by Tina Folsom
“Abel is not the king! I am!” Cain tackled Baltimore and pinned him to the ground, a silver knife pointed at his jugular. “You touch my bride one more time, and you’ll find yourself with a stake in the heart.”
Cain pressed the knife closer to the other vampire’s skin, making it sizzle. The scent of burned hair and flesh permeated the kitchen.
“And now, you’re going to get up and leave my property. If I ever lay eyes on you again, you’ll regret it.”
Cain jumped up and waited until Baltimore got to his feet. His jaw clenched tightly, he glared at Cain, then glanced past him at Faye. The threat in his look was clear. He blamed her for his fate and would harm her first chance he got. Only when Baltimore turned and left the room did Faye pull in a breath. Only now Cain’s words truly sank in. He’d called her his bride. Did this mean he still wanted her after all, or had he simply used the term to make his point with Baltimore?
Cain turned to her, crossing the distance between them with two steps, and looked her up and down. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She’d endured much worse. “I’m fine.” She studied his face, when a soft smile curved his lips upward.
“Good.” Then he looked past her at David and Kathryn. “Would you introduce me to your friends, please?”
23
Cain stared at the two gaunt vampires, still reeling over Baltimore’s audacity to prevent Faye’s charitable act. He’d met Abel’s personal guard briefly the night before, and knew that his brother would be angry for having him banned from the palace. Not that Cain cared much about that. Faye’s safety and well-being were more important.
He’d seen red when he’d seen Baltimore touch Faye, and at that moment he’d felt a protectiveness toward her that demanded that he crush the vampire. Short of committing bloody murder in front of Faye and two strangers, he’d used all his remaining self control and banned Baltimore from the palace.
“This is David and Kathryn,” he heard Faye say now and pointed to the two vampires huddled in one corner of the kitchen. David looked at him with apprehension, while Kathryn’s facial expression was one of pure fear.
“I mean you no harm,” Cain assured them quickly but didn’t approach, sensing that such an action would only scare them more. Instead he turned to Faye. “Why didn’t Baltimore want you to give our guests any blood?”
Faye’s lips curled in displeasure. “Because Abel is against handouts. He’s forbidden everybody in the palace to give away blood.” She sniffed, her chest heaving with outrage. “And these aren’t even the palace’s supplies. They’re my personal ones. I had every right—”
Cain put a calming hand on her forearm and squeezed it. “Yes, you did.”
But Faye wasn’t done yet. “A few days ago he wanted to punish Robert, because it was discovered that a few pints of blood had gone missing from the cellars.”
“What did he do to him?”
Faye dropped her gaze to the floor. “Nothing.”
Cain felt his forehead furrow. “But you said he wanted to punish him.”
“He did. I stopped him. Because he said . . .” She paused.
Cain shelved her chin and forced her to look at him. “Faye, please.”
She took a breath before she answered. “He said if I were his queen, he’d be a more lenient king.”
Cain’s heart clenched. “That’s how he got you to say yes?”
Faye didn’t nod. She simply closed her eyes.
Without a word, he pulled her into an embrace. It was all so clear now. What Faye had told him earlier was true: she wanted to be queen to help her people. Each of her actions confirmed it. And her charity even extended to vampires outside the clan. She was kind to strangers and brave to stand up to bullies like Baltimore. Cain felt his chest fill with pride.
When Faye’s arms came around him to squeeze him tightly, he welcomed her action. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head, when his eyes wandered back to the two vampires.
Reluctantly, he released Faye and addressed the two strangers. He noticed their torn and dirty clothes and realized that blood wasn’t the only thing those two needed. “How may we help you?”
David bowed. “If it’s not too much trouble, if you could provide us with shelter, only for a day or two, until we’ve rested sufficiently.”
Cain nodded. “What happened to you?”
Faye put a hand on Cain’s arm, making him turn back to her. “It’s awful, Cain. They’re fleeing their clan because of the awful conditions there.” Then she lowered her voice as if she didn’t want the two strangers to hear what she had to add, even though their vampire hearing would allow them to pick up her words anyway. “They were defanged. They have no way of hunting for blood. We have to do something.”
Even without Faye’s imploring look, Cain would have helped the two, but knowing that Faye wished to help them made the matter even more urgent.
“Are any of the cottages on the property currently vacant?” he asked her.
“One is empty because we were planning on renovating it, but it’s livable in its current condition.”
“Good.” He looked at David. “I hope you’ll stay longer than just two days. Where are you heading?”
David shrugged. “As far away from Mississippi as possible.”
Cain’s heart stopped. “Mississippi?”
“That’s where our clan is.”
Cain balled his hand into a fist and slammed it onto the kitchen table, making both David and Kathryn shrink farther back into their corner. “Damn Abel!”
Faye let out a stunned breath. “What is it?”
Cain clenched his jaw. “He convinced me to invite the Mississippi clan to my coming home celebrations to make peace with them.” He sucked in a breath and pointed at the two vampires. “How can I make peace with a clan that does this to their people?”
