by Cara Carnes
Holy hexes.
This couldn’t be good. Her rattled brain couldn’t recall specific Imperial Law forbidding a cursed witch from… Oh, dear goddesses. Had she really indentured the freaking prince of vampires? Not. Good. The air gelatinized with her terror. The emotion clanged around her insides, zinging off the guilt and self-recrimination to germinate in her lungs. She couldn’t breathe.
Dots appeared in her vision.
Strong arms wrapped around her. “Focus on my voice, Macy.”
Sure. Okay. She could handle that. Oh, crap. Was he speaking? A paper bag appeared over her mouth and nose.
“Breathe. Nice and deep,” Dmitri whispered. “Everything’s okay.”
He massaged down her tense spine, kneading the bundled nerves until they burst with awareness. She had a crush on a freaking vampire prince. She was so screwed.
“I will leave you two alone.” Concern glazed with disdain tinted Alonzo’s aura. “Summon me if needed. In the meantime, I’ll be useful and find Dragos.”
Oh, sweet crystals. He could summon? Wait. What did that mean? Did all vampires summon? Crud. Something else to ask. Mental note made.
The door clicked shut. Suddenly she was alone with Dmitri—a freaking vampire prince. No. He was the man who’d made her toes curl and her insides explode.
But he’s a freaking vampire prince.
Her brain screamed the shock, the danger, the sheer denial. Okay, vampires were different. Maybe that wasn’t a really big deal. It’s not like they let witches like her know much about vampire royalty. Hell, she didn’t even think their royalty was allowed in this realm. She knew witch royalty couldn’t travel to the vampire dimension.
Think. Vampires were made, right? No, that was human conjecture whispered by stupid witches. They’re born, blood born like any other. Yes, they could turn people with approval, but that was rare. So, he’s a blood born prince.
Macy took a deep breath. This thinking wasn’t helping much.
Wait. Vampires were a randy brood based on what she’d heard. Maybe there were tons of little princes running amuck in the vampire realm. So what if she indentured one for a few weeks? He wouldn’t even be missed.
She pried the bag away from her mouth and took another deep breath. “How many?”
Dmitri’s gaze narrowed. “How many what, little dragon?”
“How many princes?”
“Don’t concern yourself with my station. It has nothing to do with us.”
Oh, hell. He’s so dodging that answer. “How many?”
“Two, but I’m the only full-blooded royal.”
Sweet goddesses, it was worse than she’d thought. The king would demand her head from Imperial Station. She gulped, unprepared for a beheading. Maybe she could have the contract nullified and beg Dmitri’s forgiveness.
But he didn’t seem too worried about the whole forced-to-fuck-a-dragon-witch thing. He seemed…
Worried.
About her.
****
Dmitri noted the shift in her aura and took a cleansing breath. He’d kill Alonzo soon enough for causing the severe terror. Why the little dragon had panicked was beyond Dmitri’s understanding. All that mattered was reassuring her his father being a king had nothing to do with their situation.
Even if it was the biggest hurdle they had to mount.
Nothing of what Alonzo had discovered sounded promising. All the other seconds had heard rumors of an unseen force assassinating Dmitri. Half the Vampire realm already mourned his death.
Dodging the harsh reality waiting for him at home, he focused on his mission and, more importantly, Macy. Her pallor had returned to normal. Splotches of red stained her cheeks. Limp hands held the bag in place, though he suspected her breathing was now too shallow for the paper to do much good.
He grabbed the bag and set it on the table, beside piles of uneaten food. It’d been centuries since he’d dined on human food. Knowing what the little dragon would prefer had been impossible, so he’d selected most of everything within their target range.
Alonzo had said it was too much. The little dragon had made a sizeable dent, though. Dmitri chuckled. He’d have to work up her appetite again soon.
“Ease yourself up, Macy. “ He hoisted her into his arms and noted her squirming. “We’re going to go into the bedroom and work on calming you down.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were a prince.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I’m sure there’s a law somewhere. I don’t even think you’re supposed to be in this realm. God, I indentured a prince.”
