The Red Lily (Vampire Blood)

by Juliette Cross

  Nikolai removed his fingers, then placed a gentler open-mouthed kiss on her sex, licking slowly with the flat of his tongue. Sienna whimpered and scooted up the bed, far too sensitive there now.

  He gazed up and grinned, licking his bottom lip before he sucked the two fingers he’d had inside of her with a long slide from his mouth. “I could taste you forever.”

  “My heart would give out in a day,” she panted, incredulous he would do and say something so naughty. “Perhaps in an hour.”

  He chuckled and launched himself up and over her. “I like seeing that flush in your cheeks.” He nipped her lips. “And hearing that smile in your voice.”

  She wondered how he could see anything, but then again, he was vampire. “Well, I like breathing.” She panted heavily still. “So give me a moment to catch my breath.”

  He settled beside her, pulled the covers over them, and wrapped a strong arm around her waist, pulling her over till her head rested on his chest. “Take all the time you need.”

  His voice was light and airy, unlike his usual brooding self.

  She tilted her head toward him. “You’re happy with yourself, aren’t you?”

  “Quite.”

  “I’ve never experienced something like that before.” She had no experience with men, but she thought she knew enough from watching farm animals. Apparently not.

  “I am certainly glad to hear that,” he said only slightly more serious. “If another man tried to do that to you, I’d have to rip out his tongue.”

  “You’re very territorial.”

  “Very. Glad you’ve noted.”

  Strange how that act of intimacy had washed away the angst and tension from before. Then she realized that was exactly what he was trying to do. He’d wanted her pleasure alone, he’d said. He’d certainly gotten it.

  “Is it always like that?” she asked, almost too shy, but enjoying the intimacy that had grown between them in the dark.

  “No.” He flatted his palm, fingers spread, over her abdomen under the covers. “It will be better next time.”

  “Better?”

  He laughed and lowered his head, sweeping his lips across hers. Not a kiss, but a reminder that they’d knocked down a wall between them and there was no rebuilding it. Then he whispered, “Wait till you see what it feels like when I’m buried deep inside you.”

  He rolled her onto her side, so she faced the wall of windows, a hand squeezing her hip. She’d forgotten about the calm moonlight cascading through the glass. The quiet moment before he stepped into the room was millions of leagues away. Yes, she’d thought of him many times. Too many to count if truth be told. But imagination was entirely different from reality.

  “Sleep,” he commanded, as if he could hear her thoughts spinning. “I want you to rest.”

  He pressed his chest to her back, banding an arm at her waist, and pulled her tight, molding his body to the back of hers. Kissing her on the temple, he lay his head on her pillow. His hard manhood pressed against the small of her back. She wondered how on earth he could sleep while still aroused.

  “Shut your beautiful brain off and go to sleep, Sienna.”

  She smiled into the dark. She loved his endearments for her. But her name sounded most divine of all on his lips. With a sigh, she snuggled deeper into his arms and fell asleep. As he commanded.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Standing at the picture window overlooking the gardens and the rolling hills beyond, his hands clasped at his back, Nikolai watched the snow, anxious that it would be too cold for Sienna to travel. The world was a gray pall, reflecting his mood. After last night, his resolve to get her on a ship as soon as possible had settled like a rock in his stomach. They hadn’t resolved the matter of whether they were fleeing directly to Cutters Cove or finishing the mission they’d started. But Nikolai’s instincts told him to quit now and take her as far away as he could.

  Who was he kidding? His entire being—body and soul—urged him to abscond with his beauty and hide her away from the rest of the world so there was only him and her. An irrational impulse, he knew. But since last night when he’d finally admitted to himself that she had burrowed herself deep inside of him and that he was no longer open to the idea of letting her go, he’d been devising plans for their future. Laughable now that he thought of it. The loner who never took a woman longer than a week, lest she fall unfortunately in love with him, was now contemplating the idea of forever.

