by K Loraine
“Taking us home. Keeping you from him isn’t going to do any good.”
“How is this going to work?”
He dragged a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t think it will, but you don’t deserve to sacrifice your happiness for me either. I did it by choice, and I stand by that. Anne is gone. We don’t have to provide a hybrid to please her.”
I hadn’t thought of that. Cashel had single-handedly come in and saved the day. He’d given me as much freedom as possible with one well played scheme. “What about turning me? Do you still have to do that?”
He frowned and stayed silent.
“Lucas?”
“I might. I’ll hold off as long as I can. I wish I could simply leave you with him and we could live separate lives, but I’ll need to feed. As long as you remain human, the bond will dictate that.”
My fingers picked at the fraying denim at the knee of my distressed jeans as I mulled his statement. I didn’t want to be a vampire. I couldn’t. I’d seen what that had done to Logan and Knight. Both of them had turned into monsters, doing things they’d never have done as humans. That wasn’t something I could live with. “Okay. You can feed from me when you need to.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about. Cashel will struggle. He’s never been good at sharing.”
“I…I have something to tell you.”
“You’ve been fucking him.”
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me as his words hung in the air between us. Guilt seeped in, curling around my heart and coloring everything with shame. “How—”
“I’m not some idiotic cuckold. I knew the first time. When you smelled like rose oil. Granted, I didn’t know it had been my brother. But once he returned, I put two and two together.”
“You thought I was sleeping with someone else?”
“Logan? Knight? One of the two. My money was on Logan.”
“And you had no problem with it?”
He let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I had a problem. I still do. But I can’t do a damn thing about it, and I know that. You don’t love me. You’re with me because you have to be. That’s not something I can change.”
“So how will this work? Scheduled donations, like when I was first brought to the manor? Cashel won’t want you to feed direct from the source.”
He reached out and brushed a stray hair away from my cheek. “But what will you want?”
I remembered the sensation of his fangs in my throat. Cashel would never be able to make me feel that way again. My blood would make him sick. I didn’t know if I wanted to give that up, even if Cashel wasn’t the one to do it. “It’s…confusing for me. The things I feel when you bite me aren’t real. They’re just part of the bond. But it’s nice. There’s nothing else like it.”
“So true. On all accounts.”
“When will you need to feed again?”
He shrugged and pulled down the road that I knew would bring us back to Blackthorne Manor…back to Cashel. “It depends on many factors. I’ll hold off as long as I can.”
The tall iron gate opened, and Lucas brought the car down the long driveway. Blackthorne Manor loomed, lights blazing inside making the house seem alive. But everything stopped when I saw him. Cashel stood on the top stair at the front door. Hands casually shoved in his pockets, expression calm and collected. Waiting for us. Waiting for me.
“Of course, he knew we’d be back.” Lucas’ voice was laced with annoyance. “Don’t get out until I open your door. I need him to understand I’ve come to this decision without you pushing for it. The King in him will want that.”
I nodded, but he was already out of the car and on my side, opening the door for me. His hand reached for mine and I took it, letting him help me to my feet. It felt good, but my gaze was drawn to Cashel.
The calm had leaked from him the moment Lucas touched me. “Your date was short-lived. Is everything all right, little bird?”
Lucas put himself in front of me. “She’s fine. I cut it short.”
“Why?”
“Because she was yours before this happened. She was always yours. I’ve brought her back to you. Anne is gone, we owe her nothing, consider this my proof of loyalty, brother. I’m giving you my wife for everything—save her blood. That I can’t do anything about. That is for me alone.”
“Tell me, is she the sweetest thing you’ve ever had?”
Lucas didn’t answer, but the words were written all over his face. Cashel held out a hand for me. His eyes blazing. “Come, little bird. I need you.”
I couldn’t help myself, I looked up at Lucas. He was tense, his gaze trained on something to our left, in the trees. Not me. Not his brother. Cashel growled in response and, before I could stop him, he rushed me. His shoulder pressed into my belly as he lifted me and carried me like he was a firefighter, rescuing me from danger, into the Manor, shutting the door behind him.
“Take my brother to his new room. Some time in the well will do him good,” he said to the two guards standing in the hall. “We can find out if her blood still allows him to walk in the light.”
“Put me down, you crazy vampire asshole!” I screamed, pounding my fists on Cashel’s back. “I am perfectly capable of walking.”
“Walking right back into his arms. No. I’m carrying you until you are somewhere you can’t get away from me. We have to talk.”
His grip on my thighs was iron. No way was I going to be able to get out of his hold. “You can’t put him in the well. No one should ever have to spend any time in that hell hole.”
“Oh, but I can. I’m King. I can do whatever I so choose. And right now, I choose to be with you and put my brother somewhere he can’t get between us.”
“You weren’t serious about testing my blood that way, were you?”
He kept walking until we reached the staircase I knew led only to the King’s rooms. He was going to lock me in a tower. “Cashel, stop it. Why are you taking me here? We don’t have to hide. Lucas understands. He’s willing to work this out so we can be together.”
