The Salvation: A Dark Vampire Fantasy Romance, page 14
“Answer me, Quintessa.” I give her a low, silky growl.
After pressing her lips into a glower, she crosses her arms over her chest and mutters, “Yes. But you still should have told me.”
I roll my eyes and seize her hips, thrilling in her yelp when I crush her to me, tilt her jaw to the side, and skate my fangs along her neck. Her tremble is as delicious as the scent of her thrumming pulse. “You love to be kept in the dark, little dove. It’s where you thrive. You knew what you were getting into. Break me, you said. You begged me. You fucking gagged for it.” I flare my nostrils, my wings hardening with my thirst as I skim my nose along her throat. She hisses, and I can smell her desire, the blood pooling to her center. “Do not blame me for the method by which I choose to shatter you, little one. Nor how dark the abyss is as I drag your willing heart down into it. Especially when we both know how much you get off on it.”
I drive the point home by stoking her blood more and sending it shooting to her nether regions, fattening that plump little nodule until the countless nerves are dancing with heated waves. She doubles over, and I savor her gasps as my cock and wings grow to iron levels of hardness.
“You’re such an ass,” she moans while gripping my shoulder for balance. "
“True, but that’s hardly a surprise now, is it?”
“Could you please just be serious for one moment and answer a few questions?” she breathes out, clenching her eyes as I nip her delicate jawline.
“Hmm...I’ll make you a deal, little dove.” I need an edge right now. My blood is growing too hot. And I won’t allow her to get the better of me in my own fucking office. Not when I need to pour everything I have into battle tonight. “You’re going to sit on my lap while I work. During that time, I will touch you however I damn well please, and you may ask as many questions as you desire...until you orgasm.”
“And your power?”
Good girl. “I will be lenient.”
“Fine.”
I don’t hesitate to yank down her bodice until I’ve gripped the fabric taut around her waist. All her scarred yet soft feminine flesh arouses me. Her breaths heave and cleave, jiggling those plump tits. Those sweet nipples pebbling for me, longing for my teeth. The delicate whorling ink decorating her scars.
At least the sight of my crest upon the side of her breast appeases my desire to mark her. And if I fixate too long on her breasts, this will be over far too quickly.
She moans softly when I turn her around, keeping her little bottom pressed against the side of my body and away from my cock throbbing between my legs. My little brat of a queen knows it since she tries to squirm toward my middle. I twist her peaked little nipple cruelly in a warning, and she squeals in pain as well as pleasured excitement.
“Ask your questions,” I tell her while snatching up my pen and mulling over my documents. This one is a territorial dispute regarding a land bridge over the Sea of Bones. While perusing it, I idly squeeze her breast and curl my thumb over her hard bud, feeling her breaths quicken.
“Where are you sending Kyan?”
“Business. You needn’t worry. He’ll return with all his pretty feathers intact. Or there will be hell to pay,” I growl low at the thought of any of my subjects or this cult harming my partner.
“I’m not worried. I just want to know. I’m your Queen now, remember?”
I slap her tit, taking pleasure in her heated groan and her head tipping back against my shoulder, casting her addictive scent of dark opium all around me. Channeling my power into her, I inflame the buds while sending heat to suffuse her throat, chest, and breasts. Then sign my name and finalize the document with my bloody seal.
“There is some recent information regarding a blood cult that has arisen in my realm. One of bitten vampires and humans practicing dark magic.” I lower my hand to her soft belly, smooth and slight thanks to her post-pregnancy healing. “I am sending Kyan and Shadow to do what they do best. Kyan is the quickest, and Shadow is the most cunning. Together, they are my best incognito source to gather information.”
“And what will you do?”
I stiffen but trace the swirling patterns upon her frame, then sink my hand below her gown, skirting over those silvery nether curls until my fingers touch her silky labia. No panties. And already so wet and warm for me. My dirty little slut of a dove.
“My one goal is to ensure your protection and Aislynn’s. Rest assured, I’ll not have any risk of threats.” She shivers as I scissor my fingers through those plump wet folds, curling tendrils of my power into her heat until she’s moaning and clenching with need. My dick protests, trying to escape my pants.
