Blood Of Kings (Transfusion Book 3)

by Stephanie Hudson

  “Ah, well now it is confirmed, you must really love me,” was his reply, making me smirk as I granted him a wink. Then I shook the bag at him in a tempting way which in the end despite all his teasing, he declined. So, I rolled up the bag and tucked it out of the way so I could move onto my next target. The best course…dessert.

  “Are you aware that you are humming to your food?”

  “But of course I am, its chocolate,” I said like this should have been obvious. Then I broke a few squares off my Milka Caramel Chocolate, and instead of just biting into it, I broke it open and started scooping out the dripping caramel with the tip of my finger before sucking on it. I did this a few more times before all that was left was a chocolate shell that I popped in my mouth. Then I repeated the process.

  “Gods in Hell, grant me strength.” The sound of Lucius muttering to himself had me pausing just as the caramel was hanging off my finger. Then, just before I could pop my finger in to my mouth, it was snatched from me and in between his lips in less than a second. Once there and held captive, he sucked on it, making sure to tease his tongue round to gather every sticky drop. Only then did he let me go.

  “Mmm, delicious,” he said as though he really did enjoy it, and this was confirmed when he added,

  “Save me some.”

  “You like chocolate and caramel?” I asked with wide eyes.

  “Melted and dripped over your body, then licked from your skin like I intend to do at the first chance I get, most definitely.”

  “You’re teasing me again,” I stated, wondering if he was because his knowing grin told me differently. And besides, with Lucius I could never tell.

  “We will just have to wait and see now won’t we, because look, we are almost there.” Lucius nodded to the first sign that said Königssee and I knew then that my time was quickly running out.

  Because I hated to admit it, but instead of feeling as though I was coming home, I felt instead as if I was about to step inside a prison.

  A prison as Lucius’…

  Willing Captive.

  Lucius

  Chapter 10

  Wrapped in Leather

  A short time after seeing the first signs for Königssee, I realised Amelia was more than just silently contemplating our arrival, questioning what would soon become her new home. But she was in fact, fast asleep. Not that I was surprised at this, as her mortal body had endured a lot throughout the night and it was bound to take its toll. However, it wasn’t her body that concerned me, although somewhat bruised and no doubt sore, it was her mental state of mind that was my biggest worry.

  But of course, on the drive she had been her usual playful self, but I was no fool and knew this was a coping mechanism she defaulted back to when hiding the true nature of her feelings. Fears and doubts I had tried to get her to speak of during the journey in hopes of easing her hidden anxiety of the future.

  But despite trying, I soon learned that I wasn’t yet able to break through her defences and if I were honest, after what she had been through, then even I knew when not to push too hard. Because even the few fears she had mentioned, had given me more than enough food for thought. This being down to an array of questions I couldn’t yet give her the answers to, not in regards to what her future held.

  Because I knew the depth of near desperation she clawed at, one that would enable her to try and keep the life she had built for herself around her.

  Her safety zone.

  But seeing as I knew that the truth would only panic her more, I refrained from answering her questions, as keeping her old life would simply be impossible. Because in reality, she simply couldn’t have both. No matter how much she believed she was able to merge the two lives, she just couldn’t be my queen and continue her ‘normal’ and safe little mortal existence in a world that was as far from my own as you could physically get. So, I knew the day would come that she believed she would have to choose. But what she didn’t yet know was that it had in fact been chosen for her a long time ago.

  For she was mine.

  And I sure as shit wasn’t letting her go, not even if she begged me to do so. No, instead I would simply spend my time trying to convince her that she wanted this new life more than her old one. But my plan was simple and based on the hope that it wouldn’t come to that, not when I was intent on making Königssee a home for her. Which meant surrounding her with the things that made her comfortable and at its most basic nature, manipulating her mind until it forgot all about the world she’d left behind.

  For I would become her safety zone.

  I had hoped spending more time at Transfusion had been the key into easing her into the new life I had planned for her, but well, that plan had literally crumbled and was no doubt still crumbling as these thoughts assaulted me. My anger at this made my hands tighten dangerously on the steering wheel. Because I didn’t like it that my options had practically been taken from me and now I had less time to put my plan into motion. Because I had a list in my mind, a list of her fears that I needed to conquer and now fucking Christmas being one of them!

  Gods, but just her look of disappointment when I told her I didn’t celebrate the fucking pointless holiday, one that left nothing but disdain in my mind. Oh, but there had been times in the past that I had let Pip decorate the place as she saw fit, knowing that left to her own devices, she would have done far worse. But other than this and giving her the day off to celebrate alone with her husband being the usual practice that time of year, then it was just another fucking day in my eyes.

  But speaking of eyes, well, I couldn’t then help but remember the way hers had gotten wide and beseeching, after hearing what she no doubt classed as a character flaw of mine. Well, then it almost made me want to swallow my fucking words and choke on them and with it that fucking smelly tinsel shit mortals seemed to love putting on fucking trees!

