Shadows Claim Read online

Page 20

 

  The weight of him atop her was rapturous, the heat of him seeping into her. His fingers bit into the curves of her ass, holding her still for him, holding his hardness exactly where she craved it. She couldnt rock against him, didnt need to.

  She was pressed so tightly against him that she could feel his shaft throb, could feel his heart thundering against her tingly breasts.

  So tightly against him that when he moved, they moved as one.

  He brought his lips down on hers once more. This time the kiss was more forceful, deeper, as if he wanted to mark her with his lips.

  As she moaned into his mouth, their tongues danced and their breaths meshed. They were nearly molded together and she wanted his body closer still. Why wasnt he closer?

  More moans, his hoarse groans. His penis felt like it had swelled even more. The friction grew, until she was so close. Her first orgasm with another . . .

  He broke their kiss. "Gods, woman! Im already at the edge. My fangs grow sharp. "

  "Um, okay. " Surely he wasnt hinting that they should end this. So close.

  In a ragged voice, he said, "You know what this might mean, Bett. "

  It means hes so aroused, hes losing control. Like her. "Just as long as we dont have sex. "

  "Ah, dragă . . . " He took her mouth with another hard press of his lips, more bold strokes of his tongue. She met him every one.

  She was shivering, her body tensing, readying for her orgasm. On the brink of wet bliss-

  Then came the tang of . . . blood.

  Shocks jolted up and down Trehans body from his head to his toes, before convening in his shaft.

  Hed nicked her tongue. Zeii mea, her blood straight from the flesh. If her kiss had brought to mind mead, her blood was a glimpse of heaven.

  An injection of perfect pleasure seared his veins.

  Chapter 22

  He shuddered, growling against her lips. The tip of his hungry tongue licked hers for more, hunting for that tiny nick.

  Dimly, he remembered how taboo this was, even as he sought more. A perversion?

  No, connection! Sharing her essence felt . . . pure. "Dulcea!" he groaned between kisses. "So sweet. " How could this possibly be wrong? The sense of union was almost like intercourse.

  But she broke away. "Y-you tasted my blood?"

  A drop of crimson stained her bottom lip, taunting him. His eyes locked on it, his cock hardening even more.

  "Look at me, Daciano! You took my blood?"

  He forced himself to meet her gaze. The way she stared at his eyes, he knew they must be stark black with thirst. "Yes. "

  In a panicked tone, she said, "Cant you see a persons memories?"

  Her anxiety seemed to prick at him, paining him. "Ive never taken anothers blood. "

  "Answer the question!"

  "I believe I possess that ability. "

  "Let me go!" She thrashed against him until he released her.

  Again, I surrender my prize.

  Scrambling to a sitting position, she draped an arm over her breasts, shoving her braids out of her face with her free hand. "Youll see mine!" She was looking at him with disgust.

  Deserved disgust. Any of his acquaintance would do the same. Trehan supposed he wasnt much different from a vile Horde vampire. Or from Lothaire, the furthest fallen of the Dacians.

  And yet Trehan knew he wouldnt rest until hed tasted her again.

  From this night on, Im a true vampire.

  That raw, familiar feeling of violation rose inside Bettina. Her palms itched to unleash her power on him; she felt unwhole without it.

  He could witness that night! At the thought, she nearly swayed. The humiliation of another seeing her like that . . . broken and naked on the floor of Castle Runes court. Coated with blood and liquor. Their laughter still ringing in her bleeding ears.

  She darted for her sarong, hastily tying it in place. The vampires gaze followed her every movement, locked on her as she worked her top over her head. But when she scurried for her cloak, he traced to his clothes, stabbing his legs into his pants.

  "This would have happened eventually, Bettina. I cant control my fangs any more than I can stop myself from hardening every time Im near you. "

  In a dry tone, she sneered, "Because Im such a tempting siren. "

  Brows drawn, he rasped, "Yes. "

  Seriously undercutting my argument! "Why did I trust you? I want you out of my sight!"

  "You cant leave. "

  "Watch me!" She dragged her cloak on, marching for the exit. But just outside his tent, her feet froze. The rain had eased somewhat, but now the fog was thick as soup, visibility nil. At least for her.

  She would have to brave that murky gauntlet to reach home. Right before her eyes, shadowy buildings moved, narrowing the alleys. The street grew darker, the air thick with foreboding.

