The Vampire Prince’s Bride

by T. S. Ryder

  His hand trailed down her body and rested between her legs, finding her sweet spot quickly. Soon they were both grunting and arching their bodies in pleasure. Maribel clenched her jaw and threw her head back, trying desperately to hold on long enough to see this to completion. The heat was so tight inside of her she thought she was going to explode.

  Eventually, it was too much. Hands shaking with excitement and anticipation she guided him in, her breath catching in her throat as the sensations flooded her. There was a little sting when she started moving her hips, but she soon was lost in the pleasure. She set the rhythm while her huge, intimidating vampire king lay beneath her, his brow shimmering with sweat, their hands intertwined as she rocked.

  It felt so good it was almost painful. Maribel's body was overwhelmed with tremors and she threw her head back, bucking from side to side as she screamed. Sheridan wrapped his arms around her and rolled, pinning her beneath him. He kissed her hard, his mouth unrelenting as he started his own rhythm. He built her from where she had dropped off. Maribel's eyes rolled into the back of her head as she clung to him and lost memory of everything except that moment.

  That sweet, perfect moment.

  Chapter Six – Sheridan

  Maribel's scent surrounded him, filling him with the desire to sink his fangs into her neck and sip from the blood pumping just below the surface. He kept his eyes on hers as he rolled off her, muscles turning to jelly as his completion ended.

  Her skin gleamed with sweat. Those beautiful, round breasts heaved as she panted. The sweet tang of blood was even more pronounced now that their bodies were separated. The earthy smell of her pregnancy helped to mask it.

  As much as he desired to taste her, Sheridan held back.

  He grinned triumphantly. There had been moments when he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to control himself–when Maribel had allowed him to sink deep inside her and that unexpected burst of sweet, sweet blood had nearly driven him over the edge–but he had managed to keep himself in check. His years of holding back had not put him past self-control, but rather honed it.

  And being with Maribel was far better than he had expected. Better than his experiences as human. He stroked her hair from her sweaty face and kissed her gently. Was her insistence on being with him love? Was it love that enabled him to keep control over his sharpening fangs?

  "You should have told me you were a virgin," he said gently.

  Maribel's eyes widened. "You could tell?"

  "You're bleeding."

  "I'm going to stain the blankets."

  Sheridan put an arm around her waist and pulled her back as she made to get up. "It's not that much. I can't even smell the fresh blood anymore. Are you okay? Did it hurt?"

  She shook her head and smiled. "I would never have known I was bleeding if you hadn't said anything… Does it make you feel uncomfortable?"

  Sheridan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The smell of blood had his stomach gurgling, but he had been in plenty of situations where he had smelled fresh blood and been hungrier than he was at the moment. If he could hold back in those times, he could hold back now. He shook his head.

  "I think I was overly cautious before," he said. "I was just… I've never been with a human woman since I became a vampire."

  "Really?"

  "Yes. I guess I just never felt an attraction. Does that surprise you?"

  Maribel shrugged. "How did you become a vampire?"

  Sheridan sighed, pulling her closer. The room was cool. He could feel Maribel shivering. He quickly wrapped her up in a blanket. "It was almost three hundred years ago. I was married."

  Maribel's eyes widened.

  "It was an arranged marriage. I was the son of a not-so-wealthy baron in Eastern Europe. She was from a very wealthy family with no title. Our parents thought it was the perfect match. What we thought didn't matter. But she was beautiful and that was all I cared about. I always sneered at the thought of love… I never loved her. She, however, fell in love with a servant and they ran away together."

  "I'm sorry. That must have been hard."

  Sheridan smiled slightly and shook his head. "My pride was wounded. That was it. But I was arrogant and selfish, and I went after them, determined to put her lover's head on a pike and bring her back to my estate. There were rumors of vampires in the area, but I didn't believe them. I thought myself better educated than to believe in vampires. I was an idiot.

