Chapter 31 #2
She snorted. “That’s a bullshit question if I ever heard one.” She scrubbed her red face. “Obviously, the answer is no, because I’m not a complete idiot, but let’s assume for the next ten minutes our truce is still in place.”
“That’s good enough for me,” I agreed, even though I was hoping this would last far longer than ten minutes.
I crossed to the chair opposite her and sat, spreading my knees, hands on the chair arms, realizing I should have had the decency to at least put on a shirt, and…
well, I’d already established I was a selfish bastard.
Besides, that black dress covered her from chin to ankle.
Not much chance of anything untoward happening. Unfortunately.
“Come here,” I ordered, my voice dropping.
After a brief hesitation, she slid out of her chair, moving toward me with the kind of elegant grace that could never be learned, only inherited, the smooth glide of a fighter, fully aware of her own power. The hem of the dress whispered around her ankles, her bare feet silent on the floor.
She stopped a few feet in front of me, chin lifted, pretending she wasn’t trembling from head to toe. “Does it have to be your throat?” Color rose again in her cheeks. “Can’t we just…”
“This has to be convincing,” I grit out between clenched teeth as her scent hit me like a punch to the gut. “We’re doing this properly, Ember. Or not at all.”
I widened my knees, leaned back, and bent my head to the side until my neck strained.
For decades, I’d been ambivalent about my body.
I was strong enough to survive the pits—that was all that mattered—but when her eyes widened, when her gaze drifted slowly down my torso, the points of her nipples poking through the thin fabric, pride filled me like molten lava.
Emberline thought I looked good.
Good enough that her pupils blew wide, and her fangs fully descended, sharp white points showing between panting red lips. My entire body responded, surging toward her before I got myself under control.
“First lesson,” I sucked in a harsh inhale, fingers digging into the arms of the chair to keep myself in place.
“You don’t hesitate. You strike, hard. Two clean punctures, here and here.
” I tapped the skin on either side of the artery.
“You anchor yourself—hand on my shoulder, my chest, whatever makes you feel steady. You breathe through your nose, even if you don’t think you need to.
And you listen. To me, to the way my blood fills your mouth. You stop when I say so.”
“And if I can’t?” Her voice was very small, gaze firmly pinned on the pulse drumming at the side of my neck as her bloodlust rose.
“You will,” I ordered sharply. “Because you are not weak, and I’m not the kind of bastard who’ll let you drown in your first feed. Now, come here.”
Her jaw clenched, and she stepped closer, stopping between my knees, so close I could touch her if I wanted, yank her into me, fist that beautiful mess of curls and drag those full red lips to mine and fucking devour her.
I stayed right the fuck where I was, hardly even breathing.
“Emberline,” I rasped. “Look at me.” I could feel her visceral reaction, the way hunger surged through her body in consuming waves, instincts snarling awake, the walls of her self-control shuddering as they began to fall.
Ember dragged her heavy-lidded gaze from my throat to my eyes, looking unsure, young, and inexperienced, and remorse flooded through me like poison, hot and mean and bitter.
“Do you want this?” I asked. “I’m not…” I wet my dry lips. “I won’t force you into something you don’t want, tesoro.”
“Yes,” she whispered helplessly, staring at me through half-lidded eyes as if she had no more control than I did. “I… need this, I think. And I’m… curious what you will taste like.” Another one of those blushes turned her skin the perfect shade of pink.
“Then take what you need,” I husked. “The rest of them will see the marks and make their assumptions, but only you and I will know what went on in this room.”
She swallowed once, nose flaring as my scent hit her, and her instincts took over. Feeding was a supremely primal act for a vampire, hunger and lust intimately entangled together, and she was wrestling with both.
She leaned closer, one hand braced on the chair, trying not to touch me, keeping enough space between us, she could convince herself this was safe.
“You need to get closer, tesoro.” I chuckled. “Unlike you, I’m not going to bite.”
She growled low in her throat, a frustrated, angry sound, then her body was flush against mine, a lean line of muscle, one hand clamped down over my shoulder, nails biting through skin.
I muffled my moan when her other hand slid down over my chest, flattened over my pec.
Warm air ghosted over my skin, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself.
Pain flared at my throat, sharp and bright.
Lips, softer than feathers, moved against my throat; the flick of a tongue, curious and wicked, had me groaning low in my throat.
