AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re beautiful,” I whisper, finding the energy to reach for his elegant hands. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
His golden eyes meet mine, and the emotion in them makes hope burst like a flare in my chest. He may claim to not know how to love, but he looks at me as if I am a treasure. That is all I need. He takes my hand, weaving his fingers with mine.
“I will always take care of you,” he swears, his voice solemn. The air stills in my lungs as my world narrows down to the space between us. “You unravel me, Wren. Make me question myself in ways I never have before. I should take you home and never look back, but I can’t. It’s far too late to escape me, Little Bird.”
I smile and tug our hands to my lips, where I press a kiss to one of his knuckles. “It’s a good thing that escaping is the last thing I want to do, Lan.”
His eyes darken, a shadow of pain I would give anything to never see in his eyes again. “Even though I am a savage? Even though I may never be able to love you?”
Oh, my heart aches for this vampire. Keeping hold of his hand, I force myself to sit upright, ignoring the aches in my body, and cup his jaw with my free hand. “You may be a savage, Lan. But you’re my savage. As for love,” I press a kiss to the back of his hand, “I have enough love for both of us.”
He may believe he can’t feel love, but what else can it be when he looks at me as he is now? It’s soon, much too soon. Niamh will yell my head off when I tell her that I’m in love, but it’s true. Fate, destiny, chance—whatever is out there put Landon in my path because we are meant to be. Lan watches me as if I’m something to behold with awe, and I think he’s about to say something, when a knock has his jaw clamping shut and his stone mask of arrogant indifference slides back into place.
He pulls the bedspread over me, shielding my nakedness, and pulls on his slacks before striding to the door. He opens it, using his body to shield the rest of the room from view. I can’t hear what is being said, but the other voice is Joséphine, I’m pretty sure. I look towards the wall of French doors and realize the day has disappeared and night has fallen over the Barrows. Beyond this house, the Barrows’ streets and lanes twist and turn around each other like a pile of snakes, the multitude of bright lights from buildings and cars giving the impression of movement, making the city look like its own living entity.
The door closes, and I hug the bedspread closer to my chest and bring my knees up, wincing at the ache between my legs. He has a pale green satin dress draped over his arm as he returns to the bed.
“How do you feel?” Lan’s voice is brisk, and I try not to sigh at the loss of him from minutes ago.
“Sore, but not in a bad way,” I admit, and think of how I got sore. My cheeks burn, and I smile shyly, tucking my hair behind an ear. I rally and look at the outfit in his hand. “What’s that for?”
He lays the dress across the foot of the bed and offers me his hand. “I requested that Eloise find you a dress, since your current options are not ones I’d allow outside of this room. That was my mother, informing me that we’re expected to join dinner this evening. It’s into the shower for you, Little Bird.”
Dinner? Oh, boy. I’d never gone as far as to meet the parents of my boyfriends, and having dinner with a vampire’s mother after what I’d just let him do to me? I want to burrow under the bed and hide, certain it’s possible to die from embarrassment. But Lan moves his hand closer to me and I take it on instinct, letting the bedspread fall from me as he pulls me to my feet. My legs shake, and I grasp at him to keep from falling, and he laughs, low and quietly.
It’s one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard.
“Who is going to be at dinner?” I ask, trying to prepare myself as much as I can. We cross into the bathroom and I still, taking in the harmonious blend of opulence, Gothic charm, and refined taste I’ve come to associate with Lan. There’s a small antique chandelier casting a warm glow over the bathroom, the walls covered in rich burgundy wallpaper pattered with charcoal gray designs of flowers, branches, peacocks and ornate open birdcages. Over the marble double vanity is a long antique mirror, its opulent frame gilded with gold, that looks more suited to a palace.
The centerpiece is the freestanding clawfoot silver porcelain bathtub, though, large enough for two people to lounge in comfortably. A vermillion plush rug is before it, looking like a puddle of blood on the white marble floor. A silver, tarnished tray is perched on the side, and I can easily picture myself spending my evenings soaking in bubbles after a long day’s work, with a good book and a glass of wine. Before Lan would slip in behind me and give me toe-curling orgasms.
He takes me around the tub, though, to a glass-encased walk-in shower with the same brass fixtures as the sinks and tub. Lan lets me go long enough to remove his pants and then I’m back in his arms as we enter the shower. A moment later, warm water is falling from the rain showerhead mounted in the ceiling.
“The inner circle and their mates, most likely,” he answers, before reaching towards an inlaid shelf filled with bottles. A quiet pop follows, then a moment later his hands are in my hair, lathering the shampoo through the wild curls. “Your hair is wild, untamable.”
I sigh, lamenting how many times I’ve thought the same thing. “I know. I hate it.”
He tugs a strand, the sharp pain making me scowl up at him.
“You shouldn’t,” Lan says. “I enjoy it.”
I hum, content again with my savage, luxuriating in his arms while he washes me. Then his answer penetrates the haze. “Mates? Are they also vampires?”
“No,” he says, moving me to rinse my hair, expertly keeping the shampoo from running into my eyes. When my hair is clean, he moves to my body with a body wash that feels like silk and smells like him. “You’ve met Eloise. She is human and Ambrose’s mate. She intends to turn at some point but isn’t ready. Then there is Deidre, a friend of hers. She is human, but not. She was forcibly addicted to an altered Rapture and to save her life, Kasar claimed her as his mate. It tied her life to his. My mother, Malachi, and likely Ashe will be there too.”
The tension in his jaw is back, twice as hard now. I trace it with my fingertips, trying to soothe it away. “What is it?”
“Eris is likely to come as well,” he grits out. “After dinner, Ambrose will wish to discuss Benoit and my intended next steps.”
He waits, watching me closely for my reaction. Right. His next steps for his plan to kill my father, who is supposedly centuries old and the target of Lan’s loathing. Steeling myself, I press my hands flat against his toned stomach and rise up on my toes to press a kiss to his lips. He grips me harshly, and the kiss turns dirty fast. We pull apart when I’m panting, and he backs me against the tiled shower wall, his hands going to my ass and scooping me up. I wrap my arms around his neck, my hands to his hair. His cock is hard as steel between us and I moan as he slides it between my folds.
“One day, I’m going to fill this pussy with my cum,” he says, watching where he strokes against me hungrily.
“Do it now,” I beg, grinding back against him, trying to shift and force him inside me.
He raises his brow, looking up at me. “Did you know vampires can get humans pregnant? It’s rare and depends on multiple factors. The woman has to have the gene that would allow her to survive being turned.”
I still, having never considered needing a condom with a vampire. I’d never even heard of a pregnancy between a human and a vampire. I lick my lips, weighing his words. Maybe this is why he pulled out when we had sex on my couch. “How rare?”