  "I never found them, my wife and her lover," he continued. "But the vampires found me. They turned me and sent me home. After a few years of wallowing in self-pity, locked away in my father's dungeon, being fed criminals to survive, I had an epiphany. I was changed for a reason. I could usher in a new era of peace between vampires and humans. So I broke free of my prison and gathered the local vampires under my rule. Using the money my wife had brought to me, we set off for the new world."

  Maribel ran her fingers through his hair. "And you became a king here."

  "Yes. I made treaties with the humans and built these walls. We survived on the blood of animals until we began buying blood from clinics. And we have had peace. The tensions between vampire and human rise and fall, but it’s usually not bad."

  "But it does get bad, doesn't it?"

  "Sometimes. Like right now. Anti-vampire sentiments have started growing again. Which is ironic, because there have been less vampire-human conflicts in recent years than ever before. But we have experience in how to improve relations now. It's just vampires like Romanoff that make it difficult."

  They fell into companionable silence, bodies cuddled together, Sheridan's hand stroking her hair gently. His eyes drooped drowsily. It had been a full night, between learning of Maribel's pregnancy, dealing with her ex-boyfriend trying to break into the vampire city and then Romanoff attempt at killing her.

  Topped off with making love for the first time to his human wife, and it was about enough excitement for one day.

  "Phil and I were never engaged," Maribel said abruptly. "We had been talking about getting married, but we weren't engaged."

  "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, love."

  "I want to tell you."

  Sheridan kissed her forehead and nodded.

  "We met at a concert. I was getting a little overenthusiastic about the music and he thought that was cute. We started talking. He made it very easy to talk to him, and drew me in. After the concert, he took me for ice-cream, and by morning I had convinced myself that I had fallen in love. I was stupid."

  Sheridan pulled her closer. "We all make mistakes."

  "I guess."

  He waited for her to continue, trying to be silently supportive. His blood boiled at the thought of Maribel being used by that man, but he wasn't going to interrupt with his anger. He wanted her to tell him her story.

  "We started dating, and I was so thrilled when he said that he wanted to save himself for marriage. It was something I had always known I wanted to do. And to find a man who felt the same… Now I realize he was either playing me or found the idea of sleeping with me horrendous—"

  "Or maybe despite his lack of morals, he didn't want to hurt you any more than he already was going to?" Sheridan hated the self-doubt in her voice. How anybody could not be turned on by the idea of sleeping with her was beyond his imagination, and he told her that. "Maybe he did care about you, in some small way. I can't see a reason why he wouldn't be tripping over himself to bed you otherwise."

  Maribel stared at him, eyes wide. "You really mean that, don't you?"

  "Of course. I don't say things I don’t mean. I can't understand how you don't see yourself as the sexy, sexy woman you are."

  "But I'm fat."

  Sheridan sighed. "That doesn't mean you aren't beautiful and sexy. I don't understand it. I really don't. Thin doesn't mean pretty and fat doesn't mean ugly. It's just thin and fat. Beauty is far more than size. So your stomach isn't flat. What difference does it make? You're still sexy."

  Maribel stared at
him. Tears welled in his eyes and Sheridan flinched. What had he said wrong? He should have told her she wasn't fat, that she was just the right size. He opened his mouth to tell her that instead, but she rolled over him, gripping his hips with her knees, and kissed him hard. Sheridan's eyes widened but he wasn't going to complain.

  I guess I said something right, he thought as his human began their passion anew.

  ***

  A few days later, a human representative of the human-vampire relations bureau came to the palace. She was a strict-faced woman with horn-rimmed glasses and a severe business suit. Sheridan bowed politely when Billie led her into his office, and she returned the gesture with a cold look. Billie introduced her as Kathleen Armstrong.

  "King Sheridan," she said, holding out a piece of paper. "We have received an anonymous complaint from one of the humans living in your palace, claiming that you are holding humans against their will and forcing them to give up their blood."

