AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He cuts me off with his growling kiss. I almost buckle, but Shadow doesn’t give me the chance and sweeps me into his arms, grinding his clothed cock against me. I moan, opening my lips, giving him more.
He doesn’t bring me to the bed as I expect. Instead, he leads me to the other room, where a large window overlooks the Sea of Bones. I’m too busy losing myself in his dark, hungry kiss,clenching my thighs around his waist, and rubbing up and down that gorgeous vibrating cock, that I almost miss the telltale sound of the window opening.
A cold, salty breeze rushes along my naked spine. If Shadow wasn’t holding me, I’d shiver.
Parting from my swollen lips, the former demon hovers above my lips, priming his wings for flight. Oh, my...!
“Never believe you are worthy of his sole abuse, sweet girl. You have every right to stand up for yourself, to do battle with him as he tries to pull you down and drown you. I certainly did, and it’s how I survived. And left my mark on him.”
Flushed against him, I lift my chin and kiss his cheek. “I’ve already left my mark on him, Shadow. He’s mine. He just doesn’t know it yet. I don’t need to battle him. This time, my love will be my strength and keep me breathing when I drown.”
“Fuck, spirit moth. You’re too bright for this. You don’t deserve any of this.” He darts his eyes between mine, searching, discerning. “I love that dark beast with everything I am. Kyan, too. But I am a god. You are human. He doesn’t deserve your heart. Not when he wishes to break it.”
I bring my hands up to his chest, self-assured, my chest lifting with my surge of breath. “I told him to break it, to break me. I’ll love him through it. That’s how I’m fighting this time, Shadow. Because blood is different than everything. I won’t burn and rise again. Or fall just so I can fly. Or submit and grow through it. I don’t need to sacrifice, surrender, or submit. I’m going tosavehim...whatever it takes.”
“What a wonder you are...”
No other words. Shadow plunges from the window, and I scream my shrill jubilation from the adrenaline rush as he splays his wings, catching the sea breeze. While crushing his mouth to mine, he impales me on his vibrating shaft, turning all my screams to moans of utter pleasure.
“Thank you for bringing me, Bartie,”I say to the vampire as he escorts me to Merikh’s office chamber.
With a heavy sigh, he runs a hand through his rich auburn hair donning one side of his head since the other is partially shaved. “You didn’t give me much choice. Escorting you to the vampire lord’s office is always an experience, but I must admit, the threat of a feline frame-up was a new and unexpected twist. Perhaps we can consider subtler tactics next time?”
I cover my giggle with my hand and pause to stand on my tiptoes, kissing the steward on the cheek. “Sorry about that.” I blush over my earlier threat to find every kitten possible, stuff them in Merikh’s coffin, and blame it on Bartie. “To be fair, you did give me the idea.”
“Indeed. Another reason I should be more tactful with a queen as mischievous as you.” He smiles warmly. A true smile since Merikh restored him since the last time we met.
He still wears the scarlet three-piece suit with the ruffled poet shirt, very becoming of a vampire. Tiny flames curl around his person. But now, Bartie looks nothing like a corpse. With his dark green eyes, auburn hair falling down his chest on one side, and his pleasant countenance, he strikes me as handsome in an older gentlemanly way. He is nothing like the fire binders I’ve met in my past. They were hotheads, superior, and liked burning things at random. Even Drago is all that to some degree, but he’s earned that right as the God of Fire.
“May I say you do look lovely, My Lady?”
I casually tuck my hands behind my back and tilt my head toward him with a growing blush. “You may. Do you think he’lllike it?” I wonder, smoothing my hands across the black gown with its gold filigree accents. Much of the bodice is an illusion neckline because I love to show my tattoos as much as Merikh enjoys looking at them. But the full skirts sweep to the floor in elegant voluminous layers.
“A masterful choice for the Queen, my Lady. But I believe our Lord justifiably loves anything you wear, particularly when it’s nothing at all,” he hints teasingly with a wink.
My blush deepens. At first, we progress in silence through multiple corridors. Candles or lanterns surge to life once Bartie crosses their path. But I know he must pick up on my occasionally chewing on my inner cheek.
“You may ask me any question you desire, my Lady. I don’t bite. Well...I do, but that’s beside the point.” He waves a hand, chuffing a laugh and opening his mouth to show his pearly fangs that seem as clean as the rest of him.
“Technically, it is the point. Two, in fact.” I grin, swaying from side to side as he blinks.
“I can see why he likes you.” He beams and offers me his arm.
“And you...” I accept with warmth flooding my chest.
“I am fortunate to be on the receiving end of his favor, though he would tell you it’s the opposite. Don’t believe a word he says on the matter. I owe him everything, My Lady, and I have no qualms about sharing why.”
My belly does a little leap, and I squeeze his arm. “Please do!”
“It all happened some years before the Curse.”
He squeezes my hand and lifts his other to parade a regalia of flames that form images. I part my lips, marveling at the sight of the dark and fiery figures below ground in a simple illustration of the Court of Hollows with brighter, flaming, silhouetted figures above.
“I won’t take too much time emphasizing the wars between the races of born and bitten vampires.” He twists his hand,and the flaming figures clash in a flaring battle. “But you must understand one significant matter, Lady Quintessa. All born vampires, such as myself, originate from one prominent bloodline. Malachor’s, the former God of Blood.”
A chill rushes up my spine when he stabs his finger to transform the battling mass into one burning form, greater than the previous ones, but also darker. Like a black inferno.
“Other than the Fae realm, the Court of Hollows is the most ancient. But after the Tree of Life shed its divine seeds, who later manifested as the gods, Malachor’s seed fell through deep water and then darkness.” Bartie flexes his hand, then promptly snaps it shut while displaying the history through the image of the seeds. “He was proven to be the most powerful of all the gods. Unlike all the other origin gods, who, after their long lifespans on the earth, wished to return to their sacred energy forms within the Tree, Malachor was obsessed with his reign.