The shame in her voice awakened a long-dead part of his soul. He’d not cared for another being since his mother’s gruesome slaughter. Shutting off his desire to love anyone had kept that facet of him safe from further damage.
He set her down on the bed and did the only thing he knew with absolute certainty would take her mind off her fears. She tasted of cinnamon and sugar. Her tongue hesitantly dueled with his. A soft sigh parted her lips more, allowing him to fully plunder the depths and taste her fully.
God, he couldn’t wait to taste her blood, feel her life essence and spirit flow down his throat. His cock hardened at the thought. One thing he’d missed more than anything recently was the eroticism of feeding from a female. As prince, he rarely wandered into the human realm, much less intruded into the witch populace.
And he’d rather chop his nuts off than feed from a female vampire. Most were opportunistic sluts with agendas larger than his lifeline. He had no desire to mate or bond with them in any way.
That left the blood pool barren. Fortunately, he was immune from needing blood, and the few occasions he did, it was supplied by loyal subjects like Alonzo.
Her fingers trailed down his chest, tweaking his nipples like he had hers. A groan escaped him as he suckled her lower lip and delved his hand beneath her shirt. No bra hindered his touch. The soft bud puckered into a sensitive bundle he ached to taste again.
Severing the kiss, he swept the material over her head and lifted her onto his lap. Her nipple fit perfectly in his mouth, the gentle swell of her breast just enough to fill his other palm. He kneaded the other mound while he suckled on the tiny bud.
She clawed at his shoulders. With her head thrown back and her soft purrs, he was lost in an agony he had to sate. He tested his control on the flames behind them and moaned his satisfaction. At least he’d reined in something on his body.
He focused on the natural fibers of her clothing and dissolved them with his mind. Shredding clothes was frowned on in any dimension, but he lacked the patience for niceties right now.
Her fiery eyes flamed in shock, then hooded with understanding when she looked down and noticed his were gone, too.
“Say the word and this ends now. I want you too bad to stop later.”
Heat trickled from her skin, hot and wild like the little dragon grasping his shaft and squeezing. “Do I get to taste you now?”
“I’d explode if you did that now.” His voice was edged with need. “You bring out the fledgling lust in my veins.”
She grinned. “I kind of like knowing that.”
“I figured you would.” He grasped her waist and caressed his way to her slit. Wet, tight and ready. “I need you.”
Thought flickered to life in her gaze, rushing past the haze of lust they’d brewed. It would take an army of vampires to get him from this room if she refused what he sought, but somehow he’d abide by her decision.
“Make me fly, vampire prince.”
Dmitri claimed her mouth, plundering the warm depths. He suckled on her vein.
She groaned and writhed beneath him, a bundle of soft curves and supple flesh—his for the taking. He stroked her arms, across her ribs, and moved upward, paying another brief homage to her lovely breasts. One day he’d feed from her there, where the swell of her breast became full.
Her skin was sweet, responsive and hot, so incredibly hot. The fiery glaze of her
powers reminded him to remain on guard. She wouldn’t be lucid enough to worry about her unleashed magic.
Her pussy was drenched, molten evidence she was ready for him. He couldn’t wait to feel her full lips suckling on him, but for now all he wanted was to sheath himself in her hot, tight channel.
Her eyes widened upon seeing his cock poised there, between her legs, ready to fuck her deep and long. She shivered, her eyes half-closed in passion. Her breathing was labored, her nipples puckered. Her clit swelled beneath his thumb as he massaged.
Gods she was gorgeous. And all his.
“Relax, little dragon.” He settled between her thighs fully and guided the tip of his cock into her.
Slow. First time.
Concern pushed the warning past the carnal need to fuck her hard. He wanted her to scream his name and come hard on his cock, but he had to be patience. She’d take his seed deep in her womb.
No. He couldn’t do that. Not yet.
Mine.
He warred with the predator within him and buried himself further into the silky heat. Macy tensed beneath him, and he stilled. Her little body would adjust soon enough.
