Chapter 4
Evening, Friday, November 23, 2012
Viktorija had guided Ash to Luca’s chambers after the funeral. She’d caught enough of the conversation with the visiting rulers to know he wasn’t having a good time. Ash was nervous about going away with Luca after such a devastating event, and she said so to Viktorija when they were alone in his chambers.
“Funerals are about both death and life. Right now, he needs to be reminded that there is good in the world, too. We’re at war, and our side has suffered brutal losses. Show him he’s still alive and give him a reason to stay that way,” Viktorija said in a rare moment of warmth. “I think you’re a bitch and a half, but my brother loves you, and you have enormous lady balls. Welcome to the family, Ash.”
Jerkily, the dragon wrapped Ash in one of the most uncomfortable embraces the girl had ever experienced. She loved every second of it and hugged her sister-in-law back. “Thank you, Viktorija. That means a lot. Truly.”
Viktorija shook herself and growled, “If you ever mention that to another soul, I will flay you alive.”
Ash laughed. “Your secret is safe with me. Will you please keep Dani from starting a riot or conquering the Therian empire in the next twelve hours?”
Viktorija grinned as she moved toward the door. “That’s a tall order. Yes, I will keep your human safe and entertained enough not to overthrow the government.”
After Viktorija left, Ash sat for a long time, processing everything she’d seen and learned that day. Her heart ached for all the senseless deaths. The rows of urns and the caskets had staggered her, and Luca would blame himself for every one. The injustice burned within her, and their mating bond twinged.
It”s probably struggling to stay alive with me undead. I did the right thing, but losing my full connection to him hurts so fucking much that sometimes I can’t breathe. Damn it.
As frivolous as it felt to steal some time for themselves, they both needed it. Everything had happened very quickly, and before they’d had a chance to explore their linked souls, the connection had almost been severed. She still loved Luca, but you couldn’t go back from baring your soul to another person.
They had responsibilities, and people relied on them. Neither could rest for long, but Ash believed they needed to live while they were surviving. If the next twelve hours were all they got, she could move on to the next adventure, knowing that she’d fought for him with everything she had.
While she waited for Luca to arrive, Ash curled up in his bed and picked up the book on his nightstand, struggling to make sense of the foreign language. Everything in the room had been replaced, but he’d slept there, and the pillow carried his scent.
Thanks to her enhanced hearing, Ash caught his footsteps long before he opened the door. She looked up with a delighted smile when Luca closed it behind him.
“Hey, you!” She put the book down and crossed the room between one blink and the next. Stopping inches from him, Ash looked into his tortured eyes. “Oh, my love. Come here.”
Ash hugged him, and Luca wrapped his arms around her. Burying his face in the hollow of her neck, he held her like a drowning man gripping a life preserver. She allowed him to show the vulnerability he had to hide from the rest of the world. She rubbed soothing circles on his back and told him how proud she was of him. How beautiful the ceremony had been, and that she believed in the future he wanted to create.
They stayed that way for a long time. Ash reveled in her ability to support him through this. Even if it caused problems with prejudiced Therians, it was worth it to reinforce that he wasn’t alone in all this. His body shook with ragged sobs, and she held him tighter. She knew what it was like to feel like you were going to fly apart, so she would hold him together until he could do it himself.
She couldn’t even imagine the horrors he’d endured before the funeral. The trauma of the ceremony would haunt Ash for the rest of her long life, and she wasn’t connected to any of the fallen. The smallest casket was seared into her mind, but Luca had known and loved them all. His loss was immeasurable.
When Luca finally pulled away, his eyes were red-rimmed, and he looked dazed and ashamed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lost it. I shouldn’t be so weak.”
Fury welled up within her, but she tamped it down. Her ire was best aimed at its true target, but he was dead. Nikoli must have discouraged shows of emotion for his son to think his behavior was “losing it.” Luca had just cried silently after losing two dozen family members and hundreds of subjects.
Ash growled, “I don’t fucking think so,” and laid a gentle hand on his cheek. “You are many things, Luca, but weak sure as all the hells isn’t one of them. You are allowed to feel, and it would be a major red flag if you weren’t devasted. You’re only human…or, um, Therian.
