Page 13

13

LUKE

I hold Gaida as she cries for a man that she doesn’t know and doesn’t love. Her body shudders against mine. This connection between us is formidable. I feel her grief as if it were my own. Her confusion is swirling through my veins like a storm. The sire bond amplifies everything, making her emotions crash into me with the force of a tidal wave.

“Shh,” I murmur, stroking her hair. “I’m here.”

“I don’t understand,” she whispers against my chest. “I don’t even know him. Why does it hurt?”

I guide her to the bed, sitting her down gently before kneeling before her. “Because you’re connected to him.”

Her blood tears have stained her cheeks crimson, and I wipe them away with my thumb. “How much of our conversation did you hear?”

“All of it,” I admit with a wry smile. “I knew the second you were outside the vault.”

“Of course you did.”

“It wasn’t insidious eavesdropping. I know you needed answers. He wouldn’t have given them freely if I were there.”

“I hate being sad for someone I don’t even know.”

“I know. It’s confusing.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, cupping my face. “You shouldn’t be seeing this, let alone comforting me.”

“Gaida, I’m here for all of it. The good, the bad and the ugly crying.”

“Gods!” she snaps, and I smile. “Ugly?”

“Still beautiful to me.”

“Nice save.” She flops back to the bed as the door opens and Dante edges inside.

“Is it safe to come in?”

“Yes,” I say, rising and sitting down next to Gaida. “Gaida has learned something today.”

“That you can’t fight fate?”

“Precisely.”

“You two arseholes can stop talking about me. I can hear you.”

Dante sits down on her other side and places his hand on her stomach. “I’m sorry, ma reine . It’s unexpected, and that makes it worse.”

“Do you know everything?”

“I can feel your grief. I’m not used to your emotions. They are difficult to sort through when you are also feeling the emotions of everyone else.” He looks at me. “This… this is deep.”

“It is,” I say, almost reverently. I can’t help the awe I feel around her. This is what I never had with Lucius. What I didn’t even know I could have. I don’t want to ever lose it. I will protect her with my life. This new blood bond between us makes it impossible to imagine a world without her in it.

“So, what’s next?” Dante asks, his hand still resting on Gaida’s stomach. “And I don’t mean with the ritual. I mean with Draken.”

“He stays in the vault until we need him,” I say firmly.

Gaida sits up abruptly. “No, that’s not fair. He’s helped us. He saved me.”

“He’s also an ancient being with unknown powers who just admitted he’s been watching you your entire life,” I point out. “Forgive me if I’m not rushing to give him free rein of the academy.”

“He could’ve left anytime,” she argues. “He chose to stay.”

“Which is exactly what concerns me,” I counter. “Why stay? What’s his real agenda?”

Dante raises his hands. “Whoa, let’s dial it back. We’re all on edge here.”

Gaida sighs, running her fingers through her hair. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m thinking of me and not the bigger picture.”

“We should talk about when to do the ritual. I assume you and Felix came to an understanding?” I ask. I know they came to something. I can smell him all over this bed.

Her cheeks flush, and she looks away. “Yes. He’s decided to go through with the ritual.”

“And you’ll turn him,” Dante says, not a question but a statement.

“Yes.” Her voice is soft but determined. “I’m not losing him.”

I nod, taking her hand in mine. “Then we need to prepare. The ritual will be complex, and there’s no room for error.”

“I know.” She squeezes my hand, then looks at Dante. “You’ll be there, right? Both of you?”

“Of course,” Dante says immediately. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me away.”

“Are you okay with this?” she asks me.

I frown at her. “That is a loaded question. Do I want Felix to die? No, of course not. But sharing you as my sire will be challenging. Especially because he will need you so much more than I will.”

“I won’t make you feel left out.”

“It’s not that. I’m secure enough in our relationship.”

“Then what is it?”

I consider my next words carefully. When I speak, they are measured, controlled. “I will need to work on controlling my possessiveness. The bond between us is intense, more intense than I expected. When Felix becomes your charge, I will be challenged. It’s something I won’t want to feel, but the vampire in me will.”

“I get it,” she murmurs, but I don’t think she will.

I’m coming across as jealous, and it’s not that at all. I have accepted these other men in her life. The primal beast that lives inside me will want to protect her even though she doesn’t need protecting from her own charge. It’s difficult to explain. I take a deep breath, centring myself. “I can handle it. It won’t be easy, but I’ve had fifteen centuries to learn self-control.”

“And it took you all of five minutes to slam her against a wall and fuck her senseless after your bond formed,” Dante points out with a smirk.

“Not helpful,” I growl.

Gaida’s lips quirk into a small smile despite the tension. “He’s not wrong.”

“The initial bonding is something that is needed,” I say.

She nods. “Seeing as you are both here and we have some time to kill, how about we?—”

Dante cuts her off by dragging her onto his lap. “I thought you’d never ask,” he murmurs before cupping the back of her neck and kissing her deeply.

I watch them for a moment, the way Dante’s hands grip her hips, the way she melts into him. It’s like watching art in motion, and I feel my desire rising. I slide my hand into Gaida’s hair, tugging gently until she breaks away from Dante with a gasp.

Claiming her mouth with mine, she moans deliciously.

