by Nicki Ruth
He tried to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, he covered her mouth with his, exploring and worshiping her lips. She opened her mouth for him, and he plunged inside, his tongue seeking hers with all the wild passion he felt. He growled low when he felt her take over the kiss, pressing into him, tasting him. She was ferocious with her passion, her lips and tongue roaming his mouth, nipping and sucking, licking and biting. He loved it!
He leaned back, allowing her to take control as she wanted. She straddled his hips, grabbed him by the hair and tilted his head back, exposing his neck. Her wet mouth blazed a hot trail from his lips to his jaw, past his chin to the hollow of his neck. She moaned lustily and ground her bottom onto his engorged cock. What was she doing to him! Her aggression set him on fire, and Alexios felt his fangs emerge, the urge to bite overtaking him. He wanted to bite her as she did him, to share in the taking of blood—the most erotic of vampiric acts.
His hands cupped her bottom and squeezed, her plump flesh filling his hands perfectly. His mouth claimed hers again in a scorching kiss, and he gently nicked his tongue on her fangs and shared the erupting blood on her tongue. Davina mewled, deepening their bloodkiss, taking his essence into her own, fueling their growing sexual frenzy. Alexios wanted to rip her clothes off, to feel her warm, smooth body against his heated flesh. His cock throbbed for release in his pants, and he thrust upward, desperate to satisfy his arousal. She responded by grinding her hips into his in a slow, rhythmic motion, not breaking their kiss. The feeling of their sex rubbing together increased his urge for completion. His thumbs brushed against her nipples through her tunic, and she gasped, throwing her head back.
“Alexios,” she panted.
He made an impatient sound in his throat, eager to have her perky breasts in his mouth. His hands found the ends of her tunic and tugged upward. His eyes feasted on her round breasts, crested with beautiful, taut, brown nipples. He flicked his tongue over one, his thumb circling and teasing the other. She gasped, making lyrical sounds that were a symphony to his ears. He kissed and licked and nipped her buds, alternating between them as she bucked on his hips, increasing the erotic friction between them.
Her breath came out in shallow pants, and Alexios smiled against her soft skin as he grazed his fangs along the underside of one of her rounded peaks. He lapped up the blood that spilled out, and the intensity of the flavor nearly undid him.
Davina held onto his shoulders, arching her back, granting him unfettered access. He moved to the other breast and gently bit her nipple, suckling as her blood pooled into his mouth. His tongue flicked and teased the tip, and she gripped his hair tightly, small erotic sounds escaping her throat. She bit into her bottom lip, drawing blood, and he eagerly licked it up, pulling her lip into his mouth. He couldn't get enough of her, and he felt his arousal peaking to a crescendo.
“Da. . . vina, what are you doing to me?” he moaned loudly, as his hands caressed her back and bottom, his mouth once again at her breasts.
“Just. . . don't stop,” she whispered into his ear just before he felt her fangs sink into his neck. He groaned, reveling in her bite, fireworks exploding dazzlingly behind his eyelids. Before he knew it, he was also sinking his fangs into her shoulder. She hummed in approval, circling her hips onto his erection. The exchange of blood electrified his body, heightened his desire, and threatened to release his orgasm. He didn't want to spill in his pants. He needed to pull back before he completely lost control. He was barely holding on as it was.
He retracted his fangs and leaned back, allowing Davina to continue drinking. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. Struggling to regain control, he stilled her hips with his hands, stopping the wonderfully torturous sensation on his cock.
By the gods! She felt so good against him. Hot and burning with passion. She was everything he’d imagined and more. His body desperately demanded he finish inside her, but it was not something he would, or could, allow himself.
Davina finished drinking, licking and kissing his neck. She leaned back to look at Alexios, her eyes laden with desire. They stayed like that for a few moments until he found his voice.
“Davina, you're . . .” he whispered, fumbling the words, his thoughts jumbled as he stroked her cheeks, still flush from their unspent passion. Davina blinked slowly several times as if trying to clear her head.
