by Laura Kaye
“Shh, angel, yes, it’s what it can mean. It’s what I want it to mean.” His heart rate kicked up in his chest. “The mark will last three days, then disappear forever if the mating is not consummated.”
He rolled onto his side and pulled Katherine to him, holding her thigh open so he could maintain their intimate connection. Even as his hips moved, he spoke words he never thought he would: “Will you be my mate, Katherine? Will you stand at my side, serve as my queen and share in my life, my blood, my immortality?” Now that he’d surrendered to the blood magic so clearly working between them, he felt the rightness of it down deep.
She gasped and grasped her throat, as if surprised. “Oh, Nikolai, are you sure? You said one night. Just one perfect night.”
“Angel, I’m more than sure. I didn’t dare hope for more than that. And, now…now that I have the chance for a lifetime of perfect nights, a chance at a lifetime with you, I want it more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my very long life.”
She smiled. “I do want you, Nikolai. I truly do. I left the service of the Proffered and fled five thousand miles around the world to get away from it, I thought. But, really, something in me just knew that, had I stayed, I’d have been in the service of the wrong king. How fast this has all happened is crazy, but I want you, a life with you, all of it.” She bit down on her bottom lip and rubbed hard at her throat.
Her words were like the sweetest salve, knitting up the raw edges of the psychic wounds he bore deep within. But still, he frowned. Unease stirred in his gut. Something wasn’t right… “Are you okay?” He grasped her hand before she marked her neck .
She trembled. Nodded. “I…I don’t…I’m so thirsty, Nikolai.”
The world went still around him. They weren’t mated. Not yet. But every instinct told him she was hurting for the want of his blood.
Jesus. How could he make her wait until the ceremony to feed? Even if they held it at tomorrow’s nightfall, that was hours away. He couldn’t. He didn’t want to.
An idea came to mind. Maybe he didn’t have to, either.
Withdrawing from her body, he squeezed her hands. “I want to ease you, angel.” He reached over the side of the bed and found his pants. From the pocket, he retrieved a small leather pouch. He returned to her and pulled the drawstring open. “Hold out your hand.”
Four faceted gemstones poured out into her palm. She gasped and leaned in, turning her hand this way and that to catch the light.
He smiled, knowing just how fascinating they were to look at. “They’re alexandrite. Our sacred stone. Very rare. It changes color in different lights.” Just then, they appeared red with flashes of pale purple.
“Oh, they’re beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it. But, how will this help—”
“If you’ll allow it, I would like to share a private consummation with you. Right here. Right now. I still want the formal ceremony, Katherine. I want to stand before you and claim you as my own, but I can’t watch you suffer, not when I can take the pain away.”
“Oh, Nikolai, yes.”
Deep satisfaction pooled in his gut. The thought of her feeding from his vein seduced him with the rightness of the plan. “But I need you to hold on a moment longer, if you can, because you deserve a male doing his duty, shouldering his responsibilities. And I want to be that kind of a male, for you. So—” he lay on his back next to her, his marked hand settling on his chest “—it doesn’t have to be perfect, but if you could braid three of those into my hair…”
“You want me to do it?”
He looked at her and smiled. “Who else would I ask, my angel?”
“Okay,” she whispered. As her fingers grabbed and tugged thick strands of his hair, Nikolai closed his eyes and imagined all there was to come. Her mouth filled with the flavor of his blood. The consummation mark adding color to the black of their hands. Standing within a circle of his warriors and publicly claiming her, and being claimed in return. A new blooded family. Maybe even a newling, someday. She’d brought him back to life, and now she was giving him the world.
Trembling fingers stroked over his hair. “It’s done,” she said, voice tight with need. “What should I do with this one?” She held the last jewel between her fingers.
He drew her down for a single slow, deep kiss, then took the stone from her. “This one is going to bring you ease.” Placing a faceted edge against his throat, he pressed the jewel hard into his flesh until it felt the burn of the laceration, and then he scored a long line. Warm blood bloomed over his skin, pooled and ran down the side of his neck.
Her eyes went wide, her mouth dropped open. Her heartbeat thundered in the quiet of the room.
“What do you want, Katherine?” he said in a tight voice, his cock reawakening against his belly.
He didn’t have to ask twice.
She fell over him, her mouth finding and licking the crimson stream, her body writhing and shifting until she lay atop him.
Masculine satisfaction roared out of him, pounded through his dick, made his balls grow heavy with need. But this wasn’t just about him.
Nothing would be, ever again. Thank God.
For, he was meant to serve. And while, by lineage and all that was just in the world, he had a duty to serve as king and commander, by choice he would also serve his mate, his angel, his…love. Always and first, for however many nights he had left.
Her mouth sealed over the cut and sucked the lifeblood directly from his body. Five hundred years of living and fighting all came down to this moment, and he could wait no longer. Lifting his head, he struck his fangs into the soft tendon where neck met shoulder, and completed the bonded circle of blood between them.
The first swallow of her nectar brought her thoughts into his mind.
Oh, God, I love him I love him I love him.
The words reassembled him into a new male, a better male, her male, tonight and forever. Feasting on her blood, and feeling the connection cycling through and between them, Nikolai thought in reply, As I love you, Katherine. Now, take whatever you need, take everything, because we have all night, and I am yours. Forever.
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Don’t miss the In the Service of the King, Laura Kaye’s Harlequin Nocturne Cravings debut….
Kael, Warrior King of the Vampires, loathes the Night of the Proffering. He needs the blood of either his mate or a human virgin to maintain his strength, but hasn’t enjoyed the ritual since he lost his mate centuries ago. Kael doesn’t want a new companion, yet his resolve is tested when he lays eyes on his new offering, Shayla McKinnon. He is drawn to Shayla’s beauty and poise...and the submission she offers. She is eager to give him anything he wishes, including her innocence, to please him. Will Kael give in to their overwhelming desire—even if it means risking Shayla’s life?
Don’t miss the other sensual, paranormal reads from Harlequin Nocturne Cravings, available at www.ebooks.eharlequin.com and wherever ebooks are sold. Titles include:
Night of the Cougar by Caridad Piñeiro
Claimed by Desire by Kristin Miller
Hot Demon Nights by Elle James
The Vampire’s Consort by Caridad Piñeiro
Protector’s Mate by Katie Reus
Seduced by the Wolf by Bonnie Vanak
Reflected Desire by Kendra Leigh Castle
Nocturnal Whispers by Caridad Piñeiro
Looking for more paranormal romance? The sizzling and spine-chilling books of Harlequin Nocturne are available at www.Harlequin.com or your local bookstore.
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> ISBN: 978-14592-3116-0
Seduced by the Vampire King
Copyright © 2012 by Laura Kaye
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