by T. S. Ryder
He sat cross-legged beside Yuliana. "I heard your King Zak was marrying."
Yuliana's mother nodded. "He asked us to send his regards. I think it's absolutely wonderful, how you managed to work out this peace agreement with him. And it worked. In only six years, too. It's like we're living in a whole new world."
"Well, it certainly wouldn't be possible without the cooperation from everybody involved," Leon modestly amended. "After all, if the king and the rest of you vampires had wanted blood… More than you already do, I mean."
Yuliana playfully smacked his arm. "It's as much political as anything, though. Which reminds me. King Zak has invited us to bring the twins to the palace for a celebration on their fifth birthday."
"Will we have cake?" Fin pulled a pair of underwear over his head. "And ice-cream?"
"Don't want to party," Storm grunted. "I want to run through the woods and catch a boogeyman!"
"Your mother and I will have to discuss it," Leon interrupted. "Now why don't—"
"Mom, Dad, why don't you let the boys show you around the forest and tell you about all the berries and trees they're learning about," Yuliana interrupted. Her hand slid into Leon's. "So that my mate and I can discuss this birthday party idea? It shouldn’t be more than two hours."
Her mother's eyes narrowed and her father shook his head, but the boys grabbed them and began babbling. They had no choice but to agree. Yuliana pulled Leon to his feet and pulled him into the forest, giggling as she ran from the camp. Leon grinned and shifted, crouching to let her climb onto his back before they were off again.
As soon as he thought they were far enough away from the camp, Leon shifted again. He turned to catch Yuliana. As he did so, his jaw dropped. While they were running through the forest, she had stripped off her shirt and bra, which were both wadded in her hand. The sight of her lush breasts made his insides warm.
"I never get tired of that look on your face," she told him with a grin, dropping her clothing. She kicked off her shoes and pulled down her pants. "I think we should go to this party. It will give us a whole room to ourselves overnight… no asking people to watch the twins while we go out into the bushes and get twigs all up in our hair."
Leon's gaze trailed down her beautiful, curvaceous body. He nodded absently, although his reasons for going to the party had been a much different place. Yuliana put her hands on her hips and smirked at him. It took him a moment for him to realize what she was waiting for, then remembered he was still wearing his spandex shorts.
"That's better," his mate purred when he took them off and stepped closer to him.
His whole body seemed to tighten as he looked at her, and the forest grew twice as warm when she put her small hands on his chest. She pressed herself to her toes, but he still had to bend to catch her mouth with his.
Her full, deep lips pulled him in; he couldn’t stand the space between their bodies and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up towards him. He held her as tightly as he could, wishing that he could seep out of his skin and join in spirit with her. The Wolf inside him howled with delight as she moaned in pleasure. When she moved to kiss his neck, it was his turn to moan.
"So we have two hours?" he asked, grinding himself against her, his hands gripping her thighs and rump so he could control her movements as well.
"We should probably get back sooner," Yuliana admitted. "I've just been going crazy all day with the need for you…"
Leon sighed in disappointment, but that was quickly forgotten when Yuliana trailed a hand between their bodies. His hands tightened. Eyes sliding shut, he let his head fall backward. When it came to his mate, he didn't care about who was in control. This was what being mates was all about, this connection, the readiness that came so easily…
The Alpha walked her over to a tree and turned her around, so her back was against his chest. "Hold that branch."
Yuliana shot him a puzzled look but did as he said. With her partially supporting herself, he could hold her in the air with just his hands. Pressing a kiss to her neck, he entered quickly. Yuliana's whole body shuddered and she let out a cry of pleasure. Leon closed his eyes again, savoring the feeling of being inside the woman he loved.
After a moment, Yuliana began to wiggle impatiently. Leon started a fast pace, careful to make sure that she wasn't going to fall. Pleasure built quickly–perhaps a bit quicker than Leon would have wanted, but then when it came to Yuliana, there was never enough time for them to be together. Leon nipped at her neck, inhaling deeply.
And froze.
"What is it?" Yuliana asked, panting.
"Your scent…" Leon inhaled again. "I think you're pregnant."
Yuliana twisted, eyes wide. "What?"
He set her down, making her groan in protest, but quickly rectified the situation by laying her on the forest floor. He grinned at her as he entered again, sniffing at her neck. "Yes. You're definitely pregnant. Well, that explains a few things. You have been very hungry of late."
"Pregnant." Yuliana beamed. "I was just about to ask you to start trying for another baby. The boys need a little sister."
Leon started his movements again. "How do you know it will be a sister?"
Yuliana didn't reply. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, pulling him deeper. Happiness burst all through Leon's body as it tightened with pleasure building at every thrust. His mouth was on Yuliana's, her movement matching his rhythm, the two of them in complete unison as lovers and mates.
Soon Yuliana threw back her heads and howled; Leon quickly joined her, not breaking his pace, letting the tension inside him build with every passing moment. His mate's fingers dug into his back, bursts of exquisite taste rolled over his tongue as he dove into her neck.