“My point is, you don’t have to hide anything from me, Luca. I will always be your safe place, your sounding board, and the one person with whom you can be yourself. Not the king or the dragon or the professor, just you.”
She went up on her toes to press a soft kiss to his lips, then looked into his eyes. “You are a good man, and I love you beyond words, but I will do something drastic if you continue to equate humanity with weakness.”
He mustered a sad grin. “Is that so? What are you going to do, little vampire?”
Ash chuckled. “I have all kinds of fun powers we can put to interesting uses, but I won’t experiment here. I don’t want to scare our people with my freaky red eyes. Me being here is bad enough for some of them.”
Luca’s mental alarms rang. “Did something happen?”
Ash shook her head. “I kept to myself, and Viktorija is a very effective deterrent, but I heard some things. I know that there’s a rogue faction. We expected to meet resistance, so it’s not a surprise. I just see no reason to push them now when it serves no purpose.”
Luca pulled her close. “I’m sorry we won’t have very long together.”
Ash grinned at him. “Under the circumstances, getting any time is astonishing. I will happily take twelve hours alone with you. I only wish it didn’t take you away from your family and your duties. It feels…”
“Selfish? I don’t think so, but even with the bond working badly, I can see your thoughts on your face.” His smile was so full of love that it stole her breath. “You, my overthinking and incredible soulmate, gave up your humanity for the Therian race, so they can spare me for a few hours. And Maerlin knows we need to remember why we push on through all the shit. You are my reason, and I need you every bit as much as my next breath. Maybe more.”
Her eyes shimmered. “There has been a lot of bullshit lately, hasn’t there? A shit tsunami.”
He nodded and kissed her forehead. “The dark side is generally easier. That’s how they get people to join them. That and the cookies.”
Ash laughed, happy that he had made a joke. They’d both have to master compartmentalization to manage what would come at them, but for tonight, she would let everything else fade and focus on the love they shared. The gods only knew when they’d get another chance. “You ready to get out of here?”
Luca nodded. “This place creeps me out. Too many memories. We can leave from the balcony. Vik said everything would be ready when we get there, and she promised to keep Dani safe until we return.”
Ash was touched that he’d asked Viktorija to watch out for Dani. He pulled away from her and grabbed a thick winter coat.
“Here. We have to fly, and I don’t want you to freeze.”
“Umm, Luca?” she asked with amusement as she took the coat.
“Yeah?” He distractedly stripped to change to dragon form.
Ash lost her train of thought as his body appeared inch by glorious inch. Hunger that had nothing to do with blood coursed through her.
Luca caught her staring and grinned. “Enjoying the show, I see. What were you saying?”
“I, uh… Oh! You do realize I’m a vampire, right?” She held up the coat. “I don’t get cold anymore.”
The magic that normally would have prevented him from changing to dragon shape within the palace was weaker, having no one to maintain it. It still slowed his change and made it harder.
“You won’t want to see this, love. It’s not going to be as fast as usual, and it might get gruesome,” Luca warned.
Ash shook her head. “I don’t think so, buddy. I will be right here. I might not be able to take the pain or help you shift faster, but I sure as fuck can be here so you don’t go through it alone. Someone needs to watch your back.”
It took Luca five minutes to change forms. The high Therian king and queen could freely shift in the palace, but that ability was entwined with the coronation magic. Until that took place, he had to work for it.
Ash stayed by his side, though the agony he expressed as his bones cracked and reformed tore her apart. She had nothing to offer except companionship, but he was changing for her, so she’d be damned if she left him to suffer alone.
When he rose, panting with pain and exertion, Ash ran a hand over the cobalt scales on his head. “Are you okay? That looked brutal.”
I’m fine, love. It could be a lot worse.
The dragon lowered his head to the floor of the balcony and tilted it to the side so Ash would have solid footholds to climb onto his back. Are you ready?
“Yes. The only thing I need is you.” Ash climbed on, and he flew toward Viktorija’s secluded house.
I couldn’t agree more. It will take two hours to get there, and I say travel time doesn’t count.
Ash laughed. “What if something happens and they need you?”
