“Ask,” he snarled.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
VIKTORIA
VIKTORIA EYED LURKY. His fangs were out and his eyes, naturally black, had taken on an even darker color. The flat black shade of shadows that led to dangerous places. He was strong, and there was a bit of magic about him, but her shadows around his neck and wrists could keep him in place. They’d already been reaching for him when she’d directed them to grab him. Dangerous. This man was dangerous, and not because of his swords.
He made her shadows want to be naughty.
His muscles, the ones she could see, rippled in the firelight that danced over his olive-toned skin. Her fingers twitched, wanting to trace the planes and dips. But he was touchy about his swords, so his shirt stayed on.
Plus, she’d already pushed him by binding him with shadows. She needed cooperation, not resistance for the sake of spite.
“You know where Ember is and what happened to Musette, don’t you?”
He nodded.
Viktoria laid light kisses down the side of his neck, the trail of her lips ending at the muscle over his collarbone.
“Is Ember in any danger?”
Lurky snorted. “Not likely.”
Viktoria bit him. “I don’t like answers that tell me nothing.”
His low chuckle in response sent a delicious shiver down her spine. “Maybe I enjoy being bitten.”
She pulled back, caressed his hard length, and arched an eyebrow. “Do you?”
Lurky swallowed and watched from behind half-closed lids as she unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, then slid them down to his thighs. He groaned when she wrapped her hand around his heavy erection.
“Tell me what I want to know, Lurky.”
His mouth opened and closed several times, like he couldn’t decide what to say. “Ember belongs to Stryx.”
Viktoria laughed and loosened her hand around him. “I doubt Ember sees it that way.”
He offered a wry smile as he tried again. “Stryx belongs to Ember?”
Stryx might be capable of learning, but this one learned fast. She’d have to be careful not to underestimate him. Viktoria tightened her grip as she stroked him, leaning forward to flick her tongue over his nipple. “That was an excellent answer, Lurky.”
He hissed as her tongue slid down his body to trace over the muscles of his abdomen. “Viktoria...”
She swiped her thumb over the head of his erection, already glistening with pre-cum. His warning turned into a moan.
“Isn’t this why you’re here?”
Lurky shook his head. “Viktoria...”
“You’re shaking your head, but I don’t think that’s true, Lurky. This is what you want, just not quite how you imagined it happening.” Viktoria released him and sat back on her knees. “I hoped you might be the adventurous type.” She pouted, using her best Maiden of Pohjola wiles. “Don’t you want to play with me?”
A growl rumbled low in his chest, making her tingle in her core. He definitely wanted to play with her. Toy with her was probably more accurate. Time to give him some incentive.
She closed her mouth over the head of his erection, and his hips jerked towards her.
He groaned. “Viktoria...”
Maybe she had broken him. Viktoria pulled her mouth from him and sat back, blinking overly innocent eyes at him. “What? You didn’t seem to mind that.”
Lurky stared at her with that fathomless black gaze of his. He broke their staring contest to glance pointedly at his right wrist, then his left, and returned his eyes to her. “Viktoria...”
Viktoria translated her name as ‘Release me,’ and ignored the request. “I have an idea.” She tilted her head. “I’ll tell you all the things I want to know, and as long as you are giving me helpful information, we can keep playing. I’ll start up high, and if you keep talking long enough...” She lowered herself so her next breath feathered over his erection. “Maybe I’ll even make it this far again.”
He glared at her. “Viktoria...”
Not a warning. No, the command in the roughly spoken word demanded obedience. She grinned and moved several feet away. Her vampire wasn’t a man of many words, apparently. He definitely knew her name, and it was amazing how he could turn the four syllables into a plea, a command, or a question.
Viktoria didn’t obey commands, though. Not anymore. She lay back on the bed. “I’m patient. I can wait all night, but you can’t. And I was already busy when you interrupted me, so if you don’t want to play, I’m going to finish what I started.” She cupped a breast and slid a hand between her legs. It wasn’t just for his benefit. That growl and keeping this predator under her control made her wet and ache for relief.