“You didn’t answer my question, Merikh.” She leans her head to the side and kisses the skin where my neck meets my jaw.
I smack her wet cunt and growl a warning. She digs her fingers into the fabric on my left leg and pants against my neck. But I decide to answer her question, if only to quell her curiosity, which has proven dangerous at times. “Tonight, Drago and I will accompany Reaver to the cult’s nexus so we may appropriately deal with the threat.”
“Mmm...why you and Drago? Oh!” she cries out from me stabbing three fingers into her, and I chuckle darkly at how she clenches.
“Fire and blood, little dove. Drago and Thiago are the scariest sons of bitches in the known world,” I purr low in her ear and nip it while moving on to the next official matter. A contract between a human familiar and a vampire host.
“You’re...mmm, you’re the scariest, Merikh.”
I flood her core with more blood, revel in her frightful squeal, and sign and seal the contract. “Wrong, Quintessa. I’m the most horrifying. The darkest and most hellish. Drago’s a goddamned hothead. I’m cold as ice. In battle, we complement one another well on the intimidating front to send a secure message to this cult not to fuck with the Lord of the Court of Hollows.”
“You know what would be more frightening? And it would leave absolutely no doubts.”
I swirl my fingers inside her and begin to pump. Gods, she’s soaked. Turning to her, I lean in, brush my nose along the base of her ear, and murmur, “Enlighten me.”
“Take Mayce with you.”
“Out of the question.” I surge all the blood in her veins, and she clenches her teeth around a scream while arching her back. Those inner muscles spasm, but she must desperately want this conversation since she takes a few deep breaths and loosens her pussy.
“Please, Merikh. Listen to me.”
“No,” I growl and stab my fingers deeper while rubbing her swollen nub.
Oh, the little strumpet plays dirty when her hand shifts to grip my cock. Turning to me, she brandishes her burning eyes on mine. “I’ll feel much more relaxed if the three of you go. Between you and Drago...you need Mayce to balance the two of you. Fire and blood and scorched earth. Please, Merikh!”
“You won’t be left alone. Neither you nor Aislynn.” I give her clit a harsh pinch, then a few well-placed strikes to her pretty cunt.
“We won’t!” she cries, arching more against me with her fingers digging into my covered shaft, chafing the piercings. Fuck. I steady myself with the pain. “Bo will be with us. The Founders. I know they can’t bite me. The Blood Crest...it protects me. I need to know you will be protected. All of you. You can’t watch Drago’s back the whole time. If something happens, I-I-oh, savage gods!” she wails as I direct more blood to pulse to every erogenous zone in her tight little body.
I watch those tits grow heavier, the nipples turning red and engorged. And feel the slippery lips and clit plumping and heating beneath my fingers. Her inner muscles flutter. And she grips my cock as hard as she possibly can while tears stream down her rosy pink cheeks.
“Merikh!” she dares to yell while I torment her. “If you don’t take Mayce with you, I swear on your fucking Howle name, I’ll—”
“Careful, little dove,” I warn and scrape my fangs along the side of her neck, pricking her skin.
“Big bad horrifying dark vampire. I’ve fucking gone to death and back for my monsters. I’ve carried and birthed your child. I’m more monstrous than all of you. And if the both of you don’t come back to me, if anything happens to either of you, I’ll make all your lives a living hell! Punish me however you want. But. Fucking. Take. Mayce. With. You.”
I drop my pen. Lift my hand and fist her hair. Yank her neck back to present her throat. And before she can get out so much as a whimper, I sink my fangs into her jugular. Injecting my venom and channeling my power, I warm her blood to the boiling point and surge the waves of her orgasm. I feast upon her blood and thrill in her spiraling heart rate.
Her scream echoes in my ears. She clamps all around my fingers, strangling them with her muscles, drowning them with her hot fluids. I send another wave surging through her, breaking through her body, shuddering her core. And another. I strike her with my power, forcing her into another blissful rapture.
Watching her fall apart...it’s the edge I need for tonight. Because if there’s one thing I know about her, she will fulfill her promise. She is not the same timid ghostly girl who stood before our court and shed her clothes with trembling fingers. Quintessa is a woman. The mother of our child. And our goddamned Queen who has ended three curses and broken the fourth.
