by Sarah Piper
Clearly relieved, she released Dorian’s hands and approached the painting, admiring it up close. “Dorian, I… My God. It’s so beautiful, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Say you love it,” he whispered, pulling her into his arms again.
“I love it. I love you.”
“It reminds me of you,” he said. “Beautiful. Dangerous. But when the storm finally breaks and that little sliver of sunshine slices through the clouds… All I see is the light, Charlotte. The hope.”
Charlotte stretched up on her toes and kissed him, lingering in his embrace, and again he marveled that she was here. That she was his.
He’d never known a love like his, never felt anything so deep.
“It’s amazing,” she said, slowly turning to take in the rest of the room. “Everything looks so beautiful, and it’s… God, I can’t believe Adrift is here. Just… here, hanging in your dining room.”
“Our dining room,” Dorian amended.
She blinked at him and held her breath, tears filling her eyes once again.
Dorian took her face between his hands, gazing into those eyes.
Bloody hell, his life had changed so much in these last few months.
Charlotte had crashed through him with a force, bringing him out of the darkness and into the light, bringing him back to love, back to his family, back to himself.
Together with Rogozin’s help, they’d eliminated Chernikov and dismantled his entire organization, quashing the immediate threat of the demonic takeover of New York City. They’d slaughtered much of House Duchanes, reclaiming Renault’s assets for the crown, which Dorian was in turn funneling into projects toward the betterment of all supernaturals, guided by the new council they were just beginning to build.
After the Armitage Holdings acquisition became official, Isabelle followed suit, accepting Dorian’s offer to become the Redthornes’ bonded witch. In a new twist on an old tradition, she’d chosen to keep a workspace in the crypts next to Colin’s, but live in her own home in Phoenicia, which was just fine by Dorian. He was more than happy for he and Charlotte to keep Ravenswood mostly to themselves.
Gabriel and Colin had established permanent residences in the city. Colin opened a pediatric practice in Manhattan, even as he still worked tirelessly to further their father’s research, and Gabriel had made good on his promise to rebuild the club formerly known as Bloodbath—it would be opening in just two weeks.
Slowly, piece by piece, the Royal Redthornes were rebuilding.
But not all of the changes had been good, and may things remained shrouded in darkness and mystery.
Despite Gabriel’s constant pressure, the Duchanes witch Jacinda was no closer to the cure for the curse Chernikov had placed on them for their father’s treachery. The partnership with Isabelle had helped stave off the worst of the effects, but Dorian and his brothers were still struggling with light sensitivity and mental fog. They had to feed more often, and the tattoos faded quickly, despite Isabelle’s best efforts to replenish them. It wouldn’t be long before Charlotte and Aiden showed similar symptoms.
All they could do was keep searching. Keep fighting.
After the battle at Bloodbath, they’d searched the city for days for signs of Duchanes, but it seemed the elusive enemy had fled once again. Dorian had no doubts he was still working behind the scenes, gathering his followers for another attempted coup. While his alliance with the Rogozin demons had certainly bolstered their numbers, Dorian had no illusions that the Redthorne Royals were safe.
That they wouldn’t have to fight for the crown again. For each other.
They’d already lost one brother to this battle. They wouldn’t lose another.
For Dorian, the pain of Malcolm’s death was as sharp as it’d been on that rooftop last month, and though they’d searched his room and belongings for an explanation, Dorian never found answers to the questions he sought. They haunted him still. Had Malcolm betrayed them after all, or had he been working to protect his family all along, sowing seeds of discontent only to gain trust among their enemies? Had he truly intended for Dorian to kill him, just so they could summon Azerius?
Now more than ever, Dorian believed the strange presence he’d felt in the crypts every time they discussed the blade and the Book of Lost Souls was Malcolm, quietly lurking in the shadows, plotting in silence to save them.
To honor his promise to their mother to look after his brothers.
But Dorian would never know the truth, and not everything in life could be wrapped up in a neat little bow.
He’d always found it disingenuous to only remember the best of a man in his death, as if the darkness had never existed. It had existed, and it was as much a part of Malcolm as it was a part of all of them. Discarding it might’ve made the memories brighter, but it would’ve been another lie. And lies were a part of his father’s legacy Dorian was more than ready to bury.
So for now, he would love and honor his brother as a Royal Redthorne prince, remembering the light as well as the dark, embracing the former, slowly working his way toward forgiveness of the latter.