It probably wasn’t fair of her to do this to him. She wanted to test his resistance and resolve as she got the information she wanted, and find out why her shadows were attracted to this creature of darkness, but men were horrible multi-taskers on a good day, much less when a woman had her mouth on him. And here she was, expecting him to have a coherent conversation.
He seemed to be up for the challenge, though.
Lurky thrashed and lunged, making it to his knees on the edge of the bed as he swore in that ancient language of his before her shadows constricted, not letting him go any further. “I’ll say what I can. Some secrets are not mine to tell.”
Viktoria rose to her knees and met his eyes as she appraised his answer. “Fair enough. I want to know what happened to Musette. You said Ember and her sister aren’t in any danger from you, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t in danger. I want to know from what, or who. I want to know where they are, and I want to see them without you vampires lurking, scowling, or growling. Why is Ember different now? She’s not a vampire, but she’s changed. How many of you are in Port Storm? How long have you been here?” She leaned forward, nipping his neck. “As long as you’re using your mouth, I’ll use mine. Start talking, Lurky.”
The nickname provoked another one of those growls. She planted kisses down his chest and bit his nipple. Liking the sound he made in his throat, she bent and kissed the swollen head of his erection. His flavor hit her, smoky and rich. Viktoria licked and suckled to tease more of his essence from him, opening her mouth and drawing him deep. His unique flavor had the potential to intoxicate her. Maybe he was part shadow after all. She hummed around his thickness, earning another strangled sound, but no words. That wasn’t the deal, and she pulled back.
He sucked in a breath. “We are thirteen, but only twelve of us are here now. We’ve lived here for a thousand years.”
She curled her tongue around him. Another swirl, and more of his smoky, rich taste overloaded her senses. It wasn’t enough. She widened her mouth and sucked until he hit the back of her throat. Slow, deep breaths through her nose eased the automatic response to the thick cock lodged deep.
“Ember and Musette are staying with us. We would die to protect them.”
Viktoria wrapped her hand over the length of his erection and stroked from its base to where her lips held him.
“It’s not safe for them at their house,” Lurky practically shouted. “There are men looking for them. The men work for mages!” He groaned.
The sound encouraged her, and she tightened her fist around him, working the section of his exposed cock. More of his delicious taste flooded her mouth. The muscles of her throat relaxed, and she let him thrust in and out.
“Mages are men who —”
With the next push of his hips, she swallowed him. His guttural moan cut off his words. She let his length slide over her tongue until only her lips held the head and peeked up at the vampire watching her. Frustration and lust warred on his face.
“They drain witches of their magic. They caught Ember and her sister and did something to Musette. I don’t know what. But she won’t wake up.”
Viktoria fisted his shaft near his balls. He followed her with his gaze. She dragged her mouth off his cock. His shudder encouraged her to slow her movements. In
ch by inch, she released him. His head fell back on a groan. She licked her lips.
Never had she tasted anything like Jael. The flavor of shadows on him could captivate her. Viktoria wanted to get as drunk on him as her blood promised to get him. He could become an addiction, but this could only be for tonight. She forced her thoughts from dreams of waking up every morning next to someone as entangled in shadows as her.
Back to the matter at hand. Or rather, in hand.
His length glistened from where she’d sucked him deep. She bent her head and licked, root to head, and all the way around, sucking, nibbling and nipping. He had said he liked to be bitten, after all.
Viktoria pulled back when it was clear he had nothing more to say. She kept her hand wrapped around his erection, squeezing and pumping. “And Ember? What has she become?”
The quicker thrusts of his hips, and the swelling of his shaft, clued her in easily to the state of his excitement. Explosion imminent.
She pulled away. “Done talking, Lurky?”
He yanked harder on the wrist restraints, straining his muscles and actually bending the shadows. Viktoria tightened them, pulling his arms back. He stilled, and she eased up.
