I’m the one who was meant to be with her. She’s mine.
“She’ll never want you. You’re not the one she was born for.”
“You should look into your history, brother. When the twins to a Montgomery are born, the Princess can be claimed by either brother. And do you know how you do that?” I don’t respond because I have no idea. There isn’t anything in the prophecy I read about the twins. “The first brother to make sure she bears children will be the one she belongs to. He will be the one who will rule beside her when she becomes Queen. So . . .” He once again wipes at his mouth, licking the blood from his hand. “If you don’t have the balls to kill her, I’ll make sure she’s dead before you even have time to put a precious blue blood inside her.”
“I’m warning you. Stay away. I’ll do this.”
“Oh, I know you will. I can’t wait to see you spill the pretty blue from her veins. Time is running out, Kade. I gave you two months. Not a moment longer.” And with that, he disappears into the night. My body is vibrating with confusion and anger. I know Tali is on the pill, so this is going to be more difficult than I anticipated. And bringing a child into this . . . That’s not the way I do things. I won’t be forced into shit.
“Looks like the brothers have a problem on their hands,” Ley murmurs behind me.
I don’t bother looking at her. Instead, I bite out an order she has to obey. “Go home.” I need to go up and see if my girl is okay. I’m sure she’s shaken after her encounter with Killian.
“Enjoy tonight. It may be the last.” The venomous bitch stalks away in her four-inch heels, leaving me wanting to stab them through each of her fucking eyes. Turning, I head toward the elevator and punch the button. As soon as the car arrives, I step inside, willing myself to calm down from the agonizing visit from my brother.
I need to calm down. Talia will pick up on the slightest change in my emotions. Even though she’ll expect the anger, she doesn’t need to know I’m ready to kill. And I mean spilling blood everywhere.
And it won’t be hers. It will be my brother’s.
15
Talia
The sound of the elevator reaching the top floor drags my attention away from the window. When I first walk into the apartment, I am utterly speechless. It’s immaculate. The furniture has modern lines with dark blue suede and silver. A large throw rug on the floor beside the fireplace is the color of Merlot, and the stone against the wall gives it a cabin feel, but the rest of the area is minimalist.
The kitchen is steel and marble. With appliances I have never seen before that look like they’ve never been used. I snooped in the fridge, which is stocked to the brim with fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt, and in one drawer, I found bags of fresh blood, type O. It should have scared me, but I realize I’ve not learned much about Kade, and I don’t know if he needs it for nutrition, or if he’s going to drain me the moment he walks through the door.
The knife I have hidden in my sleeve probably won’t kill him, but if I need to escape, I’ll hurt him enough to slow him down from chasing after me. The whoosh of the door has my skin prickling with an awareness that he’s just stepped into the apartment.
“I’m sorry about that.”
Spinning on my heel, I meet his blue eyes. “Do you drink blood to sustain yourself? Or is it purely for fun?” I was going to do that in a less direct way, but my curiosity got the better of me.
He chuckles, scrubbing his bleeding hand over the stubble on his chin. Deep azure pools pin me with amusement. “You’re adorable when you’re hiding weapons on you, sweetheart. Listen to me, Princess. Yes, I do enjoy blood. It nourishes me, but I also drink it because it’s delicious.”
His answer is honest, and I drop the knife on the table between us. “Your brother—”
“Is gone.” Two words, and I let out a breath.
“What do you mean?” My frown earns me a look of frustration. Kade stalks toward the window, his back tense in his shirt now caked in dust. Without thinking, I make my way toward him, placing my hands on his shoulders. His body tenses further, but as my fingers press down on the hardened muscle, I feel them ease under my ministrations.
“Jesus, your hands feel good,” he bites out almost angrily, but I know he’s just worried about what’s happening between us, and having his brother here certainly didn’t help. I continue massaging his shoulders, trailing my fingers down his back and over his hips until my arms are wrapped around his body. “I wanted to kill him.” The confession falls in the darkness. It’s not a threat; it’s a promise. “I didn’t feel anything other than anger, hatred.” He shakes his head, and I place mine against his spine. My ear flat against his body, I can hear his heart. It’s loud, unyielding as it gallops wildly when I place a hand on his crotch. Under the heat of my touch, his body responds, jolting at the gentle caress I offer.