  Of course, forever would be until the end of her natural life. She was mortal, he was not. He could have Marius make her vampire…but only if she chose. Hell, he could have Friedrich do it right here before they left Winter Hill. He had the power as well as Marius. But deep down, he knew her answer would be no. Arabelle had told him of her grandmother’s love for a vampire as well as her opinion that they were the cursed race. Sienna obviously loved her grandmother and trusted her. Making her a vampire wasn’t an option.

  There was that other matter to contend with as well. He would never hurt her. He knew that now. Not physically anyway. But if she ever found out what kind of a monster he once was, the sin that still blackened his soul, she might look on him with shame and horror. That was something he couldn’t bear. He pushed the thought aside, unable to face the devastation that would cause. He was too far gone to turn back now.

  His mind drifted back to the night before. Her easy surrender and yearning need for him had nearly broken his control, pushing him to stake his claim with quick force. That was the old demon rising its ugly head, gripping the reins hard and lashing at Nikolai to take what was his with violent speed. Feeling the beast riding him hard was what kept Nikolai from sliding between her legs and pounding home.

  The anxious beat of her heart was what had summoned him from his own bed. His need to comfort her was the driving force calling him to her bedroom. When he saw her lying there, soft and pliant and lush in the transparent muslin he’d bought her, his first instinct was to tear the damned thing from her body and take her. That was the moment he froze, realizing it wasn’t simply her beauty or the heady scent of wild lavender in the woods she carried under her skin that he wanted.

  It was her. All of her.

  Her fear of what had happened that day and her need for comfort had beaten his own beast back into its cave. He was determined to give her what she needed and ignore his own desires. For now. Of course, that had left him with the most painfully stiff cock he’d ever had. Still there this morning, he rolled out of the warm cocoon of her bed, groaning at leaving her lush body alone. But a man had only so much willpower. Even a vampire such as him.

  He wanted her. Desperately. Painfully. But he needed her to understand what it meant before he made her his. He needed her to get used to the idea before it happened. For when he drove deep inside her body, he’d never let another man touch her. Never. He parried and fenced with the devil living inside him for far too long to believe otherwise. Once he’d crossed that threshold with her, there would be no turning back. She wasn’t simply any woman. She was Sienna.

  For a maid who had lived alone for many years, Sienna was a confident woman. She was open to his attentions. Quite open. He wasn’t sure if that came from years of loneliness and womanly curiosity or if it was because of him. If her sensuality had nothing to do with him specifically, then he would be forced to leave her before they’d crossed a bridge too far. If she was simply coming into her own womanhood and exploring her sexuality, then he must let her go. Even if it shattered him into a million pieces.

  He’d like nothing more than to be her casual lover. But there would never be anything casual between them. She’d buried her claws deep, and his need for her was a terrifying reality that had shaken him to his core. He knew himself well enough to know once he’d crossed that bridge with her, he was done for.

  “Good morning.” Friedrich stepped into the parlor behind him.

  “Morning.” Nikolai pulled himself from the window.

  “Sleep well?” Friedrich w
ore a wicked smile like the fiend that he was.

  “Not especially.” He had rested easily next to her, but sleep eluded him. Wonder why.

  “That’s too bad.” Friedrich chuckled and ambled toward his desk, surrounded by bookshelves on every wall. “I’ve been told those bedrooms are very comfortable.”

  “Yes. Well, there were other reasons for my discomfort,” he said on a sigh.

  “I imagine that there were.”

  Nikolai aimed a death glare at the duke, for there was innuendo in every word he said.

  With another fiendish smile, he waved him over. “Oh, come, lieutenant. Wipe off the scowl. I have something of importance to show you.”

  Nikolai joined Friedrich at his desk, where he pulled out a map from a locked drawer and sprawled it across the cherrywood top. It was a map of the northern provinces, Winter Hill at its center. Along the southern border of the map, there were a few villages circled in red ink.

  “What are these?” Nikolai pointed.

  “I have my own scouts out there seeking information.”

  “Legionnaires?”

  “No.” Friedrich’s charming countenance had slipped, his brow pinched into a frown. “I don’t keep Legionnaires. I have a personal guard.”

