Page 41 of Blood & Bedlam

“That’s not what she said,” Claire defends, the edge in her voice clear. “Losing her will crater us, but we will survive the loss of one.”

“I d-don’t understand,” I mutter, looking around at them all. In the end, it’s Cami who takes pity on me.

“I’m not Bonded, Reine. If I die, my sisters will miss me. Papa too. They’ll mourn. But every one of them has found their beloved, sometimes more than one,” she says, gesturing to Juliette and her mates. “If Juliette were to fight and die, it would destroy Dasher and Serena as well. On a molecular level, it would tear them apart. They’d be hardly shadows of themselves. Losing one would collapse two more, and that would leave our family more vulnerable than anyone else. Losing a mate is the single most vile thing that could happen to our kind, and there are many out there who would seize the opportunity to take more of us out. If we show weakness, we’re dead.”

Horror flashes through me, mixing with understanding over Vladimir’s actions. His reluctance to drink from my veins, at first, the paralyzing fear that he could kill me. It wouldn’t just be my life in the balance—it risks them all.

“Why do they hate you so much?”

“Because we’re different, and those in power will always fear those who can’t be controlled,” Fleur interjects, draining her glass. The crystal is tinted red, her words heavy between us. “The First Bloods consider themselves above us in every way, yet when we’re united, they know they can’t touch us. New Orleans is a sanctuary city. One of the only ones ruled by a collective that represents all creatures, and they see that as an affront to their old ways as well. Simply put? We can’t show an ounce of weakness, or they will claw inside the N.O. and rip to shreds everything we’ve built. And not one of us is going to let that happen.”

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Kendra supplies, gently taking Fleur’s hand in hers and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. It’s intimate and emotional to witness, and the ache in my chest only grows. Silently, the others rise from their seats and take their leave, until only Cami and I remain. The man who sat next to her lingers by the door, back straight and eyes forward, all business. She just studies me through guarded eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I manage. I don’t want her to be hurt because of me. I don’t want their family torn apart.

“It’s all right,” she assures me, standing as I do. There’s an overwhelming need to comfort her, even though I’m the one nearly crying. I’m not sure what to expect when I close the distance between us, but she waits. I waver on my feet, building up the nerve to say something profound, something that conveys how grateful I am to her for what she’s about to do, but there aren’t words for that. None that matter, anyway.

“I’m not worth your life, Camille. It should have never come to this,” I say instead. The words shake something loose in my mind, making my head spin. The sway of my body shatters Camille’s icy exterior for just a moment as her hands come up to steady me. Her eyes are a stunning cerulean, flecked with teal, up close. She looks so young.

“It was worth seeing him smile again.”

The sob that leaves me is wet and pained, but she keeps talking. “If something happens to me, you keep him strong. For my sisters, Reine. You keep my papa together,” she commands, causing the tears I was holding back to leak free. I can’t stop myself from pulling Cami in for a tight hug, ignoring completely that she’s gone rigid in my arms. I’m crying and a mess, but I don’t care. I hold on to her anyway.

“I promise.” I give her the only comfort I can, my word to do everything in my power to hold Vladimir together.

And then her arms are around me, returning the embrace, and it feels important. Altering. It’s only after she relaxes just a touch in my hold that I let her go. Cami steps back awkwardly, eyes darting around the room as she clears her throat and smooths the nonexistent wrinkles out of her leather pants. With a jerky nod, she leaves, straightening her back as she passes the man at the door. There’s a look on his face that spears through me as she passes, a sharp intake of air in the rise of his chest. He breathes her in. I can nearly feel the longing in his gaze from here, and it wounds me.

Green eyes lock mine, catching me staring at him aching for her. A silent understanding passes between us.

Camille may not have a Bonded, but the loss of her would shatter more lives than I think she even knows.

Reine

CHAPTER 21

Silk sheets slide against my bare skin as I toss and turn in the night, alone. My mind straddles consciousness, but I burrow deeper into the bed, willing myself back under. I don’t want to think about what’s to come in just a few hours, or dwell on the fact that I’m here and Vladimir’s out there, in pain and worrying.

But as if summoned by my consciousness need, I feel him, the heat of his body settling behind mine. Hands roam over my arms, lips pressing delicately over the skin of my shoulder, making my body shudder. There’s a simmering hunger radiating from Vladimir’s being into mine, and I can smell him all around me, rich and earthy.

Vlad’s lips trail up my shoulder, grazing the column of my throat, and the sensation sends a wave of desire cascading over me. My body arches, blood pumping fast, electric, hands reaching for him, needing him.

“Keep your eyes closed, my star,” he whispers against the shell of my ear, and I obey, focusing on the feeling of his touch, his warmth, the hard lines of his body pressed against me as he crowds my back. Lust swirls through my veins, his touch alone enough to rev me up. I’m wet between my thighs, my body begging for him. A cool breeze blows from the windows, caressing over my skin in gentle arcs that war with his hot hands, hands reverently turning my body until my back is flush to the bed. The lack of sight heightens every other sense, and I inhale deeply, open my mouth to welcome his kisses, the desperate hold he has on me needy and seeking.

He’s falling apart, and searching for me in the night, a beacon to call him home.

I welcome him in my arms.

Vladimir is gentle as he slots himself into the cradle of my thighs, trails kisses down my neck, over my chest, and when his hand comes to collar me, firm but delicate in his possessiveness, he pushes inside. The groan that rasps from his lips is the sweetest torture, exquisite in his submission, because even though he’s taken my sight, he’s given me everything he has, surrendered himself completely to the magic between us. It makes me feel powerful, like touching a live wire.

His thrusts are slow, calculated, savoring in their ministrations as I adjust to the size of him. He whispers against my skin in a language written into the makeup of my being, one I don’t speak but understand all the same. I cry out when he kisses deep, rocking his hips to grind against me, chasing the pleasure he knows I want.

“I love the way your body sings for me,” he pants, his voice low and wrecked.

The praise hits deep, curls my toes, and I want so badly to open my eyes and watch him fall apart, see the rapture on his face, but I’m good. I obey. My hands grip him closer, nails scraping into the flesh of his shoulders, drawing blood I can smell on the air. A foreign sensation in my gums prickles as something breaks through, two sharp teeth that press against my lips. I want to taste him, to feast on him, but there’s no rush. There is only us, only his skin against mine, so fucking divine it sends me into oblivion.

My body shakes as I cry out, desperately holding on to him. I float, lighter than air in my ecstasy. Our bodies move, his pace steady and luxurious as his cock drags inside of me, filling me, claiming me. There is no space between us, and I screw my eyes shut tighter, fighting temptation, blissed out on the feelings pouring from him to me. Vlad’s forehead presses to mine, and I moan as flashes of memory shake through me. Our bodies tumble together against the sheets, gravity sinking him deeper with every thrust.

Snippets of moments together—in the snow, in a bed adorned with blue drapery, on the balcony overlooking the city.