by Sadie Moss
I hauled her upright, wrapping my arms around her ribs and reaching up with one hand to pinch and roll her nipple between my fingers. I couldn’t thrust as hard from this position, but I could get so fucking deep. In slow strokes, I tortured her, one hand slipping down to work her clit as my cock slid in and out with deliberated motions.
“Oh God… Oh fuck. Sol!”
Willow had never sounded so free. Her words were a throaty yell, and she reached down, desperately grabbing onto my forearm as she contracted around me, her whole body shaking.
I lowered her back to the mattress, staying rooted inside her. She lay on her stomach, bracing her forearms on the bed and letting her head fall forward, nearly limp from spent pleasure.
She muttered soft whimpers and moans, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pulled on her hips, raising them a few inches, and slammed into her over and over, fucking her like my life depended on it.
In that moment, it felt like it did.
Her cry rose to match mine, and when I exploded inside her, her tight muscles milked my twitching cock, drawing every last drop of come from me.
We collapsed to the bed in a pile of limbs and wet hair. I rolled to the side so I wouldn’t crush her, keeping my softening cock buried inside her and pulling her with me, my arms still wrapped possessively around her.
We lay that way for a few moments, tangled up together and sated, before Willow finally spoke.
“Holy shit.”
Her voice was breathless and weak, and there was an undercurrent of awe that made pride swell in my chest. I wanted to fuck her all over again, to show her this was only a small taste of the pleasure her body was capable of.
“That’s one way to put it.”
I chuckled, gliding my fingers up and down her soft stomach, feeling the small bumps of the runes on her skin.
“No, I’m pretty sure that’s the only way to put it.” She wriggled, grinding her ass against me and clenching her inner muscles around my cock. It pulsed, already eager to claim her again. “I didn’t even know sex could be like that. Is it because I’m a vampire? Is it always like this?”
Grudgingly, I pulled my softening cock from her tight body. I rolled onto my back and pulled her over to rest on top of me. I wanted her to see my eyes, even if I couldn’t see hers.
Resting my hands on her lower back, I gazed toward her face. “Sensory experiences are always stronger for vampires than for humans. That includes sex. You see, smell, taste, and hear more clearly, so it enhances the entire experience.” I reached up to brush a thumb across her cheek, tucking her damp hair behind her ear. “But that, Willow tree, isn’t what just happened. It wasn’t like this just because you’re a vampire. It felt this way because you are mine, and I’m yours.”
She drew in a sharp breath, and I could feel her serious gaze on me. “I am? You are?”
“Yes, Willow tree. If you want to be.”
Silence fell for a moment, and then the room seemed to warm several degrees, as though sunlight had somehow invaded the space. But it was just the radiance of Willow’s smile beaming down at me.
“Yeah. I do. I really, really do.”
Her lips met mine again in a fiery kiss. I hiked her body tighter against me and groaned, my need for her not even close to sated.
“Thank Fate for that.”
14
Willow
My mind spun. My body was deliciously sore and tired. As Sol slipped his tongue into my mouth, his lips moving against mine, I felt high. Or drunk. Maybe both.
I hadn’t been exaggerating when I told Sol that “holy shit” was the only way to describe it. I’d never had sex like this before in my life. Not in nine years of boring under-the-covers sex with Kyle, and certainly not in the year and a half of quick, awkward high school sex with my first serious boyfriend.
What Sol had just done to my body was unlike anything else I’d ever experienced. My nerve endings had sung. My body had burned. The pleasure had built up so intensely it bordered on pain, and yet I’d been unable to get enough of it. Even now, worked over completely, wrung out from multiple orgasms, my body craved his like a junky seeking their next fix.
I wanted to feel him fill me with hard, fast strokes. I wanted his hands all over my body, controlling me carefully and powerfully, dominant and tender at the same time.
And I wasn’t alone in that. He wanted me too.
My heart thudded with a mixture of fear and joy as his promise echoed in my mind.
You are mine. And I’m yours.
I had no reason to doubt his seriousness. And although we’d skipped several milestones I might’ve liked to hit had I still been human—like dating, texting, maybe a few phone calls—this didn’t feel anything like a one-night stand. This was about much more than sex, and I felt certain I was more to him than just a willing conquest.
And he was so much more to me.
The thought ignited the burning embers inside my body, and I worked myself against him, straddling his hips and gliding my folds up and down his rapidly hardening cock.
“Fuck, Willow.” Sol grabbed a fistful of my hair, lifting my head up as my lips sought his again. “I could spend a week in this room doing nothing but exploring you.”
“Mm-hmm.” I sat up, resting my hands on his muscled chest and arching my back slightly. My eyelids fluttered shut, my hips picking up speed and urgency as I moved against him. Rational thought was becoming difficult.
A knock on the door shocked me, and I almost jumped a foot in the air. Sol’s hands on my hips steadied me.
Suddenly, the world came crashing down around me again, the awful situation we were in breaking me out of my sex-induced haze.
Malcolm and Jerrett.
Sol had promised me they were safe, and I believed him. I knew if he thought they needed help, he’d be the first one out the door—nothing could keep him from having his brothers’ backs.
