by T. S. Ryder
"No. None at all, in fact."
Cleo gazed at her husband. She saw the tender expression on his face, the softness of his eyes, and her heart filled to the point of bursting. She didn't care that they were surrounded by their enemies and that tomorrow Darius would be in a fight for both their lives. If this was going to be their last night together – and it might be – she wasn't going to let it pass in tears and regrets.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss. It was light at first, but as Darius's arms snaked around her waist, the kiss deepened. A fire and an ache started in her core. Her arms tightened. Darius's did as well. Normally, at this point they would be frenzied, tearing at the clothes that kept them from tasting one another. It would be all animal lust, or perhaps forcing themselves to act like animals.
Perhaps it had always been so fevered and impatient because they knew if they slowed down they would be making love, and that way was too dangerous for people who couldn't admit they loved each other.
Darius slowly unbuttoned her blouse, and Cleo stayed still, letting him. His touch was tender as he slid it off her, folding it before he placed it on the floor. His hands ran down her arms, then caressed her belly before moving up to her breasts.
"They're bigger."
Cleo had to repress a giggle. "That's what happens when you get pregnant."
Darius nodded. He dropped to his knees and pressed a kiss most tender to her belly. Cleo's eyes filled with tears and she let her head fall back. She wasn't going to cry. Not tonight of all nights. Her husband was just as gentle as he removed her pants as he had been with her shirt. Her socks and underclothes soon followed, all folded neatly on the floor.
"I've never taken the time to really look at you," he said, standing, then kissed her temple where a tear had escaped. "Don't cry. I won't let the Thunder have his way. Tomorrow he dies."
"Then don't you need to sleep and save your strength?"
Darius shook his head. "For vampires, sex is almost like blood. It will only strengthen me further. Especially when it's with someone I love."
He kissed her again, deeply, passionately. The fire that was already inside built higher, the ache growing deeper. She wanted so much more and she wanted it now – but at the same time, she wanted this to last. This was their first time making love, and she wanted to savor it.
"My turn," she whispered, running her fingers down the buttons of his uniform.
"Of course."
Her husband stilled, letting her undress him with as much patience and care as he had undressed her. Cleo gazed at his body. She had always liked looking at him, but now she stared hungrily, wanting to remember every contour, every muscle – the shape, the feel of his smooth, cool skin. He was so perfect. And he was hers.
"You belong to me," he whispered.
"Yes. I do. Forever."
He caught her mouth again, his kisses growing more fevered. Cleo clung to him, her belly pressed against his. One of his hands caressed it while the other parted her thighs. His touch was so gentle it was almost painful. He swallowed her cries of pleasure as he continued to apply pressure in small circles.
The fires inside threatened to consume her and she abandoned all thoughts of going slow. Darius laid her down on the floor, propping pillows under her hips to give him better access. Cleo kept her hands on his shoulders, watching him. He kissed her belly once more before gazing into his wife's eyes as he took her.
Everything was more sensitive than normal, and Cleo whimpered as he began moving. The rhythm was soft and slow, rocking both of their bodies to minimize the impact on her. Normally, their bodies would be flush against one another, but with her enlarged belly, Darius had to stay back on his knees, separating them. Even as her body began to feel too full for her skin, Cleo watched her husband, still exploring the contours of his body with her eyes.
"Are you okay?" he asked, grunting. "I' not being too rough."
Cleo shook her head. "It's just right."
Darius let out a shuddering moan. The sheer ecstasy on his face had Cleo's own arousal that much higher. She could feel her climax sneaking up on her and clung tighter to Darius' hands. The familiar feeling of connection was overtaking her, but instead of ignoring or fighting it as she usually did, she welcomed it, drinking in the perfection of the union.
Their rhythm became faster, and the pleasure came over her in stronger and stronger waves. She fought to keep her eyes on Darius'. She wanted to keep this feeling of connection. He leaned over her the best he could, cupping a hand under her to bring her mouth to his.
