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“And yet, I sit where your mother—you—wish to be?” I ask, but there’s a tinge of taunt in my tone. Some malice. I’m not weak. I’ve just been thrown into a world I don’t understand. “Tell me, Diana. What did I ever do to you?”
“You existed.” The chains around her wrist rattle, the scent of burning skin heavy in the air around us. Whatever they did to those bindings are slowly melting her skin off, imprisoning her. “You took the throne from my mother, my grandfather, and now me. And even if it takes my mother another hundred years, My Queen...” she spits out the word with malice, so much hatred “...the Veltross family will kill you.”
“A glorified necromancer as the bride of the vampire king. I never thought I’d see the day the monarchy stooped so low,” a male voice I’m familiar with says, entering the library where I’m relaxing. I’ve had a busy morning so far, dealt with a problem back home, and all I’ve wanted since opening my eyes is some peace and quiet. Nothing else.
“What can I do for you, General Veltross?” My tone is bored, and facial expression holds annoyance. I tolerate him as much as he likes me. “As you can see, I’m busy.”
“You don’t belong here. Your kind is an abomination I’d have eradicated if—”
“You’ll never sit on that throne no matter how much you whine about it.”
“And he’ll never change you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I’m sure you’ll try.” Standing from my seat on the couch, I take the steps between us and stand toe to toe. I will never be intimidated by this man who reeks of narcissism and greed. “But keep in mind that I’m a firm believer in an eye for an eye. And while you have fangs and sharp nails, I can take a life with a few simple words and the touch of my hand. Do not threaten me.”
“Those things won’t work once you’re dead.”
“They will when I come back. And I will,” I say with a saccharine-sweet tone. “My deal with the devil is sealed in my enemies’ blood, and I deliver on my promises. Never threaten me again.”
“My love,” Theo says, and I’m snapped back to the present. Each of these feels like memories fighting to break through. Like missing pieces of a story I’ve forgotten.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Turning my head slightly, I meet Theo’s eyes and even though I don’t understand what she’s claiming, I’m willing to accept my fate. There’s a reason I am here and feel what I do the second we touch—the electrifying current that ripples up my arm and squeezes my chest while causing my core to throb. There has to be a reason that explains why I know my life would lose all meaning if he walked away. “Bite me.”
Each memory uncovers a stolen moment in time that shows the life we’ve been robbed of.
Each time he touches me, I find myself wanting to be closer.
I need to know the truth.
“Are you—”
“Bite me, Theo.” Mimicking his actions, I cup his chin and then lean my forehead to his. I stare into his eyes and let him see me. All of me, with every fear and pain filling my heart, but the knowledge deep down that this is right. We are right, no matter how much I want to fight it. “I need this.”
“Thank you.” Then his lips are on mine, a reverent kiss that steals the very breath from my lungs while feeding my soul. Slanting his mouth over mine, Theo moves his hand from my chin and places it over my neck, fingers spread out. His hold is a little tight while controlling the kiss, dominating my senses with sweeps of his tongue over mine before embedding his teeth into my bottom lip.
Then he’s dragging them down my chin and the column of my throat, leaving behind tiny nips of pleasure that make me wet. Embarrassingly so.
“I am darkness. I am sin,” he says against my skin, his tone gravelly. I tilt my head a little more to give him better access, and I’m rewarded by a hum of approval. “I’m the devil incarnate and everything you shouldn’t want, but I am yours, Gabriella. Today. Tomorrow. Always.”
“Always yours.” My answer slips past my lips before I can question the words, but the smile on his face tells me I’ve done something right.
“Always yours.” Then he bites down, breaking my skin and coating his mouth with my essence. At once, blinding pain overtakes my senses and I gasp, clutching his arm, but he only digs deeper. His snarls become louder, and just when my body becomes faint—my eyes roll back and consciousness begins to evade me—a euphoric feeling I’ve never experienced before rocks me to the core.
It slams into me with the weight of a freight train, robbing me of every one of my senses while pleasure pulses from every cell in my body. I come. I lose myself as wave after wave of bliss pours into me before everything goes black.
38
Theodore Astor
Vampire King
The day my world stopped…
I’d been out most of the day, meeting with a small coven of vampires that lives in New Mexico. They’d been asking for support on a small problem with a nomadic trespasser in their territory, and I’d conceded to send three of my men to scan the area and deliver a message.
Control your body count, or I’ll take that as a personal disrespect to me.
“That took longer than expected,” Tero says from beside me, keeping up with my pace as he writes a few notes down. He’s been working longer hours for the past week, trying to repay us for Gabriella saving Marcia’s life, something that isn’t necessary. My wife loves them both as if they were her siblings. Feels a connection that ties them together spiritually.
