“This doesn’t help any of us,” Dini said, his voice cracking. “Leonard and Rili are still missing, and you’re fighting. Rapunzel is not to blame. No one is except that witch, and whatever aids she has in the dryad kingdom.” He left the couch, his small claw landing on Sedonia’s arm. “I know this is hard, Queen Sedonia. I wish I could have been a better mate and kept Kirril safe. But it’s not too late. We need to have hope. Vlad and Vesper are here. They’ll help us.”
Much to my surprise, the Arthurian queen embraced my friend tightly. For a few moments, she just continued to weep quietly, but after a while, she seemed to recover. “I’m the one who’s sorry,” she said. “You shouldn’t have to comfort me.”
Wiping her eyes, she broke the embrace between her and Dini. “You’re right, of course. As resentful as I might be of these circumstances, we have to get over them for the good of our family.” She gazed toward me and Vlad. “Can you truly help find my boys?”
“Kirril and Leonard are practically family,” my mate said. “We will do our best to get them back. Perhaps you’d like to meet up with my mother. She is visiting with me in Merlinia, and I think she can give us some input.”
“After all,” I added, “she is the queen of Necro Valley.”
The Arthurian sovereigns couldn’t have known that, but they hid their surprise well. The king nodded sagely and said, “A meeting would be an excellent idea. Do invite her to Camelot. She and all of your people are welcome here.”
It hadn’t been exactly what my mate had in mind, given the situation with Mina. Not to mention that, as a rule, vampires weren’t particularly welcome in other territories. It must have been only the need for assistance that had made them welcome us. In the end, there had to be some compromise on both sides.
“I’m afraid that she is caring for my sister right now and she cannot leave my home,” Vlad said. “It would be better if you could come there.”
“Very well,” Queen Sedonia said. “It will be as you wish it, Count Dracula. As long as you can help me find my children, I will travel to the ends of Avalon.”
“I will speak with my father,” Rapunzel offered softly. “Perhaps he could help.”
Sedonia didn’t acknowledge his words in any way. I wanted to tell her to snap out of it, but at this point, there was nothing I could do to fix the relationship between Rapunzel and the Arthurian royal couple. I desperately hoped that, by the time this was over, they would all realize who their true enemy was—before it cost us dearly.
* * * *
My mother and Queen Sedonia were instant friends. They understood each other well and had a similar approach on politics. More importantly, they both agreed that the witch was a serious threat. My mother also admitted that she liked and appreciated Sedonia’s concern for her children. She also explained that she had learned of the unrest brewing in what had once been the Dryad Kingdoms. According to her, this particular witch had been very powerful, and very unpleasant at one time, and we needed to be very careful in our dealings with her.
As for Queen Sedonia, she didn’t like Rapunzel’s elf father at all, but that wasn’t surprising. Reluvethel Dawnhorn seemed to have become a self-appointed protector of Rapunzel. In spite of Dineiro’s words and insistence, I knew that Sedonia wouldn’t change her opinion on the young blond anytime soon.
Even so, two days after our return, another expedition was ready to leave. Dineiro provided us with what little knowledge he had of the force that had attacked Kirril—one of the mages who could, apparently, control flora. We got ready for what would undoubtedly be a difficult confrontation. The Rainbow Brick Road was supposed to guide us up to the edges of the cursed kingdom, after which we were on our own.
However, before we could leave, Vesper had one last thing he needed to do. My mate had no idea what had happened to his warren during his absence, but he still thought it was his duty to notify them of his return. After all, they were his family.
This was why, the morning before our departure, we were once again on our way to the Laughing Forest, Vesper’s home. Just like that fateful day, I transported us there and headed toward his warren, on foot, so that we wouldn’t take his family by surprise.
I carried my mate in my arms, as I often did these days. Vesper had been very shaken by the separation between Dineiro and Kirril, so he clung to me almost obsessively, and I couldn’t say I minded. In fact, I found comfort in feeling his soft white fur under my fingertips, in caressing his long ears, or even experiencing the slight pain of his bites.