The universe seemed to flash before Cleo's eyes. Her body bowed, head thrown back, screaming her husband's name. She was aware of Darius calling her name as he trembled and jerked above her.
When both were spent, Darius carefully rolled them both to the side, still wrapped around one another. Cleo adjusted herself so she was more comfortable, then sank back against the vampire with a sigh.
"When we get home, we'll have to do this more often," Darius said, stroking her hair. "I think that was possibly the best experience of my life."
"Mine, too. But then, I don't really have very many good experiences in my life." Cleo hesitated. "I know that we agreed to have our secrets, but I don't… I don't want to have secrets from you anymore, Darius."
"I know. I don't either."
Cleo propped herself onto her elbow. "I have a sister."
Darius' eyes widened. His jaw dropped. "That's… a pretty big secret."
"I know. Her name is Edyta, but she likes to go by Ed." Cleo settled back into his arms and began telling her husband, for the first time, her life story.
Chapter Nine – Darius
Darius pulled in his final mouthful of blood before he licked the two holes in Cleo's neck, letting the natural coagulant in his saliva clot the wounds and stop the bleeding. Both were dressed again. Pale slivers of light were starting to seep in through the tent walls, and they didn't want to be caught by surprise when the Alpha decided their night was over.
"You can do this," Cleo said, stroking his face. "You're going to defeat the Thunder and we will go home."
"Of course."
He was brimming with energy. Between making love to his wife and drinking her blood, he felt powerful enough to destroy the whole pack of shifters. He knew he had to be wary of overconfidence, though. The Thunder was clearly a powerful shifter. He would not be easy to kill.
Darius clasped Cleo's hand and brought it to his lips. "Thank you for last night."
Cleo ducked her head. "I suppose it was different from what we've done before."
"I don't mean about making love to you. I mean what followed. You told me everything about yourself, and let me tell you everything about myself." Darius pressed another quick kiss to her lips. "From this day forward, we'll have a much stronger relationship. You'll have to introduce me to your sister when we get home."
Cleo nodded. Her eyes shone with tears, and he knew she was thinking that inescapable if. If they went home. If he survived the Alpha. If the shifters let them go when he did.
"You're strong, brave, and skilled," Cleo said. "You can defeat him. I know you can."
"Of course I can. I might let him get in a few blows, though, so he doesn't feel bad." Darius tried for his best rakish grin. Cleo laughed and kissed him.
It wasn't long afterward that the shifters came for them. They were brought out of the tent, and though Cleo clung to his hand, they pulled her away. Darius' muscles roped as he snarled, wanting to leap after them and tear apart the shifters that dared to put their hands on his wife. But he had to remain calm.
He doubted that if he were to attack the shifters would kill him outright. They would just make him waste his energy while injuring him enough to give him a serious disadvantage against the Alpha. Darius began to undo his uniform jacket. He would need better mobility against the bear than it allowed.
Stay calm and stay focused. He is going to die, not only for Cleo but for t
he sake of the vampire kingdom. When he is gone, the shifter invasion will fall apart.
The vampire was propelled to a place just outside the tents. A large ring had been burned into the grass, and it was cleared of any small debris. The Thunder was already waiting for him, crouched and ready to pounce. He was naked, other than a pair of black shorts, his muscles gleaming with oil. To prevent Darius was getting a proper grip on him, no doubt.
"The rules of this match are as follows," the Thunder said, still crouched. "The first to be expelled from the ring, pass out or die, loses. If I win, you die and your mate becomes mine. If you win, you can keep her."
He straightened, but in that instant, Darius had a flash of epiphany. His heart leaped. He was already fighting for his wife and kingdom, why not make it official?
"Cleo is already mine. I will defend her against the likes of you, but if I win I get more than what I already had." He glanced at Cleo to gauge her reaction. Her eyes were wide, but she nodded at him to continue. She must have guessed what he was doing.
