Crimson Covenant Read online

  She paled and glanced away.

  That sinking pit in my stomach was back. “Tell me.”

  “A nobleman’s daughter died. Her father knew and declared war. The coven…” She swallowed. “They were drugged with something staked out in the sun, according to the scholar that got away.”

  “And this is something you want to try?” I ripped my hands through my hair, tugging on the strands. “No, Lyric. No.”

  “I’m strong!”

  “Strong enough to rip into a human’s neck and feed?” I challenged, seeking any way to get through to her.

  Her mouth opened and shut a few times. “You would want me to feed off someone else?”

  My vision went thermal for a few heartbeats, then evened back out. Fuck, I couldn’t even think about her feeding from someone else. “No, of course not. I’d feed for the both of us.”

  A slow smile spread across her face. “See? It could work.”

  “No! Damn it, Lyric, could you be any more stubborn?”

  “Sure, I could be you!”

  “Well, as long as I’m me, then you’re staying human because I sure as hell won’t turn you. I’m not rolling the dice with your life!”

  “Fine!” Her fists clenched, and her pulse skyrocketed, only serving to trigger the predatory part of my nature. If she ran, we were both fucked, because I’d chase. I’d conquer.

  I blinked. “You agree?”

  “That you won’t turn me?” She scoffed. “Sure. Good thing Avi’s blood is just as pure.”

  The world went infrared, and I growled. “She would never disobey me.”

  “Maybe not, but Julian said all warrior blood was strong, and I bet if I told your Assassins that turning me would keep you alive, one of them would gladly oblige.”

  “Lyric,” I warned, my fangs descending and my entire body preparing to attack the first male who even thought about getting close enough to my mate to turn her.

  “And if you’re so angry that I want to save your life, then don’t worry about feeding me. I’m sure any of the guys over in that little feeding room would do just—”

  I moved so fast that my mouth finished her sentence, kissing her hard and long, my tongue parting her lips to thrust deep. It wasn’t a sweet kiss, or even a passionate one. It was pure, carnal ownership of my mate, and she knew it.

  Thank God she went instantly pliant against me, melting within seconds, or I wasn’t sure what would have happened.

  “Alek,” she whimpered against my mouth.

  I grabbed her ass and lifted her against me. She wrapped her legs around my waist and kissed me back, her hands tangling in my hair as I found the nearest wall.

  She didn’t even blink—oh no, she used the wall as leverage, arching so she could press her breasts against my chest. The growl that rumbled from my chest sounded exactly as inhuman as I felt.

  She was mine. Mine to protect. Mine to cherish. Mine to provide for.

  My cock throbbed against the zipper of my leather fighting pants, and she worked her hands between us, flicking open the button and pulling my zipper down.

  We were so on the same page with this.

  I grabbed her dress by the fistful, yanking it above her waist, then ripped the strings of her underwear one by one and discarded it. Our kiss had turned so hot I was sure we’d both combust.

  She shoved my pants and underwear past my hips, and my cock sprang free.

  “Fuck, Lyric,” I groaned, then sucked her tongue into my mouth.

  That little whimper she gave me right there was always my undoing. She gripped the back of my neck and rolled her hips over mine.

  My fingers found her wet and slick, already swollen with need. “You want me.” I sank two fingers inside her.

  “I always want you.” She tried to lift up so she could ride my fingers, but I kept her pinned against the wall. “Alek, please!”

  I sucked her lower lip, then slipped my fingers free, swirling them over her clit until her breathy pants became keening cries.

  “You’re mine.” I looked in her eyes as I said the word.

  “I’m yours,” she agreed, her face tight with desire, her scent blooming around us.

  I kissed her once more, then lined up my cock to her entrance and thrust home, taking her in one long slide.

  “Alek!” Her nails bit into my skin.

  The feel of her was too much, but it always was. There was nothing as perfect as being inside Lyric, feeling her surround me. My hips swung in a merciless, punishing rhythm, driving into her hard and deep.

  She tilted her head and I struck, my fangs sinking into her neck as I fed. The taste of her was incomparable, and I took her even harder, grinding my hips over hers so I hit her clit with each thrust. She convulsed around me, her body going tight just before she came, her pussy rippling around my cock with every aftershock.

  A book hit the floor. Then another, yet I drove on, taking her over and over. I released my bite, sealed the tiny cuts, and kept going. She was heaven. I couldn’t get enough.