  That seed of anxiety burned. Vertigo threatened. Her heart began to pound in her ears, her eyes to water. Fear was a great steel fist wringing her chest free of air.

  Her bones ached, actual pain arising where her ribs had ruptured her flesh.

  All too clearly, she remembered how the skin of her torso had tented over her displaced ribs-like cloth over a dull needle. Only a matter of time. A kick to her side had sent the needle up and through her skin. . . .

  The back of her hand found her lips. I want those four dead! Why wont they die . . . ?

  "Bettina?" The vampire was right beside her, studying her with eyes that were now steady and green.

  Hed betrayed her and she couldnt even manage to leave his company, couldnt slam the tent flap in his face as she stormed off.

  I hate this, I hate this, I HATE this!

  "What is it, little Bride?"

  Swallowing back bile, she said, "I dont . . . I dont like walking in the rain. "

  "Of course," he said, his expression unreadable.

  He knows, he knows! Just as shed started to shake, she found herself outside the concealed door to her castle. "Y-you traced me?"

  "Bett, you never have to walk alone again. "

  And with just those words, her anxiety ebbed. Which infuriated her! How could he affect her so easily?

  How could he have taken her blood?

  Daciano could now witness scenes of her life, could see her at her lowest. He would learn of her cowardly, irrational fears.

  Then she berated herself. Why should she care what he saw? Her entire court had seen her as a victim, an object of pity.

  Bettina feared her vanity had something to do with her anger. She didnt want this handsome, devious vampire-who already seemed obsessed with her-to see her fall. Because he liked her, was attracted to her, seeming charmed by everything she did.

  His response to her had been such a balm after Cas had admitted to feeling no attraction to her, that hed entered the tournament because he was marked for death anyway.

  Once a warrior like Daciano saw what shed really been like-sobbing, begging for mercy-hed disdain her as well. His lacking Bride.

  And then Ill never experience him like this again. Where had that thought come from?

  "Dragă," he grated, "tell me who hurt you. "

  When he grazed his knuckles over her cheekbone, she turned her face away.

  "Very well. But Ill have one more boon from you. . . . "

  Trehan waited until a light glowed from her bedroom before returning to his tent. For a loner, he found parting from her surprisingly . . . paining.

  Inside, he picked up one of her silk gloves, left in her haste. So slim, so small. His fragile female-whod been attacked by more than one fiend. Who still suffered.

  Shed frozen outside, with her heart racing so fast hed thought she would pass out.

  Again and again, hed reflected over the day in Dacia when hed awakened with that unusual restlessness, that dread. Hed suspected that hed somehow sensed her pain and terror, even when buried deep in his kingdom.

  Now he was s
ure of it.

  Instead of saving her, hed been closed up in that coffin of a mountain, frozen in that city, that godsdamned library, never seeing her-never seeking her.

  I left her to fate. Unforgivable. Her broken plea echoed in his mind. Not again. . . .

  Tonight hed learned much about his Bride, about her fear-and her desire.

  Her desire taught him that her body-and her affections-could be won. Her fear taught him that she needed help to heal.

  Trehans plan had now transitioned and expanded. Win the tournament, find and slaughter her enemies, capitalize on her passion.

  Hed taken her blood, the first step in locating her foes. Even though hed never harvested memories, he assumed that he, like other Dacians before him, was a cosaş. Once he slept, he would dream scenes from her past, reliving them from her point of view.

  I know exactly which memory of hers I need.

  He traced outside once more, peering up at her room. Her light was still like a beacon, calling him.

  Trehan suspected he knew whod attacked her-if he could dream her memories of them, then it was possible that he could use the crystal to find them. No plane was safe from Trehan, no hiding place too remote.

  Wrong an assassins woman, and he will make you pay.

  "Bettina of Abaddon"-he gazed upward, higher even than her spire-"your enemies days are numbered. "

  "Well, well, well. The princess was out catting around," Salem said when he returned to her suites, just minutes after she had.

  Shit. She hadnt yet had time to recover from the events of the night. Her lips were probably still kiss swollen, her hair even more of a mess than usual.

  "Careful, else youll get a rep. " He chuckled. "Soon youll be as notorious as me. "

  "And what precisely were you notorious for?"