I can’t calm him down with words. So, I’ll try using my body.
“There were so many times over the years my pain engulfed me. It took hold of me, and I wanted to die.” My own confession earns me a low growl. “My attempts were futile. I was a coward because I couldn’t kill myself. I wanted to. Each time I had the blade, or I had a handful of pills.”
I don’t know why I’m telling Kade this, my innermost secrets, but I find that my mouth won’t stop. It doesn’t want to listen to my brain telling me to keep things to myself.
“Nothing prepared me for you. For Killian, or for this life. I don’t understand a lot about this world, our world. Fuck, I don’t even know how to be a princess, let alone a queen.” My laugh is light, yet mirthless. I’m angry, tired, and frustrated. “All I need are answers, Kade. Will you give them to me?”
He turns in my arms, cupping my face in his hands. Leaning in, his lips brush over my mouth. He doesn’t kiss me, merely inhales me. “I want to drain you of everything good. Do you know that? Every moment we’re together, all I can think about is biting into the soft flesh of your body, your inner thigh where it’s most potent, and drink from you. To savor the delicious sweetness of your blood. I want to steal your soul. Break your heart. I want to hurt you, Talia. My brother asked me if I told you about the real me. And I want to. I do. But I can’t bring myself to do it because you’ll walk away.”
“What makes you think I’ll walk away?”
Our gazes lock in a heated stand-off. His bright blue orbs shimmer with emotion. Dark and dangerous, and all that he just told me, I know is not a lie.
It’s the truth.
It’s raw and emotional.
It’s violent and real.
It’s Kade and his inner Warlock.
“Go to my bedroom. I need to be alone.” And just like that, he shuts me out. He shuts down the walls and closes himself off to me.
“I’m not—”
“Jesus, Talia! Just go the fuck away for one day!”
The roar of his voice echoes, bouncing off the walls around us, and the small crystal vase on the table shatters into a million pieces. Just like the heart I almost gave him.
“I’m—”
“Fuck you, Kade. You’re an asshole. You know that?” Lifting my hand, I take a swing at him, but before I can make contact with his face, his hand grips my wrist painfully. His body vibrates with an underlying current of rage.
“Yes, I’m an asshole. Now go to bed.” With that, he releases me and stalks toward the door in the hallway, which is visible from where I’m standing. When he pushes it open, I notice it’s a study or office. The loud bang as he slams the wood almost off its hinges sends a shudder through me.
Sighing, I stalk over to the kitchen and open the fridge. There’s a bottle of wine I spied earlier, which is looking inviting right about now.
Before I have time to take my first sip, the door of the office flies open, and it’s as if the Warlock himself has just entered the room. “What are you doing?” he growls, entering the kitchen behind me.
“Drinking. I can’t sleep, my body hurts, my mind is a mess, and you’r
e acting like the number one asshole.” My taunting earns me a swat on my ass that has my yelping loudly. “What the fuck, Kade?” I pivot to find his hungry gaze roaming up my body from my shoes all the way to my eyes.
“I sat in the chair and realized I had your panties in my pocket. Of course, I pulled them out, and your scent was all over them, and I felt like feasting on your cunt.”
“Fuck you.” Pushing by him, I make my way down the hall into the bathroom. I’m going to lock myself in here until he apologizes. I should have left, but to be honest, I’m scared of being alone.
Suddenly, Kade bangs on the door loudly. “Open this fucking door, Talia!”
Ignoring him, I gulp the wine and take in my appearance. My long dark hair is a mess, and the eyeliner I lovingly added earlier is streaked down my cheeks in black trails.
As soon as the banging started, it stops, and I breathe a sigh of relief, but it’s fleeting when the door opens, and Kade smirks, holding the brass doorknob in his hand. “When I ask you to open the door, I expect you to open the goddamn door.” Setting it on the counter, he closes the distance between us, enveloping me with his heat.
