by C. D. Gorri
“I know you, Tess,” I murmured, stepping close enough I caught her flowery scent. “You’re trying to figure out how to play this impossible hand you’ve been dealt, and still keep your family safe. All I want to do is help with that.”
“Like I said before. Why did you come back?”
There was a new hardness to her, steel, not stone, flexible, not brittle, and I wondered what she’d gone through these past four years. I knew how much my life—my worldview—had matured. If she was half as changed as me, she would be an entirely different person.
Besides, her question was perfectly valid.
I’d walked away from Contessa Cormier. I’d left her standing in the driveway, sobbing her eyes out, Markus beside her.
I’d left because I wasn’t a Vampire Born, but a Vampire Made, and she deserved better. She deserved someone like Markus, or Caden, or even the guy smoking a cigarette, who was clearly not of the royal houses, but still, had the vampy blood caste system going in his favor.
But I was back, and now, seeing her…
Fuck, she was beautiful, and I half forgot why I’d left in the first place.
“I came back, Tess, because I couldn’t stay away any longer.” I straightened my spine and took her stare, matching it with one of my own. “I came back because there is no fucking way Viktor is going to lay one finger on the woman I love.”
Chapter Ten
Contessa
“…and that’s where we are.” Markus downed another glass of whiskey, his fifth by my count, and completely missed the coaster when he slammed down the empty tumbler.
Not that it mattered.
The formal dining room—my mother’s favorite—was completely destroyed, and I couldn’t stop my eyes from straying to the furrows carved into the mahogany floor by Viktor’s monsters. If their claws could do that to solid wood, what could they do to a…
“Tess.” Silas always had such a way about him. He could command a room simply by being there. He could command an audience with just a few words.
And up until he left, he’d commanded me, bone and flesh, although at sixteen, I’d scarcely imagined more between us than a few scorching kisses and one tight embrace that I’d never forgotten.
Ten minutes later, he’d been gone.
Five minutes ago, he’d said he loved me, though that had to just be a slip of the tongue, because Silas Augustine had never loved anyone but himself, that I knew for sure.
“Yes, Silas?”
I was sitting apart from the others. Though Rafe had tried to join me on the small couch, I’d sent him back to his chair, where he watched me with hooded eyes, the ashtray in front of him filled with cigarette butts.
He wouldn’t understand. None of them would.
I had Viktor’s blood inside me. Only a drop, but a drop of poison was enough to kill someone, a drop of radiation could contaminate an entire city, and right now, I didn’t want to so much as touch any of them.
Not when I was polluted, inside and out. The heavy necklace dug into my skin, a visible reminder of his ownership, just like the black magic of Viktor’s blood coursing through my veins was an invisible one.
“Now that Markus has brought me up to speed, is there somewhere we can go?” Silas asked, and I refocused on him. “I’d like an opportunity to talk to you before we decide how to get you out of this.”
I bit back a laugh. Get me out of this. I was already in too deep.
“Of course. We can use the morning room.” I stood, smoothed my torn silk skirt, and gestured to the door. “We will be right back—this should only take a moment.” Markus inclined his head in acknowledgement, but Raf… Rafael looked positively angry.
“I’ll call my father.” Caden pulled out his cell. “Have our lawyer draw up the papers for financial reparation. If he serves them to Viktor’s chief advisor tonight, Hugh can make his offer in the morning.”
“You’re planning to squeeze him?” Silas stopped on his way to the door, and I turned, halfway through the doorway. “It would have been a good plan,” he said slowly. “But it won’t work. Viktor’s already secured a loan.” Silas scratched the back of his head, his muscles bunching under his jacket. “Let me rephrase that. He’s taken the Rivettes’ eldest son captive, in exchange for half their fortune. Over a hundred million, from what I’ve heard.”
My shoulders sagged. That was it, then. Eleven million in the face of such wealth meant nothing.
