by Bella Klaus
He turned, his lips parting, staring down at me with a look of wonder that made my heart melt.
The height difference between us was the same. Turning into a phoenix hadn’t made me any taller, and I was still a head smaller than Valentine. I held still, not daring to step forward or flap my wings in case a stray piece of fire burned him, and I stared into his eyes, basking in his fascination and awe.
“I hadn’t believed such a thing was possible,” he said, his voice breathy. “But you are exactly what you claim.”
I clacked my beak. Maybe he could make a few more connections and decide I was telling the truth about everything else.
He raised a trembling hand toward me, and my panic spiked. All my magic and fire snapped back into my chakras, leaving me standing in front of him, naked.
The Valentine who had courted me for three years would have turned around in the blink of an eye, leaving me blushing at his broad back. This vampire, the one without a soul nucleus, stared down at me with wide pupils.
“Why did you change back?” He smoothed a lock of hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear.
“To stop my fire from reducing you to ash.” I placed my hands on my hips. “Didn’t they teach you in the University of Logris never to play with fire?”
His brows drew together. “But you would have gained your freedom. The wards are—”
“Tied to your life-force,” I said.
Valentine stared at me for several long moments without speaking. He wanted to know why I hadn’t attacked when I had the power to break free.
“I could never burn you,” I murmured.
His gaze drifted to my lips and back to my eyes. “You protected me. Why?”
“Because I love you.” The words were automatic.
Valentine’s rigid posture slackened. He rubbed his forehead and frowned. “Why?”
“Because you spent years building a friendship with me and setting the foundations for love.” I cupped his cheek. “Because you’re generous and noble and kind. Because you always guided and protected me, even when it cost you your life. Because no matter if you’re dead or alive, soulless or ensouled, I’ll never stop loving you.”
He lowered his thick lashes and flicked his gaze down to my lips and up to my eyes. “Explain.”
“The life I imagined before meeting you was bleak,” I murmured. “Witches and wizards were dismissive of me because I was a Neutral, and it was hard to trust the vampires I worked with when they usually had an ulterior motive.”
His brows drew together. “Your blood?”
“And my potential for being a broodmare,” I said. “By the time you showed any interest in me, we already had lots of things in common. I was thrilled to have caught your attention.”
“Because of my status?” He stood so close, I could feel the heat of his body against my bare skin.
My pulse quickened, and I tried to say the words without stuttering. “I won’t deny that I appreciated all the dates we had in the Human World or the wonderful food I ate at the palace, but we never socialized in Logris, so I never got to see you as the Vampire King.”
Valentine’s hand slid down my back, sending tendrils of pleasure racing across my skin. My eyes fluttered closed and I swallowed hard.
“You are a unique and peculiar creature,” he said.
“Is that a compliment?” I asked.
“I don’t know, but I would like to find out.” Valentine pulled me into his chest, his hardness pressing against my bare belly.
Alarm bells rang through my ears, making me stiffen with caution. This was the same version of Valentine who admitted to not loving anyone, not even Macavity. This was also the same Valentine who declared last night that I needed to work off some debt.
Our faces were so close that his warm breath fanned across my face, sending pleasant tingles across my skin. His eyes were a deep indigo, bordering on violet, but I couldn’t tell if the red in his irises were from passion or the reflection of my hair. As soon as his lips met mine, the sirens in my head fell silent, and I closed my eyes.
His kiss was stiff at first, challenging me to claw at his face or fight back with fire, but I melted. Melted against his hard body, melted in the grip of his strong arms, and melted into the kiss.
These past few weeks had been a constant struggle to restore Valentine, and now that he was finally alive, I couldn’t resist his touch. A voice in my head told me I needed to wait, to use this opportunity as a means to persuade Valentine to take back his soul nucleus, but the feel of those soft lips against mine and the hardness pulsing against my belly blasted my intentions into the ether.
I parted my lips to sigh, and Valentine’s tongue met mine in a caress that zinged across my every nerve. He tasted of red wine, dark chocolate, and desire, and when he pulled me even closer to deepen the kiss, my head spun, and I lost all sense of myself.
The pulse between my ears quickened, muffling the roar of blood. Warmth settled low in my belly, and my core pulsed with need.
Valentine’s hand slid up my waist and settled on my breast, rolling my nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Lightning bolts of sensation shot down to my aching clit. It pounded as hard as my pulse, and my folds became slick.
“You’re delightfully responsive,” he growled.
A whimper reverberated in the back of my throat. Here I was, standing naked, needy, having been prompted into declaring my love. I was wholly and completely at Valentine’s mercy.
Valentine traced hot wet kisses down my jaw and the column of my neck, setting my senses on fire. One bite of those fangs, one tiny trace of thrall, and I might start craving it all over again.
I bit down hard on my lip, suppressing another moan. Just because I was desperate for his touch, it didn’t mean I was naive. All those salacious comments people made about me had gotten to his head.
It was no wonder Valentine refused my offer to file his documents to pay off my debt. Why would he need me as an administrator when I was his kept woman, blood cow, and if I didn’t end this right now, his thrall.
