“Perhaps that makes everyone else insane,” Aurelia said. “They only see you for what you are. A vampire. And I see you for who you are. And I—” She cut herself off, her cheeks turning red. She almost admitted something she, herself, did not understand. “I care about you. Very much. And I do not think you should go. At least by yourself.”
“And I’m telling you,” he said, his voice serious, “that I will not risk you, either. You are still a witch, and you still need to eat food. There are no humans for a long stretch of land. You cannot replenish yourself using a human. You need food. You are no good to me if you are weak.”
Aurelia narrowed her eyes. “So I am only good to you if my body can take you, if you can feed from me,” she said. “Is that what you are trying to say?”
“If you are looking to pick a fight with me as a way to make yourself feel better because you do not agree with my decision to leave, so be it,” Thyos said, “but I am leaving. Whether you like it or not.”
Aurelia clenched her teeth together and looked away. She hated this feeling of helplessness, the same one she had had since she was a child and had no magical ability to fit in with the rest of her family.
“Let me go with you,” she told him again, trying to keep her voice steady.
“Absolutely not,” he told her, and his tone left no room for discussion. “You think I would risk you simply because you are worried about me?”
“Why is it acceptable for you to be worried about me, and I’m not allowed to do the same?” she demanded. “Why is it that you can order me to stay here but I cannot order you to stay?”
“I never told you that you had to stay,” Thyos pointed out. “The only thing I said was that I am going.”
“Yet you will not let me go with you,” Aurelia pointed out. She did not know why she was so insistent; she did not know why this was so important to her. She did not like the thought of Thyos going off on his own back to the city. She was certainly wanted for murdering the emperor—her father—but Thyos was still a vampire and that was a crime unto itself.
“I will not risk anything happening to you,” he told her again.
“But you’re completely fine with risking yourself?” Aurelia snapped, her brow furrowed.
“I don’t think you understand the position you’ve put me in,” Thyos said. Aurelia could tell he was struggling to find the right words, and it was difficult to admit anything. “I cannot risk worrying about you. If you go with me, I will not be able to focus on what I need to do in order to take care of us because I will be too worried about you. Do you understand?”
Aurelia opened her mouth, ready to fight, but closed it. She clenched her teeth together and looked away. She understood. She hated it, but she understood why he asked that she stayed behind.
“Do not think I’m underestimating your ability,” he said slowly when he realized she was not going to fight him on this. His hands found her shoulders, grabbing her attention. One even lifted up so his fingers could curl under her chin and tilt her head up so her gaze locked with his. “You are incredibly powerful, Aurelia. More powerful than I realized. I know you would be able to handle yourself out there. But since you cannot control your powers just yet, you would be a detriment rather than an asset. Do you understand?”
Aurelia nodded. She could not bring herself to say anything, did not want to fight with him when he was doing this for her. He didn’t need human food, not when he had her. He was risking his own life, his freedom, because he wanted to make sure her basic needs were met.
“I hate that you have to go,” Aurelia told him.
She did not know what compelled him to look at her so strangely, as though he couldn’t quite believe she had such vivid feelings for him, but before she knew it, he lunged for her. He grabbed her shoulders and slammed her back in the wall behind her before claiming her lips with his.
Aurelia did not think. She allowed her body to take over, to react, to respond with instinct rather than analytical rationalizing. She found she liked how rough he was being with her, how he yanked her dress open so hard some of the stitches popped. How his teeth were starting to bite her—not to feed but to force her to acknowledge him. To leave marks on her. To claim her as his.
To listen.
She decided if he was going to do such a thing to her body, she would do the same thing to his.
Through the rough kisses, her hands reached up to his shoulders and slid off the sleeves of his toga. When the top-half fell away, she reached to his side and yanked at the material, forcing it to fall off. She was not sure if she was completely rough with his clothes the way he seemed to be, but she liked the urgency she felt, she liked the insistence.
When he was completely naked, Aurelia dropped to her knees and grabbed his erect cock in her hands.
“Gods,” Thyos muttered, his knees going weak. He hadn’t been expecting her to touch him in such a way, she knew. At least she was able to catch the Berkano vampire off-guard. Not many people got to say that.
Aurelia had no idea what she was doing. She had read about this part of sexual intercourse before, but it was brief and wasn’t as common in Augusta’s romance novels as sex was. As such, she had to rely completely on instinct, which she did not have a problem with doing. She just hoped she did it right and that she could make him tremble, that she could make him at least think before leaving her, even if he was leaving to go get her food.
She stuck out her tongue and placed it against the mushroom tip of his cock.
“Aurelia,” he managed to get out.
Goosebumps set her skin on fire. He was much more vocal than she was, and she found that she craved him, craved his noises. She found herself in awe of the fact that she was the one who caused these noises. Not anyone else. Just her.
They pushed her forward. She started to take more of him in her mouth, tasting the precum that had accumulated on his tip, tasting bittersweet. It was actually delicious, and she wanted more of it in her mouth. She wanted to feel him shoot his tension in the back of her throat so she could swallow him whole.