Her kiss was soft, hesitant, but filled with need. He severed the contact and lapped at her vein. “I’m going to take your essence into my body as you take mine, little dragon.”
She trembled. A soft moan escaped her when he thrust deeper. Knowing he was her first lover fueled the primal beast within him. He fucked her in long, slow strokes, waiting until the flames of passion searing his skin raged into a blazing inferno of moans and gasps, interspersed with nails scraping his skin.
Magic thickened the air. Arousal and the sound of flesh on flesh echoed in the room. Gods, he could fuck her all night.
“Dmitri.” The plea shattered the rein he’d had on his beast. He fucked her harder, faster, slamming his entire length into her hot, wet channel.
Her legs locked around his waist, but it wasn’t enough.
Deeper.
Harder.
The urge overrode common sense, and he wrapped her legs around his neck and thrust into her. Her glazed eyes locked with his as he fucked her with deep, demanding strokes, each emitting a thunderous burst of fiery heat and power within the room. He suckled it into himself and continued.
Her skin sizzled when touched. The soft gasps and tensing muscles warned him she was close. Thank Gods, because he was about to burst with a release stronger than he’d had in an eternity.
Her pussy clenched him with the orgasm. Her entire body radiated power. He licked her vein and attacked, his fangs sinking deep. Power flowed like liquid lava down his throat, a mighty force of passion and magic. Ambrosia.
He fucked her through the orgasm and focused on her breathing and pulse beneath his fingers and mouth. When the waves of sensation dissipated, he sealed the wound on her neck and held her. One final thrust, and he succumbed to his release.
He collapsed on her, his breathing ragged and his skin tingling with the powers he’d lapped from her veins. Shock and anger exploded in her aura.
She pounded his shoulder and shoved him away. “Why the hell did you do that?”
In a bundle of fiery fury, she lunged from the bed and stumbled into the bathroom. The door slammed and Dmitri fell back on the bed, too spent to figure the little dragon out.
His mind processed the past few minutes with pleasure. He groaned his shame as the last moment flickered into his memories. His beast had claimed her with his seed.
Chapter Five
Nothing screamed chicken like skulking in a bathroom after being deliciously fucked by a vampire prince. Somehow fate, the twisted bitch that she was, had been on her side for once and Alonzo, in his infinite propensity for perfect timing, had returned.
Chatter had been halted with one simple statement—Alonzo had located Dragos. Macy didn’t want to know how the vampire from another realm had managed to find the most reclusive and dangerous of her kind.
All that mattered for now was finding out if he knew anything about vampire slave auctions so the prince could go home.
She and Dmitri had yet to really talk beyond the courteous excuse mes here and there as they made their way to the off-the-freaking-map and impossible-to-get-to terrain that supposedly held Dragos’s den.
Macy personally thought this was the two vampires’ way of exercising the witch who’d eaten too much breakfast. They’d shoved their way through overgrown bushes, wound around way too many trees and been gouged a few too many times. Goddesses, if she had to bathe in flea medicine tonight, someone was going to suffer a really bad itching hex.
She leaned down and scratched her left ankle. Would flea medicine work on ticks? Her luck she’d get some sort of flesh eating virus from the moss or something. She wiped her hands and took a deep breath, reminding her burning lungs that exercise was good. Her calf muscles had stopped listening and started screaming about a mile back.
Dmitri hadn’t stopped once. His gorgeous flesh hadn’t even broken into a fine sheen of sweat yet. Goddesses, she’d love to see him molten beneath her. Her pussy clenched.
Thinking about Dmitri wasn’t on today’s to do list. Today’s list definitely did include a firm talk with said vampire prince, however. Macy’s gut measured her frustration and marked it as somewhat tolerable, though the dipstick was sliding firmly into slut territory again. She’d gotten over his hiding his royal lineage for the most part. He didn’t appear pompous enough to expect preferential treatment. And his ass looked divine in the tight jeans he’d pulled on. And those thighs? She could bounce crystals off his body for an eternity and never tire—assuming the crystals didn’t become fodder for his new found shield destroying abilities.