But that didn’t mean everything was going well. Whatever had happened in the arena after we departed, I doubted it was a tear-filled reconciliation between father and son. Malcolm had sent Sol away with me to make sure I was safe. And I’d taken advantage of the momentary respite to fuck his brains out.
Guilt flooded over me like hot oil, and I clenched my jaw.
“No, Willow tree.” Sol sat up, wrapping his arms around me and pressing our naked chests together. “I can hear the gears turning in your brain, but I won’t let you feel bad about this. I needed you, and you needed me. I won’t apologize for it.”
He captured my mouth in a soft, sweet kiss.
The knock at the door came again, louder this time.
Sol smiled against my lips. “But now I think we’d better get that.”
“Right!”
I snapped out of the daze his kiss had momentarily put me into, crawling off his lap and darting into the bathroom to clean up. I poked my head out a minute later to find the door still closed and Sol holding out a pretty blue dress for me. I gratefully took it, slipping it over my head and turning around to let him zip it up.
As we turned toward the door, whoever was on the other side hammered on the wood impatiently, and my stomach dipped with nerves. It wasn’t Jerrett or Malcolm; I was sure of that. If it’d been either of the brothers, they would’ve called out already, most likely to comment on the fact that the entire room smelled of sex.
Sol held out his hand for me, and I interlaced my fingers with his, grateful for his steadying presence. The lust had faded from my body as nerves took over, but the need to be close to him still remained. Whatever was coming, we’d face it together.
After undoing the lock, Sol swung the door open. Two guards whose names I didn’t know stood on the other side. I recognized them as members of Carrick’s personal retinue. They were both big, and the one on the left had his fist raised in the air, poised to bang on the door again.
At the sight of us, they both stood taller, their muscles almost seeming to expand somehow.
“Kin
g Carrick requests your presence in the throne room,” the one on the right said stiffly.
Jesus. Was it a rule that vampires had to be so huge?
Then again, if Carrick had hand-picked his guards from generations of humans over the years, I shouldn’t be surprised that he’d ended up with the largest, most intimidating specimens.
Sol was nearly as tall as they were, and likely just as powerful. And I’d been getting stronger and stronger as the vampiric change in my body settled in. But I knew we wouldn’t try to fight them. What was the point? If we didn’t cooperate with King Carrick, he might take his wrath out on Malcolm and Jerrett, and neither of us would risk their safety like that.
“All right.” I squeezed Sol’s hand tighter and nodded to the guards.
They separated, one walking in front of us and one behind as we traversed the long hallways to the throne room.
I’d never been there before. So far, my only interactions with the king had been in the great hall, and that one time in my room. My gut churned. The fact that he’d called us to his throne room rather than the great hall meant this would probably be a private audience, but I had no idea whether that boded well or poorly for whatever was about to happen.
On the one hand, I’d be glad not to have a roomful of vampires staring at me and salivating. On the other hand, I kind of wanted witnesses to our meeting. I didn’t trust Carrick as far as I could throw him.
Sol’s body was tense next to mine as we descended several sets of stairs to the first floor. The delicious, relaxed expression he’d worn as he cradled me in his arms ten minutes ago had vanished entirely.
Finally, we reached a large set of double doors with two more guards stationed outside them. They licked their lips as we passed, their eyes glued to me, and I shivered. Apparently, everyone in the Penumbra now knew about my fae status. Could Carrick actually keep me safe even if he wanted to? How much control did he have over his people?
The vampire guards pulled open the doors, and our escort led us in. They remained near the entry as the heavy wood thudded shut behind us, and Sol led me toward the front of the room.
The throne room was large and lavish. It looked like it could accommodate several hundred people, but at the moment, it was nearly empty, except for several guards spaced around the walls. A long carpet led to a dais where a heavy, elaborate throne sat. Malcolm and Jerrett stood before it, and Carrick was sprawled on the throne with the lazy, dominant posture of someone used to having his way in all things.
They all looked up as we entered, Malcolm and Jerrett’s gazes sharp.
“Ah, there she is.” Carrick flicked a hand at me as Sol and I came to a stop between his brothers. “Your little secret.”
“Father.” Malcolm’s tone was deep and measured, as if he were holding onto his temper by a thread. “This is not what should be concerning you right now. The shades have been attacking supernaturals again. People are frightened. Willow has seen two women creating more of these things, and they are doing it for some purpose. That is what we should be talking about.”
A smug smile passed over Carrick’s face. “Of course, you would say that, my son. Because if I become distracted by other minor problems, you get to keep your prize.”
“She’s not a fucking prize!” Jerrett burst out, his sharp features contorted in anger. My heart swelled at his defense of me, but the look on Carrick’s face made goose bumps crawl over my skin.
“That’s entirely a matter of perspective, my boy. You’re old enough to remember a time when fae walked the earth in abundance. I would think you, of all people, would understand what a precious gift it is to find one still living.”
“She’s not the only one.” Sol spoke up from beside me. “Her very existence proves the existence of others. You don’t need her.”