“You wanted to talk?” I had to keep my feet moving, though hope trickled out of me with every step. I stopped at the small nook we used for tea. “Let’s talk, though I fail to see why you bothered coming back.” I shrugged. “I mean, it’s a done deal now, since I’ve tasted his blood.”
“Fuck,” he growled softly.
Silas moved as quietly as one of those big cats, not so much as a hiss of his feet against the floor. But I felt him at my back, unshakeable and steady—two words I never would have associated with the hothead I once knew.
When I turned around, his eyes told a different story.
I’d always been captivated by Silas’s eyes. They were the palest violet, unmatched in color or intensity, and there had been a time in my life when I promised myself I’d spend the rest of my life staring into them.
Foolish promises from a foolish girl.
“Never foolish, Tess,” Silas murmured before he tipped my face up with his finger. “Never, ever foolish.” And just like that, my heart stopped.
Silas knew what I was thinking because he could read my mind.
Because Silas had been my first.
I’d fed from him, and he from me. Then we’d kissed. Then…he’d left.
“Why?”
A look of shame flew across his face, and then it was gone, leaving me to think I’d imagined it. I’d wanted to ask that question for four years, but now that I had? I wasn’t nearly ready to hear the answer.
“You know why, Tessa.” He shook his head slowly, his hair tumbling out of its bun. He moved to the window seat and shed his jacket, revealing the man beneath, and that man was absolutely gorgeous. “I was never good enough for you. Not my blood. And certainly not me.”
He pulled his hair loose, and I might have swooned a little.
“You were better off with Markus, and he loves you. Always has, always will.”
But we were all meant to be together, why can’t you see that? I wanted to scream. I mean, the three of us… We’d known each other our entire lives. I’d trusted Silas, right up to the minute he broke my heart into pieces.
“Fine, then. I’ll never be good enough for you. I cannot give you anything like you are used to.” He waved at the opulence around us. “I cannot offer you anything of value.” The look on his face reminded me of how he looked after he’d fed from me. “Including children.”
The words hung between us, and I wanted to tell him he was wrong about all of it. Except he was right.
But I didn’t want Silas to give me anything.
I wanted to share my life with him, which was an entirely different matter.
“Aren’t you going to say anything, Tess?” He moved closer. “Or are you going to make me do all the talking?”
In truth, I didn’t know if there was anything to say. Viktor had brought his revenants to dinner. If he’d wanted to let them loose—even on a whim—my family would be dead. Worse, with a touch of his magic, he could turn my sisters into the very monsters we all feared.
The situation was impossible, and for the first time in my entire life, I’d lost hope, if this dead, empty feeling was any indication.
But what kind of hope could you have when you were outmaneuvered and outgunned?
“Tess? Now you’re scaring me.” Silas took my hand, led me to the window seat, and pulled me down beside him, worry written all over his face. “I mean, the last time I saw you, you wouldn’t shut up.”
I smiled at the memory, despite myself. “Do you remember that hideous purple dress I had on?” I asked, not ment
ioning I’d picked it because it matched his eyes. What a sap.
“Oh, trust me, I do. You looked like a wedding cake.” Behind his insolent smile was a hint of the old Silas, the one who filled my bed up with water balloons and accidently set fire to Father’s desk with his homemade fireworks.
I shut my eyes and leaned my head against the window. I didn’t know if it was the old memories welling up inside me, or the fact I was completely exhausted, but I was tired of playing games.
I was tired of wasting time pussyfooting around the truth, especially when I only had two days left.
“I loved you, Silas,” I murmured, my eyes squeezed shut. “I loved you with all my heart, and you broke it. It’s never been quite the same again, no matter how hard I’ve tried.”
He moved closer, a whisper in the air. “I’ve never stopped loving you, either. But I stand by my decision. I was bad for you then, and I’m twice as bad for you now.”
“And why is that, Silas?” I asked, my heart hurting all over again while I wondered why he was putting me—us—through this again. “What big, bad secret do you have that makes you think that?”
“I’ve been working as a mercenary for the throne, along with Caden. I have been for the past two years.”