He snorted. “Together. No. He’s willing to let me fuck you. There’s a big difference between the two things. He’ll try to take you again. Once he’s—” He stopped mid-sentence. We must’ve reached the door because in a few more steps we were inside the rooms I’d used so many times to see him.
I was on my feet, hair in my face before I could register that he’d put me down. “Cashel.” I pushed the hair away from my eyes and stared hard at this man I loved so fiercely. His own hair was tousled, he looked dark and dangerous. Those eyes of his glowed with a frantic need to claim. “What is going on?”
I reached out and pressed my palm to his cheek and he leaned into my touch. “I need you with me. Nothing feels right without you. My blood burns. I can’t sleep. I only feel some sense of peace when you are here.”
The pain in his voice shook me. Something wasn’t right. I stepped closer, breathing in his scent. I needed him too. “Are you all right? You’re not acting like yourself.”
His arms were around me before I finished my last words. “It’s been so hard to know he’s taken you. I fought for you from the first. I gave everything for you. And he swooped in and took it all. But I’m taking you back. Martin will return with the witch soon. She’ll be able to fix this all.” Then he pressed a kiss to the top of my head and released me from his hold. “I have some pressing business this evening. Stay here where you’ll be safe.” He grinned, eyes maniacal.
“What are you doing? You can’t just leave me here.”
Halfway across the threshold, he looked back at me. “Yes, I can, little bird. The only place you will be safe is in a cage.”
18
Olivia
The moment Cashel left me, I jumped to action. I could only hope this worked. Rifling through the desk in the corner, I searched every drawer until I finally found a letter opener. The lock to the King’s rooms could only be opened with blood from the King. I hadn’t exc
hanged blood with Cashel in a long time, but I had to try this. Something was very wrong with Cashel. I had to get to Lucas so we could figure it out.
Pricking my finger, I watched as a bead of blood welled on the tip, then I pressed my finger to the engraved tree on the door. But nothing happened.
“Goddammit!” I shouted, my voice reverberating off the walls.
I shoved my hand into the pocket of my jeans and frowned when I touched a small cylinder, warm from my skin, but smooth like glass. Pulling it out, I grinned at the sight of dark red liquid inside the vial. Cashel’s blood. The last of my secret supply. It was no bigger than my thumb, but it would be enough. I hoped. I didn’t know why I kept it with me, but something about having Cashel near eased the ache of being apart in every other way. Now I was grateful.
I placed a drop on my fingertip and pressed it to the tree once more, but again, nothing happened. Panic crept up my throat and began closing off my airway. I couldn’t be stuck in here. How could I help anyone if I was trapped?
An idea sparked in my mind. It was a long shot, but I didn’t know what else to do. Did the blood have to be fresh? Alive, so to speak? It had to be something like that or Anne would have used what she had at her fingertips to get into these rooms. It had been one of her biggest sources of frustration. Bringing the bottle to my lips, I let the remaining drops fall onto my tongue. Pure pleasure raced through me at the taste of him. But then my stomach twisted as the magic of my bond with Lucas fought Cashel’s blood.
I rested my palm on the door to steady myself, forcing long, deep breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth. But heat rushed along my hand, calling my attention to the door where it was pressed. My blood spread through the intricate carving, unlocking the door for me. Elation had my heart racing, but I worked to tamp it down. Cashel was unstable, Lucas was locked in a well, Hector was in the dungeon, and the other vampires in this house couldn’t be trusted. I had to get to Lucas.
Closing the door behind me, I snuck down the hall and down the stairs. Every breath, every step, every creak of the wood floor made me near panic. Cashel couldn’t find me. Not until I had a plan for him.
“What are you doing out of your cage, little bird?” Cashel’s voice sent a chill down my spine and stopped me in my tracks halfway down the main staircase. “It seems I underestimated how much of my blood was in your system.”
I turned and saw him standing at the top, black button-down shirt tight across his broad chest but open at the collar. A slight trace of red marred one corner of his mouth and a flash of jealousy hit me. He’d been feeding. “I don’t like being told what to do. Even by a king.”
“You’re angry with me,” he said, taking the stairs slowly, one at a time.
“You locked me in a tower. Yes, I’m pissed.”
His eyes didn’t hold that wild gleam any longer, there was a level of control about him I’d been missing earlier. “I did it for your own good. There were shifters sniffing around the perimeter of the grounds. You may smell like my brother, but they’re not looking to feed. They want to keep you, turn you into one of them, and make sure we don’t have you.”
“One of them? You mean like…a wolf or something?”
He chuckled. “Wolves, bears, cougars, even dragons. Though the latter are much more discreet, and you won’t find them traveling in packs.”
I frowned at him and kept my distance, not trusting his abrupt change. “I am so fucking tired of this. I thought Lucas’ bond would have fixed all of this.”
Reaching out, he ran his knuckles over my cheek. I flinched away and didn’t miss the pain in his expression. “The only thing that will keep you from being a target is becoming one of us. But even then, we’ll always be fighting some creature. The difference is, if you’re a vampire, you’re less vulnerable.”
“Unless they cut off my head or stab me in the heart with a stake. Oh, or use silver on me.”