I jerked back, raising my palms against his chest in a double motion for him to stop.
“Miss Griffin?” he asked with a frown.
“Let me put on some clothes.”
His gaze swept down to my breasts. “I can erect another ward if you want some privacy while we do the deed.”
I slapped at his chest. “I’m not having sex with you.”
Ignoring his pinched lips and flared nostrils, I wriggled out of his hold, finding my pants on the earth that had been reduced to ash at my feet. I slipped on my pants and searched for my top.
“Why would you refuse me when every sign indicates that you hunger for my touch?” he snarled.
The entitlement in his voice made me bristle. I turned in a slow circle and found my top hidden behind a tall patch of poppies. “Don’t think I can’t tell that you’re trying to take advantage.”
Valentine appeared at my side. “You said you were in love—”
“But you don’t feel the same.” I picked up the garment and shook off the ash. When he didn’t deny my statement, I turned to meet his cold gaze. “Do you even feel anything for me?”
He folded his arms across his chest, the tightening of his lips saying that he liked me more before I interrupted his fun. “You’re compelling.”
Tightening my lips, I threw on my top. Who on earth knew what that meant? I had to move things along before Valentine slipped through my defenses again and I did something with him I would regret.
“Do you know anything about soulmates?” I asked.
He inclined his head. “Of course.”
“I spent time with your soul when your heart was in a container, and with your preternatural body.” My palms rested on his pecs. “Our plan was to restore you after you’d found a way to destroy Kresnik, but Prince Draconius and his warriors interrupted us in the shower and stabbed you through the chest.”
“This is the battle
that resulted in my decapitation?”
I nodded. “It took a while to find your body, reunite it with your heart, and set your remains on fire. I was ready to resurrect you from your ashes, but someone attacked me before I got a chance to help you rise.”
“Who?” he snarled.
“Nonaginta-Novem, one of Prince Draconius’s sons.” I swallowed hard, sure I’d already said all this the day he’d resurrected.
If I told Valentine directly about his soul nucleus, he might react the same way he did in the Soul Healing ward and walk away. “What do you think your soul would do if it knew its mate was in danger?”
“Rush to help, of course.” His eyes widened. “What are you suggesting?”
The pads of my fingers dug into his pecs, and I breathed hard, trying to work out a way to break the news to him in a way he would accept. “What if something went wrong and only part of your soul went to help me? It would explain why a chunk of your memories are missing and why you no longer feel love.”
“No.” Valentine backed away.
I rushed toward him, but he caught me by the wrists. “What is this?” he snarled through clenched teeth. “Your nefarious magic? Another ploy of Kresnik’s?”
“But I’m not—”
“Enough,” he snarled. “There will be no talk of torn souls.”
“Will you at least go to the hospital and ask a specialist?”
“My personal physician verified that I’m no longer preternatural. No living being can survive without a soul.”
“If they were resurrected with phoenix fire, they could,” I replied.
Valentine would be insulted if I mentioned Brother David, especially considering that all the poor man did was stumble about. Unlike the fire user Hades had referred to as a human golem, Valentine’s body was old enough to operate without a soul. Having a partial one only gave him the restraint he lacked as a preternatural.
He threaded his hands through my hair, cradling the back of my head in his palms. From any other version of Valentine, this might have been a loving gesture, but the man standing holding my body against his had no memories of ever feeling love toward me—not even affection.
I sucked in a sharp breath, waiting to see what he would do next.
“You are a woman of contradictions, Miss Griffin.” His voice was deep and resonant, making me ache for his touch. “With one breath, you refuse my advances, but your pulse has quickened, your pupils are dilated, and I’m intoxicated by the scent of your arousal.”
My cheeks burned. Did he have to use his superior senses to catalog my every response? Valentine’s gaze dropped to the pulse point on my neck, making me wonder if he would demand my blood.
He leaned into me and whispered, “Even now, you still yearn for me to bury myself inside you.”
“I wouldn’t be reckless enough to get myself hurt,” I snarled.
“I don’t follow.” His lips grazed the shell of my ear, making my nipples tighten and my skin grow hot.
Where was the Dharma salt when I needed it?
The phone in his pocket buzzed, cutting through the fog of my arousal.
I pulled away. “If I listened to what my body wanted, it would break my heart to know you only saw it as a financial arrangement. Losing you before was agonizing.”
He pressed a kiss on my neck. “Then let me ease your suffering.”
I shoved at his hard chest, but he was as steady as an oak. “You’re not listening.”
“The truth lies in your body.”
“Valentine,” I snarled. “If you don’t stop trying to seduce me, I’ll—”
His other hand slid down to my ass and he wrapped his lips around my jugular vein. “You as much as admitted to being unable to cause me harm.”
“Do you even trust me?” I asked.
“No.” He kneaded my ass cheek. “Because you have an ulterior motive.”
I drew back, meeting his lust-filled eyes. “You think I’m plotting against you?”
“For a woman who craves my body, you seem unusually preoccupied with the state of my soul.” He sucked at my vein, sending a ripple of desire through my body. “Give me what we both want, and perhaps I’ll take you seriously.”