I shot off the seat like it was electrified.
“You see, I figured if I couldn’t have you”—he looked up at me, his eyes a muddy gray—“then the only thing I could do was stop Viktor before he ever got to you.”
Chapter Eleven
Contessa
I left Silas downstairs with Caden and pulled Rafael and Markus upstairs.
I needed them.
After tonight, I needed them crushed up against me. I needed to know they loved me, that I loved them back. That our unit could not be broken, no matter what. That we were okay, in this ocean of shit that threatened to drown me.
I stripped their clothes off like this might be the last time we were together.
And it might.
We only had a day and a half left now, and who knew what bullshit Viktor would pull between now and then?
“Stop thinking about that bastard,” Markus said, pulling me onto his lap and nipping my earlobe, his fangs dragging down my neck, hard enough I forgot everything except how those little pinches made my nipples peak.
Rafael slid his hand up my back, massaging my shoulders while Markus kissed me deeper. He tangled his hand in my hair then pressed me tighter to his lips, his tongue taking its leisurely fucking time tracing my teeth.
When he pulled back, Markus’s breathing was as unsteady as mine.
I knew what he was thinking. What we were all thinking.
If this is the last time…
I kissed him even harder, desperate to never let this end.
*.*.*.*
Hours later, I was sprawled on the bed, Rafe snuggled into my side, my head on Markus’s chest, his heart thumping steadily beneath my head. There was the barest shift in the air, and Caden materialized in the doorway, looking us over with a slow smile.
“This is what I’ve been missing?” His shirt was already gone, then he kicked his boots against the bed with a thud. My fangs pushed down, elongating painfully, and I went up on my knees in the middle of the bed. Caden quirked an eyebrow, taking his good old time sliding his cargos off.
Good God, he was huge.
The bed dipped as he crawled in, elbowing Rafe aside.
Rafe snarled, showing a fair amount of fang, then shoved Caden onto his back and pulled me against him, winding his hand in my hair until he had a firm grip. He turned my head until I stared straight at Caden. Our gazes locked.
“You want to join in, there’s rules,” Rafe explained softly. “We take care of Tessa. Nothing else matters tonight.” Rafe slid his finger through my folds, licking his fingers greedily, and Caden’s chest began pumping. When he pinched my nipple, my body jerked, Caden’s eyes following the movement.
Markus licked up my throat, Rafe plunged two fingers inside me, and the points of Caden’s fangs emerged below his full top lip.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, almost without thinking, and Rafael bent my head, baring my throat to Caden. Just that one move and an empty chasm opened up inside me. I wanted more than fingers; I wanted Caden pounding into me; I wanted Markus’s familiar kisses; I wanted Rafael’s hands teasing my orgasm out of me.
“She should conserve her strength,” Markus said, a hint of worry coming into his voice. “For what’s ahead of her.”
“He’s right,” Caden said, though I saw the hunger in his face. “If you are forced to go through with this…”
“Shut up and feed from me,” I growled, as Rafe let go of my hair.
I tumbled forward and went down on all fours, and Caden was on me, his cock pressing against my ass. Markus right in front of me. Rafe’s hands slid down the backs of my calves, then my feet, his thumbs digging into my arches, and I shivered. God help me, but I wanted all of them.
Caden wedged his knee in between my legs, spreading me wider, pushing aside the horrid necklace to reveal my neck. I licked up Markus’s cock, making him hiss. Rafael continued massaging my feet. God, who knew feet were such an erogenous zone?
Caden bit slowly, his fangs sliding in, deeper and deeper, suctioning around the punctures.
In one move I had Markus’s cock in my mouth, tracing the ridges and contours just the way he liked, popping the end out of my mouth. When I pulled away, his eyes shone for a moment, dread bleeding from him for a second before he masked it.
The fear wasn’t for him, though—it was for me, and it broke my heart. Then he slid off the bed with a regretful sigh and tipped his forehead until it rested against mine.