He wanted to put her at ease, “I apologize, my queen. I had no right to take liberties with you or take your blood without your permission.”
Davina frowned at his words, a look of disappointment crossed her face. Alexios hesitated. Should he not have apologized? He didn't want her to think he had expectations. He was not a vampire ruled by his lust.
“Why do you apologize?” Davina finally responded. She watched him intently, and he knew he needed to choose his words carefully.
“My queen . . .” he began.
“Please. Enough with the ‘my Queen’ and ‘Your Majesty,’ ” she said, her voice laced with irritation. “I am Davina.”
Alexios nodded. “All right. Davina. You’re my sovereign. It is inappropriate for me to be with you like this. For that, I apologize.”
Davina rolled her eyes. “You and I are both adults. Why should we not satisfy our . . . mutual desires?” She proceeded to undulate her hips on his still hardened cock, which responded eagerly. “See?” She grinned wickedly, her fangs peeking out from the corners of her mouth. “You should give in to your desires, Alexios.”
He stifled a groan and stilled her hips again. “You, my Davina, are a tease,” he chuckled, but his voice was thick with need. He nipped her chin, and she giggled, exposing more of her neck to him. He wanted her so badly!
He was about to nibble along her neck when blinding pain ripped through him. He cried out, falling back on the bed. His head pounded, and images flashed through his mind, one after the other. He thrashed his head side to side and was barely aware of Davina’s alarmed cry. His body felt like it was being consumed by fire from the inside.
The images he saw were of terror and death. A ghastly, fiery landscape lay before him, groans of misery and deathly howls called out, begging for mercy. Mounds of bodies piled up across the charred landscape, and blood flowed like rivers streaking across a desolate wasteland. Fires raged around him, their orange fingers leaving scorched trails across his body. His blood and skin burned, and he heard a scream that he knew to be his. He needed to escape this burning hell.
A lone, silhouetted figure knelt by a limp, broken body, claws and fangs sunk into its upper half. Alexios gasped, and the figure whipped its head around and looked directly at him. Fear spiraled up his spine. He tried to back away but couldn't move, frozen as terror gripped his limbs. The dark figure rose and stalked toward him. He closed his eyes and knew it was Death itself.
∞∞∞
“Alex . . . Alex!” a voice shouted in his ear.
He focused on the voice and forced his eyes open. Marius’ worried face gazed down at him. Alexios sat up, his chest heaving, Marius holding him steady. He looked down at his body, reassuring himself that he wasn't still burning. He glanced at Davina, who was wide-eyed and shaken. Jason and Brandr stood silently by the doorway.
“Are you all right?” Marius asked. “What happened?”
Alexios didn't know how to answer. He had never experienced anything like it before. Was that a memory from Davina? Was it a memory at all? It felt more like an ominous foreboding.
“You cried out and started thrashing. I didn't know what to do, so I yelled for Marius,” Davina said.
She sounded worried, and he wondered whether she knew what he’d seen. It must have been a memory harvested after taking Davina’s blood, but he couldn't believe anyone could have experienced something like that and survived. She had a carefree life before the night of her family’s massacre. Had something else happened before she was encased in the capsule?
“I’m fine,” he said. They all kept looking at him, waiting for him to offer more inform
ation. He waved his hand. “Don't worry, all is well. Just remnants of memories.”
Doubtful expressions reflected back at him, but he wouldn't divulge anything until he could speak privately with Davina. This wasn't the first time he had suffered crippling pain after having her blood. There must be a reason for it.
He looked at Davina who sat near the foot of the bed, her eyes golden and full of questions. He remembered what they had been doing before, how she had felt in his arms, and he was sorry for the interruption.
Chapter 12
Marius wandered back to the command room with many questions running through his head. When he had entered Davina’s room, Alexios had been writhing in agony, clutching his head and pulling at his clothes. What could have done that to him? Of course, he’d noticed that Davina’s clothing was disheveled. There was no doubt what those two had been up to before he came in.