Her hands reached up. One held onto his buttock, pushing him deeper into her mouth. There was no way she would be able to take him all the way simply due to his size, but that did not mean she could not try. The other hand reached in front of her to gently play with his testicles. From her readings, she knew they were probably more sensitive than his cock. So if both parts of him were stimulated simultaneously, she could only imagine what sort of effect it might have on him.
His noises increased in sound, and he started muttering in something that was obviously an ancient language she had never heard of before. Regardless, it sounded beautiful and seductive, and it just encouraged her motions, encouraged her caresses, encouraged her to please him as best as she could.
Thyos managed to find the wall and leaned against it. If he hadn’t, his knees would have given out, and he would’ve been on the floor, still begging her to keep going, not to stop, all these things that made Aurelia keep at it, even with her nervous inexperience.
She kept a grip on him but was gentle with her massage. She did not want to harm him, and she knew this was the most sensitive area on a man’s body.
Aurelia actually found that she enjoyed this more than she thought she would. At first, just the thought of putting a man’s cock into her mouth did not make any sense to her. As she read more, she understood it but did not find that she wanted to try it. And now, that entire thought process had completely changed. Thyos changed everything she’d initially believed about sex and love and relationships and vampires in general. She liked that she could please him in this way. The sight of him with his head thrown back, his eyes rolled back, his mouth hanging open, made her entire body quake with power.
At that moment, his eyes snapped down to her. “What is that?” he managed to get out. “What are you doing to me?”
Aurelia furrowed her brow and looked down at her lips. Somehow, just by sucking his cock, she was ab
le to send vibrations throughout his entire body that only added to the pleasure he was receiving.
“Do you like it?” she asked after slowly removing him from her mouth and looking up at him with wide eyes. “If not, I can stop. I think.”
She had no idea what she was doing. In fact, she just remembered thinking about Thyos, about pleasing Thyos, and suddenly she was able to add to his pleasure simply using her lips.
“Don’t stop,” he told her, still breathless. “Gods, please don’t stop.”
He sounded hopeless, vulnerable. She took him back in her mouth and started to speed up her ministrations on his body. He gasped in surprise and dusted her hair tightly, without pulling on it or yanking her head in any particular direction.
When he started saying her name with words like PLEASE and GODS and YES, she knew it would only take him a minute or two more.
“I’m, I’m, I’m…”
Aurelia continued to suck and massage and vibrate. She did not remove her mouth or stop anything. As he moaned, he shot his seed into the back of her throat. At first, Aurelia hiccuped, not knowing the amount that she would have to hold in her mouth should she decide to spit it out.
She wouldn’t.
She got used to him, and she continued to milk him for all he was worth until she got every last drop. Looking up at him from her position on her knees, she made sure he watched as she swallowed his cum whole, a small satisfied smile on her face.
“Gods, what are you doing to me?” he breathed, sliding to the floor, his pants still wrapped around his ankles. He seemed genuinely perplexed by his question.
Aurelia gave him half a smirk. She did not have an answer for him.
“I still have to go,” he told her in a low voice.
“I know,” she murmured, nodding her head against his chest.
He wrapped his arm around her, playing with her hair. “But maybe not just this second,” he said.
Aurelia closed her eyes and smiled.
Chapter 20
Thyos knew exactly where to go. He dressed casually, loose pants, a simple shirt, and a jacket with a hood. Instead of walking, he jumped from place to place, tree to tree, scouting what was ahead of him and what was behind him. He did not like leaving Aurelia alone, though he knew she was working on controlling her powers in order to be able to protect herself. However, though her power was strong, stronger than anyone expected, she could not command it quite yet. It was only when something triggered a response that the power flowed out of her, choosing how to cast rather than letting her do so.
He knew she did not mean to kill the emperor. He knew she did not mean to burn his couch. It was almost as though all of this power had been completely backed up, and now that it had found a way to be released, it surged with immeasurable strength that even Aurelia did not realize she possessed.
Thyos would be quick. He had to be. Though he’d been harsh with her before he’d had left, he believed that some space would make her understand why he chose to do what he did. That this wasn’t about him being reckless, but about him doing something for her.
Because he cared about her. He was not sure how he felt about that, but it was important that he at least acknowledged it.
He cared about her. He had never cared about anything or anyone in her entire life. And somehow, this witch had him caring about her within days.
He’d saved her life. She had saved his. They had been through hell together.
He left the cabin at nightfall. This way, he had darkness and shadows to mask who he was and the sun wouldn’t deplete him. He was at full capacity and could take care of any potential threat that might come his way.
The farther he got away from Aurelia, the more he longed to turn around. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea.
There was a convenience store that had everything he needed. He would be able to glamour himself using mental manipulation on the humans who ran the store. Of course, he would pay for the food, and he would not take more than he was required to. If he took too much, people would get suspicious.
When he got to the convenience store, he was relieved to see it only had two people in inside. He might not have to try and manipulate these people if he didn’t have to.