He didn’t bite me today. In fact, he was pretty sedate, a warm, quiet ball of fur in my arms. His mind, however, was anything but quiet. As I advanced, he kept musing on what would be the best way to get out of our current predicament, to find Kirril and Prince Leonard and make Queen Sedonia see Rapunzel truly wasn’t to blame. Since he couldn’t solve the situation by himself, I snapped him out of his thoughts by saying, “Déjà vu.”
“What?” my mate inquired.
“Déjà vu,” I repeated. “This whole thing began here.”
“I guess it did,” my mate answered. “I wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t arranged that meeting with my parents.”
“The witch would have found another way to get to us,” I told him. I didn’t want Vesper to blame himself unnecessarily for something that had been beyond his control.
“I suppose,” my mate said with a small sigh. He wiggled slightly in my arms, as if impatient. “I just wish things were different, that’s all.”
I knew that he still hadn’t gotten over his heat, but we hadn’t gotten much time to ourselves since we’d returned from our brief stay in Necro Valley. It was a little hard to focus on each other, when Vesper remained so aware of his dear friend’s predicament. If I wanted to be perfectly honest, I was hoping to steal a few moments together after we met up with Vesper’s parents, but not here. Definitely not here. I’d learned the hard way that the Laughing Forest, as harmless as it might have seemed, could hide dangerous secrets.
“It’s not that dangerous,” my mate suddenly said, perking up in my arms and continuing his fidgeting. A brief whimper escaped him, and heat rushed through me, coming from our connection. Oh, shit. Had I triggered one of his heat waves? Talk about bad timing.
I had about ten seconds during which I thought that before my mate shifted into his human form. With a naked, horny Vesper now leaning against my chest, I changed my mind on the spot and decided that this was very good timing indeed. After all, we were alone. My lover wanted me, and, Goddess, I wanted him. What else did I need?
My mate whined softly under his breath, rubbing his slender, nude form against my clothed body. “Vlad…I…”
“Hush,” I silenced him as I hauled him up in my arms. “I know what you need. Be silent.”
Vesper shut up, which was probably a good thing, because the small panting sounds he released threatened my control. He’d submitted so eagerly to me, and I looked forward to showing him a lot more of what we could do together.
The forest wasn’t the best possible place for it, but Vesper was a shifter and the Laughing Forest had once been his home. Perhaps it was fitting that I claim him here, just like I had in Necro Valley.
I walked off the main path and through the trees, ignoring their knowing chuckles. Truly, perhaps I should have been a little disturbed at it, but my focus was completely on Vesper, and really, even in my possessiveness, I couldn’t be jealous of trees.
For his part, Vesper hardly seemed aware of his surroundings. He kept wiggling in my arms, biting his lip in an obvious attempt to comply with my command and remain silent. The fact that he trusted me so much still humbled me, but more than anything, aroused me. By the time I found a spot adequate for what I had in mind, I was as hard as a rock. I placed Vesper on the grass in a large clearing. For a few seconds, I considered supporting him against a tree stump, but that would have been a little strange here in the Laughing Forest. The grass would have to do.
&n
bsp; My mate didn’t seem to mind. No sooner had I set him down than he pushed his ass out, wiggling it invitingly. My mouth watered at the sight, but I refrained from tearing my clothes off and burying my dick inside him in one single thrust. Sure, the thought appealed to me a lot, but Vesper wasn’t the one calling the shots here. I was.
Smirking to myself, I retrieved the flogger I’d strapped to my waist in an impulse of optimism. Vesper shuddered as I caressed his spine with the leather. I had given him only a brief taste of the pleasurable agony a vampire could show his mate, but he was already itching for more.
Perhaps this was the reason why he broke the one command I had given him until this point. “Vlad,” he gasped out. “Fuck me.”
The little minx. He knew how much it enflamed me to hear his pleas, but also realized that I wouldn’t allow his disobedience to go unpunished. Well, I would hate to disappoint. Of course, I wouldn’t give in to my clever mate’s taunts either, not as easily as he’d have liked. “Tsk, tsk. You shouldn’t test me, my sweet. You might not like what you find.”