Vik and Mother can reach me through our family bond. Don’t worry. There is an army of loyal Therians, and they will keep things under control for a few hours. They’re scouting for a new palace site and preparing for the coronation while we’re gone.
“Have I told you how incredible it feels to ride you through the sky?”
The dragon laughed, which shook his body. That won’t be the only time tonight you say riding me feels incredible.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, husband mine.” She paused. “Are you sure you’re up for this? I mean, given everything.”
I am. A wise woman once told me that I had to remember to live while I was surviving since tomorrow is not guaranteed. If my time comes tonight, I will know I savored every second we had together. I will mourn for the rest of our very long lives. Tonight, I want to focus on our love.
Ash sniffed back the tears his words inspired and held on tight. “I love you so much, Luca.”
The couple spent the rest of their journey talking about lighthearted subjects and getting into the right mindset for a romantic interlude. Ash was half-expecting a dark murder cabin to match Viktorija’s mercenary personality. She was pleasantly surprised to see a quaint stone cottage atop a mountain peak, miles from other sentient creatures.
Luca’s shift to human was much easier without the palace’s magic interfering, so his change took only moments. Ash admired his naked body again and debated whether to give him the clothes she’d brought. He wouldn’t be wearing them for long anyway.
He stood and shook himself, aiming a cocky grin at his mate when he caught her staring. His hunger for her grew by the second, and he wouldn’t wait another moment to kiss her. Snow drifted around them as Luca pulled Ash into his arms. He kissed her with all the passion he’d had to restrain since their mating while they’d dealt with one crisis after another.
Ash met his passion with exuberance. Her heart didn’t race as her excitement grew, but that was one of the many things she would have to get used to as a vampire. When she felt his arousal, Ash moaned in pleasure against Luca’s lips.
“If we don’t get inside soon, you’re going to have a very different kind of blue balls. Not that I will ever complain when I get to watch you run around naked.” Ash stroked his length as she looked up, pleading and hungry. “I brought your clothes, but that would be like throwing a sheet over the Mona Lisa.”
Luca laughed, scooped her into his arms, and trudged through the snow to the door. “We wouldn’t want you committing crimes against humanity, so I’d better make an honest woman out of you, Mrs. Do you want to go by Romano or Nablyudatel?”
Luca carried her over the threshold, and Ash swung the door shut behind them. Then Luca set her on her feet. She gave him a radiant smile and went up on her toes to kiss him. “Your Therian name. I don’t expect we’re going to spend much time in the human world from now on. Your days of teaching college history are over.”
He nodded. “You’re right, though I can provide you with the tutors to complete your education and live out your lady vampire Indiana Jones fantasies.”
The joy on her face warmed his heart. “You understand me!”
He unbuttoned her jeans. “I do, and I take great joy in that, but right now, I can’t think of anything I want more than to get you naked.”
Ash moaned when he dipped his head and pressed a soft kiss to her neck. “Who am I to deny the king?” she asked, kicking her shoes off and shimmying out of her pants.
He pulled back and looked at her seriously. “I am your mate, your husband, your friend, your partner, and your equal in all things, but I am not your king, Ash.”
“I understand and appreciate what you’re saying. Thank you.” She started to pull her sweater over her head but stopped and pouted when a thought occurred to her. “What if I want to play the kinky king seducing the visiting foreign princess? Mom’s read historical romances my whole life. You would not believe some of the scenes Dani and I found in those books. I have ideas!”
Luca chuckled, pulled her sweater over her head, and kissed her. “I promise to act out any fantasies you want to make reality.”
“And you’ll officially marry me after everyone stops setting the world on fire for, like, five minutes?”
He laughed long and hard, the genuine happiness of the sound soothing her soul. “Gods, I love you. Yes, Ash, we will have the wedding of your dreams. Whatever you want, from an elopement in Vegas to a full-blown royal wedding.”
“We’ll figure it out.” She ran her hands over his arms, tracing his black and cobalt dragon markings and remembering when she’d thought they were tattoos. “It’s just a ceremony and a party. We have belonged to each other from the moment we sealed our bond.”
