by Sadie Moss
Before I could make a move, three more thuds came, and my heart dropped. No way I could fight that many opponents.
But in a flash, three figures raced to my side, forming a rough circle around me with their bodies, facing outward.
Sol, Jerrett, and Malcolm.
Their fangs had dropped, and they curled their lips back, hissing and snarling. They looked feral and wild, and more strikingly beautiful than ever. Relief weakened my knees as they crouched low, ready to fight.
“She’s ours. Back off.” Malcolm’s rough growl was nearly unrecognizable. But the possessiveness and dark warning in his tone was not.
The vampires who’d been slowly approaching us hesitated, looking wary, but they didn’t back away.
“Yours, my son? I thought you made no claim to her.” Carrick’s voice rang out from the dais above, his words taunting.
“I lied,” Malcolm ground out, his fangs glistening as all the muscles in his large body flexed. He looked like a berserker about to go on a rampage. “She is ours, father. All three of us turned her, and we will die fighting for her. She hasn’t yet completed her trials, as the law demands. Call off your people.”
My breath wouldn’t come as Malcolm’s words hung in the air. The tension in the arena was so thick I nearly choked on it.
Finally, Carrick made a sharp gesture with his hand. The vampires who had been slowly creeping toward us stopped.
“My son is right.” Carrick’s gaze was thoughtful as it burned into me. “She has not completed her trials. Until she does, no one is to touch her.”
The muttering of the crowd swelled in response to that. They didn’t like his answer. The vampires surrounding us stayed frozen in place, not advancing or retreating, but watching us with burning eyes.
“Take her back to her room, Sol. Now. Quickly. We’ll deal with my father and the crowd,” Malcolm whispered harshly.
Jerrett shot me a concerned look as Sol took my elbow and led me through a gap in the gathered vampires, his body tense and his fangs still bared. Mine had dropped too, I realized. Not that it would be enough to keep us safe if the entire crowd attacked.
As soon as we cleared the door in the arena wall where I’d entered from, Sol dragged me forward, shadow running so quickly I could hardly keep my bearings. We only slowed at the castle steps to pass by the guards, and in just a few moments, we were outside my bedroom. Sol yanked the door open and slammed it shut behind us, sliding the lock into place.
“Oh my God, Sol. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to! I didn’t—”
Everything that’d just happened seemed to pile on top of me like a mound of bricks, and I exhaled a harsh breath—maybe the first time I’d really breathed since that young, hungry-looking vampire had dropped into the ring with me.
Sol gathered me into his arms, holding me up as my legs weakened and I shook with shock.
“It’s all right, Willow tree. You’re all right. We’ll take care of this.”
My gibbering, terrified brain wanted to ask him exactly how they’d do that without dying themselves—a prospect that frightened me as much as my own death. But I couldn’t make any words come out, could only cling to him and cry as the high of battle faded, leaving me shaky and weak.
He smoothed down my blood soaked hair, whispering words of comfort and reassurance. Eventually, when my legs gave out completely, he scooped me up in his arms.
I was dimly aware that my upper body was covered in blood from the spider. But he didn’t seem to care at all, didn’t let my bedraggled, bloody state keep him from showering me with tender caresses.
He set me down on a chilly stone surface, and I realized we were in the bathroom. I was sitting on the edge of the tub, shock beginning to numb my body as Sol deftly turned on the water. The scent of lavender wafted up, mixing with the smells of blood and dirt that clung to me.
“Arms up, Willow tree. Let me help you.”
I raised my arms, and Sol tugged my sticky, wet tank top over my head. The chilly night air peaked my nipples, but I made no move to cover my breasts. I just watched Sol as he carefully removed my knee-high boots, setting them by the edge of the tub.
“Up.”
Sol took my hands and tugged me gently to my feet. I moved woodenly, dazedly. My brain felt like it had short-circuited.
