by K Loraine
“What a spell you’ve put me under, my little bird. Even without magic. I’ll never recover from you.” I whispered my truth against her cheek and held her tightly.
“I don’t want you to,” she murmured. She had to be dreaming. My compulsion was stronger than most now that she’d unlocked my power. Even if she’d recently drank from Lucas, his blood was no match for my skill.
I lay there with her until I could feel the sun rising. I had to get to the safety of my rooms, but I couldn’t bring myself to move. I wanted to see the sky turn pink, to witness the golden glow of it all as day broke. If Lucas hadn’t ruined her blood, I’d have been able to do just that with a single drop from her. Instead, I had to leave. Slipping out of bed, I pressed a kiss to her forehead and left Olivia safely sleeping.
The halls were quiet, and as I approached Lucas’ quarters, I couldn’t keep from opening the door to see if Martin had taken care to secure him while he healed. Of course, my brother lay on his bed, shades drawn, body still. He’d be safe today, and tomorrow he’d wake. Jealousy raged within me, tempting me toward him. I could have staked him then and there. Ended this all. Broken their bond because he’d be gone. But Olivia likely wouldn’t have survived it.
“Your Majesty,” Martin said from behind me. His voice was soft and low. I’d been so preoccupied with my plot against Lucas that I hadn’t sensed the man.
“Martin, why are you roaming the halls? It’s nearly dawn.”
“I am awake until the king is safe. You must get to safety as well.”
He looked at me with eyes filled with kindness and the love of a father for his son. In truth, Martin was more a father than mine had ever been. He and Brenna had been closer to me and my siblings than they should have, but we’d needed it with such a sadistic man raising us. They were probably the only reason any of us had a shred of humanity.
“I’m going now. I acted rashly with my brother and in turn harmed Olivia. I needed to see that he was in his rooms rather than out in the manor.”
“Their mating bond?”
I nodded. “It’s stronger than I thought.”
“If I might…speak plainly?”
“Yes.”
We walked together toward the King’s rooms. But he remained silent.
“Martin?”
“Your…interactions with Olivia are dangerous. If your brother’s mating bond is threatened, he will challenge you. King or not. You’ll tear your family apart over a human.”
Anger ignited in my chest. Honestly, it had been smoldering since the moment I found out they were married, but this only fanned the flame. “She was mine first. She was always supposed to be mine.”
“That may be true, but we both know that isn’t the case now. Your behavior isn’t that of a king. It’s—”
“You’ll stop right there if you know what’s good for you, Martin. Get to your quarters and I will do the same. Tomorrow night we find Anne’s pet witch and bring her back to Blackthorne Manor. She served the Queen, now she serves the King. And I have many tasks for her.”
He nodded but some of the light left his eyes. I’d hurt him with my dismissal, but he didn’t understand the depth of my love for Olivia. He didn’t know that Lucas stole my mate from me. But once we found the witch, I’d get her to break that bond with a spell.
She’d do it, or she’d die.
Sleep evaded me for much of the day. I was restless, preoccupied, and the urge to roam the house made my limbs itch. I wanted Olivia. But I knew a way I could have her during the day. A way the two of us could be together without risk of being found out. Tonight I’d make a plan, and tomorrow she’d be mine.
I roamed the rooms, wishing desperately for a window so I could watch the sky’s progress. The closer to dark, the closer I was to Olivia.
The moment the sun dipped below the horizon, I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. I needed to feed, and Olivia couldn’t sustain me now. That meant I’d have to hunt. I hated the idea of finding someone willing to let me so close, of taking another’s blood into my body, but it was a necessity. I’d already felt the pull of irrational hunger on my judgment. I couldn’t function like that.
A rapid, rhythmic thrumming caught my ear from downstairs. She was here. In the library. Olivia was awake and feeling better. That meant my brother was recovered as well. I tried not to think about what must’ve passed between them to help him back to himself, but the truth was, I knew. He’d fed from her. He’d given his blood to her in return to ease the pain of the damage my attack had done.
I took the stairs at an inhuman pace, a blur across polished wood, stopping only when I reached the slightly open doors that lead to the library. I saw her through the crack, her hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head, long graceful neck exposed, loose shirt sliding over one shoulder. She was reading in a chair, her back to me. But I saw the book. I recognized the cover. The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure. The very book that had been a tool of seduction for both of us. My cock grew painfully hard in mere seconds at the memory of what I’d done to her against the shelves.
“A bit of light reading?” I asked, walking inside the room. I shut the door behind me and turned the lock. It wouldn’t keep Lucas out, but it would buy us some semblance of privacy.
She flushed, her cheeks and chest both turning pink. “I was interrupted in my exploration of this series the last time. I thought maybe now…”
“I can teach you everything you could learn from what’s in those pages. How to be owned. How to own the heart of your partner in turn. But most of all, how to submit and take punishment and turn it to pleasure.”
Her breaths came in sharp pants. “I think you’ve already done that.”
I shook my head. “The pleasure you feel from my bite is different. This is true pleasure from pain. This is something Lucas can never give you.”
