Blood Rites: (Royal Blood #3)

by Amity Cross

  When she was out of sight, I scowled at Vaughn.

  “Did you fuck her?” I asked sullenly, a little shocked at my forthrightness. Fuck wasn’t a word I used very often or at all.

  His eyebrows rose slightly, his lips quirking. “Are you jealous?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Please.” I was extremely jealous and from the stupid smirk on his face, he knew it too.

  “I fucked her once,” he said blandly. “It meant nothing. Is that what you wanted to hear, Lorelei?”

  “She seems to think otherwise.”

  He snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. “What you see on the outside of Annalise doesn’t venture deeper than the first layer of skin, Lorelei. I’m not interested in that.”

  I sat up straight. “Then what are you interested in?”

  “This is more than about fucking,” he said, his fingers tightening around his linen serviette. “Much more, though I wouldn’t mind it.”

  Before I could collect myself, I flushed and my skin began to bristle. “Obviously, your fabulous ‘parties’ have more to do with seducing women into your bed than being charitable.”

  He shook his head. “I was trying to impress you.”

  “Into your bed?”

  “Yes, in the past that’s what they were for, but—”

  “How far in the past?” I raised my eyebrows. “A week?”

  “Lorelei…” He trailed off, his expression falling. So, I was right. He was still the billionaire playboy. When the fuck was he going to grow up?

  “Am I a game to you?”

  “I—” He pursed his lips and I knew he wasn’t telling me everything. So, a game it was.

  I rose, thoroughly distraught that I’d let him play me. He’d wormed his way underneath my skin, playing my attraction and manipulating it for his pleasure. Well, I was not going to be another notch, no matter how he made me feel.

  Vaughn pushed his chair back, rising to his feet. “Lorelei.”

  I felt tears begin to well. “Take me home.”

  I strode across the restaurant as he lingered behind to pay the bill. Pushing the door open, I stood on the footpath, my arms circled around my waist, grasping my clutch tightly in my right hand. If all else failed, I could smack him with it.

  I was stunned. I felt like I’d been pushed one way, then bitch-slapped right back the other.

  Vaughn appeared beside me as the limousine pulled up and I couldn’t take the stupid attraction I felt toward his presence anymore. It was humiliating. I stalked forward, wrenched the door open and let myself into the car.

  He slid into the limo next to me, fastening his seatbelt. Hawkes had appeared, closing the door and I focused on his footsteps as he rounded the car and got into the front. A moment later, the engine purred and we pulled away from the footpath.

  I didn’t know what to say. I felt cheap. Bought. I wanted more than a few desperate moments before being thrown out. I wanted to fall in love and the attraction I felt toward Vaughn was overwhelming. Knowing that it could’ve been a game… It stung. Bex had told me to go out and have some fun, but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if I wasn’t that kind of woman at all. Was following this thing, whatever it was, worth the damage it’d do to my heart when it crashed and burned?

  “Lorelei,” Vaughn said with a sigh.

  I glanced away from the window and allowed myself to take him in, head to toe and everywhere in between. When it became too much, I turned away.

  “What can I say?” he said, his voice sounding thin. “I can tell you all the things I’m feeling right now but will you believe me? This feels different. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, but I don’t know what that is. I don’t know if it means I want more.”

  I sucked in a deep breath, his words mirroring the things I felt inside of me.

  “Lorelei. I don’t know what I want after this, but I want to try, I want to see. It’s all I have to offer.”

  I turned to gaze at him and saw the desperation in his eyes. I could also see confusion. He was vulnerable and he’d been so calm and collected up until now. What was I meant to take from that? He was telling the truth, that’s what.

  His palm flattened against the curve of my neck and I gasped, his thumb tracing my jawline before running lightly across my lips. My breathing sharpened and my thighs tensed. Suddenly, I wanted to kiss him and show him that I was more than a match for those women he used to mess around with. I wanted to blow them right out of the water.

  Before I could make a move, his thumb pulled at my bottom lip and he struck, his mouth meeting mine, his tongue sliding greedily against my own. He took without my consent, even though he already had it.