Even if Alexios wouldn’t admit it, her blood had given him a crippling reaction, and that concerned Marius. Was her vampiric blood different due to her heritage? He needed to do some research on the House of Zharim. He doubted Alexios would be thinking along those lines when his desire for the woman was so strong. He would probably drink from her again, even knowing it affected him so.
Exchanging blood was how vampires bonded to those they cared for. This desire affected vampires on the primal level, and it was hard for a vampire to deny itself the blood of the object of its desire. He doubted Alexios even realized he was responding to Davina in this way.
Marius entered the command room and made a call. In a few hours, they would be on Damurios. He needed to have things in place for their arrival, including access to the Royal Archives.
∞∞∞
Davina stayed behind when the others left her chamber. Alexios promised to check in on her again before they arrived on Damurios. What had happened to him? Was it some reaction to her? His hands had felt amazing on her body, and his blood was like a warm balm, lulling her to forget all her fear and apprehension. Although it was clear he was attracted to her, he held himself back. Was he intimidated by her royal heritage? She hated how differently everyone treated her because of the house she was born into.
Davina rolled on the bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thoughts of Alexios and her past before drifting off to sleep. She woke to realize the temperature in the room had risen, and she felt stiflingly hot. She got up to find someone to help cool the room when she felt a familiar stirring in her body. It was more intense this time, irrepressible and demanding. She groaned as her fangs descended, and she felt the overwhelming urge to bite into flesh, to taste blood and lots of it.
She stumbled to her door, hoping to bite, to drink, to conquer. It was as if some unknown force were guiding her, summoning her as thoughts of blood filled her mind. Blinded by her craving and the mind-numbing haze descending over her, she didn't notice she had come upon a warm body until her fangs sank deep into its flesh. She gave eagerly into her need.
Someone yelped loudly, but she ignored it. Her eyes rolled back into her head. Blood filled her mouth, and she drank greedily. She wanted more. The blood fueled her and called to her, crooning a siren song.
Suddenly, she was yanked backward. She gave a strangled cry then bared her fangs and hissed, fighting for release.
“Enough!” a deep, familiar voice said. “Stop!”
She wouldn't. She wanted—no, needed—more. No one would deny her. She kicked and bit and scratched, but strong arms wrapped around her in a death grip. She continued to struggle, kicking out. Someone grunted in pain, eliciting from her a feeling of satisfaction.
“Davina! Stop this!” A booming voice shook the room. A charged presence filled the air, and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She stopped struggling, and the heat in her body receded. Her fangs retreated into her mouth, and her mind cleared. Strong arms imprisoned her still, but the haze over her vision lifted. She was surprised to see she was no longer in her room. Instead several faces looked at her, and they did not look happy.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Alexios said. He stood a few paces from her, eyes blazing and mouth drawn to a tight line.
She swallowed the remaining blood on her mouth and looked at the others. Jason was standing off to her left, looking shaken. He held his neck, which looked like it was bleeding, and had several deep scratches scarring his face and arms, though the scratches were healing. Marius was also there glaring at her. The vise-like grip around her must be Brandr’s.
“I . . . I’m sorry. I—I don't know what came over me.” Had she attacked Jason? Taken his blood against his will? Her stomach dropped.
“Explain yourself, now!” Marius roared.
Davina winced.
“It’s OK, really,” Jason said. “If our queen needs blood, I’ll willingly give.” He tried to smile reassuringly, but it only made her feel worse.
“Release her, Brandr,” Alexios said.
Davina fell to the floor with a thud, landing hard on her bottom. She looked up to see Alexios hiss angrily at Brandr, who just shrugged and stepped over her.
“Father, really. No harm was done. I was just taken by surprise, that’s all. Queen Davina needs to feed, and I don't mind offering her my blood. I consider it an honor.”
Ah, Jason. He was so willing to forgive, but she could not forgive herself. Only barbaric vampires attacked and took blood without permission.
“Jason, all of you, leave us,” Alexios said.
Davina knew she was in for a well-deserved tongue lashing. She slowly got to her feet, wincing.