“You can’t just walk in here and expect me to want you when you act like a fucking asshole, Kade Montgomery. I’m not some toy you can push around like I don’t matter, because I do. I’m not—” His mouth crashes down on mine harshly, passionately, filled with need as he inhales my being with one kiss.
His tongue delves into my mouth, tasting, licking, and sucking on my own. My teeth clamp down on his lip, earning me a deep growl. “Want to play that game, Princess?” he chuckles against my lips. “I’m game. Let’s do it.” His words are fuel, my body is the flint, and his hands are the matches, lighting me up into a blaze of need.
His hands trail down my body, gripping my ass, lifting me against his solid form. A soft mewl falls from my lips, almost kitten-like. My body molds to his, needing the connection. “Please, Kade, just let me in?”
I beg. I plead. All I need is him to allow me in, to see the man inside. The Warlock he hides. He sets me on the counter and steps back. “Lift your dress, and I’ll show you.”
A giggle falls from my lips, “What?”
“You heard me. I’m going to fuck you, and while I’m inside you, I’ll show you me. The real me.” His conviction is alarming, but I don’t question it. I shove my dress up my thighs until the material is bunched at my hips.
“This what you wanted? Do you just make it up, that we need to be fucking for you to allow me to see your real face?” Blue eyes, the color of a naked flame, hold me hostage with a breath-stealing glare. His hands work the zipper of his pants, shoving them down along with his briefs.
The thick, hard erection between his muscled thighs has me salivating. “This what you wanted, Princess?” He smirks at my perusal of his cock.
“For a Warlock, you’re all talk, aren’t you?”
He moves so fast, before I can blink, I find myself pinned on the edge of the counter with the smooth crown of Kade’s dick slipping between my slick core. “All talk?” he questions, goading me. I nod. Suddenly, without warning, I’m impaled on his shaft. To the hilt. Filled beyond my imagination. “Does this feel like all talk, Tali?” he grunts, slamming his hips against me. With two hands under my ass, he lifts me. Keeping our connection, he stalks over to the wall and presses me against it almost painfully. “Hold on to the towel rail, and you better get a good grip because this isn’t going to be soft and sweet. I’m going to fuck you so hard you’ll forget your own fucking name because you’ll be screaming mine.”
“Kade, fuck . . .” My moans turn to whimpers. Words turn to mumbled incoherent ramblings as he continues to fuck me. Hard, brutal. Then he stops.
“Feel me. Close your eyes and really feel as every inch of me slides into you.” He starts off slow, his hips thrusting against my thighs. And I do. Every ridge of his cock, each vein, the throb, the pulse, it sends me spiraling, and then suddenly, visions hit me. Fast, just like we’re fucking.
Kade killing, maiming, hurting. There’s blood. So much blood it’s unreal, and then he’s there. Lifting his head, I glance at a face I recognize, yet I don’t. It’s Kade, but not. The dark blue of his eyes shimmer and gleam with a ferocity so fierce I’m gasping. Maybe it’s the way he’s fucking me. I don’t know. All I do know is that my orgasm has me in its feral grip. Pulling and tugging, taunting me.
“Kade, Kade, Kade!” His name is a chant; I’m worshiping all that he is. Man and beast. Light and dark. Human and Warlock. And then he presses a finger to my clit. Tugging it, he sets me off, and I’m screaming, screeching his name. It’s loud, echoing through the walls, ceiling, and floor.
“That’s it, Princess, tell the neighbors exactly who owns this pussy.” His brutal drives turn my body to liquid as I quiver around him. His words sending me spiraling into an abyss of dark desire. Pure, unadulterated bliss. And it jolts through me as his body locks and the hot seed of my Warlock fills me.
His mouth crashes down on my shoulder, sharp teeth sink into the flesh, a bite of pain, and I feel the hot trickle of blood as he feasts on me. A basal growl is low as it rumbles through him and into me, and my body tightens again. Another orgasm just out of reach taunts me.
Kade lifts his eyes and meets mine. “Do you like that, Princess? Your cunt feels tighter when I feast on you.” The corner of his mouth lifts into a devious smirk.