  Oh yeah, the drive had most certainly ended up adding to my already mounting list of shit I had to try and figure out. But I knew the problem was one of my own doing. This was thanks to my actions seven years ago that had given her the last push away from her own people that she had needed. I had been the one who had pushed her into embracing the mortal world and therefore foolishly managing to sever ties between her’s and my world too.

  Her energy was then spent on building the safe one she believed she had independently built. And now I just had to figure out a way to tear it down without her even knowing. I had to destroy her world and rebuild it around my own, doing so in a way that she wouldn’t even notice until it was too late. Until she was so deeply intwined in my net that she couldn’t escape it even if she wanted to. I wanted to consume her world and make it all about my own.

  This was my plan.

  It always had been.

  Granted that during this drive I had taken the opportunity to discover the obstacles set against me, something admittedly she had given me very little to go on, other than playing with Lego, having a constant supply of her favourite cereal and spilling shit on a rug, something I hadn’t understood in the slightest. Oh, and then there was her all-important pop culture obsession, which was one problem I knew how to solve, with the aid of a little expert help of course.

  But then there were harder aspects to face, like her job and apartment, both of which I knew she was attached to in a way that wouldn’t be as easy to dislodge as I’d first hoped. And now there was bringing her here, which I knew from only one panicked look she viewed as being more of a prison than a potential new home.

  I confess, that knowing she felt this way was a blow, not to my ego but solely in a sentimental way. For it was true, I was greatly attached to my home, knowing that throughout all my years on this Earth, Königssee had been the first and only place I felt connected to. And in such a way that became rooted to my soul.

  Naturally, being who I was, I wasn’t a sentimental person by any means, but with this place, well there was always the exception. But then I had to force myself to view this from her point of vi
ew. And seeing as she had fought herself on whether to try and run from me or not, doing so since being at Transfusion, then by being here now simply took that option away from her. An option I didn’t believe she truly wanted in the first place, but that was beside the point for it wasn’t the outcome she was looking for, but simply the choice.

  Choices in her life she was quickly losing control of making. Because it was true, I was rapidly taking them from her one by one and if I wanted her to eventually admit defeat and submit to me fully, then I needed to slow the fuck down. No matter how much my dominant and selfish ways were screaming at me to simply take, take, and take, until everything that was her was mine.

  Which meant I had to give her the illusion that she had a choice when really, she didn’t. But then I knew it was like breaking something beautiful and then expecting her to trust me to put it back together the way she wanted. When in reality, I would only do so the way I wanted, with the picture of her being the same, but then placing it inside a box for safe keeping.

  Because yes, she was perfect for me and I wouldn’t have changed one Gods be damned thing about her. But all that surrounded her, yes, I would change it all.

  She wanted to be free, whereas I wanted what was mine safe and pretty much locked away in a clear glass cage she couldn’t see. But she wasn’t stupid, far from it and knew the true nature of Königssee. For it was a fortress I controlled and one she would have no way of escaping. Gods, but I was a sick bastard seeing as that thought alone had me growing hard.

  And deep down she knew this.

  Now, as for her family, then yeah, I agree that shit was going to be awkward. Me and Dom had history that was like a fucking thorn bush overgrown with far more thorns than flowers. And then there was Keira, who for me, the past had been a mere flicker in time.

  Amelia was my eternity.

  But Amelia didn’t know this, and I knew making her believe it would be my biggest challenge yet. But that wasn’t to say that Keira meant nothing to me. As like I said that history may have been a mere flicker but the respect I held for her now was down to what she had gifted me… My Chosen One.

  And as much as it fucking pained me to admit, then in turn Dom also deserved that same respect, even though I was pretty sure he would want to rip my fucking dick off when he found out about who his daughter was to me. Did I care, Hell no. Would it ever happen, fuck no!

  I was Dom’s equal in a fight and he fucking knew it! But my winning hand over him and his fucking rash temper was something he could never ignore. I had saved his Chosen One’s life more than once and in doing so had made her one of my turned. Meaning that like all my people, she was literally bound to my life, one Dom would not ever dare risk taking. For I was her Sire.

  So yeah, to say shit was complicated was an understatement and one I knew Amelia would struggle with far more than I. But then again, I knew my ties to Keira in the past had only been because of what the Fates knew she would one day grant me. So, they had used me to protect her, just like the rest of the Kings who had found their Chosen Ones thanks to their ties to Keira.

  And mine had been their fucking daughter! Talk about fucking cosmic joke, one I would kill over if ever I heard a single being laugh about it. But it was a fated connection even Keira knew about and thankfully encouraged, after of course she first tried to kick my ass when she discovered it. But then Amelia had only been sixteen at the time and still considered a child by both of us. So, I vowed to protect her and keep my distance until after she was of age, as was best for both our sakes. Because even though my connection with her was strong, even at that age, I wanted a woman in my bed, not a naïve, spoiled girl who was still yet to discover the world.