After I force her tenth climax until she’s nearly ready to pass out, I unleash my cock, shoot my release onto her hot pussy and ripe little thighs, and growl, “I’ll take the fucking Fae.”
She collapses against me, heaving frenzied gasps. I screw my brows low as she wriggles her body until she’s facing me, her plump little tits pressed against my chest. Her eyes are glassy with her pleasure, her swollen lips parted. I tilt my head, narrowing my eyes in suspicion until she lowers herself.
Fucking goddamned Kronos! She takes the base of my cock in her dainty hands, then seals her mouth to the cross-adorned crown. And though I can induce my own fucking release, I give her the credit, the honor of sucking me, gripping her head, and forcing her down until I discharge my seed down her tight little throat.
She crawls up me and straddles her naked little body around mine, winding her arms around my neck. “Thank you, Merikh. Will you...will you answer one more question for me? Please? Master, please?”
Fuck, I can’t say no when she lays it on that fucking thick. Nor when she looks at me like I’m her blood fucking moon. So, I sigh, tighten my wings, and wave a hand in gesture for her to speak.
She purses her lips, squeezing her eyes, then opening them to level with me. “Bartie...he told me things.”
“What things?”
“Nothing too specific. Nothing that would betray confidences. Just some history about the Court of Hollows, including your history. Things that are probably common knowledge, but I didn’t know them. Merikh, I just need to know. Because Malach—”
I slam my hand down on her mouth, open my lips in a silent snarl, and shake my head firmly. “You will not speak his name. You will never speak his name, Quintessa. It would be nothing less than a desecration of your beautiful lips to speak it. If you ever dare to say his name, I won’t hesitate to whip you so hard, I’ll bloody every last trace of your skin and ensure your heart keeps pumping the whole fucking time. Do I make myself clear?”
Eyes wide, she nods frantically. After leveling with her, I finally remove my hand and nod firmly, permitting her to continue.
“I’m...” She pauses, sucks in a deep breath, and through tears, through fucking tears, she continues, “I’m a blood-binder, Merikh. Is that...is that why you hate me? Because I come...from...him?”
I blink. Once. Just fucking once.
Every cell in my being, every fiber of my divine-stolen alchemy, every fraction of my goddamned soul howls with violent wrath at her abominable, outrageous, and monstrous belief that I could ever, in ten thousand lifetimes, hate her. Not when she’s the very air I breathe. Not when she’s the only reason I’m treading water and naked in the fucking dark. Not when her scars will bring me my salvation.
So, I deadpan. And growl. “Turn around, Quintessa. And bend the fuck over my desk. Nothing will save your ass tonight. I’m going to bloody it so fucking hard with my belt, you will forget every word of the question you just asked.”
I watch my brothers say their brief goodbyes as we prepare to set out.
“Oh...um, Bartie,” Quintessa addresses my steward, handing him Aislynn, who flutters her wings, twitching their tips as she blinks up at him. “Could you hold her for a minute? Please?”
Bo drops his jaw, his eyes widening in shock before he sweeps them to me. “Lord Merikh, I’m your steward, not a babysitter.”
“You could be demoted to the position of skull-cleaner, Bo. Or perhaps Sea of Bones cleanup duty,” I add with a low growl, but my hint of a smirk is enough for him to know I’m not serious.
“What if I burn her? I’m a fire-binder, my Lady,” he tries to dissuade her, but my little dove is already placing the babe in his arms.
“And one of her fathers is the God of Fire. She’s part dragon,” she clarifies, beaming at Bo, whose anxiety is heightened enough for him to shed a few embers and an occasional spark from his cheeks.
At first, he stiffens, but Aislynn brushes the edges of her feathery wings along the sides of his face. Her little hands reach up, hoping to catch his stray embers. She gurgles with a newborn laugh when he sparks more, a sign of how she’s captivated him. I knew it wouldn’t take long before he was rocking Aislynn and sweet-talking her.
Quintessa’s giggles divert my attention, and I roll my eyes at Drago opening his mouth on her neck, scratching and tickling her with his beard while muttering something about his two dicks.
