“That just means we get to take our time,” I purred, pushing to my feet. “Care to show us where you have stashed our prey?”
“He should probably rest more first,” Crowe reasoned, doubt in his voice. “As should we.”
“It’s up to you, pet.” I stroked my hand across Sebastian’s head, and he surprised me by turning into the caress.
“They’re secure?” he asked huskily, his eyes tracking between the twins’ faces.
“Yes,” Crowe and Draven replied on the same breath.
“The cells are their own magic, so it doesn’t strain ours to hold them there. It’s keyed to our essence so no one else can get in,” Crowe explained, rubbing his eyes. Focusing through the haze of rage and violence that consumed me, I could see the exhaustion on both of their faces even though they were trying to hide it.
“If we’re waiting, I need to eat,” I admitted softly. “Especially with my blood lust as high as it is.” Before Sebastian could open his mouth, I shook my head. “I won’t drink from you, pet. Not today at least. We’ll assess your healing tomorrow, but I don’t trust that I would leave you unharmed.” I turned to the twins as I thought about it. “Could we maybe pull one of them here now? I could drink from them and then put them back into the cells? I’m hesitant to bring anyone else here with Sebastian healing, and I don’t want to leave him on his own to get food for myself.” It killed me to admit it out loud, but there was no point in hiding it. The witches had disclosed their own need to rest, therefore I could divulge my need to feed and my worries regarding the process. A weakness offered from each of us, maintaining the balance. Forming a friendship. The errant, almost human thought tickled through my mind, a clear indication of how close to the edge I was. I could already feel my skin drying out. I’d be bathing in the traitors’ blood soon enough, so I could handle the pain of it, but I would be more in control if I could eat at least a little something first.
The twins shared a look before they shook their heads. “It will take blood to open the portal with as weak as we are,” Draven explained, toying with his dagger. Apparently there was nothing like saving a pet and then planning murder to bond a group together. Or maybe it had to do with the oath bond that joined us, forcing us to be more open with each other about our needs. “We need food. Sleep. The same as Sebastian. Our magic will have returned in a few hours’ time.”
I hated to wait that long to eat, especially when I could already feel my skin beginning to tear, but for Sebastian’s sake, I could handle it. I had failed him once, I wouldn’t fail him again. I was far from the point where I’d pose a danger to him, I was merely a danger to myself at the moment. “I’ll keep watch while you rest. I’ll need to bathe when we’re there then,” I informed them, angling my arm to show where my skin was already peeling.
“Mistress…” Sebastian’s voice was weak from his position on the bed, but I smiled down at him.
“I’ve had worse than this, pet,” I soothed him gently. “I won’t attack you, do not fear.” I couldn’t fathom how anyone who was bound to a pet could harm them. The glow I felt inside myself where the bond with Sebastian rested was warm and flickering, a fire without the burn. The idea of damaging that was worse than damaging myself. He was mine to protect, not to harm. Though when his strength was returned to him, I wasn’t going to hesitate to drink from him again. I could already taste the richness of his blood on my tongue, hear the way he moaned for me as my bite pumped pleasure through his willing body. I shivered at the image, my lips twisting up into a smile. From the heat that stained Sebastian’s cheeks as my eyes met his, our thoughts had clearly gone in the same direction.
“Feed from me.” Draven’s blurted offer had all of us turning to stare at him, none more shocked than his twin.
“What?” Crowe gasped, his gaze darting between the pair of us. “Dray, you can’t.” His features hardened as he glared at me. “On the oath, Elsie, I’ll have the truth to my questions now. Are you using any magic you have bought or wrought yourself on myself or my brother? Are you influencing or manipulating us with magic in any way?”
The oath bond on my wrist throbbed, but I just wrinkled my nose at the question. “Of course not. I’m a vampire, remember? I can’t do magic. And I wouldn’t have bought or traded for any to use on you either. Why would I? I have my own strengths, my own wits, my own status. What would I need a spell for?” I’d heard of vampires who bought spellwork from witches, but it was rare as the price was usually too high to be worth the cost. I glanced at my wrist wryly as the thought crossed my mind.