  Surprised, knowing Friedrich had always arrived at the Glass Tower with his own escort of Legionnaires, he asked, “Since when did this happen?”

  The duke stared at him pointedly. “Since Marius fled the Glass Tower and reported to me that his mother, our queen, had fallen into the dark of sanguine furorem. Besides, my uncle had set his own spies amongst my soldiers.”

  Nikolai scoffed. “Not surprising. I’ve been thinking on the queen.”

  “And?”

  “I don’t believe she had ever fallen. She was the first of us, the one who slayed her twin brother for the crown. I believe she’s always been a host for the blood madness.”

  “If that’s true, then she’s been hiding her secret for thousands of years. Why is it only a few months ago that she’s gotten sloppy enough to get caught?”

  Nikolai clenched his jaw, swallowing his pride before he answered. “Unfortunately, there have been signs for some time. When I first joined the Legionnaires, I witnessed an attack of the blood madness at a ball. That was long ago. I’ve also heard reports over the years that one of our soldiers had lost control and drained his bleeder dry. But each time I looked into the account, there either was no body to support the rumor or my interrogation came up empty.”

  “Didn’t you suspect so many rumors as being suspicious?”

  “That’s just it.” Nikolai settled into a black leather chair opposite the desk behind which Friedrich stood. “It was never close together. It happened perhaps two or three times per decade. So it always appeared as a singular incident.”

  “Oh,” said Friedrich, a dawning expression raising his brow. “I always forget you’re over a century old.” Friedrich was only half his age. “So what caused you all to finally catch on?”

  Nikolai heaved out a sigh. “That’s the hard part of it all. It was Arabelle who brought it to our attention.”

  Friedrich grinned. “That’s right. Marius told me as much after he’d absconded with his new bride. Marius has his hands full with that one.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “I think I have a little. I met her at his Blood Ball, the very night she attempted to assassinate him.”

  “Yes.” Nikolai stiffened at the reminder of his lapse in judgment that night, allowing her to get so close with a blade tipped in gold. “I was there as well.” If she’d hit her mark, his heart, she would’ve succeeded in killing the prince. Fortunately, fate intervened.

  “She reminds me of someone else I know.”

  “Oh?” Nikolai was curious. “Who’s that?”

  “The damn schoolteacher in Terrington.” His brows pinched together.

  “Damn schoolteacher? Seems she’s gotten under your skin, Your Grace.”

  His mouth ticked up on one side. “Perhaps. I caught her snooping around my castle, seeking information about me and the Black Lily from her friend Sylvia, who is one of my servants.”

  Somewhat alarmed, Nikolai asked, “Who is she working for? Your uncle?”

  “Of that, I don’t know. But I plan to find out.”

  Nikolai settled back again, relieved that the duke was apparently as adept at deception as any spy in the ranks of the Royal Legionnaires. He was a good ally to have in the Black Lily.

  “Interesting.” Friedrich rubbed his chin, staring at the map.

  “What’s that?”

  “What if the reason the bodies have escalated is nothing more than timing?”

  “How so?”

  Friedrich rested a hand loosely on one hip. “You say the queen had gotten sloppy, and that’s why she finally got caught. What if it isn’t that at all? What if she’s just gotten more comfortable?”

  Nikolai leaned forward, hands clasped together. “What do you mean?”

  “The timing all coincided with Marius’s one hundredth birthday, the day he was to marry his princess and seal the final alliance of the Varis line.”

  “Yes. But he didn’t marry her as you recall. And what of it? What would his marrying Princess Vilhelmina have to do with the queen and the blood madness?”

  “It’s not the marriage, exactly, but what a pure lineage marriage would produce.” He sat in his chair and met Nikolai’s gaze across the desk with excitement shining bright in his dark blue eyes. “An heir. A strong Varis heir would give her the confidence to let her guard down. If she knew her legacy was sealed with a strong heir to continue the line for future generations, an heir she might even be able to manipulate if raised under her wing, then she could try again to bring back the old darkness, ruling with an iron fist. Disregarding the well-being of her subjects.”