When they were finished, they lay together, panting and sharing soft kisses. Neither spoke. There were no words needed for this moment. Not in this perfect, harmonious, happy moment.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 5: The Vampire Prince's Bride
Description
A BBW with a secret PLUS a vampire general who needs human blood PLUS a shifter army out to kill!
Vampire general Darius isn’t looking for love or romance. He’s looking for a promotion. And for that, he needs a human wife and a baby. Just one look at Cleo’s curves and he knows she can give him what he needs. The thought of another man touching her makes him want to kill.
Cleo has always been strong, always in charge of her own destiny. But what Darius doesn’t know is that she isn’t as invulnerable as she seems. She keeps her secrets just as he keeps his. They made a deal. Why should they be concerned with each other's intimate lives?
But Darius and Cleo are forced to confront their worst fears when Darius is sent to fight a group of rebel shifters that may just get him killed. Violence is a vampire’s domain. But can he survive this?
As feelings deepen and danger grows ever closer, Cleo and Darius will have to face hard truths–and decide if ambition is really worth their lives, or if love is worthy of sacrifice.
Chapter One – Darius
A picture of Iosif hung over the mantle in Darius's study. The king had ruled all the lands from the Black Sea to the Carpathian Mountain range to the Danube River for almost two thousand years now and was a vampire of great strength and pride. This study had once belonged to his father and Darius had sat on the floor and stared at wonder at the king's picture ever since he was a young boy.
Hearing about the king's great feats against the shifters, who used to run rampant and murder recklessly, had always made his heart swell with pride. He had determined from a young age that he would be as great as the king, one day wearing the crown on his own head. As he grew up, he realized that his goals required a lot of hard work, but Darius was nothing if not determined.
"There have been reports of wolves here and here," he said, pointing to the map spread out on his desk. "Three dozen sheep were killed and a shepherdess has disappeared only a dozen leagues from here."
His best friend and second-in-command, Gordon, frowned. "You think it's the Rebeluna?"
Darius grimaced as he considered. The Rebeluna was a self-proclaimed rebel group that resisted the vampire king in any way possible. Shifters of various clans gathered and were responsible for more vampire deaths than any other group in the past decade. Since they assassinated the last colonel charged with finding them, the king had turned the investigation over to Darius.
"No," he decided. "The Rebeluna are organized, efficient. These are minor inconveniences, more likely wolves who consider themselves rebels but don't have the courage to actually commit to open rebellion."
"Then why bring them up?"
Darius straightened and grinned. "They're exactly the type that the Rebeluna will recruit for cannon fodder. Send a couple of men to investigate. If humans think that we're allowing shifters to steal them away with no consequences, it might stir up unrest. Find the shepherdess, if nothing else."
"Am I interrupting?"
The cool, confident voice made him turn to the door. His twenty-year-old human wife of four months, Cleo, stood in the doorway. Darius smiled at her. Iosif and his own human mate had had no children of their own and had made it clear that the vampire they chose to replace Iosif had to prove he had good relations with humans. The best way to do that was to marry one, and so he had.
"Darius. Gordon." Cleo strode in, her shoulders back, her head held high, exuding an air of confidence about her.
She had been Darius' choice wife for two reasons. One, she was beautiful. Bronzed skin, long curly hair, stunning black eyes. When Darius first chose her, Gordon had questioned whether he really wanted somebody as 'robust' as her. She was all curves and softness, nothing angular or sharp about her–except her piercing gaze.
Which brought him to his second reason for choosing her. She made no pretenses about what she wanted – a husband who could give her all the luxury and power she desired. She wanted to be queen as much as he wanted to be king, and she would do anything necessary to ensure that happened.
Having a woman like that by his side only heightened his possibilities. She was clever, level-headed, and he had never seen her act based solely on emotion – exactly what he was looking for in a wife.
"You didn't come to bed last night, Darius." Cleo walked into the room, her black eyes never leaving his face. "I bought a new… dress that I wanted to show you."
The colonel could imagine what she would look like in the 'dress' and swallowed hard. Heat curled in his lower belly.
Gordon cleared his throat. "My lord, if you want some privacy—"
Darius waved his hand at his friend, an annoyed expression on his face. "As much as I would like to ravish my wife on every surface available in this room, I don't have the time."
"More news on the Rebeluna?"
"A small envoy of vampires were attacked yesterday evening. It's the Rebeluna's style, but there are many other reports of shifters that I have to have investigated."
Cleo nodded. "What envoy did they attack yesterday?"
"Lord Virgil's taxes. He still insists on delivering them in gold every year. Claims it's safer."
Cleo snorted. "Maybe he'll start using a check or e-transfer now."
"Maybe. And maybe I should have seen it coming. Virgil's so stuck in the past that he's an easy target for the shifters. They pretended to be a roadblock and shot the tires of his Hummer. They took the gold but didn't stick around to kill anybody."
Gordon coughed, drawing attention to himself. "We think they are gathering funds for a larger-scale attack."
The vampire didn't look at Cleo. But then, Gordon had never liked the human. He always thought that Darius deserved someone 'better'. The problem was he thought 'better' meant thinner and more emotional, worshiping the ground Darius walked on. He didn't want that.
He didn't want love.
