attract the male vampire, my sweet. So me bleeding was going to drive the big guy nuts.

  He rubbed his face across my shoulder to my back, one big arm coming around my waist. His fingers dipped lower, cupping my pussy, and he shuddered against me.

  Power rose in me. The hairs on my arms rose, the charge building in the air around me. Yesterday, I’d tried to tap that power to fix my hair, and about blew the top of my head off. And I’d only been flowing a trickle. This felt like a mess.

  A mess to me, maybe, but not to him. He rubbed his hand over me, not stroking me, exactly, but just holding my pussy, treasuring me. Blood and all. Despite my hang ups, my head still fell back against his shoulder and I opened my legs wider. Need rose in me. His mouth pressed against my ear, his breath hot on my skin. His tongue dipped into my ear as his fingers slid deeper. One finger inside me, his thumb rubbing my clit. So slow and languorous, as if he was in no rush. I’d always thought foreplay involved the guy getting the girl off as quickly as possible so he could get on with his own business.

  But not Rik. And not Daire either.

  I opened my eyes, checking to see where Daire had gone.

  “I asked him to start the coffee,” Rik whispered against my ear, twisting his finger deeper, making my hips arch into his hand.

  “You asked him to leave?”

  “Yes. I’m his alpha. He’ll do as I tell him. Even when he doesn’t want to.”

  “What if I wanted him here? With us?”

  Rik’s hand stilled. “With a thought, I’ll call him back, my queen. But remember his nature. He won’t be able to resist licking what I merely pet.”

  My stomach trembled, my brain quailed, but my body thought that was a brilliant idea. Through his bond, I could feel his hunger. He wanted to bury his head between my thighs too. More than anything. Need pounded like a jackhammer in his skull. He needed to mate. More, his queen needed him, evidenced by the blood, which to him meant breeding time. It was meant to drive him crazy, and it was.

  Yet he only stroked me.

  Just feeling his need was almost enough to convince me I should allow him to do as he wished. It would have been really easy for him to kiss and cajole me into going along with his need. In fact, I couldn’t believe he wasn’t, especially as badly as he felt. His urge to mate was just as urgent as his need to breathe after being submerged in water. He was drowning, driven to the point of madness by his own body’s impulses. Yet without the bond, I wouldn’t have even known.

  “I would like nothing better than to feast on your blood, from whatever part of your body it came. But you would not enjoy it, and so I will not, either. If there comes a time you’d welcome me in that regard, know that I’m more than eager. Any of us will be. It would be a priceless gift to us. And yes, the power kick from a breeding queen is insane.”

  I was relieved—but a little disappointed and guilty too. I didn’t like denying him when he’d do anything to please me. “But I’m not breeding. It’s just my period.”

  “We don’t know that you aren’t breeding too. And by your scent…” he rubbed his face up the column of my throat and pressed his nose behind my ear, up under my hair, and breathed deeply. “You’re breeding. That’s what your scent and your body are telling me. Fuck. Would it upset you if I tasted your blood from my hand?”

  Blood itself didn’t bother me. It was just the whole period aspect that put a damper on sharing that particular blood. But I’d love to watch him do something that would bring him so much pleasure. I pulled away enough to turn and face him. “You can on one condition. I want you to come when you taste it.”

  His eyes smoldered, his mouth partly opened, his lips full like he’d been kissing me senseless for days. His fangs had descended too, making a surge of desire crest inside me. I knew the pleasure he could bring with those fangs. His vampire sensibilities knew exactly when to bite to maximize my pleasure. But this time he wouldn’t have to bite to taste my blood.

  Or to make me come. Because I had a feeling I was going to be able to climax just from watching him.

  Reaching over with his clean left hand, he dragged his palm up my slit, hand cupped, catching everything he could get. He wrapped his bloody right hand around his dick and hissed. His nostrils flared, a muscle in his cheek ticking as he restrained himself. But he didn’t pump his cock at all. He just smeared my blood over himself, running his hand up over the head and down the sides. His shoulders bunched, his neck corded, and I shuddered at the memory of having him on top of me. Inside me. All that power. All that force. Thrusting into me.