Vesper moaned again, and I rewarded him by caressing his ass. He pushed back into my touch, but I didn’t give him what he demanded. Instead, I pulled away, already musing over what I would do. Oh, my mate’s beauty would be so nicely complemented by the marks left behind by the flogger. It would be pure perfection.
But that would have to wait, because first, I wanted to taste him all over. With that in mind, I abandoned the flogger on the grass and flipped him onto his back, drawing a startled yelp out of him. Before he could say anything else, I brushed my lips over his in the ghost of a kiss. He wrapped his arms around my neck, grinding against me, trying to get as much friction as possible. I allowed it, but only for a little while. After that, I broke our kiss, biting on his lower lip as warning when he tried to cling to it. Vesper whined softly, his dick throbbing against my hip, but he didn’t try to control the kiss. I rewarded him by licking down his collarbone, sucking a light bruise over his soft skin.
Vesper gasped, clutching the grass in obvious despair. I heard the blades rip, and it satisfied me with the knowledge that I was feeding more sensation into his already oversensitive body. Of course, our bond already screamed that at me, and also demanded that I get on with it, but even if the lust rushing off him made me burn for my mate, I refused to hasten things along.
I licked down his chest, lingering briefly over his nipples. As I took one of the sensitive buds into my mouth, I reached for the other one with my fingers and pinched it. My lover released another panting cry, and I bit down on the bit of flesh I held. I didn’t break the skin this time around, only giving him a hint of the pain-pleasure he’d started to crave.
Finally, I released his nipple from my mouth with a wet pop. I licked down his abdomen, tracing the lines of his muscles with my tongue. Following my instincts, I wiggled my slick muscle into his belly button. The times we had made love before, I hadn’t gotten the chance to explore every inch of his body, and I decided to do so now. Vesper practically went crazy under me. It seemed I had found another erogenous spot.
Even if I had told him to be silent, I reveled in the sound of his cries, all the while counting in my head the times he actually uttered words. His desire for me was quickly going to my head. I leashed it in and pooled it into our connection, therefore flooding him with his own lust.
At last, I abandoned my ministrations on his belly button, and progressed lower down his body. I bypassed his jutting dick on purpose, progressing down over his thighs, calves, and reaching his small feet. He had beautiful feet, my sweet Vesper. Well, that came as no surprise, since everything about him was beautiful. I couldn’t help but take his toes in my mouth, fellating them like I would have his dick.
My efforts almost earned me a kick in the head from my still-writhing mate. “Vlad,” he begged, “please. Take me.”
I chuckled and gripped his ankles. One look directed his way stopped him from reaching for my hair and guiding me to his dick or pulling me up to kiss him again. “Do you really think you’ll get away so easily when you’ve disobeyed me so?” I grinned at him, showing my fangs in a smile I knew was predatory. “Every word you say earns you another minute before I fuck you. Oh, my sweet, you have to learn that you can’t try to manipulate me without paying the price.”
It was punishment of the cruelest kind, one which Vesper would actually fear. Indeed, his eyes widened. He released a soft squeak then clamped his mouth shut.
I smirked and caressed his side, almost brushing over his dick, but not quite. I was testing his resolve, and this time, he didn’t disappoint. He knew that he’d fucked up, and I could see the apology in his eyes. When my knuckles slightly touched the tip of his cock, copious amounts of pre-cum leaked from the small hole, but he released no noise. He bit his lip so hard that the wound I’d left behind opened again, releasing blood in his mouth and, therefore, allowing me to taste it through our bond.
Half for his benefit, half for my own—because that delicious flavor was driving me crazy—I went with a change of policy. To be more specific, I generously decided to give him a hand—or rather, a dick—to assist him in his efforts. Pulling away from him, I finally started removing my clothes. I placed them one on top of another, forming a small pile nearby. Vesper watched me attentively, still biting on his lower lip and keeping silent. His eyes, though…Oh, his deep, dark eyes spoke volumes about how much he wanted me. I’d have heard it and felt it even without our bond.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I crawled up my mate’s body and positioned my dick against his mouth. Vesper’s gaze followed me as if he was hypnotized. His lips parted obediently as I brushed my prick over them. With a groan, I sank inside his mouth.
