Chapter 16
M y body buzzed as I paced my chamber after the ball. The fire spat half-heartedly, barely throwing off any heat. Good. I was hot all over, sweat prickling under my arms and at the small of my back.
Where was Delphine? She was never around when I needed her.
Something was wrong with me. My bloodied gown swished around my legs, every slide of fabric like a caress. Moonlight spilled through the balcony doors. As I passed the vase of dead flowers on the table, a shriveled petal tumbled to the floor.
Where in the name of all the gods was Delphine? A growl rumbled in my throat as I faced the doors.
Go find her , a little voice in my head whispered. I curled my fists until my nails dug into my palms. Punish her.
No, no. I couldn’t do that. It wasn’t her fault I was alone and starving.
After Rasimir made his announcement, he’d murmured in Lorcan’s ear and the two of them left without a backward glance.
When the courtiers began piling werewolf corpses on the fire, I marched to the doors—and then clenched my jaw when two knights trailed me. They’d followed me to my room.
Most likely, they were still outside.
But I could probably take them. One slash across the throat, and I’d be free. No one had the right to hold me against my will.
Kill them.
The buzzing filled my head, the sound like an insect’s wings between my ears. A second later, I stumbled back from the doors, my hand still reaching for the latch.
Gods, what was wrong with me?
Fur sprouted over my knuckles. A cry lodged in my throat as I rushed to the mirror.
Glossy black eyes stared back at me. My knees loosened, and I gripped the vanity table to keep from falling.
I’d drained the werewolf to death. How much longer until I went insane?
I wasn’t a full-blooded vampire. What if the madness took me right away?
The fur receded, leaving my hand smooth once more. Drawing a shaky breath, I waited for it to reappear.
A whisper of sound made me spin around. Outside, Vander hauled himself over the balcony railing and dropped to the floor. Putting a finger to his lips, he slipped inside, his silver gaze catching on the dead flowers as he rushed to me.
“What are you doing?” I whispered. Rasimir had spies everywhere.
“Keep your voice down.” Vander pulled a crystal from his pocket.
I glanced at the balcony doors. “Someone might see the ward.” The werewolves served the witches, and werewolves had attacked the ball. And the witches wanted me dead. What if they lurked beyond the Drakhold, waiting and watching for another chance to strike?
Vander shook his head. “It’s like I told you: It’s a rare witch who can see them.” Silver eyes met mine briefly. “And Rasimir can’t see my magic because he’s my sire.”
“He can’t?” I reeled, my shock at seeing Vander replaced with the shock of the revelation.
Vander flashed a bitter-looking smile. “A gift from the gods. Or perhaps an apology. The vulnerability between turned vampires and their sires runs both ways. I can’t refuse Rasimir’s orders without pain, and he can’t detect or benefit from my gifts.
” He produced a knife and struck the blade against the stone.
With quick, precise movements, he dropped chunks of crystal, encasing us in a tight circle.
“ Zid ,” he muttered. As blue light flared around us, Vander yanked me against him.
Fury spiked. My fist swung without my permission, snapping his head back.
“I’m sorry!” I cried, cradling my throbbing hand against my stomach. “I don’t know why I did that!”
Vander’s eyes glinted as he shook his head like he meant to clear it. “I do,” he rasped and then he jerked me close and bit my neck.
For one taut second, rage blistered through me. The buzzing in my veins became a shriek, and I clawed at his arms as I fought to break his grip. Then his lips tugged.
And everything changed.
Desire slammed into me like a wave crashing against a shore. I went under, gasping and tumbling. Heat rushed after it. A cord connected Vander’s mouth to my breasts and the juncture of my thighs. With every tug of his mouth, the cord pulled tighter.
Tighter.
It was too much. At the same time, it wasn’t quite enough.
I needed…Oh gods, I needed . The waves crashed harder and faster, threatening to rip me apart.
Vander’s lips pulled, and the tug focused between my legs, pulling and pulling and pulling.
But it wasn’t what I needed. Squirming, I cried out as my hips jerked without my permission, my body seeking relief.
My nipples burned. Wet surged between my thighs.
I squeezed Vander’s shoulders as the waves threatened to drag me under and never let me surface.
He lifted his head, my blood glistening on his lips. When I tried to claw him back, he took my face in his hands. “Corinthe, listen to me.”