Crowe and Draven exchanged a look again before Crowe swore, averting his gaze. “Feed from me,” Draven repeated. “Not to drain me, but enough to ease your pain.”
I could only blink at him in my shock. “But why? You hate vampires,” I reminded him pointlessly, my hands kneading into the fabric of my dress as I attempted to process what he was suggesting.
“You put a human ahead of yourself today for no reason other than your honor and your faith in him,” Draven replied. “I want to see what a bite feels like, and between the oath bond that we share and my trust in that honor, I know you won’t drain me. I may never have this chance again, and I don’t think you should have to suffer after what you’ve done.” He glanced at his twin, and something passed between them that I couldn’t decipher. “Feed from me, Elsie,” he demanded. Well, if he insisted, I was in no state to be picky about the flavor of my food.
Chapter Fourteen
Draven
I couldn’t believe I had asked her to feed from me. Clearly, Crowe couldn’t either. But beneath the annoyance and disgust on his face were the same things I felt—curiosity and arousal. I hadn’t been lying when I told her this might be my only chance to truly experience a vampire bite. Any other fang was likely to kill me if I let them get their teeth in my throat. But with the link that now bound us for the foreseeable future, I could finally find out what the pair of them were up to, and maybe get one step closer to getting answers in my own research.
“I probably won’t take more than a few sips. If anything, you’re going to experience more of what a bite is like rather than truly feeding me,” she warned.
“Why won’t you take more?” Crowe’s eyes were narrowed as he studied her intently, his arms crossed over his chest.
She laughed lightly, indicating for me to sit in the chair with a wave of her hand. “Because the witches I’ve fed from in the past have all tasted absolutely horrid.” I blinked, trying to process that. I thought she had previously said something to us about not liking how we tasted, but I hadn’t believed she meant it literally.
“Are you comfortable doing this in front of them?” she asked, her eyes only on me, ignoring our audience.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I challenged. “It’s not like you’re going to try to drain me.”
She rolled her eyes, not bothering to take the bait I threw her way. “Well, if you want to orgasm in front of others, that’s your call to make.”
I chuckled, lounging back in the chair, letting my shirt pull tightly across my chest. “You’re giving yourself quite a bit of credit there, princess.”
She didn’t even flinch, she merely arched a brow at me. “If you choose pleasure when I bite you, then yes, I am that confident, as long as I can stand to drink from you long enough. I will give you a choice, the same as I did for Sebastian when I fed from him. I can bite you without numbing you, and you’ll know the pain of a vampire bite. I can numb you, and it may be uncomfortable at the worst, but it won’t be painful nor pleasurable. Or, I can allow you to feel pleasure from the bite, at which point you will likely orgasm, audience or not.”
Indecision tore through me as I debated my options. I was a true masochist, there was no hiding it. Hell, she’d watched me stab myself only yesterday, so it wouldn’t be a shock to her if I asked for pain. Yet the lure of seeing what a pleasurable bite could do was also tempting. She made no move to hurry me even as Crowe huffed and settl
ed down beside Sebastian. Apparently saving the man’s life was enough to prevent him from looking at us as if we were about to tear someone’s skin off, though that seemed to be the plan for later this afternoon.
“Dray, hurry it up,” Crowe growled. “I wasn’t kidding about us needing to rest then eat. Sebastian will need to as well.” He turned to Elsie with a roll of his eyes. “He wants both and can’t make a decision regarding what he wants more.”
Elsie shrugged as if she wasn’t surprised at the admission, although she kept her eyes on me. “If you consent, I can bite you twice, once on each side. One bite of pain, one bite of pleasure.” My cock throbbed at the idea, and I knew heat flared in my gaze, but she didn’t step forward, waiting for me to give my permission.
“One of each,” I affirmed. “Without drinking deeply.” I reached behind me, grasped my shirt at the neck, and tugged it over my head, tossing it to my brother. Elsie didn’t bother to hide her perusal of my body, her nipples hardening into points as she tracked her gaze across the defined lines of my chest and abdomen, taking in every inch of me the way I had watched her yesterday.
