Page 37 of Battle for the Shadow Prince (A Bargain with the Shadow Prince #2)

37

Unexpected Guests

ELOISE

W ith only a week until the full moon, the key turns in my lock and Everald is there. Once again, he’s the picture of sophistication, his long, lean frame dressed in a waistcoat of amethyst velvet. A diamond earring winks from his lobe under perfectly coiffed hair. But it’s the shopping bags weighing down his leather-gloved hands that catch my attention.

“You’re already paying for my blood, Everald. You know you don’t have to bring me gifts.”

“You’ll thank me for these,” he says through a fang-filled smile.

I adjust the neck of my robe to cover more of my chest, then flip a hand over in his direction. “It’s just, you know now that I’m mated, right? Accepting all this under the circumstances isn’t appropriate.”

He pulls a set of boots from one of the bags. They’re a higher-end version of what I left beside the lake during the first trial. “I couldn’t help but notice you came back through the archway barefoot.”

I can’t restrain my excitement as I take the boots and quickly try them on. “They’re a perfect fit!”

“Marabella helped me with your sizes.” He opens the second bag and hands me new tactical pants and a few different T-shirts and jackets. “I heard Everline had to cut yours off you when she did surgery. I told you I can get anything.”

I hug the clothes to my chest. “I’m not sure what I would have done—” Before I can consider the consequences, I deliver a peck to his cheek. It’s meant as a friendly gesture of thanks, but his eyes lock on me and his nostrils flare. Everald isn’t human, and I’ve made a grave mistake treating him like one.

I back up a few steps, lifting my chin and offering an even, restrained smile. “Excuse me. That was, uh, I don’t know what came over me. Um, the clothing is perfect. I will wear them in the next trial.”

He holds up a hand. “Relax, Eloise. I wouldn’t dream of trying anything with someone else’s mate. I’m here for blood, that’s all.”

I blow out a held breath. “Thank you for understanding and for this very thoughtful gift.”

He plants his hands on his hips. “I’m only going to say this once. You can thank me by winning this challenge. My money is on you, kid.”

He’s outfitting me because he wants me to win. This isn’t because of my blood. He wants Valeska dead. “You want me to win.”

“I do.”

I’m about to ask why when his eyes narrow. “This isn’t a conversation we should have, Eloise. Suffice it to say that I am passionate about a free market, and nothing that exists under Valeska’s rule is free. Now promise me you’ll win, and let’s move on.” He tugs the velvet cuff of his jacket.

“I plan on it.” The tension in my shoulders eases a notch. “So if you don’t mind…” I offer my wrist.

He tips his head. “Of course.”

Everald does not fall to his knees as Marcel did. He raises my wrist to his mouth and strikes. He drinks his fill slowly, just to the point where I feel woozy. When he draws back and seals the wound, he smiles a blood-tinged smile, his gaze focused over my shoulder toward the window.

I turn around to find Damien standing there, glaring at Everald like he’s picturing his head on a spike. The vampire pulls my key from his pocket and leaves without another word.

“Don’t let him get to you?—”

My back thuds against the wall, my robe spread wide, Damien’s hips pressed between my thighs.

“Damien—” I want to reassure him that the donation means nothing to me, that Everald is just the type of man who enjoys being seen as one of the haves. Someone with access to something that others can’t have. I want to tell Damien that I’m his and only his. But he cuts me off with a deep kiss.

In a feat of strength that would be impossible for a human, he holds me up with one arm and works my robe open with the other. And shifts out of his clothes. His hands slide down to my knees and spread me open as wide as I’ll go. And then he’s in me. In one slick thrust, he buries himself all the way to the hilt, filling every part of me.

“You’re mine, little bird,” he rumbles, stretching me to my limit. “Mine.”

“I love you, Damien.” I dig my fingers into the silky waves of his dark hair, completely his. Supported against the wall, I’m at his mercy as he starts to move, and there is no place I’d rather be.