“I . . . I . . . god . . .”
That’s all I need to say because he walks me to the bedroom, and it’s the last thing I remember.
16
Kade
My eyes crack open when the sultry warmth of Talia’s body drapes over mine as she rolls over. Plump lips part on a soft breath, and long dark lashes flutter as she dreams of something. I could enter her dream, invade her mind and play with her there, but I refrain. It’s our first night together, and I don’t want to freak her out. Even though she knows I can delve into her thoughts, her dreams are something else. Private.
Our first date went well. At least I think it did. She obeyed me. I gave her what she needed. My honesty. Then, when I brought her to my apartment last night, I knew all bets would be off. It was beyond anything I’d ever imagined. Beyond incredible. Her scent drove me wild, and I wonder how much longer I can waylay my brother so I can enjoy more time with her. Two months isn’t enough. It will never be enough.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, alerting me of an incoming call. When I glance to my side, I notice Talia is still sound asleep. Grabbing the phone, I pad down the hallway and into my office.
Sliding my finger over the screen, I answer. “What?”
“Kade, I missed you brother.”
“Now why is it that I don’t believe you, Killian? I thought I made myself clear last night?”
His chuckle on the other end of the line does nothing to appease the tension that’s tightened my muscles. “You always were the suspicious one. How are you and the little princess doing?” I knew he’d have found out about her living in the apartment with me, but after last night, there’s no way I’m letting her go. She’s mine. Whether she likes it or not.
“What do you want, brother?” The word has no love in it, the same way I have no love for the man who shares my face.
“Ah well, I was wondering when I get a turn to wine and dine the beautiful Witch,” he murmurs, his words filled with vengeance. Only I can read my brother as well as this. Knowing his words hold more meaning than he’s letting on.
“Why? Are you jealous she’ll choose me? Is that why you came back early?” I shouldn’t taunt him, but I can’t stop myself.
“Kade, there is only one way to claim her outright without her having to choose. I don’t think you’re strong enough to do it. Will you willingly allow me to taste the sweet essence of the Witch?” Jealousy surges through me. No other man will touch her, fuck her, let alone taste her. I claimed her last night in so many delicious ways. Our blood will be one. Hers will run through
my veins, as mine will race through hers.
“What do you mean? How can I claim her?” My question meets silence. I need to know. My body is vibrating with rage, but my brother comes to mind right then.
Not over the phone, brother. There’s only one way to do it. You’ll have to make Talia yours by spilling your seed in her womb.
With that, I hang up before he can say more. My body is wound tight with frustration. Leaving my phone on the counter, I head back to the bedroom to find the beauty on her back, dark hair fanning the pillow below her head. The sheets have shifted, and her body is bare to my hungry gaze.
My cock thickens with the need to once again take her body. To slide into her and make her body ache for me. To fill her with my seed. Gently, I scoot under the covers beside her.
“Kade.” Her soft voice ignites my blood. Like throwing a lit match on fuel and watching it burn.
“Yes, Princess?”
She doesn’t respond. Instead, her hand travels over the dips of my abs in a slow descent to my rock-hard cock. When she fists it, a hiss falls from my lips. The delicate hand of the woman I want to own is stroking me in slow, even movements. My eyes close as I buck my hips into her grip, fucking it like I would her body.
“Fuck.” The word I utter is a growl, and the yearning I have for her is at an all-time high. Gripping the sheets, I throw them off and grasp her wrist, halting her movements. I shift onto my knees with a tight grasp on her hips. “My turn.” The words are feral, animalistic as I pull her ass up, so she’s bent over in front of me. When my fingers find her smooth lips, they slip in easily. Her slick pussy is ready for me. Always ready. Always needy. Just the way I want her.
Without warning, I drive into her. To the hilt, balls-deep inside her body.
“Kade.” Her moaning my name spurs me on, and my body slams into hers. Consuming every thought in my mind and every breath from my lungs. That’s what she does to me. Her gasps are loud every time I bottom out. The tight heat of her cunt is like a vise around my erection.
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