“Both it is then.” Her voice was still even, but I could clearly see that her pupils had dilated when her eyes returned to mine. “I don’t expect to take more than a sip from each side, as I said.” She walked behind me, tracing her fingertips gently across my shoulders and up the side of my neck. “Would you like to choose which is first?”
“Choose for him,” Crowe answered before I could, arching a brow at me when I scowled. “We need this done with.”
Elsie hissed from behind me. “I’ll allow you to stay if that’s what he wants, but you will not order me, Crowe, and you will not speak for him. The question was for him and him alone.” Command rolled through every word and her nails scratched lightly across my skin.
“Crowe’s right,” I admitted, my voice husky as a shiver of anticipation worked its way up my spine. I didn’t even care that both Crowe and Sebastian were watching me intently, my body was strung tight as I waited to feel everything she had to give. “I tend to suck at choices, I just take what I want.” I was inclined to think of it as being proactive in life, rather than being indecisive. If I wanted everything, I took everything. What was life without choices, without variety? A hell of a lot less fun, that was for sure.
“Very well.” Even as the words left her mouth she struck, her fangs sinking into the left side of my throat. Pain seared through me, hot knives piercing my skin, and I let out a combination of a moan and a scream as my body hardened. I felt her swallow once, then again, each draw of blood forcing the wounds she’d inflicted farther open, increasing the burn. Her fangs withdrew, and she licked over the bite marks, sealing them closed. “That was unexpected,” she murmured, her voice thick, before she licked the skin on the other side of my throat.
“I told you he’s a masochist,” Crowe muttered, his hands flexing in his lap. This was a huge act of trust on his part, allowing her to drink from me like this, to not tear her away when her fangs pierced me, but other than the movement of his hands, he wasn’t betraying any of the stress he was feeling. Sebastian’s eyes were wide with shock, however, as he watched, and I smirked.
“Some of us like the pain, pretty boy,” I teased him, enjoying the throb that still bloomed on my throat, and a blush stained his cheeks.
“That part wasn’t unexpected,” Elsie remarked with a chuckle, the vibrations against the fragile skin making me shiver. Fuck, that felt good. She licked again before sliding just the edge of her fangs over my flesh. “He doesn’t taste like any witch I’ve ever had before.” Her tongue flicked my ear as she added, “You taste good, Draven,” in a whisper meant for my ears alone, though I knew Crowe’s enhanced hearing would catch it. With that, she struck again, her fangs sliding deeply into me.
I had already been hard, a side effect of her body against mine and the pain she had caused me, but this, this I never would have expected. I groaned, angling my head so she could sink in deeper, my hand rising to cup the back of her neck and hold her to me.
“Fuck, that’s good.” I hadn’t planned to form the words, let alone speak them, but they came out on a groan as my cock throbbed. She sucked, swallowing deeply as her tongue worked against my skin. Precum coated my hard length, and I resisted the urge to palm my hand over myself. It felt as if she was sucking and licking up and down my cock, every inch of me radiating with pleasure as I convulsed beneath her mouth. She could drink from me every damn day if this was how it felt. Pleasure ricocheted down my body, the base of my spine tingled, and my hips thrust into the air, searching for the body it felt, even knowing it wasn’t there. Her fangs began to slide from my throat and I growled, my hand tightening at the nape of her neck, forcing her back down. It was too good, I had to have more. Had to know what it felt like to come this way, to have my body completely under her command. She scraped her nails down my shoulder and over my chest as she swallowed again, and that was all it took. I bellowed out a cry as I came hard, uncaring that I had an audience, that my pants were now a mess. She slowly unlatched her mouth from me, licking across the marks to heal the wounds as I leaned backwards, my breath coming in harsh gasps.
“Damn,” Crowe murmured, and I met my twin’s eyes, smiling when I saw his dilated pupils. “That was different.”
“You should try it from this point of view, Crowe.” I laughed lazily. My body felt seriously good as residual tingles sparked across my skin. “That’s some potent stuff there, Elsie.” She came around from behind me, shaking her head.
