Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
SAMARA
It had been a few days, and the council was at a standstill until Valentino and Winston arrived. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing the old vampire, Valentino, again. He had been one of my father’s allies, but something was unnerving about him.
Nothing was unnerving about his son, also named Valentino, though. Most called him Val because he was nothing like his stuffy father. I knew that better than anyone else.
I walked down the hall, my mind drifting to what needed to be done around the castle to get it back to its former glory. Would I even be allowed to stay if the council members voted me out? The likelihood of them upholding Reve’s wish of me having his seat was slim.
The fact was, Reve left. His desires were meaningless until he returned.
The library door was slightly ajar as I passed, and the two figures inside caught my attention. I backed up, and my eyes went wide.
A man with rich brown skin stood with his bare ass toward the door.
His back was pure strength, the muscles flexing with each subtle movement.
Contrasting sharply against his skin were a pair of pale hands digging into his ass cheeks.
One hand was over his crack, and the middle finger plunged into it.
The hands were male.
I was intruding on a private moment between two lovers, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. My core clenched as I watched the man get his dick sucked like it was the end of Inferna.
“Oh, fuck yeah.” The man’s voice was rough, and I could see his triceps pulsating as he grabbed the head in front of him. His hips thrust forward, his ass cheeks clenching as he grunted.
A second finger slid into his hole, and I bit my lip. My thighs pressed together instinctively, a futile attempt to ease the throbbing ache building between them. Each twist of those pale fingers as they disappeared into the man’s body sent a corresponding pulse through mine.
Why had they left the door open? Had they known some unsuspecting man or woman would pass by and be unable to help themselves?
The man pushed back against the pistoning fingers with a low, primal sound. “Right there… I’m going to—” His shoulders moved up and down with his heavy breaths, and his tightened muscles relaxed.
I heard the pop as the man sucking his dick finished the job. My mind was just catching up with the fact that I shouldn’t be watching now that they were done when the man on his knees peered around his lover’s hips.
My eyes widened, and my jaw threatened to come unhinged. He looked just as shell-shocked as I did.
This couldn’t be happening.
I took off down the hall, refusing to look behind me even though I could sense that he was stalking after me.
The hairs on my neck prickled with awareness, and my pulse hammered in my ears, drowning out everything except the slight shift in the air that told me he was following.
Of course he was. Val was a hunter, and right now, I was definitely his prey.
The weight of embarrassment pressed down on my shoulders, along with the image of what I’d watched burned into my mind.
I rounded a corner and could see my bedroom door, the familiar carved wood a beacon in the shadowy corridor. Safety was within my reach. Just a few more steps and I could slam the door, slide the lock into place, and pretend this mortifying encounter had never happened.
At least until the council meeting, where I’d be forced to sit across from him and somehow maintain my composure while memories of the library threatened to consume me.
Before I could make it halfway to the door, I was pulled into a window alcove and pushed against the stone wall. He tensed behind me, and damn it if my body didn’t get more worked up over the feel of the hard planes of him.
Hard planes that I knew well.
“Dios mío, bruja…” His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, and goosebumps erupted across my skin. “I’d recognize those eyes anywhere.”
His erection pressed against my lower back as he swept the hair off my neck and lowered his lips to a vein. He ran his tongue along its length, and I let out a whimper.
“Don’t.” More words refused to come out. Instead, a breathy sigh escaped as he scraped one of his fangs along the crease between my neck and shoulder.
“I thought you were dead.” He spun me around, and his blue eyes searched mine for answers. “Where have you been?”
I got lost in his eyes, just as I had years ago.
They held the same magnetic pull they always had, drawing me in despite every instinct screaming to resist. His hand came to my cheek, the cool touch of his skin making me shiver.
His thumb rubbed across it with surprising gentleness, tracing the curve where my face had changed in the years since he’d last touched me.
The pad of his thumb lingered near the corner of my mouth, hesitating as if debating whether to explore further.
I wanted to hate the way my body leaned into his touch, seeking more contact despite the time apart. I never thought I’d see Valentino Sangre again. Not only was his father the leader of the northern vampires, but I was also promised to him.
As much as it had pissed me off that my father made a decision that should have been mine, Val had surprised me. He was charismatic, sexy as hell, and did wicked deeds with his tongue.
“I…” I was flustered and found speaking difficult.
“You what?” His eyes darkened, and he tilted his head to the side. “You ran but didn’t come to me for help? You made no contact with me?”
“You’re gay?” Of all the things I could have said, my mind kept flashing back to the damn library.