“I’m so sorry. I didn't realize what I was doing. I just had a sudden urge to feed. I didn't mean to hurt Jason. I wouldn't.” She was rambling. Alexios stared stonily at her. “I will apologize again to Jason,” she whispered, shame flooding her.
“You are to come to me if you need to drink. Do you understand? You will drink from me and only me.” His voice lost some of its edge. “Look at me, Davina. Tell me exactly what happened.” He led her to a chair by the room’s lone window.
“I swear I don't know. I fell asleep and woke feeling overwhelmingly hot, so I got up to find someone to help cool the room. That's the last thing I remember.”
She hoped he believed her. She was looking forward to going to Damurios and didn't want Marius to make good on his threat to set her adrift. Alexios’ face was unreadable. She stared back, but her eyes kept drifting to his lips.
“Has this ever happened to you before? Losing awareness?” he asked.
Davina wasn't sure. She didn't remember it happening in Zhar. Although she had felt that same heat and overwhelming urge to gorge more recently. “I don't remember acting this way before. I won’t do it again.”
He looked like he was pondering something then asked, “Do you recall drinking from me in the dining room?” She frowned and slowly shook her head. She only remembered him in her chamber and drinking from him there. As a matter of fact, she didn't remember leaving the dining room at all that day.
His face softened and he smiled. “Are you still thirsty? Come, I offer mine to sate your need. You’ve been asleep for a long time and need to replenish.” He held out his hand, gesturing her closer.
Did this mean she was forgiven? Alexios confused her. His sudden change in demeanor was baffling. Yet his blood was an aphrodisiac. She wouldn't turn it down. She rose and shuffled toward him. He pulled her next to him and held her close.
“Remember you are to only drink from me.”
She nodded eagerly, licking her lips in anticipation. She didn’t mind his unusual request.
“Good. Take what you need.” Alexios tilted his head to the side, exposing his pale neck. Her eyes zeroed in on the beating vein below the surface, their rhythmic invitation irresistible.
She struck into his warm neck, her arms wrapping tight around his shoulders. His exquisite essence flooded her mouth and lit up her body. Soon she became lost in the sensation, her senses dulling. She tensed, remembering how q
uickly she had lost herself and attacked Jason. She pulled away and moved to get off Alexios’ lap.
“What’s wrong? You should have more. Your body needs it.”
But Davina just wanted to retreat to her chamber. “I think I’ve had enough. Again, I’m sorry for attacking Jason. It won't happen again.”
She turned to leave, but he caught her by the hand. “Davina,” he whispered. His thumb caressed the inside of her wrist, thrumming her veins. Her skin tingled. Slowly, he turned her to face him, and she gazed into his eyes, now reddened with emotion. She inhaled sharply at what she saw—hunger, need, passion. Heat pooled between her legs, and she took a step forward, closing the gap between them. His large hands framed her face, and she leaned in, her lips parted open. In one swift movement, his mouth claimed hers in a hot, blinding kiss. His lips roamed hers hungrily, and she opened for him to plunder. Her blood simmered again with desire, and a desperate sound escaped her. He was relentless, and she gave into his passion, hers threatening to burn out of control.
But just as suddenly as it began, he broke away, ending their kiss. She whimpered, tugging his shoulders closer to her, pleading for more. He cupped her face and closed his eyes tightly. She didn't want to stop. She wanted to feel his lips on hers again.
“Mmm, Davina,” he whispered across her lips, caressing her cheeks.
She leaned into him again, but he stepped back abruptly. His hands collapsed to his sides, flexing open and closed. She noticed his breath was labored.
Alexios cleared his throat. In a rough voice, he said, “You should head to your chambers and stay there until we get to Damurios. It won't be long now, just a couple more hours.” He took her by the elbow and guided her toward the doorway. “I will come to you later in case you would like to drink again.” His voice was deep as he ushered her out the room, gently nudging her toward the hall.
She was bewildered by what just happened. In fact, she was confused about everything. Her body yearned for him, his touch and his mouth on her skin. She sighed. Maybe she should be looking forward to getting off this ship and putting some much-needed distance between herself and Alexios.