“No,” I gasped, my teeth chattering. My sex throbbed, the ache so intense I couldn’t hold back a whimper. “I was s-so close. I n-need—”
“I know.” Regret swam in his eyes. “I’m sorry for it, but it’s the only way.”
The chattering spread, tremors racking me.
My skirts brushed one of the crystals he had placed on the ground.
Absently, I realized I should have asked the dress to change itself.
As swiftly as it arrived, the thought fluttered away.
My inner muscles cramped, tight spasms making me gasp.
The shaking intensified, and my gown brushed the crystals again.
The blue light wavered, splashing onto the wall.
Vander gripped my shoulders. “You have to hold still.”
“I can’t!” Frustration rose as swiftly as the heat inside me. “Oh gods, it hurts too badly!” I was burning up, damp flowing between my legs.
Vander’s nostrils flared, and his voice went guttural as he grabbed my hand and forced it against my thighs. “Touch yourself.”
“What?”
“Touch yourself.” He moved my hand over my groin. “Your pussy,” he breathed. “Have you ever done that?”
The tremors intensified. My teeth clicked together. “O-Of c-course I have!”
“Well, do it now!”
Gasping, I fumbled at my skirts. But my hands shook too badly and the fabric slipped from my fingers like it was made of water. Need flared hotter. Sobbing, I stumbled, my skirts flowing over the rocks. The blue light flickered.
With a vicious curse, Vander grabbed my hips.
“Hang on to me,” he ordered and then he thrust a hand under my skirts and rucked them up to my waist. Cool air hit my sodden flesh as his fingers found the split in my sheer, lace-trimmed drawers with unerring accuracy.
It was difficult to tell in the dim lighting, but I thought a flush stained his cheeks as he rested his palm over my sex. “Do you want this?”
So close. His fingers grazed my heated skin. The throbbing, pounding ache stole my breath, turning my response into another sob as I dug my fingers into his jacket and thrust my hips against his hand.
“Yes!” I said, and I knew I’d be embarrassed about the whine in my voice later. But not right now. Another wave hit, the force so powerful my inner muscles seized. Pain spiked low in my stomach. Tightening my grip, I dragged his face down to my level. “Gods, yes. Help me, or I’ll punch you again.”
His eyes widened.
“I d-didn’t mean that.”
He pulled me up and into him, and I gasped as my breasts mashed against his chest. “Yes, you did,” he said, his voice suddenly deeper. He stroked a fingertip down the seam of my pussy. “Tell me exactly what you want.”
“More.” And he wasn’t giving it to me, damn him. A blast of heat drove my hips forward again. If he wouldn’t give it to me, I’d take it.
Vander’s fingers clamped on my folds, pinching my sex shut and making me suck in a breath. He bent his head, the ward’s blue glow illuminating his russet stubble and the glint in his silver eyes.
“Not good enough,” he rasped, his breath fluttering over my lips. His cheeks were ruddy, his fangs white between his lips. “If you would be a leader of men, start right now. Queens don’t ask. They command. So let me hear it, sweetheart. Tell me what this pussy wants, and I’ll make it happen.”
My heartbeat throbbed between my legs. I was so wet, I could feel moisture seeping from the seam of my sex and over his callused fingers.
His were a swordsman’s hands, his touch rough against my most sensitive skin.
But I wanted it. I’d never wanted anything more.
It should have terrified me, but I was beyond terror.
Whatever drove me dwelled in a place where fear didn’t exist. Only want .
It loosened my tongue, dissolving my inhibitions and forcing desperate words from my throat.
“Make me come,” I said, my own fangs sliding down. “Stop talking and put your fingers on my clit. I want tight, fast circles, and don’t you dare stop until I say.”
Something feral gleamed in his eyes as he moved his hand, his fingers delving between my soaked lips. He did as I’d told him, circling the slick point of my desire with two fingers. And oh gods, it was better than anything I’d done with my own hand in my narrow bed in the cottage.
He was better, his gaze locked on mine and his heart thundering against my swollen breasts.
His eyes were unyielding, the look in them as hard and dominant as the one he’d given me across the warehouse in Sausberg.
As hard as the one he’d flashed when he tossed a hundred thousand kromni on the platform.
I’d forgotten it, but I shouldn’t have. Vander Blackfell had staked his claim then. And he claimed my pleasure now.
Black fabric bunched around my hips. Dragonstones winked and pulsed between our bodies. And magic flared, but not the kind that came from theft and death. This was raw and ancient. It transcended words.
That didn’t stop Vander from using them.