Clenching my jaw, I slid my hand to his erection and squeezed it with all my might. Valentine hissed his pleasure through his teeth. A growl reverberated in the back of my throat. Bloody vampires and their inhuman strength. He probably thought I was giving him a firm grope.
My hand traveled down his thick shaft, to the loose fabric beneath his crotch. Because of the old-fashioned cut of his pants, I couldn’t feel his balls, but I did the next best thing.
Easing the tiniest bit of magic into my palm, I set the cloth on fire.
Valentine jumped back and snarled. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Channeling my inner Coral, I cupped my hand and produced a fireball. “Try that crap with me again, and I’ll hurt you where it won’t heal.”
He sniffed. “You’re bluffing, and you’re lying to yourself. Even through your anger, I can tell you still desire me.”
I swallowed back a growl. Where was this acute level of perception the first night I visited the palace or after the battle with Kresnik or in the hospital or while he was walking me to this pocket-realm prison?
“Tell me I’m wrong.” He folded his arms across his chest.
“That’s the problem,” I said, my voice heavy with bitterness. “One of the reasons I love you so much is because you taught me to love myself. My Valentine wouldn’t ever demand such a sordid arrangement.”
Valentine’s phone buzzed again.
“It sounds urgent.”
He reached into his pocket, pulled out the handset, and snarled.
“Bad news?”
“You’re wanted at an emergency Council meeting. Apparently, Kresnik has also abducted the Mage King.”
Chapter Nineteen
Every ounce of blood drained from my face and settled in my plummeting stomach, and I fell back into the ward, only to bounce against its spongy surface. Someone must have noticed that the Mage King was missing and raised the alarm. The pulse in my throat pounded, and blood roared through my ears.
Valentine loomed over me, still holding his phone, which continued to beep with messages. Bloody hell. I needed to speak to Hades to get our story straight. If the Mage King had a secretary, and she saw Namara summon him to Hades’ office, then the Council might think Hades was responsible for the Mage King’s disappearance.
Hades didn’t seem the type to cover up for a woman who continued to refuse his advances, but he also wouldn’t tell the Council I had killed the Mage King in case the magic connecting us punished him.
The cloying scent of the wildflower meadow filled my nostrils, and the hum of dragonflies and bees filled my ears. My insides twisted and churned, forming tight knots, making me press a hand to my belly.
What about the surveillance camera in the hallways of the Supernatural Council? There had to be footage of Namara walking with the Mage King toward the man’s one-way trip to the Demon King’s lair.
Valentine’s eyes narrowed. Maybe he’d just sensed my panic. “Are you acquainted with the Mage King?”
Keeping my features even, I tilted my head to the side and pretended to think about his question. “Not exactly, but I’ve met him a few times.”
“Elaborate.” His phone buzzed again.
I glanced at the screen, hoping it wasn’t an update that implicated me in the Mage King’s ‘disappearance.’ “He was at my trial—”
“Where you were found guilty for my murder?”
My lips tightened, and annoyance settled over my skin, pushing away all thoughts of the Mage King. Did Valentine really think I’d killed him? Was that why he was treating me like some sort of kept woman whose services he’d already purchased?
Straightening to my full five-foot-five, I pulled back my shoulders and met his gaze. “If you read the minutes from the Supernatural Counci
l’s meetings as you claimed, you’ll see that one, that trial was held while I was unconscious and based on the flimsiest of circumstantial evidence, and two, I was later found innocent when the facts came to light.”
Valentine shook his head. “The Demon King didn’t exonerate you for my murder. He processed a pardon, which I assumed you had obtained with a bargain.”
I clenched my teeth. At least that explained why he was acting like a haughty king who had purchased plundering rights to my body. Right now, his entitlement paled in the light of my status as his prisoner and the threat of the Council discovering that I was the Mage King’s murderer.
It was lucky for me that the Council was blaming Kresnik for his disappearance, but I had to attend this meeting because it was a perfect opportunity to escape. There was no point in staying here if Valentine continued to shut down every time someone mentioned his soul.
“What about this emergency Council meeting?” I tried to keep the tremble out of my voice. “Won’t they be waiting for us?”
“You will explain to me your association with the Mage King,” Valentine snarled.
I huffed a frustrated breath. “It’s like I said before. We weren’t acquaintances. He set a trap and tricked me into infiltrating the Council building to rescue my coven. Then he tried to capture me for a bunch of experiments, but I fought back. He wove his shadows through your heart and took control of your preternatural body.”
Valentine stared at me for several heartbeats. Since rising from his ashes, he had absorbed a lot of information on the events of the past few weeks yet he hadn’t trusted me enough to delve into my version of events. My adventures would probably sound far-fetched, but they were the truth.
“How did you convince the Mage King to set you free?” he asked.
My eyes narrowed. “You think I slept with him?”
“Answer my question.”
“He encased me in a sphere of shadows and seized your heart,” I said, the words bitter as I remembered having been duped. “I thought I’d never escape, so I stabbed him in the crotch with the reaper scythe.”