Neither had paid any attention to the interior of the cottage so far. Luca glanced around, seeking a suitable setting for what he had in mind. The single large stone room had comfortable overstuffed furniture in bright colors, with art on every available surface on easels. Supplies lined the wall next to the windows, and it had a loft bedroom. He saw flickering lights up there and wondered if Viktorija had prepared for their arrival. Turning Ash around with gentle hands on her panty-clad hips, Luca resisted the urge to strip off the flimsy barrier between him and her body so he could make love to her.
“I think she left us a surprise upstairs. Want to go check it out before we get so caught up in each other that we forget where we are?” Luca asked. He was still hard, painfully so, but getting her to the bedroom suited his purposes. When she agreed and hurried toward the stairs, Luca slapped her ass and followed her, enjoying the view.
In the loft, candles flickered on numerous surfaces. Rose petals decorated the bed, and they had a large bottle of Russian vodka, two glasses, and a note in his sister’s handwriting.
Luca picked up the note and the bottle, smiling.
Luca and Ash,
Every truly important Russian event involves good vodka. Enjoy your wartime honeymoon. Life is too uncertain to let moments like this slip away. I’ll hold down the fort.
-V
PS: the human insisted on the flowers. Pathetic. Don’t set my house on fire with the candles and your wild fornication.
“That was sweet of her,” Ash remarked.
Luca chuckled, opened the bottle, and filled both glasses. Neither could get drunk, but his sister was right. It was a tradition, and some things didn’t need to change.
He handed Ash her glass. The candlelight made her flawless skin glow, and Luca ached to rip off her bra and panties so he could bury himself inside her to the hilt, but there were things he needed to say first.
“You were right when you said we’ve belonged to each other since the moment we bound our souls together. There’s been so much working to keep us apart since then, and I need you to know whatever part of myself that is mine to give belongs to you, Ash. I belong to you.”
Ash raised her glass, her chest feeling like it would burst with her emotions. “I’ve doubted many of my past decisions, but falling in love with you was not even a choice. If it was, I’d still choose you. I’ve heard a lot about my spark, but I wish you could see how brightly you burn. I love you with everything I am, and I don’t regret a moment of our time together. I know I fucked up our bond and?—”
“Ash, no! Do—” Luca interrupted.
She shot back, “No, please! I need to say this.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry. Say whatever you need to.”
“I’d like to say that choosing to become a vampire and risking what we have was the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make, but the truth is, it didn’t feel like a choice then. I know how much responsibility you take on yourself, and I won’t have you carry that.
“I did it, and I would do it again. I don’t have words to express how much it hurts that our bond changed. I am incredibly sorry I took that from us and made it hard for your people to accept me.” Her voice broke, and she looked away, unable to acknowledge how much she’d hurt him.
With a gentle finger on her chin, he tilted her face back to his. “There is nothing to be sorry for, my love. You did the most selfless thing imaginable. You saved me and my entire kingdom. I can never repay you for that, but I will spend every day of our lives together striving to be worthy of your sacrifice.
“Also, I’m not sure the bond is permanently damaged. I have a theory I want to test now that we have some privacy.”
Ash’s worries faded. He didn’t resent her for being willing to sacrifice their bond to save him. She held up her glass again and finished the toast. “To our love on the first of many, many years together.”
“Eternity is not enough,” Luca added.
They finished their drinks and set the glasses aside. Having Luca naked was driving Ash mad. She needed to touch him and saw no reason not to indulge her whims where he was concerned for the next twelve hours. Apparently, Luca had the same idea since he reached for her as soon as he set his glass down.
Their passionate kiss left them incoherent and gasping when they pulled apart. Luca picked her up and Ash wrapped her legs around his waist, going back for another kiss. He laid her gently on the bed and knelt over her, then paused.
“What?” Ash asked, smiling.
“You are so fucking beautiful,” Luca answered. “I want to remember everything about this moment.”
She groaned. “Then take a mental picture. You can’t set me on fire like that and then watch me burn. I am going to die if you don’t make with the orgasms.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her and gently parted her legs. Her thin panties had a damp patch, and Luca fought back a groan of raw lust. “You’re going to die, huh? We can’t have that, so I guess I’d better see what I can do to alleviate your need.”