The volcanic heat that surrounded me almost swept away my every defense. Almost, but not quite. I was hanging on to my control by a very thin thread, barely keeping myself from sliding out of his mouth and into his tight little ass instead.
But Vesper’s punishment was just beginning, and I had no intention of forgetting about it so easily. I fed my dick into his wet cavern, fucking his mouth ruthlessly, giving him no quarter. He moaned around my prick, and the vibrations were already threatening to send me over the edge. Vesper felt it, too, the pleasure that his suction awoke inside me. That was one of the best things about our mate bond—and sometimes, the worst. How could I cling to my resolve when every drop of his desire trickled into me?
When he swallowed convulsively around the head of my cock, I almost came. I stopped my orgasm just at the right moment and pulled out of his mouth. Vesper whined at being denied his prize then snapped his mouth shut, mindful of not disappointing me again.
My heart clenched as I watched him lying there, so beautiful, so eager, so mine. He might not know it, but he was the real master here. He’d awoken my dead soul and turned an undead, brooding count into a living, loving creature. Yes, undead had feelings, too—as my sisters liked to say—but I’d never actually known the true extent of what emotions could mean until I’d had a bunny.
Lust and love swirling inside me, I maneuvered him onto his back again. I retrieved the flogger from the grass and once more, caressed his back with it. “Ten strokes. Count for me. In your mind. Don’t speak. Inarticulate noises are allowed.”
Vesper nodded, arching his back beautifully as he anticipated the first blow. He was all eagerness and submission, and I loved him more than ever. I wanted to see him marked, branded by my flogger. But in spite of his desire to please me and the fact that he clearly craved what I had to offer, he trembled ever so slightly, obviously nervous.
Breaking the role for a few moments, I kissed his shoulder and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m right here, and if you’re ever uncomfortable or want to stop, I’ll feel it.”
Normally, I’d have asked a lover to pick a safe word before we started a scene, but Vesper wasn’t just some random submissive who came to me for my special brand of pain-pleasure. Our bond allowed me to know everything he needed
, everything he feared, wished, and hoped for.
In the end, it was all a game, one where I set the rules and guided my lover through the paces to the height of an orgasm he couldn’t have reached if he got impatient. He might have thought that he just wanted to be fucked, right there, on the spot, and his instincts did demand that. But Vesper was more than his instincts, and his heat aside, he blossomed in my caresses, in the way I touched him and explored him. It was why he’d gone against my command to begin with, even if it might not have been conscious on his part.
He wanted this, and that certainty made me finally strike him. The first time the flogger hit his flesh, he gasped, not bothering to contain his cry now that I had given him permission. In his mind, he counted. “One.”
The bright pain that followed in the flogger’s path surprised him, so I gave him a few seconds to recover and breathe. He did exactly that, and once I saw him relax, I let the flogger fall on his back again.
Vesper hissed. “Two.”
The flogger painted red stripes on Vesper’s white skin, coloring it prettily, making me want to bite down on his tender flesh. It didn’t break the skin, though. I was far too careful for that to happen. For a vampire, sex and blood were entwined, but timing was everything, and I didn’t want to hurt him—well, not in an unpleasant way. The line between pleasure and pain was so very thin, but I was an expert at blurring it and showering Vesper with the results.
“Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight.” Slowly, my mate counted as I struck him, even his mental voice breathless and a bit desperate. On occasion, I paused and caressed his hot skin, but that only made him more aware of the burning blows of the flogger when I went back to it. By the count of nine, he was on the edge of orgasm again, trembling under me. By ten, I myself was very close to coming just because of his pleasure. But he was still hanging on, miraculously keeping himself in check. He might have disobeyed me with regard to being silent, but his body had been trained to climax only when I allowed it. And I most certainly wouldn’t allow it until I was inside him.
Undead Have Bunnies, Too Page 13