His eyes narrowed, and his hand came to my throat. It hovered there, threatening. “You. Left. Me.” He punctuated each word and looked at me in disgust. “If you’re here to claim the throne, you can forget about it.”
Before I could respond with the fury that had replaced every other emotion, Nico’s tattooed hand grabbed Val by the shoulder and sent him flying into the hallway and against the opposite wall.
“Are you all right?” Nico touched my cheek, and when I nodded, he turned back to Val and headed for him.
Val was rubbing the back of his head, and his fangs were on display. “You picked the wrong tree, squirrel.”
The venom in his voice made me cringe, and I quickly put myself between the two men. Just as I did, so did the man who had been getting his dick sucked by Val.
We stared each other down before I finally broke and backed up a step. I couldn’t exactly tell what he was, but he definitely wasn’t a vampire. He was also burly enough to snap me in two. He and Nico would be an even match in a hand-to-hand fight.
“Do you want me to take care of them?” the man Val had been pleasuring asked. His voice was smooth and deep. It was a voice that a woman wanted to be whispered in her ear all night.
“No need, Amari.” Val stepped around him and narrowed his eyes at Nico, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. “They were just leaving.”
“You’re the only ones who will be leaving,” Nico spat, taking a step forward. I put my arm out to stop him. “And don’t call me squirrel again. My name is Nicolas.”
This confrontation was going nowhere fast. Nico was strong, but Val was lethal. I couldn’t let this escalate farther than it already had. “What are you doing here, Val?”
Amari looked between the two of us, his face unreadable. Whatever he was, he was good at hiding his emotions.
“I’ve decided to move in.” He straightened his shirt.
A flash of something dark crossed Amari’s eyes. It was only there for a second, but he definitely showed a reaction to Val’s proclamation.
“This isn’t your home. It’s mine, and it’s always been mine.” I held my chin high. “My guards will not have it.”
Nico tensed beside me—I didn’t actually have guards. I used to, but that was so long ago, and I had only seen two of them in the castle. In fact, I was surprised more of the council members weren’t trying to commandeer the place with Lilith gone and me defenseless.
Perhaps my brother’s reappearance held enough of a threat.
“And where are these guards?” Val could clearly still read me like a book. “Please tell me you haven’t elected to have a squirrel as a guard. I thought you were smarter than that, Samara.” He could probably smell the lies coming from me.
“Reve gave me his seat on the council.” I crossed my arms, trying to look tougher than I felt. “He’s the king.”
“But here’s the thing, Princess. Reve isn’t the king. No coronation ceremony, no king.” He started walking down the hall with Amari matching his stride.
I looked at Nico, who seemed to be at a loss, just as I was. The last thing we needed was all the demon factions getting into a war over the crown. Wars had been started over less important things.
What was Reve thinking, leaving the council to figure things out on their own? That’s why there was a king. Not just any king, but a dream demon. The only demon who could control rogue demons who tried to become tyrannical.
We marched down the hall after Val and Amari. I didn’t know what Val was up to, but he was a vampire, one of the most cunning demons in existence. They craved control, power, and most certainly blood.
They were heading toward my bedroom. What the fuck was he doing?
Val had always had a strong personality. He didn’t let things go easily and was strong-willed. It was why I liked him in the first place, but he was being a dick.
He stopped at the door across from mine. “I think we’ll take this room.” He flung open the door and looked inside. “Did no one ever clean this place?”
Amari walked in ahead of Val. “All clear.”
Val stepped inside after him, his shoulders squared with that unmistakable vampire confidence as he surveyed what would become their new domain. I caught myself staring at the way they moved in silent coordination, as if they’d done this a thousand times before.
Sleeping with his guard was a stupid idea. Even I knew that much. It created complications and divided attention. Val had always been reckless with his choices, but this seemed unwise for someone as calculating as him.
I filed this observation away, another potential weakness in Val’s armor that might prove useful if things continued to deteriorate. Not that I wanted to exploit it, but knowledge was its own kind of power, and right now I needed every advantage I could get.
I went to stand in the doorway and took in the guest room. It had seen better days and had a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn’t been touched in centuries.
Why had this room sat untouched, yet mine been squeaky clean? I needed to talk to the staff.
Val turned and came back to the door. He was even more attractive than he had been before. Instead of a clean-shaven face, stubble lined his jaw, chin, and upper lip.
He took another step toward me and slowly raised his hand. I cocked an eyebrow, but then he grabbed the edge of the door and slammed it shut in my face.