He kneeled in front of me, unfastening my pants and working them down my thighs and legs to my ankles. He hooked his fingers in the sides of my panties and tugged them down as well. His face was inches from my core, so close I could feel his breath, and I clenched involuntarily, a jolt of awareness shocking my numb body back to life.
“Step out.”
Sol placed one of my hands on his shoulder, helping me balance as he tugged off my pants and panties. Then he tossed the remainder of my ruined clothes into the pile.
I knew he couldn’t see my body, but I still felt more intimately exposed than I ever had as he stood slowly in front of me. Then he swept me into his arms again and lowered me gently into the large tub.
Warm water enveloped me like a protective shield, and my lungs and muscles began to unclench.
Slowly, my brain began to function again.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Malcolm and Jerrett alone in that arena, surrounded by so many vampires. It seemed as though Carrick had acquiesced to Malcolm’s demand for my safety, but I didn’t trust the king at all. I wouldn’t put it past him to go back on his word.
“Are you sure Malcolm and Jerrett are okay?”
“Yes,” he murmured softly. “I wouldn’t have left them if I wasn’t sure of that. Carrick won’t let the crowd harm them. I’m more worried about you.”
“How… bad is it?” I whispered through chattering teeth.
Sol picked up the small bottle of shampoo from a shelf near the tub and walked around to the head of the large basin. He guided me back gently, wetting my hair. Then he began to slowly massage shampoo into my dark tresses, washing away the blood and dirt. My eyes slid shut as my scalp tingled, but I waited anxiously for his answer.
After a long moment of silence, he spoke. “It isn’t good. Many of the vampires here probably don’t even remember a time when fae were common. It’s been that long. Vampires and fae have always been enemies. We’re two sides of the same coin. One light and one dark.”
“Are the vampires dark?”
“Good guess, little Willow tree.” His fingers slid through my wet hair, combing out the tangles. “And the fae were—are—light. But don’t make the mistake of thinking light means good and dark means bad. There have been evil and noble members of each race; neither group is inherently one or the other. The fae are earth creatures, drawing their power from the sun and plants. They are life. Before human settlements were so widespread, fae could be found in every climate and landscape around the world.”
“And the vampires killed them?” A shiver worked its way down my spine, despite Sol’s soothing touch.
He reached down to drain the bath, letting the sudsy, blood-tinted water slip away. I shivered as my protective bubble of water disappeared, and Sol rubbed my arms, banishing the goose bumps that had risen on my skin.
Then he turned on the tap again, refilling the tub with fresh, clean water. As it pooled around my body, he moved his hands up, massaging my scalp lightly as he resumed our conversation.
“Yes. The vampires are responsible for the death of the fae.” His voice was tinged with something like regret. “It was before my time, but there was a period of about fifty years when most of the fae on earth were wiped out. Vampires became addicted to fae blood, and no one intervened to restore the balance. Since fae had always been the enemies of vampires, it seemed fitting to some.”
“So how do I even exist? If I’m part fae, where did that part come from?”
“I don’t know. There are supposedly a few small communities of fae that still exist. But they’re deep in hiding. The most likely explanation is that one of your parents was fae, or part fae. The full-blooded f
ae in your lineage could be several generations back. But one of your parents passed it on to you.”
My mom.
She’d left my dad when I was very young, so I’d never even gotten to know her. But I couldn’t imagine my dad, with his shiny bald head, furrowed brow, and wire-framed glasses as a powerful magical being.
“But why is everybody reacting so strongly to finding out what I am? Do they hate the fae that much?”
“That’s part of it. Time has not made the old prejudices weaken. But more than that, everyone here has heard stories of the incredible high fae blood can give, and vampires are not known for being able to resist the pursuit of pleasure.”
“So even though they couldn’t identify my fae blood before, now they’d kill for a taste?”
Sol’s fingers jerked slightly in my hair. “Yes.”
He sat me forward a little and scrubbed at my arms and back with a sponge. His breathing had quickened and deepened, and his grip had become a little tighter.