  Meaning it was a promise to Keira I made easily but then as the years had gone by, that promise turned into my own vow, for the timing was never right. Something I was now starting to regret, for at the time I had made a deal with Keira to wait until after she was twenty one, before I came to claim her. Also stating explicitly that I would be doing so with or without Dom’s fucking approval!

  But that time had come and gone, allowing her to not only discover the world, but forge her own into a comfort she was still now clinging on to. And really, after all she had been through since that box turned up in her life, then could I blame her?

  Then again, thinking back on all she had endured and overcome in a way that I could have never imagined she would, then she was nothing short of astonishing! I thought I had known her. I thought I had seen it all where she was concerned. I had watched her life from afar and been arrogant enough to believe that I knew her inside and out. Gods, but how wrong I had been.

  I remember all the times I had been handed a daily report on her routine, most of it very much the same as the day before. It was mundane and more than anything else, it was safe. Mainly because I made it that way and wouldn’t have allowed it to be any other way. But as for everything else, then I would watch as her mortal life blossomed around her into something so far from my own world, I worried when the time came how she would cope.

  Well, those fears were well and truly ground to dust, from not only witnessing her bravery firsthand, or the fact that she was clearly able to handle herself in a fight, but mainly from the second I saw her getting off that shitty bike, all dressed in leather and shaking her hair from that helmet as though she was some fucking warrior woman getting from her horse after conquering the battle.

  And as much as I had been furious with her for risking her life like that, I was also in fucking awe of her as well! She had indeed saved the fucking day and one glance behind her seat to see the box sitting there and not in the hands of my enemies, then her courageous actions couldn’t be ignored.

  But like I said, hearing her account of events, I swear to the Gods, it had nearly sent me into a rage. The only things that held me back, was one, I didn’t wish to frighten her, and two, she was finally safe, alive and within my reach to touch, something I found increasingly difficult not to do. Because the second I got her in my arms, I felt my world and soul right itself again. However, the moment I got her in the car, I could focus better and what I scented made me want to growl. She smelled of two things, the river Isar and of another male, one of which was driving me to near fucking insanity!

  So, instead I focused on her conversation, which was playful and lighthearted, which still surprised me given the circumstances. Reason being why I endured and tried to ignore it the best I could, all the while feeling like some wild beast needing to stake my claim. And well, short of pissing all over her, which I was almost certain was a sure way of getting my balls kicked… or knowing her, my arm broken… then I knew it would have to wait. Because I needed her in my bed, with more of my blood in her system and my seed leaking out of her sweet core. Only then would this calm my primal and demonic instincts.

  But then we had stopped for fuel and thank my fucking sanity that we had, for two wonderous things had happened next. One that had quickly led onto the next. I thought back to it now, glancing over at her sleeping form and remembering how she gallantly defended my honour to some clueless, insignificant mortal. Yes, for anyone to insinuate that I had harmed her in such a way had pissed me off, for I would rather cut off my own fucking hand than lay it on her in anger.

  However, her words had started to penetrate and when they did, they cut to the core and would stay there forever. And it looked to be that I hadn’t been the only one this had happened to. As it started with a list of my past actions and what they had meant to her. This telling me instantly that I had also cut to her own core in the best way possible and remained there ever since…a place I very much intended to fucking stay!

  But then I had never been affectionate with a woman before and romance wasn’t exactly something I believed myself capable of. In the past, I had picked a female, fucked her and then swiftly moved on after sating the sexual thirst.

  Then came Amelia and I found that these things weren’t something I needed to work on but found m
yself just…doing. She simply brought it out in me. Like when seeing her upset or worried, I had instinctively wanted to soothe her or hold her until her tears ran dry. But always done through choice, not as just some unspoken duty. I hadn’t once asked myself what to do or how best to act during these times. It had just been like a hidden part inside myself that she had dragged to the surface unknowingly.

  Like when hearing her stomach growling, my instincts then had been to feed my woman and take care of her. Just like when she had been hurt, the need to heal her was one I ended up battling myself with, as I knew time was of the essence and I needed to get her safely situated inside my mountain home before anything else could befall her. After all, I had underestimated my enemies once, I most certainly wasn’t about to do that again!

  But then this mission had gone out of the fucking window the second she had said,

  ‘Well, shame on you lady because you just accused one of the best Gods be damned people on this planet and the man, I love more than anything else in this world, so you should be ashamed of yourself!’

  After that, then nothing in this world would have stopped me from claiming her, as a frenzied need had taken over all other senses. I was even surprised that I’d had enough thought of mind left to focus on bringing forth the demonic fog that surrounded my home in Hell. It was one that had the energy to destroy anyone who dare cross it, but topside, it only had the power to disguise and keep people at a distance without understanding why.

  That way, I had been free to make her mine after I had also dealt with the mind of a single mortal, knowing that claiming Amelia was for my eyes only. And her passion had been fucking addictive to experience, for she may have been inexperienced in ways of the flesh, but she was by no means lacking in the bedroom.