The Alpha's eyes narrowed. "What do you want, then, vampire?"
"If I defeat you, then you allow me and my wife to return to our home in safety. You do not follow up with any assassination attempts, even if I don't kill you," Darius said, straightening his shoulders. His heart hammered, but his mind was set. "Furthermore, if I win, all of the shifters here leave vampire territory and surrender in this war."
"I would expect a vampire to demand no less." The Alpha snarled but shrugged. "Very well."
"Will these other shifters obey if Darius kills you?" Cleo shouted desperately.
"I am their Alpha. They will obey. It will give you even more to lose as I choke the life out of you, vampire, to know that you failed your kingdom as well as your mate."
The bear pulled a knife from his belt.
"Wait," Darius nearly stepped back until he realized it would put him on the outside of the ring, "where's my weapon?"
"You don't get one."
The Thunder charged him, muscles strained and tendons popping from his neck. Pure hatred shone from the man's eyes. Darius pulled in a quick breath before running straight back at the bear. As the beast sprang forward, shouting, the knife in his hand glinting, Darius ducked. He slid under the bear's feet and twisted on the ground, aiming a solid kick at the bear's knees as he landed.
Darius jumped back to his feet as the bear stumbled. He followed it up, punching the bear in the kidneys. An arm flew back. He ducked, but it clipped him on the top of his head. The sheer force of impact made him stumble. The Thunder roared, swinging the knife at him. Darius blocked him, using both arms against the bear's one. The force of the blow still forced him back a few steps.
In the back of his mind, Darius knew that the shifters around them were shouting, that somewhere was Cleo's voice as well, telling him not to give up. His muscles strained as he fought to keep the knife from plunging into his body.
A huge fist sunk into his stomach. Pain exploded through his body, blinding him. He was just able to keep his hands wrapped around the thick wrist, to keep the knife away. His heartbeat had nearly stopped from the blow. When a second one came, stealing his breath, Darius did the only thing he could.
He lunged forward, clamping his teeth in the shifter's shoulder. The hand with the knife jerked and the bear pulled back. Darius took the opportunity to put distance between them, spitting out blood. It tasted awful like he had dragged his tongue through diesel.
The bear inspected his shoulder. It was dribbling blood, but the wound was superficial. It would be healed before Darius had a chance to get his breath back. His lungs felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.
"I should have expected such a low blow from a vampire," the bear growled.
"Low blow?" Cleo shouted from somewhere. "You're the one with the knife! If this were a fair fight you'd already be dead, but you're too much of a coward to face him on equal footing."
The bear turned, snarling. Darius saw the opportunity to attack – but he was just able to draw in a single breath. If he attacked now, his strength would be greatly diminished. The Thunder would easily turn the attack against him.
"And as for you, you wuss of a vampire, just take him out!"
Darius couldn't help but smile. Always directly to the point. It was exactly what he needed. He didn't bother wasting time looking for his wife in the crowd.
He ran forward, springing off the ground right before he clashed with the bear. The shifter spun on his heel to follow him, but Darius kicked him hard in the face before landing lightly and driving his knuckles hard into the bear's abs.
The bear gasped for breath a moment, but raised his knife again and shook off the blows. Rage was still in his eyes, but there was something else as well. Desperation. Pain. And even as they continued to trade blows, Darius suddenly felt a surge of sympathy for his opponent. If their positions had been reversed and it had been Cleo to die… wouldn't he have done the same thing?
There were only two options for the shifter. Revenge or death. There was nothing else for him. Not without his mate.
Silence fell around them. It was just the two of them, fighting for so much more than their own lives. And when Darius twisted the knife from his opponent's hand and drove it through his throat, there was no joy on his face. There was no fear in the Thunder, either.
"I'm sorry," Darius whispered, pulling the knife back out.
The bear sagged, and he caught the massive brute and lowered him slowly to the ground.
"I'm sorry for killing your mate," the vampire whispered. "I hope there's an afterlife where you may be rejoined with her."