They seemed normal enough, in that they did not appear violent or fearful. The city was chaos at this point: the vampires had begun to invade West Babylon, pillaging and feeding on the humans. The witches attempted to protect them with their power, but the witch population in Citta di Paludi had never matched up to the human and vampire population, which meant they were more likely to be overpowered if they were separated from humans and could not regenerate.
East Babylon was much like it had always been. Marble rubble still littered the streets, the roads were dirt rather than paved, and since it was so close to the Horner, the pungent scent of the swamp filled the air.
The convenience store was small, half-filled with liquor, the rest filled with foods and meats overpriced because of convenience. The guy at the counter was half-asleep, sitting on his stool, practically hanging off the glass counter. When Thyos walked in, he didn’t even look up. Someone Thyos wouldn’t have to worry about.
He grabbed an old plastic orange basket and proceeded to fill it with things Aurelia might like. It was only then that he realized he had no idea what Aurelia would like.
A scream caught his attention. The two humans in the freezer section stilled as they listened to the commotion outside. Someone broke the glass window next door. Thyos couldn’t remember what was next door. Probably an insurance agency for vampires. Somewhere there was no need to steal from. But broken glass was easy to get caught up in.
Thyos glanced at the store clerk. He picked his head up to make sure no one was doing anything untoward in his store before bending his neck forward and going back to his half-awake gaze.
He grabbed a day-old baguette and a block of cheese, a couple of pounds of meat. A box of cereal. A gallon of milk. A bag of chips. He hoped she liked barbecue.
This would have to do for now. He wasn’t sure how the flimsy paper bags would feel being transported by his overeager jumping, but he hoped they were sturdy enough to hold.
All he wanted to do was get back to Aurelia. He was not terribly concerned about her safety but…
He found he missed her.
He took his basket to the counter and paid. It took him less than two minutes. As he turned to head to the door, he noticed one of the humans—a female—slowly start to approach him.
At first, Thyos thought she was approaching the counter to pay for something. Perhaps something small like a candy bar. However, as he moved away from the counter, she followed him.
Where was the man? The other human?
The man from the counter disappeared in the back, and the female’s partner made his appearance on Thyos’s other side. He was surrounded by two puny humans he could kill with his fingers.
“Excuse me,” the male said. He had olive colored skin, short black hair, and brown eyes that seemed genuine.
Thyos was not in the habit of trusting anyone, let alone humans, so he stood his ground and waited before responding. A lot of the time, when given the opportunity, people spoke too much and ended up talking out of their ass, revealing key information that they originally wanted to keep under wraps.
“Are you Thyos Berkano?”
At least the human had the good sense to whisper.
Thyos still chose not to respond. Instead, he slowly raised one eyebrow, as though to say, who are you and why the fuck do you care?
“It is Thyos Berkano,” the male said to the female. He seemed more excited than Thyos would have anticipated at meeting a Berkano vampire.
“I knew he would have to show up here in order to get Aurelia food,” the female said, her face full of happiness, her eyes filled with stars.
Thyos reacted upon hearing Aurelia’s name. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders with his hands.
“I have
ripped the flesh off vampires,” he warned her. “I will not hesitate to do the same if you say that name again.”
“Hey,” the male said, his eyes flashing with anger as he tried to keep his patience intact. “She’s sorry, okay? She didn’t realize you would be sensitive to that name. Please, let her go. She didn’t mean to offend you.” He placed his hands on Thyos’s arms, trying to get a grip on them but failing to do so. It almost seemed as though he did not want to attempt fighting with Thyos, instead, wanting to work it out between them with words instead of actions.
Thyos almost laughed at the thought.
“I’m sorry,” the female told him, her tone sincerely. “I truly didn’t mean to offend you.”
She also wasn’t struggling against him, but he could tell she was scared. He let out a breath from his nose and released her before picking the brown bag of groceries back up.
“What do you want, anyway?” he asked, slowly arching a brow. “Are you going to try and kill me?”
The male shook his head, and the female laughed.
“No way,” she said, shaking her head. “We wanted to talk to you.”
“Talk,” he said slowly, shifting his eyes between the two of them. “To me.”
“Yes,” the male said with a nod. “Is that so difficult to understand?” He did not pause. “I’m Carter and this is my acquaintance, Olivia.”
“What would two human nobodies want with a Berkano vampire?” he asked. He did not like to drop that name around. He was uncomfortable admitting just who he was and what that meant. And he never felt like he was better than anybody else. But he wanted to get home, and these two insignificant humans were stopping him from doing so.
“The future,” Carter said. He glanced around. “Listen, if I’m being honest with you, I don’t think it would be best if we spoke freely out in the open. Would it be all right if you came back to my place?”
Thyos wanted to say no. This was the most stupid thing he had heard in a long, long time. However, there was something in their eyes, something in the way they positioned themselves, risking it all just to attempt to speak with him, that made him slightly curious as to what this whole thing was about. What they could mean by all of this.
Poisonous Temptation: Division 2 (The Berkano Vampire Collection) Page 12