Page 81 of A Hunt Bound in Blood

“You are a glory,” I whispered in her ear, barely aware of what I was saying. Led solely by instinct and need, I thrust my hips against her, trying so hard to move slow but failing so, so badly. “The hells themselves made you to torment me. To teach me that not even a prince of demons can boast of full control.” A moan ripped out of my chest when her inner muscles clenched around me, and Glory’s head fell back on my shoulder, her lips parted in silent screams. “My Glory. My downfall. My perfect fucking vampire.”

All awareness snapped as I tipped over the edge into mindless, boundless passion. All I heard were Glory’s cries, and every time my name passed her lips, my sense of victory nearly stripped me of my sanity.

I wanted to rip off her blindfold and make her look me in the eye, watch the expression on her face as I seared the memory of my body into hers, but this wasn’t about me. This was about her pleasure, her enjoyment. Her finally taking a chance to drop her barriers for the first time in her lonely fucking life.

So I slid my hand between her legs and rubbed her as I ground myself into her, coaxing her with small encouragements, guiding her around her natural tendency to tense, to chase, to control. And every time I pulled her back, her cries grew louder, her throes of passion more intense, until it took everything I had not to tumble into the abyss.

When her climax finally came, I was sure the sound of her voice carried all the way back to the fury’s cavern. All the way to the opposite end. All the way up to the fucking dragon’s roost.

It was the last straw for me, and I spilled my entire being inside her, certain I had never come so hard in all my years.

This woman. This mage. This temptress.

I kissed my way down her back as I slowly disconnected our sweat-soaked bodies, then pulled her towards me when I stretched out across the bedroll.

Then, finally, I untied the white silk and watched it slip from her hazel eyes. Eyes filled with tears.

I tensed and my gut grew heavy with dread. But when I searched through her emotions, I sensed nothing dark. No grief, no regret.

“Are you all right?” I asked, bracing for her answer. “I didn’t hurt you? That wasn’t too much?”

Her smile lit the tunnel, brighter than the enchanted lantern. Brighter than the sun.

“I think I feel better than I ever have in my entire life.”

Her words were a solid blow to my heart, and I found myself short of breath as she placed a chaste kiss on my shoulder and cuddled up beside me.

What in the hells was this feeling swirling around inside my chest? Light and heavy at the same time. Easy but so fucking huge.

I didn’t want to put a name to it, terrified of what it would mean for us. For our plans. But I also never wanted it to fade.

So for tonight, I sat with it, let it wrap me up like a warm blanket that would cover us both as sleep pulled us under.

Glory

XXXV

I woke up the next morning feeling loose and light, as though a heavy weight had dropped off my back.

I knew it was a temporary reprieve. The sword over my head waited for me as soon as we returned to the city limits, but for today, with Cammon, I was free. That freedom was a mixed blessing. All my life, I’d envied people who didn’t have such dangerous secrets to hide, but my envy had always been based on what I imagined such a life might be like. Now that I’d tasted it for myself, I dreaded returning to my empty, guarded existence. I could already see how my envy would turn into resentment. Bitterness. All the hate-filled emotions I’d worked hard to avoid.

While I was grateful to Cammon, I also wondered if I hadn’t made a terrible mistake by allowing myself to open up.

Yet I couldn’t regret it. And I couldn’t seem to pull away from him as we packed up our small camp and continued along the tunnel. My hand kept finding its way onto his arm or his back, until finally he circled his fingers through mine and tucked me close to his side.

Throughout the day, I checked the messaging crystal to make sure we hadn’t missed anything from the king, but it was silent. I could only hope the lack of news meant Princess Brynna hadn’t fallen to her curse.

We made camp that night, and after Cammon showed me what herbs worked well together to improve the bland potatoes, I pulled out the map so we could lay out our route. It didn’t take long for me to spot the giant flaw in Tersey’s suggested path, and I bent my head into my hands with a groan.

“What’s wrong?”

“This route takes us right through the rest of dragon territory,” I said, pointing it out to him. “I thought we might be able to skirt it, but according to Thorn’s notations on the map, the next landmark is in the middle of this valley, which is still in the dragons’ domain.”

I remembered the size and strength of the single drake shifter I’d fought. If we ran into more than one of those wingless dragons, we would be in trouble.

Cammon grimaced. “Are we surprised? Tersey wants everyone who comes after this amulet to die a million horrible deaths.”

“How did he expect to get to it?”