Page 1 of Crave Me

CHAPTERONE

VESPERUS

The Houseof Death and Diamond.

A fitting name, considering how I felt right now.

So. Many. Fucking. Emails.

And the paperwork. Fuck, I was drowning in it.

Sign this. Approve that. Review these.

I wanted to bang my head against the goddamn desk. This was the part of being a king that I strongly disliked.

It was something I also rarely had to do as King of the House of Gold and Garnet. Most of my paperwork involved signing death warrants or providing kill orders.

We were a House of mercenaries who dealt blood like currency.

Alas, the formation of a new House within my territory required a whole different realm of administrative bureaucracy.

Especially when it resulted in all my constituents needing to decide whether they wanted to move into an area within the new boundary lines, or shift allegiances.

Most had opted for the former, selecting new homes throughout Scandinavia and sending me the bills for their relocations.

But a handful had chosen to shift Houses, their notorious penchants for death arousing their interests in the new formation. Particularly as it was filled with the newest supernatural breed in existence—the phantoms. They were similar to ghosts, being able to shift between corporeal and ethereal states.

I would have felt a bit slighted by the choice, except two phantoms had opted to join Gold and Garnet. And I was very much looking forward to getting to know them.

Once I surfaced from this administrative hell.

“You’re growling again,” Cara said as she set a mug of blood-spiked coffee on my desk.

I grunted and picked up the much-needed refreshment to take a sip.

The warm substance resembled liquid heaven against my tongue.

“A-positive,” I murmured, pleased with the offering. “Thank you.”

Cara winked and plopped down on the couch beside Larus. He gave her a deadpan look and asked, “Where’s my coffee?”

“Still at the coffee shop, I imagine,” she replied in a succulent voice that she paired with a batting of her long blonde eyelashes.

“Hmm,” he hummed, his silver-blue eyes lighting with a familiar fire. “Then perhaps I should be jealous?”

She smiled. “Maybe that’s the point.”

“Feeling bored, sweetheart?” he asked, his long, dark hair flickering with fae magic. “In need of a reminder regarding who you belong to?”

“Mmm, I do enjoy your reminders,” she whispered.

These two fae were as bad as vampires, constantly baiting each other into fucking. And they were known to enjoy an audience, too.

I cleared my throat. “This paperwork is hell enough without you two throwing sex vibes all over my office. If you’re not going to help, then get the fuck out.”

“So grumpy,” Cara teased.

“He prefers playing with knives over pens,” Larus replied. “But as the Gold and Garnet King, he has to address all these concerns personally or risk dissension within the House.”