“Is it really that good? Fae blood? I mean, you three have been around me for weeks and managed to resist.”
He paused for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was low and almost pained. “We have. But it hasn’t been easy, Willow tree.”
I pulled out of his grip, turning around in the deep tub to stare at him. Only a few bubbles floated on the surface of the clear water, doing nothing to cover my nakedness, and I had to remind myself that Sol couldn’t see me anyway.
Although truly, I wouldn’t have minded if he could. The deep rumble of his strained voice, the slight tremor in his hands, and his tenderness as he washed me—they all combined with my heightened emotions from the trial to make my body and mind buzz as though I were a live wire.
“You want my blood?” The words fell from my tongue on a whisper.
“Sweet Willow, you have no idea how much.”
I bit my lip, staring into the emerald eyes that were like open windows to his soul. “Is that all you want from me? Blood?”
Sol froze for a moment. His nostrils flared, and his hands, resting on the edge of the tub, grasped the stonework so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“No, Willow tree,” he rasped. “I want so much more.”
13
Sol
Willow’s breath hitched. The sound of small ripples of water hitting the edge of the tub picked up speed as her whole body shuddered at the sound of my words.
Her aura danced with hope and desire, excitement and confusion.
But how could this precious creature be confused? How could she ever have doubted the effect she had on me and my brothers?
Perhaps because we all spent so long trying to deny our natures around her, trying to ignore the siren call of Willow Tate.
Even before we knew she was fae, we had all known there was something special about her. We had all craved her, had been entranced by her beauty, her mystery, and her fierce spirit. Once we discovered the fae blood running through her veins, we had all backed off, afraid of hurting her. Afraid of our hunger getting the best of us.
But I couldn’t resist any longer.
I wouldn’t take her blood, but I needed to claim some part of her.
Reaching into the warm water, I slid my hands around her narrow waist and hauled her to her feet. Her legs were too wobbly for her to stand on her own, but I pressed her wet body against mine, wrapping my arms tightly around her.
“I want more than your blood. I want everything that you are,” I murmured against her ear.
If the heat and truth of my declaration frightened her, it thrilled her too. She let out a breathless moan, wrapping her arms around me and turning her head to seek my lips with hers.
Groaning, I plucked her out of the bathtub and carried her, dripping, to the bedroom.
We almost lost her today. Fate placed her in our care and we almost lost her.
I would not lose her again.
Bending, I deposited her on the large bed. Small sounds drifted to my ears as she moved restlessly on the bedspread, her body on edge and desperate. I could already smell her arousal mingling with her cherry-almond scent and the aroma of the shampoo.
“Sol. I want you.” Her voice was raw and soft, full of nothing but a truth she’d held inside for too long. “Please.”
My heart slammed hard against my ribs. Bloodlust was rising inside me, but I forced it down. This wasn’t that kind of claiming. Not yet. Maybe not ever. Reaching one hand over my head, I pulled my shirt off quickly, then stepped out of my boots and pants.
I crawled onto the bed, sensing the warmth of her body as she lay sprawled open and vulnerable on the soft blanket. I worked my way up from her toes, planting small kisses on the arch of each foot before exploring the curve of her ankles, the shape of her calves. I bit the inside of her knee, and she gave a keening cry that spurred me on.
But I had waited too damned long for this moment not to savor every second of it. My Willow tree could wait just a little while longer.
And I would make the wait a sweet torture.
With the tip of my tongue, I drew a long line up her inner thigh, seeking the heavenly scent of her arousal that called to me like a drug. She shuddered beneath me, and I could hear her heart pounding as hard as my own.
When I reached apex of her thighs, I ran my tongue slowly up her slit to the hard nub of her clit. Her hips jerked, her legs coming up to press against the sides of my head, as if hoping to keep me there forever.
Maybe I should’ve been worried. Just a few days ago, I’d seen her bring down a powerful vampire warrior between her thighs. But if this incredible woman wanted to keep me here forever, well, I’d die a happy man.