I’d been bitten before—by enemies, by lovers, by strangers even—but this was… euphoric. Life changing—the way Ember’s fingers curled into my skin, the feel of her warm breath skating over me. I banded an arm around her back, holding her in place, my blood roaring.
She drank like she’d been starving her entire life.
Growling deep in her throat, her fingernails dug into my skin, little nips of pain that had me seeing stars as she moaned against my throat, her entire body writhing against mine.
“I’m moving you higher, so you’re at a better angle,” I husked, and the second her fingernails dug deeper, I swept her onto my lap.
Fuck yes. This was heaven.
I felt every hard, hungry pull in my cock, every swallow sending a faint echo of sensation into my chest, beneath where her hand was firmly planted.
Her body relaxed, then shuddered as the full effect of my blood hit her—vein-hot instead of bag-cold, from a Dominico male in his prime, even if I was damaged beyond repair on the outside.
Her fingers tightened, and a small, involuntary sound slipped out of her, half-moan, half-growl. I closed my eyes, lost in this perfect moment. Not that I should savor this so much.
I was using her, and when I was done with my revenge, I’d cut her loose.
Emberline DiRavello was never part of my permanent plan, but this… this was fucking perfect.
“Easy,” I soothed, letting my hand come up to cradle the back of her head, fingers tangling in her hair. The strands felt like the finest silk, sifting through my fingers. “Ember,” I ordered, a little sharper.
She didn’t stop.
The room tilted faintly as she growled, biting deeper, drawing harder. She’d never done this before. Of course, she didn’t know when to pull away.
I tightened my hand in her hair—not hard enough to hurt, but enough to get her attention—letting a tone of absolute command slip into my voice.
“Emberline. Look at me.”
Slowly, as if fighting her own instincts, she pulled back, lips dragging over my skin, her tongue tracing the punctures one last time. Blood stained her mouth, eyes blown wide, pupils swallowing almost all the color.
“I—” She licked her lips automatically, catching the last streak of red before a deep flush crept up her throat. “Gods.”
“No gods here,” I muttered roughly, still cradling her against me, her ass against my hard cock, the full length of her glorious body pressed against mine, soft and pliable and smelling like sunshine and citrus. “Only me.”
“Only us,” she agreed dreamily, burrowing deeper into my arms.
“How do you feel?” I asked, reaching up to check my neck. The punctures were deep, still bleeding.
Perfect.
“Warm.” Her lips curved into a woozy smile. “Woozy, like I drank way too much wine.” She made no effort to move, curled against me, all warm and relaxed like a kitten. “All I want to do is sleep for days. Weeks.”
“You’re exhausted. You were starving, and this is what real blood does to you. The effects will wear off in an hour, but until then…”
I held onto her tight as I pushed to my feet, scooped her weapons up off the table with one hand, and stuffed them into my pocket before I closed my eyes and reached for my magic.
What I wouldn’t give to stay inside this pocket of silence for just a few more hours, I thought, spooling my power back into me, dropping the wards around the room, even though it wasn’t yet dawn.
But it was time for the game to begin, with my wife’s teeth marks in my throat and her in my arms…
I couldn’t think of a better way to get started.
“I think I hurt you,” she murmured sleepily in that throaty voice, reaching up, her fingers touching the bite. She slipped the stained ends into her mouth and sucked. My starving libido went haywire when her red lips closed around them, cheeks hollowing out.
“You fed from me, and I enjoyed every minute; remember that.” I rasped, knowing I was the worst sort of bastard, every raw inch of me tight and aching as I watched her suck my blood off her fingers like a godsdamned voyeur.
The moment the wards dropped, chaos surged in, angry, shouting voices, pounding footsteps, far off screaming.
I kicked the double doors off their hinges, everyone rearing out of the way—Zia Elisabetta, the awful daughter, enough soldiers to start a war. And my brother, Gabriel, eyes promising pain.
“The room’s yours,” I told them with a grin. “Do what you will with your archaic little traditions. I’m taking my wife home.”
One more step and the brother—Luca—blocked my path, his jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth. Giovanni DiRavello stood beside him, looking like I’d shat in his wine, and I couldn’t be happier about ruining his fucking plans.
“If you hurt my sister…” Luca began.
“As you can see, she’s in one piece. She needs to sleep this off.”
Luca’s eyes flicked to my throat, eyes widening, his nostrils flaring.
“You fed her,” he hissed, furious and possessive, rage shining from his dark eyes.
