by T. S. Ryder
As he rose to his feet, Calissa pulled him forward into a fierce kiss, the likes of which they hadn’t shared since he’d spoken to the Council that very first time.
His hand tangled in her curly hair and gripped the back of her head, pulling her ever closer, while his other arm wrapped firmly around her waist to keep her flush against his chest, and, as they kissed, his long-dead heart soared from his chest in happiness.
“As long as I have you to do this with,” Calissa whispered against his lips, once they’d broken apart for breath, “I can do anything.”
Chapter Six
The trip up to Lee’s bedroom was a blur of kissing and tugging on clothing. Had he had his way, he’d have taken Calissa right then and there in her office, but she’d stubbornly insisted.
“Why did it take you so long to love me again?” he breathed, as her fangs struck deep against his jugular and her hands clawed desperately at his torso to keep him pulled close. He moaned as his blood left his body, the heat it caused shooting straight to his groin.
Calissa pulled off of his neck with a soft, wet smack of her bloodied lips, and immediately pressed a hungry kiss against his lips. “I never stopped loving you,” she whispered, with a shudder, as one of Lee’s hands slid from her hip, across her stomach and into the black, lace panties that did little to cover her.
His fingers worked small, quick circles against her clit that left her entire body bucking up against his hand and a soft, keening moan spilling from her lips. It didn’t take long for her to find his neck again and bite against it, sucking deep, claiming marks against the pale expanse of his throat, collarbone and shoulders; anything her lips could reach she laid claim to until, with a fast jerk of Lee’s fingers, her body spasmed in a weak orgasm.
“Done so soon?” Lee teased, as he pressed her back against the bed and lightly rubbed his thigh between her legs. As he spoke, and her body began to respond to his touches once more, he licked and nipped across her throat, down her collarbones and over her chest until his mouth found a pert nipple.
“N-Not done,” Calissa stammered, her hands tangling into Lee’s dark hair and a gasp of bliss on her lips as his teeth rolled against her nipple and his hand massaged at her breast. “Please...” she whined, rutting her hips up against his leg and raking her nails across his back. “I need you inside me… Lee, please!”
With a sly, mischievous grin, Lee tore the lace panties from Calissa’s hips and ran a finger, slow and tantalizing, along her slick folds. As she trembled and quaked around him, whining plaintively for him to satisfy her, he moved away from her.
“You have to work for it,” he purred, as he removed his clothing and knelt on the bed, his erect penis twitching and swollen, in search of release. “Come on, Leesi. You need to be fed, and I want you to drink down every last drop.”
Calissa whimpered, her own fingers having strayed between her folds as Lee had undressed. They danced in and out of her, twisting about and pleasing her in ways only she herself knew. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, pressing her fingers into herself all the way up to the knuckles and back. “I-I need this...”
But Lee wouldn’t have any of it. He caught the hand that pleasured herself and pinned it above her head.
“Did I say to touch yourself?” he demanded, to which Calissa whimpered and shook her head. “I didn’t think so. Come suck my cock, or I’ll never let you cum.”
“But—”
“No,” Lee cut her off before she could complain.
Sighing, Calissa shakily got on her hands and knees as Lee laid out on the bed, and positioned herself between his legs. Her entire body ached with need for the man, but she ignored it in favor of enclosing her lips around the tip of his twitching cock.
“Take me all in, Leesi,” Lee commanded. Calissa shivered but obliged, and swallowed him down until she could feel him deep in her throat and her nose was buried against the soft, curly hairs that surrounded his tender sack. Slowly, she began to bob, sucking long and hard against the penis in her mouth.
Lee twitched and moaned above her, and his hips snapped forward into her mouth as he all but drilled himself against the back of her throat, over and over again until. His fingers clenched in her hair and pulled but, when she made a soft, pained noise, he quickly dropped his hands to her shoulders instead, squeezing slightly in apology.
He was being just a little rougher than usual in his excitement to hear that she loved him, but he’d be sure to take care of her as soon as she’d finished her job.
It didn’t take long before his gut curled with warmth and his balls clenched with need. With a cry of her name and a few sporadic thrusts of his hips, he released a hot burst of cum into her throat and, to his blissful delight, she drank his seed down as if it were the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.
With that, he pressed a heated kiss to her lips and pinned her back once more. “You’ve been a good girl,” he purred. “It’s time for your reward.”
Chapter Seven
For the first time in a long time, when Calissa woke up she didn’t despise the fact she was once more pressed naked against Lee’s chest. She had no desire to push him away. No sense of anger filled her stomach at the sight of him. Instead, a tender love had filled her heart, something she hadn’t felt for him in a long time.
As Lee stirred around her, she pressed closer to his chest with a soft noise of protest. He laughed around her, and the sound warmed her heart.
“Come on, Leesi. We have to wake up,” he whispered to her, his hands gently combing through her tangled curls. “We have work to do. The Council is likely to show up tonight or tomorrow. They aren’t patient people,” he reminded her gently.
Slowly, he sat up, with Calissa in his arms, and pressed a gentle “good evening” kiss to her lips.