“Come for me then,” he rumbled, his auburn lashes lowering until his eyes were silver slits.
“Come all over my hand, Princess. Soak me to the wrist.” He rubbed faster, his thick fingers spreading me.
More chilly air kissed my opening. His fingers danced in skillful, perfect circuits, giving me precisely the right amount of pressure.
Ribbons of pleasure spiraled through me.
My breathing grew labored, little whimpers spilling from me as I started to fray.
The thick sound of my arousal rose over everything.
“That’s it,” Vander growled. “Let me hear it.”
“I told you to be quiet,” I said, beginning to shudder.
“You did,” he acknowledged. “But before that, you said to make you come. I’m a soldier, Princess.
The mission comes first.” He shifted suddenly, hitching me more firmly against him and then gripping my ass with his free hand.
He squeezed the muscle as he worked my clit faster.
“Which means you come right fucking now.”
My body leaped to obey, release slamming into me like a fist. Vander anticipated it a split second before I did, because he seized my lips in his and swallowed my scream.
He carried me through it, working my clit faster as moisture flooded me.
Thoughts scattered. Emotions fled. The world narrowed to his lips and tongue and the masterful press of his fingers between my legs.
He kissed me as I came all over his hand, doing exactly what he’d ordered me to do.
And when I sagged against him, passion wrung from me like a wet cloth, he eased his hand from my sex and rested his forehead against mine.
My skirts slithered down my legs in a rasp of silk.
Vander’s heart thudded against my breasts. He sounded almost angry as he muttered, “I had no idea you were going to be like this.”
Clarity thundered back. I’d let Vander bring me to orgasm. But he obviously regretted it. So why had he done it? The answer came at once.
He wanted my help. He’d said as much. Queens don’t ask. They command. Suddenly, the kiss in his study made sense. Vander believed I was a rare creature who could kill Rasimir and take the throne. If he couldn’t persuade me to join his cause, he’d sweeten the deal with sex.
I shoved out from his arms and stepped back. In the next breath, he caught my wrists.
“Don’t punch me again,” he said.
I twisted from his grip, irritation flaring when I realized he’d let me. “I wasn’t going to,” I said, “even though you deserve it.”
He studied me, his eyes narrowed as he appeared to consider his response. “You’re right,” he said finally. “But it couldn’t be helped.”
“You couldn’t help yourself? Someone made you scale the castle wall and jump over my balcony? Someone forced you to put your—” I clamped my mouth shut. “You touched me,” I said, hearing the hurt in my voice and hating it.
His jaw tensed. “I siphoned dead blood from you. Desire is a side effect.”
The Everless rushed back. “You siphoned dead blood from Lorcan. Did you make him feel desire?”
“I couldn’t say how Lorcan feels.”
“That’s a lie.”
Vander stepped toward me. “I’ve told you before, Princess, to use caution when you accuse me of deceit.”
I stood my ground, the ward’s blue glow staining my skirts. “Lorcan drained that acrobat tonight. He doesn’t know how many more gifts he can steal before he goes mad. Why didn’t you track him down and siphon him?”
“He knows what he’s doing. You’re vulnerable and inexperienced.”
And easily manipulated. Vander had laid a trap, and I’d walked right into it.
The moon had soared higher in the sky since the time he entered my chamber.
It poured through the balcony doors now, drawing my gaze to the prongs of the merman’s trident just visible above the balcony’s edge.
When I looked at Vander, he watched me with bright, silver eyes.
Dangerous, just like the tiara. Just like the hairbrush. Why was I forever touching things that burned me?
“Do you know what I think?” I asked.
Slowly Vander shook his head.
“I think you lie like you breathe, Sir Vander. You want me to fight your war? Don’t put your hands on me again. You won’t win me over by pretending to want me.”
His lips parted. Then something like resolve gleamed in his eyes. In one of his lightning-fast moves, he seized my hand and pressed it to his groin.
My stomach dropped. His jacket had hidden his erection. But it was impossible to miss now. He was as big between his legs as he was everywhere else. And he was ready to rip through his pants.
Vander leaned forward, his bulk blocking the moonlight. But his eyes outshone it as his voice rasped in the tense space between us. “It’s hard for a man to lie about this.”
I swallowed.
Our eyes held. Vander’s dipped to my mouth before he released me. Then he gathered his crystals and strode to the balcony. Slipping through the doors, he vaulted the railing and dropped out of sight.