“Fair point.” He stepped closer and his gaze softened. “I know I may seem overbearing and controlling. I…I’ve lost you too many times now. You can’t blame me for wanting to protect you.”
“I can blame you for acting like an insane caveman.”
Again, he reached out, and again, I flinched. “Olivia, please don’t shy away from my touch. I can’t bear it. I spent too much of our time together with you fearing me.”
I stared hard at him. “Lucas.”
A sharp inward breath was all I got from him. It was like the name caused him pain.
“Bring him back from the well. He doesn’t deserve that. And you can’t justify it.”
“He took what is mine. He put you at risk even though he knew the shifters were close.”
“You’re seriously jealous right now? You have me. It’s you I give my body to. You who has my love. And here I am, forced to see you with another woman’s blood on your lips. How do you think that makes me feel? I’d throw her into the well if I knew who she was.”
His lips twitched into a smile. “Would you? Have you become so ruthless?”
“Who was she?”
Shaking his head, he cast his eyes downward and came closer. “It’s not important.”
I cocked a brow. “Really? It would be important to you if the tables were turned.”
Sighing, he took me by the hand and tugged me down the stairs and into the music room. “Play for me?”
I frowned and glanced from him to the piano. “Now?”
“Yes. Now. Play for me, little bird. Then I’ll bring him back.”
I pulled out the bench and sat, preparing to do something I hadn’t done since I first arrived. Then my fingers brushed the cool ivory of the keys, and I fell into Chopin’s Nocturne No. 1 in B flat minor. It poured from me like water released by a broken dam. I couldn’t deny how good it felt to play for him, for me.
His hands settled on either side of my neck, sliding over my skin and down my shoulders and arms. Then his lips followed. “Don’t stop, little bird.”
I tried desperately to focus on the notes I needed to pull from my memory, but his touch was like a drug. “I can’t. You’re too distracting.”
“Then allow me to further distract you.” He must’ve dropped to his knees behind me because his hands gripped my hips and his teeth nipped my side through my shirt.
“Oh, God,” I whispered.
Talented fingers worked their way under my shirt and up to where my breasts were hidden behind a bra. “My scent is all over you. As it should be.”
“I…had a few drops of your blood,” I admitted. “It’s how I got out.”
“You took me inside you. Even with your bond.”
I nodded.
“And did it hurt?”
Another nod.
“Allow me to make it feel good now.”
He turned me around to face him, pressing himself between my knees. With rough, barely controlled movements, he lifted my shirt, baring my bra to him. “Lace,” he murmured. “For me, or for him?”
I shouldn’t have pushed, but I did. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
A low growl built in his throat before he tore the garment in two without much more effort than it would have taken me to tear a piece of paper. My breasts fell free, nipples puckering in the cool air. “Cashel, what if…Martin…” my protests fell on deaf ears and turned to moans when he took my right nipple into his mouth. Sparks jolted through me at the sensation, and his fingers dug into my hips.
He was pulling me closer even as I tried to back away. Not because I was running, but because it was so intense.
“It was you, Olivia.”
“What?”
“I tasted you. It’s all I want. You.”
I moaned and leaned into him. I needed so much more than what he was giving me. He was dangerous.
I wanted him, but I didn’t know if I’d survive him.
He murmured against my skin, “I know you were sneaking into the dungeon, little bird. I know you found him.”
I tensed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because he can’t be trusted. He’s not worthy of your time.”
I moaned as he worshipped my body, and I forgot all of my reasons for being angry.
“Fuck, Olivia, I need you. I need you so much.” He ravished me, kissing across my chest and returning his focus to my nipple. I let the pleasure overtake me, used it as a way to banish the rest of the thoughts plaguing my mind. Until pain lanced my breast, pain unlike anything I’d known with exception of one thing. Cashel had bitten me. He was feeding from the very place he’d marked me once before, but there wasn’t an ounce of pleasure in this bite.
“Cash, stop! You can’t!” I pushed at him, but he held me tight, the pain too much. My blood would make him ill, it would incapacitate him. “You’re going to make yourself sick. You can’t do this.”
He wouldn’t budge. His pulls on my breast were long and deep and lightheadedness took hold in me. My vision grayed around the edges, head swimming as I realized with startling clarity, he wasn’t stopping. He would gorge himself on me until there was nothing left.
Cashel Blackthorne was killing me.
19
Olivia
“Get the bloody hell off her,” Lucas screamed, pulling me from the edge of consciousness.
Cashel’s grip on me tightened, until Lucas grabbed him by the head and pulled back hard enough Cashel had to release my breast. I cried out as agony raced through me, but I was able to get away, at least a small distance. I fell to the hardwood floor and crawled under the grand piano, tears streaming down my face as I stared at the two of them. Cashel snarled, his eyes filled with rage and hunger, while Lucas stood ready to fight to the death.
“What is wrong with you, brother?” Lucas asked.
“She’s mine. I told you that from the start.”
“She’s bonded to me. Any moment now, you’ll feel it. Your body is going to reject her blood. Please, let us take care of you.”