He trailed a finger from her ankle to her hip, loving her shivers when he touched a sensitive spot. Luca hooked his fingers into her panties, grinning at her. “We won’t be needing these.” He slid them down her legs and tossed them aside before looking down at her with desire burning in his eyes.
Luca covered her body with his, taking her mouth in a deep, passionate kiss that left them both tingling. With skillful hands, he removed her bra, and they were both naked at last. He trailed kisses to her ear and down her neck, stopping to lavish attention on a spot that made her moan and squirm against him.
His body ached to fill her to the brim, but more than anything, he needed to taste her pleasure. To witness the exquisite sight of her ecstasy before he could consider his own. His kisses trailed lower as he licked his way down her body to her core.
“Luca, please,” Ash panted, desperate for the release building within her.
He grinned, thrilled at how close she was before he’d really touched her. There would be time to play later. Right now, his mate needed to come, and he lived to give her what she needed. Lowering his head to taste her, Luca groaned. With Ash’s moans of pleasure spurring him on, he devoured her as she raced toward release. The ability to fulfill this woman’s desires made him feel like a god, and he coaxed her body to orgasm with loving attention.
Ash screamed his name and tightened the fingers buried in his dark hair as the first explosion of bliss hit her senses. Rather than giving her time to settle and come down from that peak, Luca redoubled his efforts and drove her higher. When the second orgasm hit, her toes curled and her legs shook. He thought he could manage one more before his cock rebelled and took action on its own. When Ash came a third time, she jerked her hips to the side, and they both felt another phantom jolt through the bond.
“No more,” she groaned. “It’s too much.”
He sat up and wiped a hand across his face, unable to hide his smirk. “I would apologize, but I’m not sorry. At all.”
Ash gave him a feral look. “Come here. Now.”
Luca dove at her, taking her mouth as his body ached to take hers. “Gods, Ash!” he moaned as she wrapped her legs around him.
“I need you.”
He pulled back to watch as he slid into her body. “Fucking hell,” he gasped when she’d taken all of him. Luca’s movements were slow at first, but the fire between them could not be denied. Their bodies moved in sync, and they set a wild rhythm that had her breasts bouncing and both of them crying out in ecstasy.
Luca looped an elbow around one of her knees for leverage, and Ash screamed her pleasure at the new angle. “Harder,” she pleaded.
He obliged, but Ash groaned in frustration. He thought he saw a hint of red flash in her eyes. “You’re holding back. I’m not human anymore, Luca. You aren’t going to break me!”
She was right. They both had supernatural endurance, and she was no longer limited by a human’s fragility. He’d fallen in love with her as a human, but her humanity wasn’t what he loved. His woman was in his arms. Luca didn’t hold anything back, his thrusts hard and deep as he made passionate love to his vampire mate.
They came together, and the intensity left them both reeling. As the pleasure washed over them, their bond healed more. The connection was still faint and spotty, but it was stronger.
Tears filled her eyes, and she held on to him like she was afraid he’d float away. “Do you feel that?”
Their bodies were still joined, and Luca looked at his mate, astonished. “I do, but how?”
Ash grinned at him. “You know what this means, right?”
“What’s that?”
She looked at her wrist, although she wasn’t wearing a watch. “We have eleven hours left and should spend every second making love. Apparently, we can heal the bond with orgasms.”
Luca laughed and gasped at the friction as he pulled away from her to lie beside her on the bed. “It’s about time that something works in our favor.” He took one of her nipples into his mouth while his hand caressed the other breast.
“We should always include orgasms in our problem-solving plans…” Ash’s voice trailed off into a moan. “That feels so damned good. I want you again already.”
Luca, whose desire was growing from embers to inferno again, moved to lean against the padded headboard. Lit by the soft glow of the candles, she was exquisite, and he would never have enough of her. He would always want her more than his next meal or the sunrise or even breath. “Ride me, Ash.”
She straddled him and slid onto his hard length, smiling at the fullness she experienced when he was buried inside her. They were going to heal their bond if they had to fuck themselves half to death to do it.