“Why did you even agree to invite them?” Faye asked. “You know they don’t share our values.”
Should he have known this? Obviously the old Cain would have been aware of this. “I thought things had changed while I was gone. Abel suggested giving them another chance.” Though it appeared now that maybe he shouldn’t listen to anything Abel was suggesting.
“Nothing’s changed,” Faye replied. “They’re just as cruel as they always were.”
He’d have a word with Abel later. He motioned to David and Kathryn. “Let’s get you settled so you can rest.” Then he looked at Faye. “Will you show me which cottage is available?”
“Come!” she encouraged the two strangers and turned to the door.
As they all walked outside, Cain reached for Faye’s hand. Her head immediately whipped to him, and her face indicated surprise.
He smiled at her while he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss on its back. A hesitant smile was her reply. In companionable silence they walked around the palace toward the long driveway. Cain glanced at the cottages along the way and let Faye take the lead, while he enjoyed her warm hand in his.
“This is it.” She pointed to a small wooden cottage that looked like all the others and walked to the entrance door, then turned to him. “I don’t have a key.”
For an instant Cain froze. Then he remembered the set of keys Abel had handed him on his first night back and pulled them from his pocket. He looked at the different keys but didn’t know which one fit the lock of the cottage. When he hesitated, Faye pointed to one of the keys.
“This one.”
“It’s been a long time,” he deflected, hoping she didn’t find it odd that he couldn’t remember which key to use, and unlocked the door.
The inside of the cottage was simple, but functional: two large rooms, one furnished as a living room, one as a bedroom, plus a small bathroom with a tub.
“I’ll have one of the servants bring linen and towels,” Faye said. Then she looked at the girl who was glancing around and making hesitant steps into the interior. “And I can bring you some clothes, Kathryn.”
At the sound of her name, the girl spun around. Her breaths came irregularly, but when Faye just remained standing where she was, Kathryn started to visibly calm down. “Thank you.”
David stretched his hand out to Cain. “I’m very grateful for your kindness, Your Majesty.”
Cain took his hand and shook it. “Don’t thank me. This is Faye’s doing, not mine.” From the corner of his eye he noticed Faye cast him a soft smile. “Rest. I’ll have one of my people bring you everything you need.”
Then he turned to the door and walked outside. Faye joined him a moment later. He took her hand. “Come.”
Once out of earshot of the cottage, he addressed her again. “I didn’t want to ask in front of them, but how were they defanged? Any injury would heal during their restorative sleep. Their fangs would grow back within a day.”
Faye sighed. “Normally, yes, but these monsters implanted them with metal pellets where their fangs would re-grow and coated them with silver so that the wound can never heal. The constant pain must be excruciating.”
Cain shuddered at the thought. “There must be something that can be done.”
“We’d need a surgeon, but we don’t have one. We have to bring them to a human surgeon, but it will be risky.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Because Cain had just come up with the solution.
Faye turned to him, pleading, “But you can’t let them continue to suffer like this. The girl is numb with pain. I can feel it.”
Cain took her hands and drew her closer. “They’re not going to suffer much longer. I know a physician. She’s a vampire. I can bring Maya here to operate on them. Everything will be fine.”
Faye’s eyes widened. “Maya? Is that the woman you love?”
“Maya? God, no! Maya is a friend. And she’s bonded to a magnificent man not even I would want to cross.” Cain brought her clasped hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss on them. “Faye, there’s no other woman. Why would you think there is?”
“But I heard that you fell in love with another woman.”
“Who said that?”
Faye looked away, but he didn’t have to be a genius to figure out who had put that bee in her bonnet.
“Abel?”
She turned her face back to him. “He said he’d overheard your men talking about a woman you wanted to bring back here.”
“That’s bullshit!” Anger about his brother’s latest manipulation churned up in him.
“But why would he say that?”
“Because he wants to drive a wedge between us!” It was the only explanation. “He wants you back.” Cain let out a bitter laugh. “And why wouldn’t he? What man wouldn’t get addicted once he’s had you in his bed?” The dreams he’d had told him that he was addicted to it, too.
“But he’s never had me!”
Cain froze. “What?”
“He never touched me. He wanted to but I couldn’t . . .”
He raised his hand and caressed her cheek. “You remained faithful to me,” he murmured, unable to believe his fortune. Leaning in, he brought his lips close to hers. “I want to get to know you again. Will you show me what it was like between us before I disappeared?” He touched her lips, giving her every chance to withdraw if she wanted to, but she didn’t pull back.
“Oh, Cain, I missed you so much.”
24
He’d given Marcus instructions to take care of the two newcomers, and now Cain closed the door to Faye’s suite behind him, flipping the lock. His gaze traveled to Faye who stood near the fireplace and didn’t move.
He didn’t care that there was king business waiting for him. What he was about to do was more important than ruling a kingdom.
“Thank you for helping those two vampires,” she murmured.
He walked to her with steady steps although his heart was thundering. “I want you to know that I didn’t do it in order to get you into my bed.”
Faye laughed softly and motioned to the bed. “That’s my bed, not yours.”