  Sheridan ground his teeth. It seemed like one of these complaints happened every few years. Always a load of crap, of course, but it was annoying to have to deal with. He opened the paper Armstrong had handed him. His scowl deepened as he read the court order on it.

  "You are planning on taking all humans from the palace back into the human city?"

  "Until we can determine the truthfulness of the claim, we must take all precautions to make sure our women are safe."

  "And then men?"

  Armstrong's cheeks reddened. "Of course. But you have a higher percentage of women than men."

  Sheridan handed the paper to Billie. "Have this checked for legality."

  Armstrong glared at him. "Are you suggesting—"

  "I am suggesting nothing, but part of the contract signed by the humans that came here is that we are legally responsible for their protection. There are many anti-vampire groups out there. I won't just hand over our donors without making sure everything is in legal order. Although, there was a human who attempted to break into the palace a few days ago… we have been holding him for questioning—"

  Armstrong's eyes widened. "Against his legal rights!"

  "We informed the bureau." Sheridan remained calm. "And we have documented all interactions with him. He is under constant video surveillance. I would be happy to hand him and all documentation over to you."

  It was fairly obvious after talking with Phil only a few times that all he wanted was money. Clearly, he hoped to use Maribel to line his pockets some more. Getting rid of him would be like relieving a headache that Sheridan no longer wanted to deal with.

  "Oh, I will be taking both, I assure you. Along with every other human on these grounds." Armstrong put her hands on her hips. "Including Maribel Arnaz."

  Sheridan jerked like he had been punched. "She's my—"

  "She is human and will be seized with the rest of the humans in your… care."

  "Seized as if they were drugs, you mean?" Sheridan's hands clenched. "What steps are you taking to protect their identities?"

  Armstrong didn't reply, just glared at him. Sheridan glared back. He would fight this with every legal avenue he had. Waltzing in and taking away all the humans was bad enough, but Maribel? She wasn't just another human. She was his wife. She carried his child. He wasn't going to just let this go. Even when Billie came back with his lawyers, who reluctantly told him he had to let Armstrong take the humans back outside the walls, he was determined.

  He might have to let Maribel go for a little while, but he wasn't going to let the anti-vampire scare keep them separated. No. He was getting her back, and soon. There was no question about that.

  Chapter Seven – Maribel

  It wasn't bad enough that these people had taken her away from her home with Sheridan. It wasn't bad enough that she had been subjected to hours of interrogation masqueraded as 'trying to help her'. It wasn't bad enough that when she wasn't being questioned, she was all but locked in a hotel room that looked like something out of a horror story.

  No. They had to let Phil come and see her.

  Maribel stood holding the door open, glaring at her ex-boyfriend as he sat on her bed. "I told you to leave."

  "Come on, Mari. It's me, you don't have to put up this charade."

  "Fine. I told you to leave, you selfish son of a—"

  "Mari!" Phil shook his head, looking shocked. "Honestly! You were never like this before. What did that vampire do to you?"

  Maribel could see heads poking out of the other rooms along the hall. Most looked curious, others annoyed, some sympathetic. She would have just left Phil and gone to one of their rooms, as most were humans she recognized from the palace, but she didn't want him rifling through her things.

  But if he thought he was going to embarrass her into letting him stay, he had another thing coming.

  "For starters," she said, eyes flashing, "Sheridan paid off the massive amounts of debt that you gave me when you stole my identity!"

  Phil stood. "Maribel, that wasn't what you thought. Look, maybe I was a jerk, but I do care about you. I want to help you."

  "Don't even start. I am not going to listen to more of your lies. I love Sheridan and he loves me. He is my husband. Now leave me alone!"

  Phil turned away. He kept his back to her and his head bowed for several minutes before he nodded. "I can see that I'm not going to get anywhere. But Mari, when you want to tell me the truth about what that vampire threatened you with to make you do what he wanted—"

  "Shut up!"