She bit her lower lip and closed the book before standing. Her nipples were hard little points against the thin fabric of her white shirt. “But you can give it to me?”
I stepped closer, the pull between us undeniable. “I can give you everything.”
“Cash, this can’t work.”
“It can. You’re meant for me. Not him.”
“Am I? I can’t tell anymore.”
I turned her body in until she was fully facing me, not letting her gaze leave mine. Then I placed my palm on her chest, right over her heart and positioned her so her hand rested over mine. But they didn’t beat in tandem any longer. Hers had a completely separate rhythm. “One day, your heart will beat for me again. I promise. But don’t forget, mine beats for you. Always.”
My focus drifted to the pulse point in her neck and the mark of a fresh bite marring the perfection of her skin. He hadn’t even healed her. The bastard wanted to taunt me. If he was going to mark her, I’d leave my own mark inside her body. I’d take what she still hadn’t given him.
“I can’t stand this,” I admitted. “Not being able to have you whenever I want you.”
“You never could. We’ve never been free to be together. You know that. Maybe we should listen to everything in the universe that’s tearing us apart.”
“No,” I growled. “Being without you isn’t an option.”
“What are you going to do about it, then? All I see here is a spoiled King without a plan.” Accusation flashed in her eyes. She wasn’t wrong. On the outside, I didn’t appear to have a plan, but inside, I was ready to fight. “I’m already searching for a way to break what’s between you. Even if it kills Lucas to do it.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t do that to him.” That hurt. Hearing her jump to his defense made something twist in my chest. “He’s your brother.”
“I’ve already killed my father. I watched you kill my older brother. What makes you think I won’t do the same to Lucas?”
“Because I’ll never speak to you again if you do. He doesn’t deserve that, and you know it.”
Stepping closer, I pressed my
body against hers, absorbing her warmth, the scent of sunshine on her skin, the hum of what magic she possessed in her blood—even through the cloak of her bond. “You won’t deny me. You can’t. If you could, you’d have walked away already.”
She turned and started toward the door, but I caught her by the wrist. “Little bird—”
“No. Not here. Not when Lucas is upstairs. He’s trying to make this better for me. He thinks we should do something…normal together.”
I couldn’t keep myself from laughing. “Then allow me to leave you with a little something to remember me by.” I pulled her to me and pressed my lips to hers. She didn’t fight. Simply let out a soft moan and slid her hands around the back of my neck. But I wanted more. I wanted her cunt on my tongue.
Breaking the kiss, I dropped to my knees and tore open her zipper before shoving her pants to her ankles. Then I parted her thighs and tasted the treasure she’d kept for me. She was sweet and perfect, but different. Where there used to be sunshine, I now tasted darkness. It was the bond. It had to be. That didn’t mean I was going to stop. I would give her a memory she could take with her tonight. Something my brother might wonder about if he entered her mind and read her thoughts. He’d question when this happened. And that was enough for me.
Her thighs shook, and she moaned while pulling my hair hard enough pain shot across my scalp. Her release on my tongue was the reward I’d been searching for. I’d taste her for the rest of the night and be reminded of the sounds I could pull from her with nothing more than my mouth.
“Better wash up, little bird. Don’t want your husband to smell the desire between your thighs.”
She breathed heavily from the remnants of her orgasm as I pulled up her pants and got to my feet. Her eyes were hooded and dark with pleasure. “You’re a bad king. Very bad.”
“Yes. I never promised to be anything more than what I am. A monster, but one who loves you.”
“I don’t know if I want you to love me anymore.” The pain in her voice made my heart lurch, but I didn’t respond. She left me alone with the taste of her on my tongue and the scent of her release filling the room.
I’d have to make sure she couldn’t leave me again. She was the only thing keeping me together.
“Martin!” I called.
The butler was by my side in a few short moments, stoic and obedient now that I’d taken my place as his King. “Yes, Majesty.”
“Find the witch and bring her to me.”
15
Cashel
I heard them before they breached the gates. Clumsy, noisy humans. They trudged along the gravel, broke through the bushes, and called attention to themselves by even breathing. I stared at the empty vials of my little bird’s blood, the taste of her sweetness still on my tongue. It was sunrise. But I was immune because of her.
Tossing the glass to the floor, I grinned as it shattered and left behind the remnants of what my family had reduced Olivia to before the bond. She was so much more than this.
Arming myself with a pair of throwing knives and a dagger, I made my way to the dungeon tunnels, needing to get the drop on the hunters who thought they could come in here and destroy everything I held dear. The sun was warm when I broke free of the darkness, and I couldn’t help but revel in its heat for a moment.
Find these vampires and take her back with us.
She’s probably already turned. We should just kill her before she kills us.
She belongs with family, not these creatures.
Their thoughts infiltrated my mind. I couldn’t keep them out, and every single one of them made me rage.
I caught sight of two of them, young men, strong and too young to die. Too bad they wandered onto my property. With two flicks of my wrists, I sent the throwing knives through the air and straight into their throats. They fell without a sound.