  His touch ignited my senses, blazing a trail to all my most private parts and I began to ache. His movements became more desperate as he tried to hang onto me, his hand slipping to my waist.

  “Can’t you feel that?” he murmured desperately against my lips.

  I couldn’t deny it. I couldn’t stop it.

  “I can feel it,” I replied without hesitation. Unclipping my seatbelt, I slid a leg across his lap, my dress riding up.

  “Lorelei,” he murmured, his gaze lingering on my exposed thigh. His hand slid along my bare skin, hooked around my knee and tugged, forcing me to straddle him.

  I fit myself into his lap, my center resting against his crotch. Maybe now was the perfect time to tell him that I’d decided to leave my knickers at home.

  His hands moved up my thighs and when he reached the hem of my dress, he pushed it up. When his hands cupped my naked ass, his eyes widened.

  “You’re trying to make a dishonest man out of me, Lorelei,” he rasped.

  “Dishonest?” I moaned pressing my nakedness into his groin. “How is it dishonest when we are clear about what we want?”

  His eyes were dark with desire, his cock hard in his trousers. “And what do you want, Miss Lansford?”

  I fixed my gaze on his baby blue eyes. Time to woman up. “I want you to fuck me.”

  Vaughn thumped his hand on the intercom button. “Keep driving until I say stop.”

  A thrill rushed through my body and I whimpered, rubbing against him. His mouth found mine and he kissed me in a blaze of heat, his tongue swirling greedily with mine. I’d been so controlled up until now, holding back, keeping my emotions in check, but the moment his hands cupped my breasts through my dress, I let it all go.

  I fisted my hands into his hair and pushed into his hands, desperate for his touch. Our kiss deepened, my lips feeling swollen already, his taste permeating all of my senses until I was overwhelmed.

  “I can’t bear it,” I moaned against his lips.

  Vaughn sighed, his hips thrusting upward against my naked core. “I want you so much, Lorelei.”

  My lips sought his mouth. “Then take me.”

  Coaxing me to rise up onto my knees, he undid his seatbelt and fumbled with the button on his slacks. Lifting up, he pushed them over his ass and they slid down around his ankles. I watched, enraptured, as his boxers followed and I saw all of him. He was fully erect, primed, beautiful and suddenly, I realized the effect I had on Vaughn. He wasn’t lying, he wasn’t trying to play games…he wanted me.

  He produced a condom from his wallet, rolled it over his length and I quivered in anticipation. This was really happening…in the back of his limo! Bloody hell, I was insatiable.

  His hands caressed my thighs, climbing upwards to my ass. Positioning me against his sheathed cock, his gaze met mine and I nodded my permission. I needed this. I needed him to sate whatever this attraction was between us. I wouldn’t be satisfied until I’d tasted all of him.

  Vaughn thrust, sliding into my wetness. I let my head fall back and sank down onto him, relishing the too-full feeling of him inside me. Yes, this is what I wanted all night. Shit, maybe ever since I ran into him on the street.

  Vaughn groaned deeply underneath me, his fingers biting into my hips. “So tight…”

  Boldly, I r
ose up his length and pushed back down, fisting my hands into his hair. He took control, guiding me on his cock, thrusting upwards as he brought me down.

  “Lorelei,” he said through a heavy breath.

  I cried out as he stroked, every part of him caressing each nerve ending inside my body. The pleasure was unbearable and I increased my pace, chasing the high that was just on the horizon.

  His hands clasped onto my hips, stilling me, his lips brushing against my neck.

  “Why are you stopping?” I gasped as he pushed us forward on the seat.

  “I’m not stopping,” he murmured.

  He let me fall gently between the seats in front of us and lowered himself over my body. Oh… His weight felt nice, pressing against my open legs and I instinctively rolled my hips, spreading my legs even further. I was at the perfect angle and anchored my feet on the leather seats either side of me as Vaughn fisted his sheathed cock once more.

  Wrapping my hand around his tie, I pulled his mouth toward mine.

  His eyes sparked as he filled me with his cock. “I think there’s a bad girl inside of you, Lorelei.”