He took in the sight of the dining room again.
Yes, so much had changed.
And now, Dorian’s life was about to change again.
“I’ve got a proposition for you, love.” He slid the scarf from Charlotte’s shoulders. “Two options.”
She gave him a soft, devastating smile.
“Option one.” He tied one end of the scarf around her wrist and leaned in close, his lips blazing a trail of hot kisses from her neck to her ear. In a dark, deadly whisper, he said, “I tie you up and do very bad things to you tonight.”
Charlotte let out a sigh of pleasure, already melting beneath his teasing words. “And option two?”
“Option two.” He kissed his way down her throat, then back up again, grazing her earlobe with his teeth, his cock already throbbing for her touch. “I tie you up and do very bad things to you every night, for however bloody long eternity lasts.”
At this, Dorian tugged the scarf forward and brought her hand to his, then gently slid the ring on her finger. It was a stunning red diamond in an antique setting, as rare and beautiful as Charlotte herself.
“Marry me, my vampire queen,” he whispered, dropping to his knees and pressing a kiss to her hand, his throat tight with emotion. “Be my immortal forever.”
She stared at the ring, tears spilling down her cheeks, her heart banging wildly in her chest.
He’d rendered her speechless.
Dorian held his breath, desperate for her answer.
Outside, winter’s first snow had just begun to fall, covering Rosalind’s roses in a thick, white blanket.
Charlotte’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Yet it seemed as if the spring had come and gone again before she finally sucked in a deep breath and dropped to her knees before him, wrapping her arms around his neck and claiming him in a devastating kiss.
Dorian ran his hand over her head, down her back, kissing her lips, her cheeks, kissing away all of her happy tears. She leaned into him, and he loosened her bathrobe and slid his hand between her thighs, finding her hot and wet and ready for him, as she always was. A soft moan escaped her lips; a music he would never tire of hearing.
But she still hadn’t answered him.
“So what will it be, Ms. D’Amico?” he whispered, teasing her with feather-light strokes as his lips brushed her collarbone. “Option one, or option two?”
Charlotte threaded her fingers into his hair and let out a delighted squeal, the first of many, many more he’d coax from her tonight night. The snow continued to fall, enveloping Ravenswood in winter’s diamond-white grace, but here in the dining room—in their dining room—Charlotte melted beneath Dorian’s touch, her eyes shining with love, her legs trembling as he made her come, again and again and again, all for him.
“Option two, my vampire king,” she finally whispered on a soft, breathless sigh. “Always, option
two.”
Thank you so much for reading Dorian and Charley’s epic love story!
I hope you loved meeting the Redthorne Royals and falling in love with Dorian and his vampire queen Charley. Their story has come to a close, but we’re just getting started in the Vampire Royals of New York world!
So… whose story is next in this sexy supernatural lineup?
Visit SarahPiperBooks.com/vrny4 to find out!
Vampire lovers! If you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it, please help a girl out and leave a review on Amazon! Even a quick sentence or two about your favorite part can help other readers discover the book, and that makes me super happy!
If you really, really loved it, come hang out at our Facebook group, Sarah Piper’s Sassy Witches. I’d love to see you there.
XOXO
Sarah
About Sarah Piper
Sarah Piper is a Kindle All-Star winning urban fantasy and paranormal romance author. Through her signature brew of dark magic, heart-pounding suspense, and steamy romance, Sarah promises a sexy, supernatural escape into a world where the magic is real, the monsters are sinfully hot, and the witches always get their magically-ever-afters.
Her works include the newly released Vampire Royals of New York series, the Tarot Academy series, and The Witch's Rebels, a fan-favorite reverse harem urban fantasy series readers have dubbed "super sexy," "imaginative and original," "off-the-walls good," and "delightfully wicked in the best ways," a quote Sarah hopes will appear on her tombstone.
Originally from New York, Sarah now makes her home in northern Colorado with her husband (though that changes frequently) (the location, not the husband), where she spends her days sleeping like a vampire and her nights writing books, casting spells, gazing at the moon, playing with her ever-expanding collection of Tarot cards, binge-watching Supernatural (Team Dean!), and obsessing over the best way to brew a cup of tea.
You can find her online at SarahPiperBooks.com and in her Facebook readers group, Sarah Piper's Sassy Witches! If you're sassy, or if you need a little more sass in your life, or if you need more Dean Winchester gifs in your life (who doesn't?), come hang out!