“I have all the proof I need…” Calissa said. If she could just negotiate five more minutes of time wrapped up in his arms, then she’d be happy.
“True,” Lee agreed, as he kissed her nose. “But do you know what to wear? Do you know how to speak with them? They are going to try to get out of having to send their guards however they can. If that means taking advantage of you, a new ruling monarch, then that’s what they’ll do.”
“Wouldn’t they want to help?” Calissa asked in surprise.
“Not if it means they have to do any work,” Lee disagreed. “These are very old vampires. Vampires that appointed themselves Lords before humans ever posed a threat. They don’t believe we are having trouble with this.”
At this, Calissa frowned and huddled that much closer to Lee’s chest. If the Council didn’t care about the different struggles of each individual coven, what was the point in having one to begin with? Instead of voicing this thought aloud, though, she pressed a kiss to Lee’s neck and then got to her feet.
“Alright, Lee. Help me get dressed and let’s figure out what needs to be said to the council.”
He nodded and got up beside her, taking her hand in his own. “Viktor will listen to you,” he said, as he opened up a dusty-looking closet and revealed the regal clothing of past coven monarchs. An all-lace, black dress caught her eye but, before she could grab it, it was in Lee’s hands, as if he could read her mind.
“Here. Try putting this one on,” he said, as he went over to his own personal wardrobe and pulled out a lace pair of panties, similar to the ones Calissa had worn the previous day.
“You kept those?” she asked incredulously, though she slipped them on without question and unzipped the skin tight, lace dress. As she pulled it on, Lee continued.
“It’s Arjin I’m worried about,” he admitted. He was briefly distracted as his eyes roamed all over Calissa’s voluptuous frame and the way the lace dress clung so perfectly to every angle and curve of her body, but he stopped himself before his looking turned into touches. “See, Angulic and Arjin are a married, mated pair. Anything he says, she’ll agree with. David is so soft spoken that his opinion rarely makes a difference.”
“Help me with this?” Calissa said, once she’d gotten the dress all the way on save having it zipped. She turned around to face the wall and hummed as Lee zipped her into the dress. “So, what you’re saying is if I win Arjin over—”
“The rest of the Council will likely follow,” Lee finished. He turned her around once he’d zipped her in and looked her over with a smile. The dress looked as though it’d been tailored specifically with her frame and size in mind, it fit her so well. Slowly, he pressed a kiss to her lips.
“How hard is it going to be to convince Arjin to send in the guard?” she asked hesitantly.
“Extremely.”
A knock sounded at the door then, and Calissa’s heart sank. The vampire on the other side of the door claimed the Council was there in their foyer.
“I thought I’d have more time to prepare for this!” she gasped. Fear shone in her eyes as she looked up at Lee, but, as he pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head and pulled her into a warm embrace, her nerves settled.
“You can do this, Calissa. I know you can. And don’t worry,” he said, looking down at her with a wink. “Call for an ambassador, and I’ll get to be by your side the entire time.”
“Promise me?” Calissa whispered.
“I promise.”
Chapter Eight
“Lords of the Council,” Calissa called, as she appeared at the top of the stairway. Her heart fluttered nervously in her chest, especially now that Lee was not beside her. Four pairs of eyes stared up at her, showing various stages of irritation and boredom.
As she descended the stairs, Viktor moved toward her and met her at the bottom, a smile on his lips. “Lady Calissa, your recent ascension into ruling monarch of the house suits you well.”
“Enough with the pleasantries, Viktor. We didn’t come here for small talk,” Arjin grumbled, as he approached the pair. “Well, Calissa? What do you have to say about these alleged human attacks?”
“Ah. I appreciate…” Calissa paused, swallowing hard. Viktor met her gaze and nodded slightly, encouraging her to continue. “I appreciate your willingness to get started, b-but I feel the need to call an ambassa—”
“You don’t need an ambassador, woman!” Arjin cut in, irritation plain in his eyes. “This is nonsense! Why have we even come out here if we aren’t going to speak about the matter at hand?”
“Peace, Arjin, my dear friend,” Viktor soothed. “Lady Calissa has rights to an ambassador just the same as any monarch of any coven,” he reminded, before turning his attention back onto Calissa with a smile. “Please, dear lady, call your ambassador,”
Calissa smiled gratefully at him and nodded. At least Viktor was on her side. “I’d like to call Lee Dameron as my ambassador so that he might hear and scribe our conversation.” And, just like that, Lee was at her side again, a lazy, easygoing smirk on his pale face.
“Hello boys, and Angulic,” he grinned, waving a hand as a form of greeting. “Long time, no see. Has it really been but a day?”
Arjin advanced on Lee as if to strike him, but Calissa stepped in front of him before things could get out of hand.
“Please don’t fight in my house,” she said, eyeing Arjin first, and then Lee, before returning her attention to the Council as a whole.
“Follow me to the study, where we can talk a bit more comfortably,” she said. Despite how calmly she spoke, she reached out for Lee and grasped his hand tightly when he took hers in his own. Her heart hammered so harshly in her chest that she was almost positive she’d pass out.