“Same difference.” Having reached her, he braced his hands at either side of her head. “If I remember well, it never mattered much to me which bed I slept in as long as you were with me.” At least that much he knew from his dreams.
“And sometimes it didn’t even matter to you whether it was a bed.” She glanced down at the bearskin rug at her feet.
Had they made love there before?
“Why don’t you show me what you like best?” he suggested.
Her lips came closer, and her breath bounced against his mouth. “You know what I like best.”
Cain wished he could remember, but no memory was forthcoming. So he did the only thing he could. He captured her lips and kissed her. Her lips yielded to him, parting at the slightest pressure, a soft sigh escaping her mouth, while one of her hands slid to his nape, sending a shiver down his spine and into his tailbone. A corresponding bolt traveled to his groin and ignited him there.
He’d hoped it would be like this ever since the moment she’d appeared in his dreams, but he’d never expected Faye’s passion to engulf him so fully that he lost all sense of reality. This could only be a dream; nothing could feel so good in real life. Yet holding Faye in his arms and devouring her lips like a man dying of thirst felt more real than all of the dreams he’d had about her combined.
He felt his heart roar to life as if it had been dormant since the beginning of time. It beat against her chest, providing the echo to Faye’s heartbeat. Just as rapidly as his, her heart thundered inside her ribcage trying to escape. His hand moved south to capture it, to finally feel her warm flesh in his palm. Soft flesh greeted him, filling his hand to its capacity. His thumb stroked over her peak, feeling it harden under his caress. But the fabric of her summer dress was still in his way, still preventing him from making contact with her skin.
Cain ripped his mouth from her, panting heavily. “Oh, God, Faye!” He gazed into her eyes. They were heavy-lidded, the passion in them undisguised. It made him hungry just looking at her.
He squeezed her breast in his palm, then captured her other one with his other hand. Faye leaned her head back against the wall and moaned.
“It’s not enough,” he ground out and took hold of the fabric. Without thinking, he ripped the top of her dress in two, exposing her breasts.
Faye gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.
Cain dropped his gaze, drinking in the sight. She wore no bra, and her generous breasts spilled into his waiting hands. The contact of skin on skin made his cock throb uncontrollably, thickening further.
“God damn it, Faye, take my cock out before I explode!” he ordered before he dropped his head to her breasts and captured one nipple in his mouth.
He sucked on the delicious bud and licked his tongue over it, when he finally felt her hands on his pants, popping the button open. Then one hand pressed against the length of his shaft, while the other pulled the zipper down.
He felt release when the tightness of his pants made way for cool air as she pulled his pants and boxer briefs lower so they rested mid-thigh. Impatient, he ground his cock against her hands.
“Cain, my love!” she murmured and wrapped one hand around his iron-hard erection and slid down on him.
Her nipple popped from his mouth. “Fuck!” If she continued to stroke him like this, he would spill in her hand in three seconds flat. “Don’t!” He breathed heavily, pulling himself from her grip.
“What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” he repeated. “Faye, I’m going to come instantly if you do that to me.”
“But I’m barely touching you.”
He stared into her eyes, bringing his head closer to hers. “You’re like a new woman to me. As if I’ve never touched you before. This might be over faster than we both want.”
Her finger retraced his lips. “In that case we’ll just have to do it again and again until we’re both satisfied with the outcome.”
Cain smiled at her. “So you’re not
gonna toss me out on my ass if I don’t get it right the first time?” Because for him, this would be the first time he made love to her. He had nothing to compare it with other than his dreams. Yet Faye would compare him to the old Cain.
“My love,” she murmured, shaking her head as if to reprimand him. “You’ve never gotten it wrong. You know my body better than I do.”
He grinned. “Well, in that case . . .” He slipped his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor. Then he took hold of her dress again and ripped the remainder in two.
His eyes wandered lower. “You’re wearing panties today.” In his last dream, she’d been bare.
“That’s because I wasn’t expecting this.”
Cain clicked his tongue. “You should always be expecting it. Day and night. Because a woman like you should have her legs spread and my cock inside her twenty-four-seven.”
Faye tossed him a coquettish look. “Then why are you still talking?”
“Good point,” he acknowledged and took her lips again.
He remembered the dream where he’d taken her against the wall, but this wasn’t how he wanted to take her for the first time. He needed her underneath him.
Kissing her hard, he lifted her into his arms and brought her down onto the bearskin rug before he released her, kicked his shoes off, and made quick work of his pants and socks. He wanted nothing to impede his movements.
Faye’s hands reached for him to draw him down to her and he complied, sliding between her spread legs. Only her tiny panties now covered the precious spot at the apex of her thighs, yet didn’t prevent the scent of her arousal from spreading in the room. His nostrils flared when they filled with the tantalizing aroma.
With his knuckles he rubbed against the fabric, making her jolt. “Easy, baby,” he murmured. “I’ll give you everything you need.” Or die trying. But he wouldn’t be rushed. He wanted to explore her, to get to know her body, to feast his eyes on her.