She was still a smidge miffed about the shields.
And, oh yeah, the fact he’d not only sucked all the powers from her—thereby risking his freaking life—but he’d managed to possibly impregnate her. That would be something to tell Imperial Station.
Well, I sort of forced the vampire prince into screwing me, and now I’m pregnant with his baby. Oh, by the way, did I mention the baby’s daddy managed to maintain my dragon witch powers?
She was one bad hairdo and one too-tight outfit away from being the perfect talk show topic. Not that anyone would believe the chaos which always surrounded her like a minefield of bad karma.
She sighed and trudged up the hill, stepping where Alonzo stepped mainly because his feet were bigger and he hadn’t exploded yet. She knew Dragos, and he didn’t exactly like company. All those thoughts about karma minefields had her remembering that her so-called dragon warlock friend had a really sketchy past.
Not that she really knew much about his past. He was about as tight-lipped as a nun in a whorehouse.
A shift in the air made her pause. She reached out with her magic, testing each strand of wafting power carefully. Tingles prickled her nape.
Alonzo paused, his gaze darkening as he regarded her. “Dmitri.”
He’d already stopped, his stance tense and his eyes guarded. Geez, he was danger encased in sex appeal. Heat spiraled through her.
This is so not a good time to get all horny for the vampire. Fight the curse. Focus.
There it was again, a soft click interspersed with a snap. Wait. That wasn’t magic she was using. It was some really freaky turbo-charged hearing. Dmitri and Alonzo moved closer, their bodies smoldering her already heated skin. She inhaled their scents, enveloped in shields not of her making.
“Uh, guys, Dragon Witch 101, Lesson Two. Never block us in. We’re claustrophobic.” Unable to find a fire source readily, her powers swept through the air, vacuuming up large chunks which catapulted between her and them. Bits of earth spewed like sandy lava, splattering on them.
Apparently her powers were a smidge stronger than she’d expected. Mental note. Don’t use the powers ‘til you test drive them first. The dratted curse has waylaid them already.
They shifted, opening a small opening for her to exit, but Dmitri�
�s hand wrapped around her arm, keeping her locked against his body. “Not now, little dragon. Stay beside me.”
She wanted to point out the little dragon endearment was so not true. She hadn’t been little since she’d discovered Godiva. And Starbucks. Oh, and doughnuts. Okay, since she’d discovered caffeine, chocolate, and sugar. But for some strange reason she liked hearing the term. It was special, something he only called her.
Maybe he has a fistful of dragon witches worshipping his throne back in the vampire realm. Self-doubt kept her mute. She looked around, knowing if anyone could draw Dragos out it would be her. That, however, required using her powers, which thereby meant extricating herself from about four-hundred-seventy pounds of muscle, also known as Alonzo and Dmitri.
Finding a flicker of fire somewhere would be nice.
She closed her eyes and drew the wind strands toward her, channeling her inner strength. Casting the currents outward in all directions, she allowed her astral self to surf them, looking for any signs of Dragos, any hint of fire.
The ability was one of a highly developed witch, one she’d been forced to teach herself since she’d been ostracized at such a young age. Dragos had taught her a few tricks, but opted for dumping thousands of books in lieu of tender loving mentorship.
Learning to read had been the first hurdle. Dyslexia had been a bitch. It still was in many ways, but she wouldn’t let it stop her. The curse would handle that easily enough.
A flame flickered into view, half a mile up to the east on the highest ridge, at the edge of a cave. The cave would be a suitable entrance for Dragos. She knew little of the man, other than he preferred to live off the land when possible. Perhaps he built his home within the land itself. If his powers equaled hers, it would mean he could easily draw on the earth elements making up his sanctuary.
The perfect fortress.
Too bad she couldn’t simply use her powers and avoid the hike altogether. But the riskiest thing a witch could do was use powers while encroaching on another witch’s domain. Someone as powerful as Dragos would note such a violation immediate.