  He lifted his left hand up to his mouth, closed his eyes, and tipped his palm, letting my blood slide into his mouth. I felt the rush of fire exploding through his veins. His muscles twitched like a live wire jumped inside him. He let out a guttural cry and arched his back, shaking as he came, hard. Every shudder pushing me closer to the edge as he licked his palm. Sucked his fingers. Making sure to get every drop.

  And I couldn’t help myself. I threw myself at him and locked my mouth to his throat. I bit him, willing my fangs to emerge. I wanted to have his blood filling my mouth. I wanted to hear him groan with the sweet pain as I penetrated him. I wanted to take him, possess him, as he had done to me.

  He cupped my pussy again, sliding his fingers deep inside me, filling me, and climax rumbled through me. I came. But it wasn’t what I wanted. At all.

  I buried my face against his throat and fought not to cry.

  “Let me—”

  “No,” I retorted, refusing to look up at him. “I don’t want you to tear open a vein for me.”

  “If you hunger—”

  “I want to be able to do it myself. Do other queens have this issue? Have you ever heard of a queen with no fangs?”

  “You have fangs. You felt them. It’s just not… time.”

  I pulled away, avoiding his gaze, and climbed out of bed. “I’m going to take a shower. A real shower.”

  “Shara…”

  I paused but didn’t look back at him. “I won’t feed again until I can bite you myself.”

  “Don’t say that.” He got up too, coming to my side to wrap his arms around me, but I didn’t soften. I didn’t yield into his arms. He wanted to comfort me. Placate me. Distract me. “You need blood, now more than ever. You need to be strong.”

  “I’m Isis’s last queen and I can’t even take blood myself. Everyone keeps telling me that the other queens will want me dead, but they’ll only laugh when they see what a sorry excuse for a vampire I am. I can’t even bite my own Blood to feed myself.”

  He rested his chin on my head, his arms steady around me. “This Blood in particular will open every vein on his body for you before you can even ask.”

  Steel hardened inside me. “As Isis is my witness, I won’t ask.”

  #

  Alrik

  I stared at the bathroom door worriedly. She needed to feed. This was a crucial time in her ascension as the Isador queen. The more blood she too
k, the more powerful she’d be, and yeah, she was already fucking powerful. But it was raw and untapped. She needed time to hone her magic, and she wouldn’t have that time if she wasn’t strong enough to keep the other queens away based on sheer strength.

  More troubling, though, was her adamancy. The ancient gods loved nothing more than one of their creations making such an oath, which opened the door for the deity to fuck with them. I didn’t believe Isis hovered over this house listening to Her last queen’s words, but that kind of refusal might have drawn the goddess’s attention. And when a goddess wanted Her last queen strong…

  She’d answer that prayer, that oath, but not necessarily in a way that Shara would approve.

  I went back upstairs to the tower room and stripped the bed linens for her. It would upset her if she came back in and found Daire crouched on the mattress feeding on the soiled spots, and without a doubt, I knew he’d do exactly that. She could have called the blood to her and returned her energy somewhat, but she’d been too upset. Her emotions were volatile, and not just because of her period. Though that certainly didn’t help.

  Her whole world had changed in the span of a few days, and this was just the tip of the iceberg.

  :Rik, you need to see this.: Daire said through our bond, alert, but not alarmed, so I didn’t tromp downstairs like we were under attack.

  I found him in the living room with the television on the local news station. As soon as I entered, he unpaused the show.

  “A clothing store in the Power and Light District was vandalized overnight,” the anchorwoman said. “They provided an exclusive to us of the security camera footage. Brace yourself, folks, because this is definitely something in the realm of ‘we have no idea what this is.’”

  A grainy black-and-white film played on the screen, displaying the front entrance. The glass exploded and two shapes appeared on screen.

  I groaned. Thralls. Captured on human surveillance.

  The news channel paused the security tape with a thrall prominently frozen on the screen. It was definitely human-shaped, though bent and lanky. Its eyes glowed oddly and teeth glistened.