  She slammed the door after him as he left, seething internally. What was it with all these people? Why were they so desperate to make her say that she didn't want to be with Sheridan? It certainly wasn’t an investigation to protect the humans that had been living at the palace.

  This was a witch hunt, pure and simple. But she was determined that Sheridan wasn't the one who was going to end up getting burned.

  If she only knew what part Phil was playing in it… Was he hoping for money? Was he hoping that she would fall to her knees before him, and then sue Sheridan somehow? Or maybe use her to get a million dollars in debt that Sheridan would then pay for?

  Well, that wasn't happening.

  Maribel tugged her hair to its ends, annoyed and frustrated. Her daily interrogation was over, which meant that she was stuck in this room for the night. She had tried previously to go visit with the other humans, but those visits were usually interrupted by 'just a couple more questions' or other such nonsense. It didn’t take a genius to realize that the people holding them at this hotel didn't want the humans who had lived with the vampires to hold private conversations. Why, though, Maribel couldn't understand.

  The result was that over the two weeks since she had been cruelly ripped away from her vampire king, Maribel had become incredibly lonely. She’d talked to Sheridan on the phone regularly, but it was not the same as being in his arms. Nobody would tell her when she would be able to go home. They all kept spouting the same crap about needing to protect the living blood donors.

  She sank onto her bed, heart feeling heavy. Was it really legal for them to keep her here against her will?

  A fit of anger seized her and she grabbed her phone, dialing Sheridan’s number. She had enough. She wanted out of here and she would. It didn't matter what stupid papers they waved in her face, they had no right to treat her like a criminal!

  When I get home, I'm going to sue Armstrong for emotional distress. Or something like that.

  "Maribel. Are you okay?" Sheridan's voice sounded worried when he answered.

  "No, I'm not. I want to come home."

  There was a brief moment. "I'll come get you right away."

  Maribel let out a breath, feeling relieved. She had been afraid that he would tell her he couldn't come and get her, that they had to work with Armstrong and her goons. The knots in her shoulders relaxed. "Thank you."

  "Of course. I'll see you soon."

  Packing took only fifteen minutes, and Maribel headed down to the hotel lobby
. Nobody stopped her, and her hopes rose. Maybe she was free to go after all. She closed her eyes, imagining being back home, sleeping in her own bed with her vampire king in her arms. It was such a lovely image that she didn't want to open her eyes again.

  When she heard his voice, though, she gladly left the fantasy behind for reality. With a squeal, she ran to him. He rushed towards her, arms opening wide. They met in the middle of the lobby. Sheridan lifted her from the ground and swung her in a circle, holding her tightly.

  "I've missed you," he whispered.

  "I've missed you, too." Maribel pressed a few quick kisses to his lips. "So, so much."

  The moment was ruined when that Armstrong woman's voice rang out. "Our investigation has not finished."

  Sheridan set Maribel down and frowned at the approaching woman. "Maribel phoned me requesting that I come take her home. Is she a prisoner now?"

  "Of course not. None of the humans we have are prisoners. But until the investigation is complete, if any humans are removed from our custody and return to the vampire city, it will be considered a hostile act and we will have no choice but to get the military involved."

  Maribel gaped at her. Was she serious? "I can't go home without starting a war?"

  "You can go anywhere you like." Armstrong gave her a sneer that had her blood boiling. "But the vampires can't take you back to their city without starting a war."

  "Look, you—"

  Sheridan shook his head. He glared at Armstrong but held Maribel tightly. "It's best if you stay here for now, my darling."

  "But—"

  "My lawyers will be in touch with you, Miss Armstrong. I have received more than one complaint from these humans. They claim that you are holding them against their will and treating them like criminals." The vampire stepped forward, looming over the small human woman. "I told you that we protect our humans. I will not stand for this."

  Armstrong's glare faltered and she didn't reply. Sheridan held her eye until she looked away, then turned to Maribel. His gaze softened and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.