Grabbing onto her hips to anchor myself, I lapped at her sweet softness, teasing her clit with fluttering strokes before plunging my tongue inside of her. She let out a breathy cry, writhing against the bed, but I refused to let her rest. I licked and nipped and sucked on her clit, driving her over the edge.
She came on my tongue with a shuddering moan, and then she came again. And again.
After the third orgasm, her body seemed to melt, the tension that’d been building in her since her trial ended finally dissolving. Her legs fell away from my head, and she sucked in a deep breath as a few aftershocks quaked through her body.
Fate, I wanted her.
I leaned back on my heels, basking in the glow of her aura. The heat of her body had dried some of the moisture from the bath, and her legs wrapped around my waist loosely, as if she refused to let me get too far away.
No need to worry about that, my sweet Willow. I’ll never be able to leave you now.
My cock was rock hard, and I fisted it tightly as I gazed down at her. I ran my thumb over the head, spreading the moisture that had already gathered there. Willow watched me. I couldn’t see her, but I was certain of it—her gaze was so intent on me as I stroked myself that I could feel it like a physical touch. I heard her give a small whimper, and her legs fell away from my waist. The mattress dipped as she moved.
A moment later, soft, warm lips encircled the head of my cock. Her tongue lapped greedily at the precum I’d been using to lubricate myself, and then she dipped her head, pulling me deep into her mouth.
“Oh fuck, Willow tree,” I groaned.
I wished to Fate in that moment that I could see. I wanted to gaze into her eyes while she did this. I wanted to see my cock disappear between those pretty, perfect lips of hers.
But instead, I could feel. And I felt so much.
A tendril of Willow’s wet hair fell across my thigh as her small hand encircled me, working in tandem with her mouth. Her other hand roamed my body, exploring the grooves of my abs and the tense muscles of my back before sliding over my ass.
When she rested both hands on my hips and pulled me into her mouth so deep my cock hit the back of her throat, a harsh grunt rumbled in my chest.
Threading my fingers through her hair, I guided her movements, fucking her mouth for a few strok
es. I felt a tremor work its way through her body as she let me use her this way, a mixture of fear and excitement tempered by trust.
“I won’t hurt you, Willow tree. I know you can take me. But I need more right now.”
My voice was rough, the words choppy as I fought to hold back my release. I had tasted the sweet perfection of her arousal, but I wanted to feel it too. I needed her tight heat wrapped around me. I tugged on her hair again, and the beautiful creature fought to keep her lips on me, only releasing me with a wet pop when I pulled harder.
She was so delicate, yet so wild and strong.
There had never been a better match for me. A better match for my brothers.
I hauled her face up to mine, kissing her deeply as we both kneeled on the bed, my cock pressing into her stomach. She undulated against me, rubbing herself against my body, and I growled. Cupping her face in my hands, I drank from her lips, tasting myself, tasting her essence. Drowning in the scent of her delectable, forbidden blood.
She worked her body harder against mine, desperate for another release.
Breaking our kiss, I pulled back and urged her to turn around. Draping her long wet hair over one shoulder, I placed a palm between her shoulder blades, applying gentle pressure.
“All fours, sweet Willow.”
She obeyed my prompt without question, breathing heavily as she waited. My cock ached to fill her, but I refused to rush this. I ran one hand down the long, graceful curve of her spine. When I reached the soft swell of her ass, I palmed both cheeks with my hands, kneading the firm flesh before sliding around to grab her hips.
The tip of my cock found the slick warmth of her entrance, and any thought of savoring this experience dissolved in a haze of blinding need. I drove forward, slamming into her so forcefully she rocked on her hands and knees.
“Sol!”
Her cry seemed to come from the pit of her soul, and when I withdrew and plunged in again, she pushed back against me, meeting me thrust for thrust.
She was so tight, so perfect. The sound of our flesh colliding as I fucked her, the soft grunts and pants she made as she built up to another orgasm—it was a barrage of senses I never wanted to forget.