“When Caden’s done, make sure you feed from him. Enough so you sleep through the night.”
“I will,” I promised him, already lost in a wave of desire, Caden timing his pulls at my neck with tweaking my nipple, his knee working its way up to my sex, forcing my legs apart. “I love you, Markus. Never stop kissing me?”
Then he was devouring my mouth again, one hand holding my hair, stretching my neck tight, right where Caden was suckling. Rafael wrapped his hands around my ankles, then he spread me wide open for Caden, who pushed his head against my swollen folds.
Rafael pinned my ankles to the bed, and Caden pushed into me, stretching me wide, while Markus held me firm, kissing and kissing me, our tongues battling. Caden settled into a long, slow rhythm, stopping only to seal up the puncture wounds.
Markus released me and rocked back on his heels, staring deep enough into my eyes that he saw every one of my fears. I closed my eyes, shoving those fears away.
Tonight was for me. For us. I wasn’t about to let Viktor ruin what little time we had left.
“Do you need more, Contessa?” Caden asked softly, his warm breath skimming my neck. “We want this to be very, very good for you.”
I didn’t know if I could handle any more. I mean, three of them… I had many ideas, all of them definitely X-rated, but there were the laws of physics to consider.
“Roll her,” Rafael said, slipping his hands up to my knees, looking over Caden’s shoulder. “Roll her on top of you, and we’ll make this good, Tess, really, really good.”
One deft move and I was astride Caden, my palms braced on his chest, my hair covering us like a curtain. Laying his palm between my shoulder blades, Rafael pressed me down, so I lay flat on Caden, my legs straddling him, his cock embedded in me so deep, I was bursting.
Rafael’s finger traveled down my spine, the top of my ass, then slid between my cheeks until he circled my other hole, the tip of his finger pressing in. I wiggled, and he braced a hand on my lower back to hold me still, pushing Caden’s cock in even deeper.
“None of that, love. Caden will have to learn to share.” Rafael’s finger pushed in deeper, then he added another one. I tried to push against that delicious fullness, but Caden wrapped his arms around me, holding me still for Rafael’s exploration.
“We’ll both be inside of you, Tessa.” Rafael’s wicked promise tickled my ear. “Both of us pounding into you, you’ll be fuller than you’ve ever been before.”
I moaned, trying to move, frustrated that I couldn’t. I looked to Markus, but he was sitting cross-legged on the corner of the bed, his gaze intense before he leaned slightly forward.
“And when Rafe’s finished with you,” Markus said, wicked promise in his eyes, “I’ll take his place. And fuck you so hard you won’t remember your goddamned name.”
I came.
My body shuddered and my orgasm roared through me with a suddenness that caused my breath to stutter in my lungs, dots to swim in front of my eyes.
“Let’s see if we can do that again, shall we?” The press of Rafael’s cock against my back entrance had me finding my lost breath, and then he was inside, stretching me with a delicious pinch of pain that was outweighed by the pleasure of having both males inside of me, moving in and out in tandem, neither of them giving too much, Rafe’s fingers reaching around, finding my nub.
Then it was a matter of me remembering to breathe, Caden’s fullness expanding, Rafe sliding in and out, his breath heating my nape. Rubbing and thrusting and pressure, and my body shook, badly enough Rafe had to steady me, pull out far enough to give me a rest.
Then he slid back in as Caden softly groaned, his fingers teasing my nub now, harder and harder, his eyes closing, his body going rigid beneath me as he found his release, warm seed spilling out of me.
Rafe pinched my clit, then bit my shoulder.
“Come, Tessa.” Rafael bit my earlobe, hard, and goddamn it, another orgasm roared through me, my body going rigid, then boneless, while Rafe finished inside me with a groan. I shuddered deeply, my insides quaking as the climax faded away, leaving me a sweaty, limp mess.
I was tucked beneath Caden’s chin, closing my eyes as he murmured my name. It almost wasn’t fair, the amount of control these males had over me, and yet… I knew I controlled them just as much.