by K. F. Breene
I stared for a moment, my mouth hanging open in what couldn’t possibly be an attractive expression. The warmth in my chest swelled until it overtook my body. I felt light, and full, and cherished.
Oh shit. I was in big trouble.
“Okay, but,” I said, needing to keep my wits, “I live by human rules, and in this place and time, that’s monogamy. I’m not going to consent to falling for a guy—not to mention a vampire—who sexes up women all over the world every time you need blood. I’d have to crack a skull, and the first one would be yours.”
A smile graced his lips. “If you remain available to me, mon ange, I will agree to being solely with you. Exclusivity is much easier for a vampire than a human, or a more-than-human, as you are.”
I licked my suddenly dried lips as warmth pulsed in time to my heart. Was I seriously entertaining the idea of starting a relationship—a relationship—with a vampire? An elder vampire, no less, the most dangerous kind?
“Oh man, I don’t know,” I muttered.
He stretched out his hand and took mine, grazing my knuckles with his warm lips. “I didn’t expect to end up in this situation either, Reagan. But here we are. Let’s embrace it. What have we to lose?”
“A lot. Each of us has a lot to lose.”
He smiled, a lovely sight, before pulling me closer until I was resting against the heat of his body. “That makes it more special.”
His lips dipped, connecting with mine. Unable to help myself, maybe not wanting to, I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. My toes curled and my stomach flipped. Oh Lord, this man had a hold on me. Even if he wasn’t completely a man.
“Let’s just…be friends with benefits, maybe?” I murmured against his lips. Compromise. That was the ticket. “Or maybe a relationship, but a secret one. Those are a ton of fun. How does that sound?”
“Don’t tell Callie and Dizzy, you mean?”
“Them, or anyone who will try to talk me out of this—” very bad idea.
His chuckle was low and dangerous. “Whatever you want. But remember, vampires can be possessive creatures. Our primal sides uphold the verbal or, in this case, emotional contract. I will not see humor in anyone hurting you, or anyone trying to have you.”
“In contrast, I probably will see humor in someone kicking your ass. But I promise to avenge you right after I stop laughing.” He stood, and I held on tightly as he swung me up into his arms and carried me toward the bed. A thought occurred to me. “This situation has nothing to do with a blood bond, though. I’m not agreeing to that. So you can stop that paperwork, or whatever is happening in the lair. The only reason I’m not making a bigger fuss is because it’s keeping Vlad away. But it’s not going to happen.”
“We’ll talk about that in the future.”
Maybe I was jumping into the deep end with dating, but I would not shackle myself to a vampire. I didn’t say that, though. Not right then. I would save the bad news for when he returned to being a butthead. It was only a matter of time.
I kissed along his jaw. “Make love to me, Darius, and don’t make me regret this.”
“My pleasure, and you have my word.”
Epilogue
Vlad stalked along the lower hall in the lair, thinking over the things he’d seen. It had been truly unbelievable. From the moment Reagan had made her way down into the lair, he had known she was special—an impression heightened after he’d watched her take on two middle-level vampires in Seattle—but never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined how special.
In Seattle, he’d interrogated a man who had seen her battle a demon while hovering in midair. Later Vlad had seen her eat away a spell with fire, manipulating the flame in a way no mage on earth could. He would’ve thought them fools, especially Darius, for not having sensed his presence in the rail yard, but now that the pieces had clicked together, he completely understood.
The entire crew had been terrified of what it would mean for the demon to make it back to the underworld. That could mean one of a few things, but after looking into the types of demonic power, and hearing the details of power only Lucifer himself could wield, the unbelievable had become a reality.
Darius had possibly found the most valuable being in the world. He had found her, gained her trust, and tied himself to her.
Vlad had known Darius would yield greatness. That was why he’d arranged for the young man to be fooled into a precarious position—and then beaten within an inch of his life so he would be grateful to Vlad for turning him. It had already paid off ten-fold, but this…
This was everything. This was the key to tearing down the elves.
“Vlad.”
Vlad turned patiently as Sabrine paced toward him. Her stiletto boots, completely impractical for a woman of action, but something she deemed a necessity for reasons he’d never questioned, clicked on the hard ground. Her leather duster flared out behind her, revealing a tight red bustier that was also completely impractical.
“Yes?”
“I heard back from our contact in the Dark Kingdom. The demon from Seattle was not killed.”
Vlad stilled. “Elaborate.”
“The demon is in bad shape. Hellfire ate most of it away. It has some essence left, but very little. It seems as though it was an extremely narrow escape.”
Vlad curled one hand into a fist before relaxing it. “Where is the demon now? Can we finish the job?”
“It is in the Edges. Those who saw it appear are trying to coax it back. You know those in the Edges. They hate humans, having seen a great many summonings gone wrong.”
“They are also mistrustful of us.”
“They do not have love of vampires, it is true. We can lie in wait, but will have a small window in which to grab it if it recovers and tries to cross the river.”
Vlad felt the exhilaration of ruined plans course through him. It meant there was work to be done. He had the golden key to Lucifer. To all the power of the Dark Kingdom. That would be ruined if he, himself, couldn’t present Lucifer with the uncrowned heir.
“Find out about an heir,” Vlad said, his mind whirling. “Find out all you can. No detail is too small. Most importantly, keep this as quiet as possible.”
“And Darius?”
“Darius doesn’t think anyone knows about his pet. Keep it that way for now. First we need to know where we stand. Only then will we take future steps.”
Vlad waited until she stalked away before slowly heading back to his room. There was no need to be hasty. Not yet. That demon might perish, in which case, they had all the time in the world. If it didn’t, they would make a grab for it.
All else failing, Reagan would have to cross the river into the Dark Kingdom to kill it before it reached its sect. There would be no other option, not if Vlad (and she) hoped to keep her a secret. Through Darius, she was now one of Vlad’s greatest assets.
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Also by K.F. Breene
Fire and Ice Trilogy
Born in Fire
Raised in Fire
Fused in Fire (coming soon)
Finding Paradise
Fate of Perfection
Fate of Devotion
Warrior Chronicles
Chosen
Hunted
Shadow Lands
Invasion
Siege
Overtaken
Darkness Series
Into the Darkness
Braving the Elements
On a Razor’s Edge
Demons
The Council
Shadow Watcher
Jonas
Charles
Jameson
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About the Author
K.F. Breene is a USA TODAY BESTSELLING author of the Fire and Ice Trilogy, Darkness Series and Warrior Chronicles. She lives in wine country where over every rolling hill, or behind every cow, an evil sorcerer might be plotting his next villainous deed while holding a bottle of wine and brick of cheese. Her husband thinks she’s cracked for wandering around, muttering about magic and swords. Her kids are on board with her fantastical imagination, except when the description of the monsters becomes too real.
She’ll wait until they’re older to tell them that monsters are real, and so is the magic to fight them. She wants them to sleep through the night, after all…
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