Carrick tutted. “Perhaps. But a bird in hand, as they say. Any fae that still exist are so deep in hiding they haven’t been seen for hundreds of years. But now I have one in my very court. A halfling, perhaps, with weaker blood than a pure fae. But it’s enough.” He shifted his gaze to me, his dark brown eyes burning with fervor. “I want to feed from her.”
“No!” Jerrett was the one who shouted it, but Sol and Malcolm both shifted to defensive stances.
The king tipped his head back, looking annoyed. “It wasn’t a request. It’s my right to claim anyone I want in my territories. And I want her.” His eyes narrowed. “I won’t kill her. Why would I do that? I want to keep her fae blood flowing for many, many years.”
“You don’t think other vampires once said the same thing? Made the same promises even as they decimated the fae race, unable to control their bloodlust as soon as they got a taste?” Malcolm bared his fangs, his muscles flexing. “And it doesn’t matter. You will never feed from her.”
Carrick’s fist slammed down on the arm of his throne, the sudden movement and the harsh noise making me jump. “That’s enough! Remember your place, son. When I turned you, it was with the hope that we could rule together. You broke my heart when you turned your back on me and our legacy, but I have allowed it. I’ve allowed you to live clanless and wild, but I will not tolerate open insubordination.”
My eyes widened, and I turned my head to stare at Malcolm. His father had been the one to turn him?
Holy shit. I’d thought my relationship with my dad and stepmom was messed up, but this made my family look like a freaking Norman Rockwell painting. It also explained so much of their strained dynamic, and why Malcolm seemed to resent his father so much.
Before Malcolm could respond, Carrick flicked his hand in the air again. All the guards stationed along the walls took two steps forward. It was as if their forward movement compressed the air around us, making it suddenly difficult to draw breath.
“Do not test me, son. I still care for you, but you know as well as I do I cannot show weakness.”
Carrick spoke carefully, and for the first time since I’d met him, I saw his facade of arrogant power crack. Sorrow glimmered in his dark eyes, and I believed him when he said Malcolm had broken his heart.
But it was hard to feel sorry for a man who held my life and the lives of three men I cared about in his hands, especially when he seemed so determined to abuse that power.
Malcolm didn’t speak, but his lips pulled back from his fangs as he snarled. Jerrett and Sol bared their fangs too, all three men turning to face the guards who began to advance toward us.
Damn it. There were at least a dozen guards in this room, plus the two stationed outside the door and however many there were in the hall. There was no way the brothers could fight them all and survive. They’d die trying to protect me, and in the end, Carrick would have my blood anyway.
Unless…
“I’ll do it!”
The words burst from my lips, and all movement in the room stopped. The guards stopped stalking toward us, and each of the brothers froze in shock.
Carrick’s face lit with a smile, and I rubbed my hands over my arms as a sudden chill swept through me.
“If”—I swallowed thickly, steeling myself—“you promise not to hurt these men. And you have to give me a fair trial first. Let me complete the last challenge, and if I survive, I’ll let you feed from me.”
“Willow, no!” Malcolm swung around to face me, looking even more murderous than when he’d addressed his father, if that was possible. “You cannot do that.”
“Yes, I can. It’s my blood.” I tried to lay my hand on his arm, but he jerked away, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe what I was saying.
Jerrett and Sol looked equally murderous, but Carrick’s grin broadened.
“Those are fair terms. Agreed,” the king said smoothly, rising from his throne and gliding down the steps to stand before me. “I’ve been quite impressed with how you handled your first two challenges, and there is little doubt in my mind you’ll complete your trial with flying colors. And then, my dear little fae, you will be mine.”
His large hand rea
ched out to caress my cheek, and it took all my willpower not to shrink away from his touch.
Malcolm made a move toward his father, and my heart stuttered with fear.
“Malcolm, no! It’s my choice. Please!”
The large vampire arrested his movement, although his breathing was hard. He swiveled his head to look at me, and the pain, anger, and torment in his chocolate eyes nearly bowled me over.
Then he turned and stalked from the room.
Jerrett and Sol each grabbed one of my elbows, their touch gentle but their expressions hard. The guards parted for us, and we left the room, trailing in Malcolm’s wake.
15
Willow
After leaving the king’s chambers, Jerrett and Sol escorted me back to my room. Neither of them spoke, and Malcolm, striding angrily on long legs, had quickly disappeared ahead of us.
A riot of conflicting emotions filled my chest. Worry. Anger. Hurt.
How can he not see that I didn’t have a choice? Was I supposed to let them fight Carrick’s guards? To die trying to protect me?
The suffocating silence, broken only by our soft footfalls on the stone floor, seeped into my soul like a winter chill. The stiffness of Sol’s posture was even harder to accept when just an hour ago, he’d been so sweet and tender with me. When we reached the wing where our guest rooms were located, I cleared my throat.
“Do you think Malcolm is okay?”
After a long pause, Jerrett said softly, “You hurt him, Will.”
The gravity of his voice let me know Malcolm wasn’t the only one I’d hurt. Rage at Carrick bubbled up in my soul. I hated that he’d put us all in this position, forced me to choose between hurting men I cared for so deeply or watching them sacrifice themselves for me.
“I know. But you understand why I had to do it, right? And Carrick said he won’t kill me.”