  He began to fuck me in long strokes, smashing his pelvis against my clit as he drove home, again and again. This position was much better…

  “I think I like being bad,” I moaned, pulling his lips to mine and his tongue swept into my mouth, stifling my cries.

  His movements became fevered, his breath mingling with mine, our skin heating. The air smelt like sex and desire, feeding my unbearable lust for him. I met him thrust for thrust, a challenge, a call for him to answer and he did. He drove me right to the edge and I shattered.

  I tightened around him, his name on my lips as he held me open, coaxing my orgasm to roll on and on into infinity. I knew sex would be good with him, but not this good. Vaughn was…extraordinary with his cock.

  I was floating, overcome as he buried deep inside me, holding himself firm, and I felt his cock pulse as his release left his body, joining me in my ride to oblivion.

  He anchored his weight over me, our chests heaving as we came back down to earth. As his breathing evened, he pulled out of my body, tugging me back onto the seat beside him. I sank back into the leather, my head spinning.

  He pulled the condom off his length and tied the end before placing it in the bin at the side of the limo. I watched listlessly as he tugged his boxers and slacks back on, securing the button and tucking in his shirt. He was so…hooked on his appearance. I wondered what that was about.

  Turning to me, he smoothed my dress down, before securing my seatbelt. His gaze met mine and I didn’t understand the look in his eyes. I saw…disappointment where I thought it would’ve been satisfaction.

  “That’s not how I wanted to do this,” he murmured.

  I glanced away, a feeling of disappointment starting to bloom in my heart. I’d done the wrong thing and ruined it…

  “I imagined…” he began, hesitating.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You’ve nothing to be sorry about, Lorelei,” he said, lifting my chin up with an elegant finger. “I envisioned silk sheets, a bed and much more nakedness. That…” He glanced to the floor of the limo, his lips curving into a grin. “That was pretty fucking amazing.”

  I flushed scarlet, biting my bottom lip. “Yeah?”

  His smile widened. “I’m going to be thinking about that for a very long time.”

  I squirmed next to him, my body still humming in satisfaction. I could feel where he’d been and it fed a delicious pulse through my body, sparking my arousal yet again.

  “Shall I ask Hawkes to take you home?” There was a question in his gaze.

  I glanced at the floor where we’d let ourselves go, envisioning the same between silk sheets. “No.”

  He smiled, folding his hand in mine. “Shall we continue this at my place?”

  I was glowing. Just…fucking glowing and it never felt so good to be bad.

  “Yes,” I murmured wondering what he would do to me once we got there. “Let’s.”

  Eleven

  Vaughn

  Opening the front door to the house, I led Lorelei inside. Her heels clicked on the marbled floor, her hand held tightly by my own.

  I felt alive. I’d fixated on her so strongly that I wasn’t expecting her to take the reins, or for my desperation to keep her by my side to be so intense. She kept surprising me at every turn and it was the most electric I’d felt in a very long time.

  Fuck Annalise. Well I did fuck her, but that was a long time ago. No doubt she saw me there with Lorelei and had to dig her claws in like the jealous cat she was. She’d been one of those women who thought they could tame, marry and take all my money. She had no fucking idea. None of them had any fucking idea who they were really dealing with. If they did, would they want my money then or would they throw me to the dogs?

  The light was soft in the foyer, the rest of the house in darkness, and I hesitated. I wanted to take her upstairs and give her the silk sheets I’d promised, but I lingered.

  “Would you care for a drink?” I asked, turning to face her.

  She stared up at me, her cheeks flushed from sex rather than embarrassment, and shook her head. “No, I’m not thirsty.”

  I was thirsty, but not for wine.

  “You don’t have any staff?” she asked, glancing around the empty foyer.

  I shook my head. “Not at night. Only during the day. Just Hawkes, who has a room downstairs and some offsite security.”

  She shivered, her gaze falling to the floor.

  I stepped closer, desperate to touch her again. “He won’t hear us, if that’s what you’re worried about.” I raised my hand, cupping her cheek, forcing her eyes back to mine.