  He gave another laugh. "For how fine I looked. And for how fine I fuc-"

  "Okay, then! All clear," Bettina said in a rush. Bath time just got weirder.

  "Im giving you an aloof yet mysterious shrug, dovey. "

  She rolled her eyes. "I thought you were going to be out spying all night. "

  "Oh, I was. For instance, I saw you in the vampires tent, squirming against his naked body like an eel in heat. "

  "An eel?" What a fetching visual. Yep, sexually untutored. But the vampire hadnt had any complaints. No, hed been full of praise. "Are you trying to insult me?"

  "I dont make the news, I just report it. "

  "Reported it to Raum, no doubt?"

  "I havent yet. Any reason not to?"

  She began to pace. "I thought we were allies. " Had she left her mask and gloves in the vampires tent? Shit! "And it didnt mean anything with Daciano. "

  "No? Tell that to the fuck knots in your hair. "

  "Salem! I made a deal with the vampire that I would go see him if he spared Caspion in the melee. "

  "Grinding wiv a vamp to save poor ole Cas? Wow, you are noble. If youd come any closer to closing that deal, youd of fucked up beyond remedy. Remember, youre supposed to be a virgin? And from what I saw, Daciano was in the glide path. "

  How close hed been. . . . "I have to know-are you going to tell Raum?"

  "No harm, no foul. So far. Ill keep my invisible mouth shut, if you dont meet the leech again. "

  "Not-a-problem. " She still couldnt believe Daciano had taken her blood.

  Worse? She couldnt believe that her main problem with it was probably vanity.

  Maybe he wouldnt see her memories of that night. Maybe he wouldnt see anything-because hed die in the ring tomorrow. "Wait. Why do you care if I see him or not?"

  "Im not one to pull my telekinetic punches, Princess, so Ill tell it to you straight. After my night of spying, Im convinced Gourlavs about to be your new gent. Which means your cherry best be unplucked. "

  At the thought of marrying the primordial, chills danced up her spine. The Bettina-the-Black-Widow option would fly out the window. Even if her power was returned, it wouldnt likely be enough to take Gourlav out. Not when newly restored and unpracticed. "Nobody can defeat him?"

  "I found zero weaknesses. Zilch, fuck-all. None of my contacts in the network know anything either," he said. "You saw the heads rolling tonight. Think of the amount of blood someone would have to spill to take his. Barrels. Itd spawn a legion of Child Terrors. "

  "Ill prevail upon Morgana. Theres got to be some kind of sorcery we can use. "

  "You do that. In the meantime . . . you were really into that leech. "

  Into him? Like when shed been a split second away from orgasming against his insistent shaft?

  Like when shed tasted her own blood in their kiss and for a moment had considered just going with it? "I was there only for Caspion. "

  "Yeah, you looked like you were completely swamped with thoughts of Cas. By the way, that demon of yours rose a notch in my estimation. "

  "Oh, was his pile-driving even more vigorous than last night?"

  "No. He went home. Alone. "

  Night two. Well past midnight. Drunk again.

  Chapter 23

  Bettina slouched over the banquet table, head propped in her hand, a glass of wine tilted precariously in her other hand. Her eyes were glazed over from watching fights for umpteen hours.

  Die already, she inwardly cried for the hundredth time.

  She gazed around, noting that she wasnt the only one drunk; all of Rune was in rare form.

  Theyd been imbibing since sundown and the demon brew was beginning to hit them, sweeping over the crowds like an apocalypse of drunk.

  Initially, the ring had been divided into several different cages so the matches between less well-known contenders could occur simultaneously. Still, theyd taken ages to complete. At midnight, guards had removed the inner cages to prepare for the heavy-weight contenders like Gourlav, Daciano-and Caspion.

  Pretty much all of the kingdoms females had rallied around "Abaddons fair-haired son. " Even the males were coming around.

  He was slated to fight the remaining Cerunno last, and shed been on edge all night. Gourlavs match was up next, with Dacianos bout against the giant troll to follow.

  Like all the competitors, theyd been required to wait in the sanctum for hours.

  Morgana had long since returned to her castle, located in her own private Sorceri plane. Early on shed endured two matches, yawning widely, even at the gruesome ends. Assured that Bettina had dressed scantily enough to be worthy of the Sorceri name, she and her Inferi had portal-ed away.