"They could be collecting funds to bribe the lower-ranked vampires," Cleo suggested. "Or to donate money to the outlying human settlements. Turn them to the shifter cause."
"It wouldn't be the first time," Darius agreed.
"I'm having tea with a few of the other wives today. I'll discuss an outreach program to bolster vampire relations with the outliers. I know that the recent earthquakes have caused some flooding. I'll be sure to increase aid to the areas affected."
Darius nodded, smiling at his wife. She didn't think in terms of battles and conquest, but rather how kindness could change the tide of wars. A valuable ally. In this seemingly unending war between vampires and shifters, humans were the key figures. They were vital to vampire survival, and not just because vampires required human blood to sustain themselves.
The common assumption that humans could turn into vampires was wrong. It was true that the humans who lived among vampires and were regularly fed from took on vampiric traits: their aging slowed to the point where they hardly aged at all. They also grew stronger, faster, and developed a taste for blood. But they remained human. Vampires were born vampires – and usually males at that. Without human wives like Cleo, they would be extinct within three generations.
"What are you grinning at?" Cleo narrowed her eyes at him.
"I was just remembering how we met." His voice turned low and husky. "And how I knew instantly that you were the woman to be my bride."
Cleo smirked back at him. Both of them ignored Gordon rolling his eyes.
Their first meeting was indicative of their whole relationship. There had been no romance. He had been patrolling his lands with Gordon and half a dozen sergeants. They stopped at a station in the closest city to refuel their motorcycles. Normally humans looked at them with awe, but Darius had noticed Cleo leaning against the building, gazing at the vampires as though she was measuring them up and finding them lacking.
He hadn't been able to help himself. He walked over to her. Her expression had changed slightly, and when she looked at him, her gaze lingered on the insignia on his jacket.
"You're a colonel," she had said.
"Yes, I am. If you come back to my estate with me, I'll marry you."
She had given him that cool, sharp gaze and shrugged. "I could hold out for a general, but you'll be one soon enough if I have any say in the matter. Let's go."
The wicked grin on Cleo's face showed that she was remembering as well. Darius circled the table and caught his wife in his arms.
"You took a big risk on me."
"Hardly." Cleo rolled her eyes. "I did my research. I already knew everything about you. I knew you took weekly patrols, and I knew you always stopped at that station for gas. I had everything planned. If you hadn't approached me, I would have gone to you."
With a light chuckle, Darius gave her a quick peck on the lips. She moaned, indicating her wish for more, but the vampire pulled away. It was difficult. He had been so busy lately that he hadn't actually drunk from her in almost two months. Blood bags didn't taste as good as the real deal, but drinking usually led to other things… and when he only had a few minutes to spare, he couldn’t indulge in anything.
Her scent was driving him crazy, though. She was wearing an essential oil fragrance, which most vampires didn't like. He loved it. Rose and lavender with a hint of peppermint. Delicious. Her natural scent was only enhanced by the oils.
"Gordon." Darius turned to his second-in-command. "Tell the fourth squad to prepare for departure. We're going to scour the settlements surrounding Virgil's attack. The Rebeluna is probably long gone, but we might catch something about which way they headed."
Gordon saluted and left, leaving Darius and his wife alone. Cleo gave him a coy smile and pulled her dark curls off her shoulder and stretched out her neck, offering it to him.
"Are you feeling desirous, my dear?"
Cleo shrugged. "Desirous? I desire that you don't embarrass me by collapsing from exhaustion while you're hunting shifters."
"I wouldn't be at that point for another month."
"And if the Rebeluna are clos
er – if this is an ambush set for you – then I don't want to be widowed. That would ruin all my plans," she added quickly. "You vampires are ridiculous. You don't marry widows unless you've killed the woman's husband. Now drink."
Darius pulled her closer. He couldn't stifle a moan as he delicately bit into her beautiful, smooth skin. Cleo gave a little gasp and clutched at his shirt. Drinking was always a sensual act, and the vampire couldn't help but growl as he sucked hard. His wife shuddered in his grasp, tangling her fingers in his hair.
He wanted more, but this was exactly why he shouldn't have drunk in the first place. Everything was getting hot and tight inside, and if there hadn’t been a strange taste to her blood, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from tearing off both their clothes and spending hours with her.
When he withdrew, Cleo moaned in disappointment.
The vampire licked his lips, frowning. "Maybe it's because I haven't been around very much and I've been stuck drinking from those plastic bags, but you taste different. More calcium, maybe. A little low on iron. And something else. You're a little… acidic. Maybe you should see your doctor."
"Oh, I did. You're probably tasting the prenatal vitamins," Cleo said matter-of-factly.
"What?"
"I'm pregnant. Three months."
Darius' jaw hung slack. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"You've had more important things to deal with, hunting the Rebeluna. It'll still be six months before the baby is born, and I haven't told anyone yet. Don't look at me like that. I didn't want you distracted."
"Hmmm." Darius shook his head. She had a point. He couldn't afford distractions right now, not when he was at such a critical stage in his career. Still, she should have told him. "We'll discuss this when I return. I'm not happy with you, Cleo. I know we agreed to let each other have our secrets, but this is important."