  “That…in the car…I'm not usually like that.” She faltered.

  “I gathered.” I smiled. “You're not like the women I usually date.”

  “Is that a good thing?” Her eyes were sparkling, her lips quirking into a small smile.

  “Oh, it's a very good thing.” I leaned forward and pressed my lips against hers, my semi-erect cock beginning to harden once more.

  Cupping her ass, I jerked her against me and her gasp allowed me full access to her mouth. I plunged my tongue deep, tasting her, completely turned on by the fact that she was without her underwear.

  She clutched onto me, her arms winding around my neck, her fingers tugging at my hair. Backing her against the wall, I ground my cock against her, making her acutely aware of the fact that I was more than ready to fuck again.

  Moving my lips to her neck, I breathed in the scent of her perfume. It was the same cherry blossom that she’d been wearing when we first met on the street. My lips curved into a grin at the memory and I kissed a trail along her skin, my hands lifting up her dress, exposing her nakedness. Moving my hands ever downward, I traced circles around her clit and her fingers dug into my shoulders. Tugging at the soft skin of her throat with my teeth, I slipped a finger into her wetness and my cock pulsed at the thought of plunging into her again. Delving deeper, I pushed inside her and she moaned, thrusting against my palm.

  “Vaughn,” she gasped, increasing her pace.

  I thrust another finger into her slick core and stroked, delighting in her responsiveness. Everywhere I touched her, she seemed to thrive… My body was made for hers and hers for mine. Where had she been?

  “You’re so wet,” I murmured against her neck. “So beautiful…”

  “I’m going to…” She gasped as I pulled my fingers out of her and lifted her into my arms, my hands firmly on her naked ass. Her legs circled around my waist and locked into place as I turned toward the stairs.

  “I promised you sheets and a bed,” I murmured, ascending to the upper level. “And much more nakedness.”

  Lorelei buried her face against my neck, a soft whimper escaping her lips.

  Instead of taking her down the hall to the guest bedroom where I fucked all my other conquests, I pushed open the door to my own room. I
set her down gently next to the bed, my lips meeting hers again.

  My fingers fumbled with the zipper on her dress as I opened up the material, tracking the zipper down the curve of her spine, my fingers brushing her soft skin. Her lips caressed mine once more, before pulling away and our bodies parted.

  Her dress fell to the floor and she stepped out of it toward me, her shoes kicked to the side. Her hands were on me, pushing my suit jacket off my shoulders and tugging my shirt free of my slacks. Loosening my tie, I pulled it over my head and tossed it as she undid each of the buttons on my crisp linen shirt, bottom to top. It soon joined my jacket and tie somewhere in the darkness.

  Slipping my hands over her breasts, I moved behind her and flicked open the clasp of her bra, the straps falling off her shoulders. Beautiful. Pressing my bare chest against her back as she let the lace material fall to the floor, I cupped her in my hands, rolling her nipples between my thumb and forefinger. She gasped, her head falling back onto my shoulder.

  Lorelei was naked against me, her ass grinding my cock, and I wondered why she was so self-conscious. To me, she was perfect.

  My hands moved across her stomach, before grasping her waist and turning her around, allowing her to fall back onto the bed. Standing over her, I smiled at her startled expression as I undid the button on my trousers. Shoving them off, I took my boxers and shoes with them and we were finally naked with one another. Exactly as I had imagined as I’d masturbated in the shower.

  Kneeling on the bed, I spread her legs wide, leaned down and licked her entire length, tasting her arousal on my tongue. Her back arched off the mattress, her hands instantly palming her breasts. Incredible. I did it again and this time, she moaned loudly. Slipping a finger into her warmth, I began flicking the tip of my tongue across her clit.

  “Your mouth,” she gasped, finally losing the filter on her thoughts.

  I lightly bit the little bundle of nerves before sucking and she thrust against my face, clearly wanting more of the same. Pushing three fingers into her pussy I began fucking her hard, my mouth working her clit. She writhed under my assault and my cock strained, my balls filling with desire. Fuck, I was so close and I wasn’t even in her yet.