“I love you, my mate.” His thrusts come harder, faster, deeper. He fucks me senseless like he’s trying to merge our bodies. Sweat breaks out across my skin even as his shadows wrap me in their cool embrace. His illusion slips, and his horns and wings break through. My monster. My mate.

I reach over his shoulders and stroke the inner webbing of his wings. It seems to turn him on, because he growls and picks up the pace. My back thumps against the wall as he unleashes himself. This time my climax doesn’t roll in like a gentle storm, it tears through me like a lightning strike. I scream loud enough they can probably hear me in the waiting room. Damien revels in it. He watches me come apart with a satisfied grin even as he swells inside me and finds his own release. I wrap my arms and legs tighter around him, taking everything he has to give.

“Mine, Eloise. Only mine,” he repeats into my neck.

“Always.”

As the time for the second challenge closes in, Damien stays with me every day and trains me during my time off at night. We’ve started practicing my magic again too. Lighting and extinguishing a candle, making water form into salamanders that crawl the sides of the tub in my bathroom, creating a breeze strong enough to blow the covers off my bed. I’m getting stronger.

Physically, I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve done more push-ups, lunges, and squats in this room than a fitness guru. And the witchy shakes Marabella has been feeding me make my recovery from my donations faster than ever. I need all the help I can get. I must win this second trial. Damien and I deserve better than this. It’s time we put it behind us.

A knock comes on the door. I stiffen as the key turns in the lock. I’m not due to donate until after the next challenge. It’s not time for a meal, and Damien never uses the door.

When it swings open, I see a face I haven’t seen since the day I came to Marabella’s.

“Olivia? How did you get my key?” I smile brightly, although the last time I saw her, she withheld vital information from me. We’d bonded during the auction and the train ride over, and at first I thought of her as a potential friend. But looking back, she’d worked at Marabella’s before and knew about the outrageous expenses donors are charged that can keep them indebted to the house for years. She knew how difficult it would be for me to buy my freedom without having sex with my clients, but instead of warning me when the topic of sex came up, she comforted me with Marabella’s strictly enforced rules. If I ever met a potential donor, the expense schedule would be the first thing I’d mention. Anyone with half a heart would do the same. Olivia didn’t. I don’t hate her. After all, nothing would have kept me from coming here, but I don’t trust her.

“I wanted you to be the first to know.” She widens her smile under those same doll-like features I found so arresting the day we met, and I see fangs. “I no longer work at Marabella’s. I’m a client now.”

I hold my smile, although if she suggests I feed her, I’m diving across the bed for the rope. This is my day off, and I don’t want to feed a brand-new vampire whose restraint, I assume, is questionable. “You found someone to change you?”

She nods enthusiastically. “Finally met a vampire willing to do it.”

Olivia struck me as perfect when I met her, but now I notice some enhancements. Her skin is smooth as marble. Her straight-backed posture is effortless. And her big blue eyes put off their own light. “I’m glad you got what you wanted.”

She sighs. “Me too. Finally.” She brushes nonexistent wrinkles from her dress. “I just wanted to say goodbye. I’m no use to Marabella anymore, so she’s letting me go.”

“Congratulations. So you’ll be living here now, as part of the coven?”

She nods excitedly. “I was approved to stay, and my sire is taking me in. We’re… involved.”

“So, uh, good to see you, and good luck with everything.” It’s as close to see you later as I can get. “It’s my day off, so I’m trying to prepare for tomorrow.”

She sniffs, grinning as if I’ve said something funny. “Uh, right.” She stands as if to leave. “I thought I might get a taste of your blood, but Marabella says all your slots are booked. I guess this challenge has made you, like, a famous donor or something.” She rolls her eyes.

I lift my chin. “Not for too much longer now. With any luck, I’ll win the next trial and Damien and I will be free of this place.”

Olivia unlocks the door. “True. It will all be over for you soon, one way or another.” She stares at me, a smirk plastered on her face the entire time the door is closing.

By the time the lock finally engages, I’m not surprised to find my hand on the hilt of my dagger.