Jael glared. “If you want to know more, ask Ember. It isn’t my story to tell.”
“I don’t like that answer, Lurky.” Viktoria crawled into his lap and straddled him. “But I do like that you respect Ember’s secrets.” She moved against him, rubbing her core over the length of his cock. “Do you have anything else to add?”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
JAEL
THIS WOMAN MIGHT BRING his dead heart to life, but she may very well kill him in the process.
His Dragă shuddered against him and pulled back, staring into his eyes. Her heart beat as fast as his, and his gaze fell to the pulse beating in her neck.
Viktoria laughed, jerking his attention to her mouth. “Biting is not happening, Lurky.” She shimmied farther up his thighs and took him in hand to align their bodies. “But don’t worry. I’ll do all the work.”
She’d denied him a lot of things tonight — running his fingers up the curve of her spine as she arched. Feeling the pulse in her neck under his fangs and the fullness of her lips against his. The taste of her on his tongue. He wouldn’t let her have this moment, too.
“Wait.”
She froze and raised questioning eyes to him.
He thrust into her with one firm motion, burying himself to the hilt. Her slick heat slid along his length, and he savored his single victory tonight as he pulled almost all the way out and entered her again.
Viktoria fisted her hands on the straps of the leather harness he wore and tightened her thighs around him. Wet and tight, she raised and lowered herself, taking him deep on every downward motion. She arched, closed her eyes, and let her head fall back, exposing her throat to him as she pleasured herself with his body.
A snarl escaped his clenched teeth. He couldn’t touch her, but her body rubbed against his as she moved. Her soft, full breasts felt heavy as they bounced, her nipples tight where they rubbed against his chest. Shifting his legs and tilting his hips, he changed from thrusts to slow rolls. She gasped when he found that spot he sought inside her, and made sure to hit it every time, keeping the rhythm slow and deep.
She matched her pace to his, and the coiling sensation built gradually, yet felt so much more intense. Her hot, tight sheath clamped around him.
Jael willed her to orgasm. He wasn’t going to last long. She panted, her heart pounded, and her blood called to him. His head swam with vanilla and shadows. Viktoria clenched around him, and he thrust as far into her as his limited motions allowed, riding out the waves of her climax, feeling every delicious aftershock of her body through his. Her nails dug into him, and his muscles tensed as he came inside her. His thundering heart calmed as one of his needs was met, and his vampire side receded.
“Free me,” Jael demanded.
Viktoria opened her eyes and studied his face. The shadows around his wrists eased and his arms fell. He wrapped them around his Dragă, something easing in him as he pulled her closer. One hand tangled in her hair, the other pinned her against him. The collar vanished, and he was free.
Her skin glowed under his hands, warm and smooth.
His cock hardened inside her, ready to have her like he wanted.
Jael breathed in her cool vanilla scent. “Now it’s my turn. Are you ready?”
“I am. But you might want to zip your pants.” The mischievous glint returned to her eyes, but he would take care of that when he made her his.
“I don’t think so.” Jael bent forward to put Viktoria on her back and slid his arm under her knee, draping her leg over his shoulder so he could take her hard and deep. Eager to pound into her, he reared up.
Viktoria smirked. “Bye bye, Lurky.”
The air around him moved, becoming dark. Shades of black and grey swirled together, caressing his skin, lifting him, carrying him. Jael found himself on his hands and knees on hard cement. The sidewalk?
He leapt to his feet. Where Viktoria’s house should be, there were only trees. He sensed her nearby, but the house and walls surrounding it had vanished. He took a few steps forward, and the urge to retreat overwhelmed him. Wards.
That witch had used her wards to kick him out of her house and hide it from him. The magic in his swords was some of the strongest he’d ever felt. For Viktoria’s wards to affect him, her magic had to be even stronger.
What kind of witch was she?
“Viktoria!”