Mayce, in contrast, nudges her chin up with his thumb and lowers his head to give her a sultry kiss. But once he palms her backside and hears her pained moan, he pauses. The Fae turns to me and brandishes a weaponized expression. I steel my jaw and deadpan. No regrets. I fulfilled my word to bloody her ass, stemmed the blood, gave her another mind-altering orgasm, and let her go with the worst welts she’s taken upon her flesh.
I’ll not heal them. She will wear them for the next two weeks at the least. Anytime she winces when trying to sit, brushes her bottom against something, or so much as rolls over in her sleep, she will know to never ask, much less believe, I could ever associate her with the word hatred.
After Mayce embraces her, reassuring her we will return later tonight, Quintessa approaches me, her steps slow and cautious. “Merikh, I...” she trails off once she’s close, the tension between us thickening.
The same moment she lowers her eyes, I sweep my hand around the back of her neck, tugging her close to me and digging my fingers into her ass with no convention or remorse. She whimpers, trembling, but I steady her and take her mouth in a searing kiss, one that bows her spine and curls her very toes. I pinch one of the raised welts, feeding on her moan, reminding her to forget what she shared earlier. I ignore the length swelling in my pants.
After I’d punished her, I’d slammed into her over and over against my desk. Turned her over, so I could fuck her while her naked and inflamed backside chafed against the hard surface.
By the time I finish this kiss, her lips are appropriately swollen. I pleasure in the sight of her small but ripe tits heaving beyond her bodice—the same gown she wore earlier.
“Come back to me,” she pleads softly. “Come home, Merikh.”
Yes, home. While we gods may each have our respective partners, Quintessa is the home that binds us. She is our nexus, our touchstone, our anchor. And once she learns who I truly am, she will weigh anchor and sail away with my brothers, leaving me to drown like the damned wreck I am.
For now, I steel my resolve and gesture firmly to my brothers. It’s time. Quintessa returns to Bo’s side to take Aislynn, only for him to protest. Seems they’ve formed a bond and made a game out of her catching his embers and holding them in her chubby palms like tiny fireflies.
Mayce and Drago say their farewells to Aislynn with a simple kiss on her cheeks. She’s too swept up in her little game, barely noticing them. But they’ve also spent the most time with her.
“Merikh...” Quintessa motions me forward, urging me to say goodbye to the child.
Kyan has also interacted with her more than I have. Keeping my distance is always my default, but Quintessa won’t allow me to. I do not deny my Queen, nor will I rebuff my own daughter.
Unmistakable. Inescapable. She stills as I approach, her deep gaze crossing to lock with mine. She doesn’t blink once our eyes meet. My eyes. The eyes of an immortal, dark and deep as the God of Blood’s.
She bears Mayce’s illusionist powers, but aside from that, she has shown no signs of others beyond holding our mere physical traits. Ice grows in my veins at the thought of Aislynn inheriting my power. She is far too much like her mother. While Aislynn’s eyes reflect mine, so much of her falls into Quintessa’s likeness, from her face shape to her pert little nose, her pale skin, those rosy cheeks.
After a moment or two of our eyes imprisoning one another’s, Aislynn lifts her little hand to me. Bo gasps. My brothers chuckle. Quintessa smiles and softly touches my arm. In the few weeks since her birth, I haven’t taken the opportunity to hold the child.
Cold shadows collect in my chest, but I still lift my hand, palm to the babe, and let her touch me. Her wings curve toward mine, those feathers shivering, much like Kyan’s do when he longs to connect with me. Gods, she reminds me of him in many ways. My very scars ache, my wings harden with the need to take the child in my arms and keep her safe.
“I’ll not hold you now, Aislynn,” I inform her, clasping those fingers but shaking my head as she blinks. “Once I finish this business, I’ll return to you and your mother. This, I vow. I’ll return for this.” I’ll return...for you.
Out of the corner of my eye, Quintessa nods in approval. Mayce rolls his eyes, and Drago snorts, but even Aislynn seems to sense why I cannot embrace her. I refuse to acknowledge this as a farewell. As Quintessa said, with the three of us collective gods, there is no chance in hell we will not return.