  “I think I know why,” came Sienna’s soft voice at the open door.

  They both turned. Sienna stood, fully dressed, her hair pulled back. She would’ve looked refreshed if it weren’t for the sickening pallor whitening her cheeks and lips.

  “Sienna.” Nikolai went to her and guided her into the room. “Come and sit.” He brought her to one of the chairs before the desk, then took a seat beside her. Friedrich sat as well, leaning to the side, his arm casually draped, though there was nothing casual about his grave expression.

  “Now, what is it?” Nikolai kept her hand in his, gently stroking her knuckles with his thumb. “What is it you know?”

  She almost smiled, though sorrow was etched on her brow. “You may not believe me, but I think I’ve had a premonition.”

  Nikolai exchanged a troubled glance with Friedrich, then encouraged her. “Tell us. What do you mean?”

  Swallowing hard and sitting up straighter, she said, “My grandmother used to tell me an old fairytale. A dark fairytale.” She licked her lips as if her mouth had gone dry. “Very dark. She said that the tale came to her in dreams. And when she died, the tale came to mine. Well, it was a nightmare, really. I’d forgotten about it. Until last night…” Her gaze swiveled from Friedrich to Nikolai, who squeezed her hand gently. “I dreamed it again. But this time, I recognized the faces of those who had been faceless all the times before. And now I know, it’s not just a story. It’s the future.”

  “Tell us, my lady,” said Friedrich.

  She nodded, but instead of speaking, she stood and walked to the window beside Friedrich’s desk, overlooking the vast snow-covered hills behind the castle. She appeared to be remembering or perhaps drawing up courage, then finally she cleared her throat softly.

  “Once, there was a dark queen who ruled on high. Beautiful and immortal, she reigned with absolute power.”

  Sienna paused. Nikolai noted her tangling her fingers together in agitation. He wanted to comfort her but sensed she wanted to get through this on her own. They all knew who the dark queen was. She went on.

  “The queen had everything. Healthy heirs. Loyal Legionna
ires. Beauty. Wealth. And an endless supply of bleeders at her beck and call. For this queen was vampire—powerful beyond compare. And yet, her spirit was restless. She wanted more. She longed for a world where laws could not impede her wicked desires, for a dominion of darkness, black like her heart and soul.

  “So she went into the enchanted forest, towering with black trees and silver leaves, seeking counsel from the hartstone—the place of magic that had transformed her body into an ageless immortal. She wandered in and out of the woods for a century, begging the hartstone to show itself. Until finally, one day, the hartstone did. Though the stone of making only revealed itself to those it chose, it was drawn to beings infused with magic of their own. And the dark queen was filled with potent sorcery.

  “The queen confessed her evil desire for eternal dominion over a dark world and asked if her deepest wish was possible. In response, the hartstone revealed a vision on its mirrored surface. It blurred, depicting a faceless queen on her throne and four sons at her side. The scene blurred into another, the view from behind of a dark-haired son and fair-haired bride at their candle-lit wedding. The scene faded into another of the fair-haired bride, drenched in sweat and blood as she gave birth to a healthy son. The scene faded one last time, where the father handed his child to the queen.”

  Sienna turned from the window, her green eyes glittering unnaturally bright, her voice shaking as she finished the tale. “There, with her newborn grandson in hand, by the light of the full moon, she sank her fangs into his small throat and drank his lifeblood until the child’s screams echoed off the stone walls no more.” A tear slipped down Sienna’s cheek.

  “As the hartstone went cold and black, the queen knew her course and the path she must walk. For she felt the message clear to the marrow of her bones. That in the hour when she would steal her royal grandson’s innocent soul on the night of his birth, she would relinquish the last shred of her humanity to the beast within, and darkness would fall over the land, holding dominion over all mankind and immortals. For eternity.”

  Nikolai rose and rounded the desk, gripping her by the shoulders and pulling her close. For a moment, none of them said a word for there was an energy in the air, sparking the room with the scent of magic. None of them could deny the fact that this was no tale.