“Thank you for the meal. I took more than I had planned at the end there. It wasn’t a full feeding though,” she assured me quickly. “Still, it’d be best if you ate something with sugar in it before you sleep.”
“Of course.” Crowe hopped up from the bed, striding for the door. “Don’t move, Dray. I’ll be right back.” The door clicked behind him and I chuckled.
“He’ll be too curious not to ask for his own turn soon,” I told her around a yawn, melting into the chair. How could I have just had the best sex of my life without actually having had sex? The idle thought niggled at my brain, and I cracked my eyes open, not having realized I’d voiced it. A smug smile decorated Elsie’s face as she settled on the bed beside a still blushing Sebastian. There was no denying the man was cute with that color staining his face. Humans were so shy when it came to sexuality. Whereas vampires and witches took the pleasure they wanted, many humans still shied from that behavior in a way that simply confused me. If it felt good for you and your partner consented, then why did it matter if you liked for them to stab you or if you enjoyed being watched? Sex was as natural as breathing or eating, nothing to be hidden away and spoken of in guilty, hushed whispers. Yeah right, you would have been pissed if Crowe wanted to have sex with a vampire. I nearly winced as the thought slammed into me. I guess I couldn’t exactly pick on Ash’s hang-ups when I still had plenty of my own.
I shoved myself out of the chair, my muscles feeling like water as I flopped down on the other side of the bed, curling into her mound of pillows. “Why exactly are you in my bed?” Elsie’s growl was possessive, but I just yawned, too tired to even open my eyes.
“Don’t worry, princess, I’m not making plans to ravish you. I’m too damn tired for that.” My pants weren’t exactly comfortable at this moment, but I was past the point of caring. My body was screaming for sleep whether I was comfortable or not. I heard the door open, even as Elsie growled again, and my brother’s mutter filled the room though I didn’t bother paying attention to what exactly he was muttering about now.
“Dray, come on.” He shoved at my shoulder, nearly sending me off the bed and making me flail. I cracked my eyes open as I flipped him off. He shoved a glass at me, and I propped my body up to drink the juice he offered. The sugar was nice, but it couldn’t override my need to rest. I’d pushed too hard, and my body was demanding sleep no matter what I might have wanted. I murmured my approval of that even as m
y eyes closed again. I knew the glass slipped from my hand, but I was past the point of caring. Sleep now, I decided, then another bite later. I wasn’t going to miss out on feeling that again, especially when she said I tasted good.
Chapter Fifteen
Elsie
“Oh, come on!” I could only stare at the growing stain of juice Draven had dropped. It had splattered across my comforter and down onto the floor, and I was sure that wasn’t going to be the only stain on my bed, since Draven hadn’t bothered to clean himself off before passing out.
I hadn’t expected to enjoy drinking from a witch. It was a necessity, something to choke down to tide me over. Then his blood had washed over my tongue, and I had nearly been unable to let the witch go. Witches were always bitter and sour, their blood too thin, diluted by the magic in their veins that tasted like ash and left my mouth dry and tacky. I’d bitten enough of them to know it had nothing to do with an individual person, it was the same with every witch I’d sampled across the years. I’d been waiting for it, bracing myself against the flavor, when his blood had hit me. Draven was a ridiculous combination of sweet and dark with just a minor salty tang to bind it all together, reminding me of the rich scent of coffee beans that were ground in the kitchen and the sweet aroma of the brownies the chefs made for the witches on certain holidays. I had drunk deep and hard, relishing every second of the flavor that still filled my mouth.
Crowe glared at his brother before huffing a breath and waving his hand through the air. The spill disappeared, but with Draven lying on his stomach, I wasn’t sure if he’d taken care of that mess as well. “How much did you take?” Crowe’s eyes were hard as they met mine, but I lifted my chin.
“A few swallows, that’s all. Nothing that would have put him out like this.” My brow creased as I studied the man who was now softly snoring on my bed. “Is he one of those men who always passes out after an orgasm?” Sebastian choked on air at my blunt inquiry, and Crowe rolled his eyes.
Reign of Nightmares (Blood Throne Book 1) Page 11