Yet the walk to the study was uneventful, and thankfully without incident or accident of any kind. She ushered them all into her office and pulled chairs around her desk for each of the Council members to sit in while Lee stood at her side.
“Look,” she began, choosing to be both blunt and upfront with them. “Our people are dying,” she stated, shocked by the utter lack of compassion her words were received with.
“And?” Arjin questioned, an irritated look on his face. “What do you expect us to do about your lack of control and protection?”
Calissa had to grit her teeth to keep from retorting, and Lee shifted beside her angrily. Was Arjin intentionally trying to rile them up?
“I expect you to do your jobs,” she stated bluntly, as she looked between the four of them. “The purpose of the vampire Council is to protect all of us when we can’t protect ourselves, is it not?”
“How dare you accu—”
“I said, is it not?” Calissa demanded, her confidence in their case returning now that she was in her own territory, so to speak. Her office was the most familiar place in the world, and no one was going to try to speak over her.
Arjin looked taken aback by being talked over, and for once the angry, old vampire cracked a sideways smile. “Alright, alright. You’ve made your point.”
“When we created the Council centuries ago, that’s exactly what we intended,” Viktor agreed, smiling genuinely as Calissa took full control of the conversation.
Satisfied she had everyone’s attention, Calissa sat up a little straighter in her chair, cleared her throat and looked at them all. “OK. We need your help. Human hunters have built a village in the middle of our territory. Just this week alone, sixteen of us have turned up staked by human hands. There isn’t much we can do to stop them without a proper fighting force.”
“What exactly do you intend for our Council Guard to do?” Arjin asked, as he exchanged a look with his mate before looking back towards Calissa again.
“Well,” she said, biting her lip thoughtfully. She looked toward Lee for some form of guidance, but the former prince merely shook his head. This was her decision and her decision alone. This was the part that was important to get right.
“We don’t want them to actively attack the humans. They are our food source, and without them we’d all die. But we do need to defend our people. If that means having them turn the human hunters into the hunted and killing them before they have a chance to kill any more of my coven, then so be it.”
At this, all four of the Council nodded their head slowly and exchanged glances with each other. Hope fluttered in Calissa’s heart. Would they finally agree to deploy the Council Guards after the coven had been being hunted for so long? After so long of being denied the help they so desperately needed?
“Give us a moment to speak alone,” Arjin said, as he looked around at the other three. “There are… logistics that need to be discussed before a final verdict can officially be reached.”
With that, Arjin, Angulic, David and Viktor all marched out of the office one by one and disappeared behind the door into the hallway.
Chapter Nine
Calissa stared at the door for a long while after the Council had departed, barely daring to breathe.
“What do you suppose they are talking about out there?” she asked, barely taking the time to spare a glance at Lee. She didn’t want to miss their initial facial expressions when they walked back into her office.
“It’s hard to say, really,” Lee admitted, though, realizing that only made Calissa all the more anxious, he rested a hand against her shoulder and squeezed it gently.
“Hey. Look at me,” he said, tilting her chin with a finger, smiling as her eyes finally met his own. “It’ll be OK. This is the most they’ve listened in a long time. I bet you they agree to help.”
“And if they don’t?” Calissa asked, her eyes wide with anxiety. If they didn’t agree, then the blame for the coven’s deaths would fall directly onto her shoulders as the new coven monarch. The very thought almost made her sick.
Lee took her hand and pulled her to her feet before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. “Well. If they don’t, then we figure something else out,” he said, his telltale confidence shining through. “They are not the only force in this world that can hunt down humans. If need be, we go to others. To werewolves and fairies, witches and the dragons themselves. It’ll be ok.”
; Calissa just nodded and buried her face against his love-marked neck with a shudder. “I just hope it doesn’t have to come to that. So many more vampires will die.”
“I know… I hope it doesn’t come to that, either,” Lee admitted. “But, if it does, we have other options.”
Calissa nodded, her arms tightening around Lee for a brief moment, though she immediately jerked away when Viktor and Arjin stepped back into the office. The other two were nowhere to be seen.
“Where are the others?” Lee asked in surprise, having never remembered a time when the Council members hadn’t appeared as a full unit of four in his life.
“We told them to head out to the car. We won’t take much longer here.” Viktor said, as he handed over a sealed roll of parchment to Calissa. “My dear Lady Calissa, I’m pleased to finally be giving this to you and the coven of the Northern Isles.”
With that, he and Arjin both bowed slightly before they departed once more, this time leaving for good.
Calissa then just stared at the rolled parchment in her hands, holding it as though it might become a living creature and bite her. “What should I do with it?” she asked, wishing Lee was still prince so that he’d have to be the one to open it instead of her.
“Open it. There is nothing to be afraid of,” Lee encouraged.
“Nothing to be… Lee! Our entire life, the lives of the vampires under our control – the life of our child! – depends on what is written in this!” she said, appalled by his indifference but empowered by his calm.
Calm that crumbled away when her words finally sunk in.
“Our child?” he asked in hollow voice, sounding exactly as shocked as he looked... and Calissa herself felt no better. She didn’t intend to blurt it out this way – but, damn it, she wasn’t sorry because she knew she was right!