The sire bond flares between us, hot and demanding. Her blood calls to me in ways I’ve never experienced before. It heightens my arousal tenfold.

Dante’s hands unbutton her jeans while I keep her distracted with my kiss.

“I need you both,” she whispers when I finally release her mouth.

Lifting her to her feet, we undress her together, Dante pulling her top over her head while I slide her jeans down her legs. Her skin is cool to the touch, but it warms beneath our hands. Dante moves behind her, his lips tracing the curve of her shoulder, while I drop to my knees before her.

“Beautiful,” I murmur, pressing a kiss to her inner thigh.

She shivers, her fingers tangling in my hair. “Luke...”

I look up at her, at the vulnerability in her eyes, at the desire written plainly across her face. The bond between us is electric, pulsing with life and need.

“I want to taste you.” I press my face between her thighs, inhaling her scent before my tongue finds her clit. She gasps, her hips bucking against my mouth.

Dante holds her steady, his hands cupping her breasts as he whispers sinful promises in her ear. I can hear every word, and it fuels my deep lust as I work her with my tongue.

“He’s going to make you come,” Dante murmurs, pinching her nipples gently. “And then I’m going to take you from behind while he watches. Would you like that?”

“Yes,” she moans, her body trembling. “Please, yes.”

I slip two fingers inside her, curling them as I suck on her clit. She cries out, her thighs tightening as her first orgasm crashes over her. I don’t stop, working her through it until she’s gasping and pulling at my hair.

“Too much,” she pants.

I stand, licking my lips as I meet her gaze. “Never enough.”

Dante bends her over the edge of the bed, dragging his cock out of his pants. She looks over her shoulder at him, her eyes dark with need. I undress quickly, my cock hard and aching as I watch Dante impale her on his length. He catches my eye and grins wickedly.

“Fuck,” Gaida gasps, her fingers clutching the sheets.

Dante’s pace is relentless, his hands gripping her hips as he drives into her. The sight of them together is intoxicating. Her eyes are half-closed in pleasure, his face taut with concentration.

“Luke,” she moans, reaching for me. “I want to taste you.”

I position myself so she can take me in her mouth, and the moment her lips close around me, I have to fight for control. The sire bond amplifies everything, making each sensation almost unbearably intense. Her mouth is hot and wet, her tongue swirling around my length as Dante’s thrusts push her forward.

“That’s it, ma reine ,” Dante growls, his pace quickening. “Take him deeper.”

She moans around my cock, the vibrations sending shockwaves of pleasure through me. I tangle my fingers in her hair as she works me with her mouth.

Dante reaches around to stroke her clit, and I feel the moment her second orgasm hits her. She cries out around me, her body trembling violently. Dante follows her over the edge with a guttural groan, his hips jerking as he empties himself inside her.

I pull out of her mouth, not wanting to finish yet. Lifting her gently, I turn her to face me. Her eyes are glazed with pleasure, her lips swollen and damp. Dante strips off and crawls onto the bed.

I lay her down next to Dante and settle between her thighs, the head of my cock pressing against her pussy. “Look at me.”

Her eyes lock with mine as I push inside her slowly, relishing each inch. The sire bond blazes between us, a living connection that makes every sensation more potent. I can feel her pleasure as if it were mine, can sense the way her body responds to mine.

“Luke,” she whispers, her hands sliding up my arms to grip my shoulders. “I feel you. Everywhere.”

“I know,” I groan, thrusting deep. “I feel you, too.”

Dante watches us with heavy-lidded eyes, his hand reaching out to stroke Gaida’s hair. The three of us connected in this moment, bound by something deeper than just physical pleasure.

I move slowly at first, wanting to make this last, wanting to burn the memory of her beneath me into my mind. But the bond between us demands more, and soon I’m thrusting harder, deeper, driven by an instinct older than time.

“Mine,” I growl, dropping my fangs. Gripping her hips, in a flash of speed, I sit on the bed with her straddling me. Nuzzling her neck, she tilts her head, and I bite into her, sharp and hard. Her sweet blood hits my tongue, and I groan endlessly as I drink from her.

Her blood rushes through me, its power unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. The past few days’ events have changed her; there’s something ancient and wild in her blood now. She clutches my head, keeping me at her throat as she rides me, her moans growing louder.

“Share,” Dante murmurs. He brings her wrist to his mouth.

He sinks his fangs into her wrist, and she cries out as we both drink from her. Her body convulses around my cock, triggering my release. I thrust up into her, groaning against her throat as I detonate inside her.

We release her and she collapses against my chest, trembling and sated.

“Fuck,” she whispers, her voice hoarse.

I stroke her back, feeling the connection between us pulse with contentment. “Drink,” I say, pressing my wrist to her lips. Her fangs drop instantly, and she bites down. I hiss as her bite is sharper than before. It’s exquisite.

I ease Gaida off me and lay her between us. She curls against my side, her head on my chest, while Dante presses against her back.

“We should rest,” I say, though I know we don’t have much time. “The ritual will require all our strength.”

Gaida nods against my chest. “I’m scared, Luke. For Felix. For all of us.”

“I know,” I say, kissing the top of her head. “But you are strong.”

She nods and falls asleep. Dante does too, but I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, wondering if her dreams are filled with me or with Draken.