He got to his feet and backed away from the bear. Glancing around, he saw absolute fear on the faces of the shifters. Maybe that was a good sign. His shoulders slumped as he gestured to their Alpha.
"The last thing he sees should not be the face of his enemy."
The shifters stirred. A second man, almost as big as the bear he had just defeated, stepped forward. "Take your mate and leave. We will do as was promised and leave vampire territory."
Darius nodded at him. Nobody challenged him as he went to Cleo's side. Tears shone on her face and there were red scratches oozing blood on her arms. He picked her up, holding her close, and started walking. He knew in his gut that the shifters would honor the agreement their Alpha had made. The war, at last, was over.
If only there was a way this could have ended without violence, he thought sadly. But at least it is over now.
Chapter Ten – Cleo
The sun shone brightly through the leafy foliage of the elm tree that Cleo and Ed sat under. The sisters had a blanket spread out under them while Ed carefully cradled her newborn nephew. Cleo smiled at the sight. Even though she knew that baby vampires, just like the adults, couldn’t contract diseases, she had been nervous about bringing her son to the hospital Ed lived in. He was going to age at the same rate as humans until he hit adulthood, but, at the moment, he just looked so small and helpless.
Seeing how her sister beamed made her glad she had decided to come visit.
"He's so cute," Ed crooned. "What's his name?"
"Tobar. I wanted to name him Eduardo so I could call him Ed after you, but Darius said that it was too close to Edward. Tobar was his father's name, so we decided on it."
"What's wrong with Edward?"
Cleo shrugged. "He said that there are already too many princes named Edward and that we wouldn't be adding to the list."
"Why is he a prince?"
"Oh!"
Cleo shook her head. She had been so concentrated on her little son that she hadn't even remembered to tell her sister about the many changes that had happened over the past two months. The Rebeluna pack had kept the Thunder's terms of the fight against Darius. They had retreated from vampire territory, taking with them all the shifters fighting against the vampire armies.
With them gone, shifter incidents had virtually stopped. King Iosif had publicly praised D
arius for staking his life on the chance to drive them out. And just last week, there had been a huge celebration for three days and nights, at the end of which Iosif declared Darius his new heir. It was everything the two of them had hoped for.
"Darius was adopted by the king," Cleo told her sister, deciding to leave out the complicated politics of it all. "He's the prince now, and he's going to be king someday."
Ed stared at her with wide eyes. "That means you're a princess!"
Cleo nodded. "Yes. It does. Speaking of Darius, he should be here soon. He said he was going to come spend the afternoon with us."
Both sisters looked around. Ed pointed, although she was very careful to keep cradling Tobar's head. "There he is! And Gordon is coming, too."
"I see them."
Cleo stayed where she was, smiling at her husband as he and his friend approached. Both of them returned the smile. Ed started to fidget, trying to smooth her hair one-handed while still holding the baby. Her eyes were glowing, and Cleo felt her own smile widening. Since she and Darius shared all their secrets, they had been visiting her sister often.
Gordon came with them quite a bit, and Ed had developed quite a crush on him. Cleo's own relationship with the vampire was improving as well. They weren't friends, but they were getting there.
"Hello, lovely ladies," Darius said, bowing to the both of them. "Do you mind if we join you on this fine day?"
"No, you can join us," Ed said. "Gordon, sit next to me. I have a new cat’s cradle trick I want to show you."
Cleo retrieved her baby as her sister started rooting around in her pockets for the string. Gordon sat beside her, a patient smile on his face.
I'll have to remember to thank him for being so good with her, Cleo thought. It's not just a show, he really does listen to everything she says and doesn't get tired of her. She needs people like that.
Well, maybe everybody did. But Cleo didn't care about everybody. She cared about her sister, and she was glad that she had a real friend that wasn't there because he was being paid. Although the staff at the hospital were terrific, Ed needed to have friends from the outside world as well.