A breeze alerted him to his state of undress and he hurried to right his clothing, then reached over his shoulders to draw his swords. The wall reappeared in front of him, but the spell to keep away held him away.
A white spider the size of his hand sat atop the wall, four pairs of empty eyes staring down at him. That man at the gallery worked for the Spider Mage. Jael’s swords raged in his mind. The creature scuttled away. That spider would let the mage watch Viktoria. Maybe track her. Jael pushed hard against the wards, needing to kill that mage’s creature.
He slashed at Viktoria’s magic, pacing the circumference of her wards, not finding a single weak spot to exploit. That pleased and frustrated him at the same time. Frustration seemed to be the norm for him around her. He’d told her about mages, but she didn’t know the danger she was in now that a mage had his attention on her. His blades sparked off the wards but didn’t break through. Well, if he couldn’t get in, the next best thing was to take out the mage.
Jael left Viktoria’s house, conflicting emotions roiling. He’d forgotten about this part of having a Dragă — how finding his would let him feel again. Even without bonding her, she was already making him feel crazy. No wonder Stryx had gone mad. Jael at least had the benefit of having felt emotions before he became a vampire.
Did he want to bond her to him? A part of him shouted yes, but a part of him wasn’t prepared, not ready to let go of his past. He liked to feel in control, remain detached and calm. None of that would be possible if he bonded her to him. It relieved him to know if he ever completed the bond, he wouldn’t have to worry about her becoming strygoi. She was already a witch in full control of her powers, she wouldn’t become one.
“Viktoria!”
Jael pulled his phone from his pocket. He should have asked for Viktoria’s phone number, but he hadn’t expected her to end their encounter so abruptly. Dialing Stryx, it didn’t surprise Jael when the call went straight to voice mail. Stryx must have blown up his phone again. Calling Ember resulted in the same thing, though. That wasn’t right. Ember was always available in case there was news about Musette. They’d left with Melchior.
The pale giant answered on the first ring. “That lunatic strygoi kidnapped Stryx from the back of the car and the boat is gone. He must have taken her to the island.”
Stryx had lost his mind again. Jael closed his eyes, feeling not far behind. His stomach tied itself into a knot as he was torn between t
wo loyalties — his Dragă or his King. “Thanks.” He disconnected and paced. In spite of how the vampires of the Ildum played bodyguard for him, Stryx could take care of himself, and he was with War, Ember’s new power.
Viktoria was alone, with a direct threat to her. There was no way to know what Stryx and Ember faced at the mage’s stronghold, but Jael was hours away from them, and he didn’t have a boat or the coordinates. Neither Ember nor Stryx would welcome a rescue effort if it turned out to be unnecessary. His Dragă needed help more. His swords agreed, thoughts of Viktoria bringing a contented trill from them.
“You and I are going to have a talk,” Jael muttered. He could swear he heard laughter as he called Zeke. “Where are you?”
“At a bar. The man I followed met some friends.”
“I’ll get the car and find you with the tracking app.”
Jael sprinted to the gallery to retrieve the SUV and drove to the bar.
A moment later, Zeke slid into the passenger seat. “What’s the deal with the woman you followed?”
Why did there have to be a deal? “She’s a witch who might be in danger. I followed her home to surveil the area.”
Zeke turned a disbelieving look on Jael. “I may be out of touch with the modern parlance, but I don’t think surveil the area is what the kids call it nowadays.”
“And here I thought you were supposed to be the chivalrous one. Doesn’t that mean not asking impolite and inappropriate questions or making snide remarks?”
“Oh, is that what you think I was asking about?” The Knight offered an innocent look that failed to pass muster. “I just meant you found your Dragă.”
“What do you know about Dragăs?”
“I’m the Knight, not the Monk. And we just went through it with Stryx. I saw the looks between you and Viktoria tonight. More than that, I saw her see you when your swords were hiding you from everyone else.”
He’d found his Dragă, not become a teenage gossip. “Tell me about the man you followed here.”
Viktoria's Shadow: Jael Page 5