“I gave your sister what she needed,” I snapped, my gaze landing on Giovanni, the snively little bastard. “You should be thanking me.”
Luca took a step forward, anger rolling off him in waves. “I should tear your throat out, you fucker. If you touched her...” His eyes focused—not on me, but the room behind us, the bloody bed, the rumpled sheets, the crushed rose petals—and he went pale.
I let my fangs slide down, slow and deliberate.
The air thickened.
“You can try.” I leaned in conspiratorially. “But if I’d wanted to hurt her, nipote, you’d be mourning a sister, not glowering at me in a hallway. Now, get the fuck out of my way. I’m taking my wife home.”
“You’re not taking her anywhere.” The boy stood his ground, the little shit.
“Don’t try me right now, pup. Your sister isn’t some porcelain doll, easily broken.” I turned my evil glare on Giovanni. “I’m not the one who’s kept her weak and sheltered from the world. You want her back, come fucking get her, but be ready for a fight.”
Giovanni put a hand on Luca’s arm, fingers tight. “Now is not the time,” he warned softly. “Your sister is fine, as you can see. We should head back to the palazzo.”
The house was filled with family, soldiers, and half the Draconi Brotherhood. I stalked between them, shirtless, Ember’s weapons stowed in my pocket, until we were outside, where Don Marcello waited, a ruffled-looking Gabriel and pissed-off Nico flanking him like twin bookends.
“Ah,” Marcello scoffed, voice smooth as oil. “The newlyweds grace us with their presence.”
“Would you prefer we’d stayed in bed? Because that can be arranged.” I dragged my nose through Ember’s glorious hair. “In fact, it was all I could do to drag myself away from my beautiful wife.”
Gabriel’s expression turned even colder.
Nico was studying me like he was trying to decide where to start carving me apart.
I adjusted Emberline in my arms, her eyes drifting open slightly.
Fresh blood leaked from the bite on my neck, dripping down my chest, and her nostrils flared, her tongue darted out, like she was remembering how I tasted.
I entertained the very real possibility I might be in over my head.
“Your wife?” Marcello hissed. “A wife you stole from your brother.”
“I claimed what you and Enzo promised me long ago,” I reminded him. “Let’s not rehash the past in the…” I looked up at the still-dark sky. “Not so bright light of day, Father. It only makes you look weak.” I took a breath and let my voice carry so the rest of these bloodsuckers heard.
“The union is sealed; my vow is complete. Speculation about the legitimacy of our marriage is a waste of everyone’s time.”
“He speaks the truth.” Zia Elisabetta conceded, a frown on her face, but even she couldn’t argue with the evidence. “The marriage was consummated by our laws. Their bond is valid.”
Marcello’s gaze scraped over us, searching for cracks in our story. And when he found none, his face… changed.
For a heartbeat, I saw past the iron mask, the ruthlessness, to the male underneath. To the vampire who would do anything to hang onto his title and his power.
“Careful, Padre,” I cautioned over the head of my sleeping wife. “Whatever you are thinking right now, consider having me as your sworn enemy. Imagine the damage I am capable of.”
“I am well aware of the destruction you can wreak, Dante. Very well,” he conceded. “You may have won this round, but remember—accidents happen. Ships sink. Houses burn. Wives… wives sometimes disappear.”
For a moment, I couldn’t see for the rage, couldn’t breathe for the urge to set Ember down and twist my sire’s head off his shoulders and be done with this.
“If anything happens to her,”—my voice came out low and deadly—“if so much as a rumor reaches me that you raised a hand against my wife or her kin, I will not come for you in courts or council rooms. I will come to this island, I will hunt you down like a dog, and I will find you. And when I do, I will show every male here why they used to whisper my name in the pits like a curse.”
Nico flinched.
Of everyone here, he alone knew exactly what violence I was truly capable of.
I dipped my mouth to my wife’s and lightly brushed my lips over hers, smiling at the flash of shock on her still-dazed face. “Ready to leave this rock, moglie?”
Her eyes flashed at the word. Wife.
“Yes,” she agreed, looping her arms around my neck. “Best we go before you burn Don Marcello’s castle to the ground.”
Luca and Giovanni watched from the doorway, Nico and my brother stone-faced as we dematerialized, heading toward a future that was neither safe nor guaranteed.
Yet somehow, I was happier than I’d been in decades.