I could sense four more heartbeats around me. They hadn’t spotted me yet, but it would only be a matter of time before someone got wise. That was when I saw him. Logan stood at the tree line, in patchy shadows, but still with light shining on him. I frowned, but he moved into the light fully and didn’t burn. Jealousy raced through me. He’d had so much of her blood that even now he could walk in the sun. And he was working with them. He’d betrayed her as surely as I had when I took her.
I should have killed him then and there, but something made me hesitate. He locked eyes with me, and I heard it in his mind.
Don’t move. He sees you.
Tapping into my senses, I felt my surroundings for the one he was talking about. He was there, to my left, hiding behind the well.
Two hunters rushed me, their loud breaths catching my ear before they could get the jump on me. I buried my fangs in the throat of one while crushing the trachea of the other with my bare hand. Feeding deeply, I let the strength of his blood wash over me. The other two popped up from their hiding places and ran as fast as they could, but Logan caught them. He broke their necks one after the other.
Hector, their leader, stepped out from behind the well, hands up, a grin on his lips. “Okay, you got me. I see you didn’t stay away from her blood, Cashel. Is she dead, then? Turned? Did you take her from me for good this time?” His voice broke on the last question, and I frowned in confusion.
“You were the one who took her from me. I think you must be confused.”
“She’s been mine since the day she was born. Her mother kept her from me. That was her first mistake.”
Eyes widening, I glanced from him to Logan. “Did you know?”
“Hector, what are you talking about?” Logan asked.
“She’s my daughter. I had a right to her. You vampire scum took her from me when I was supposed to have her. The whole reason her mother had to die was so that I could finally be the father I was supposed to be. So we could stop you all.”
My stomach churned. He’d been responsible for the death of Olivia’s mother. “It sounds to me like you are exactly as close to her as you should be. You’re the monster, not me.”
He laughed. “Oh, come on, now. You can’t believe you’re innocent in any of this. Just now you killed four men without blinking.”
“What do you want with her?”
“I want to have her with me.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
I stepped closer, aware that he was likely carrying silver. Logan came up behind him. Then I locked gazes with Hector and held him in my thrall. It was harder than I thought it should have been, and he fought me with every passing second. “Tell me, Hector. Why do you want Olivia?”
“To hurt you all.” That was all I could get from him before he broke my hold.
Logan removed a veritable arsenal from Hector’s pockets and wrenched the man’s hands behind his back. “Dungeon?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” I said, my heart racing. “Olivia can’t know he’s here.”
“She can’t know I’m here either. I’ll stay with him and keep watch. I can’t face her after…everything.”
“Wise choice, hunter.”
“What are we going to do with him?”
I frowned and stared at the man who should have kept Olivia safe, but wanted to use her instead. Were we really that different? Yes. We were. I may have begun this journey with designs on using her, but now, the last thing I wanted was for any harm to come to her. I’d protect her to my dying breath.
“Keep him as a pet.”
It had been three days and nights since Logan and I had thwarted Hector’s ambush. Not a word had come from Martin about his search for the witch, but I was almost glad for it. I needed to focus on Hector. The hunter spent his first twenty-four hours attempting escape, but Logan kept him secured. I didn’t know how to tell Olivia everything Hector had shared. It would break her to know her own father was the reason for her mother’s death. I should have just killed him and buried his body on the grounds. But something he’d told me when our roles were reversed kept sparking in my memory. Sun sickness wasn’t eradicated. The
hunters had created it. They had a cure.
I thought of all the members of my family lost to the disease. If there was a way to keep it from decimating any more vampires, it was my duty to find it.
I found her at the swimming pool tonight. Her simple black bathing suit was supposed to be modest, but it was sinful on her. Everything about her was tempting. I stood at the edge of the pool, watching as she swam laps back and forth, flipping on the wall rather than stopping and observing her surroundings. If she saw me, she never flinched.
Need hit me hard. I hadn’t touched her in too long, and feeding on her by drinking the blood Anne had stored wasn’t the same. My fangs elongated in my mouth at the thought of tasting her. Slowly, I unbuttoned my shirt and let the fabric fall to the cement floor, then I stripped all the way to my boxer briefs. I needed to be in the water with her, taking her under the waterfall in the grotto, kissing her while she floated in my arms.
I slipped into the water and waited for her to approach. When she saw me, I knew because her heart began to race. She stood and wiped the water from her eyes.
“What are you doing in here? Someone might see you.”
“Afraid of getting caught with a king between your thighs?”
I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her through the water toward me.
“I’m more afraid of what’s going to happen when I have to let you go. When you find someone you can actually keep.”
Anger blossomed in my chest. “I’ll never find another. It’s not an option.”
I couldn’t resist kissing her. Those lips were too tempting. Cupping her face, I pressed my mouth to hers, and a thrill raced through me at the soft sigh of pleasure she released. She melted into me, all resistance gone with that one gesture.
“Let me have you again, little bird.”
She wrapped her thighs around my waist and answered me with a fierce kiss. Her tongue in my mouth, her fingers in my hair, hips insistently rolling against me. I walked us to the grotto, under the waterfall and into the cover of the cave. The only light glowed under the water. No one would see us if they came in, but I didn’t care if they discovered us. I was a king claiming his consort and soon, we’d break this bond and I’d make her my queen.