  “Oh my God, Alek,” she groaned, her body going tight again, and I slid my hand between us, strumming over her clit so she came again, this time screaming my name so loud I was sure everyone on the estate could hear her. Good.

  Still, I pumped into her, pushing away the spiraling pleasure that drew my balls tight as she dropped her head to my shoulder and held on.

  Then she nuzzled my neck, opened her mouth against the sensitive skin, and bit.

  Oh, fuck, yes. My orgasm overwhelmed me, and I came in waves so strong, I couldn’t stop it, filling her with everything I had as she stroked my back, my neck, kissing me softly where she’d bitten me.

  Where she’d bite me over and over again if I turned her. She’d feed there for the rest of our lives, her lips and teeth at my skin. She’d bear my younglings, wake with me each night, and shine brighter than every single star in the sky…if she survived.

  She kissed me again, even though she hadn’t broken my skin.

  But I was starting to think she might just break me.

  12

  Lyric

  Hot water cascaded over my bare skin, loosening my coiled muscles. The black stone which created Alek’s massive shower absorbed the heat, creating a sweet steam that caressed every inch of my skin. I ran my fingers through my long hair, lathering slowly, leisurely. I had a few hours still before my final meeting with my advisor, and I was beyond content to linger in this luxury spot until then.

  I bit my lip, trying to contain my smile. It had been a month of nothing but pure joy. Memories flashed red hot in my mind—Alek’s mouth, his strong hands on my body, the sounds he made when he was inside me. The way we could talk for hours, nothing but honesty and silk sheets between us. The way he made me laugh, and dropped his unbreakable king mask in order to be real and vulnerable with me. Just me.

  I blew out a breath and stood beneath the rain-like showerhead in the center of the massive space. An ache pulsed deep in my core, the insatiable need I had for my mate turning my fingers from washing to caressing. And I didn’t just need Alek on a physical level, but a molecular one. The past month with him had only solidified our mythical bond, and the more time I spent with him? The more I fell in love with him. The terrifying vampire had a dark past that broke my heart—losing his parents, inheriting a throne he still wasn’t sure he was worthy of, constantly worrying about Avianna and his people. The weight of the crown was heavy to bear, especially when he not only had to worry about his vampire subjects, but the neighboring supernaturals.

  I had yet to meet the lycans or the witches, and I sure as hell didn’t want to come across another demon anytime soon. But as the new vampire queen, I would be expected to address them all at some point.

  My mind whirled at all the new customs I’d studied alongside my research for my thesis. I’d put the finishing touches on it just yesterday, and I was beyond happy with it. I had full confidence it would earn me my doctorate and quite possibly fuel the pages for
the novel I hoped to write. But, with everything I’d had to learn about my new world, I’d been lucky I hadn’t switched my thesis research to vampire customs and laws of the modern world.

  One thing at a time. Tonight, I’d wrap up one piece of my human life and be able to walk head high into the future…

  A sinking weight hit my chest. The one thing capable of robbing my joy. Alek’s constant refusal to attempt to turn me. There were far more advantages of turning me than there were risks, in my opinion. One, I’d get to spend an eternity with my mate. Two, I’d be stronger, more capable of defending myself in case the demons came knocking again—which my gut told me they would. It may have been humans that attacked the Witch princess, but I had this undeniable sense that it was all connected. And three, I’d step into the vampire queen role with an actual understanding of what their life was like on a daily basis. Sure, there was the tiny risk I might not survive the transition, but wasn’t it worth a try?

  Alek didn’t think so. Not when my life was at stake. He’d rather have me for whatever time he could than risk ending it too soon. Which, okay, sure, was totally romantic, and I loved the stubborn ass for it, but I felt it in my bones. I was meant to be with him for far longer than the span of a human life.

  I grazed my fingers over my skin, imagining they were his. God, why did he have to be in the war room right this second? The need in me intensified every second, ratcheting up so much I had half a mind to slip on a robe and race across the estate—

  “Do you know how hard it is to concentrate,” Alek’s voice sounded behind me, and I spun around. “When you’re touching yourself like that?”

  My lips parted open on a gasp. He’d wended inside the shower, fully, gorgeously naked. Beads of water rolled over his skin, curving with each hard line of his muscles. Those blue-gray eyes blazed as they took in every inch of my body.

  I tipped my chin up, holding my position an arm’s length away despite every cell in my body screaming to span the distance between us. “I thought you were getting better about tuning out my…emotions,” I said. I definitely didn’t want to distract him during work, and we’d both practiced dulling those intricate transmitters our mating bond naturally emitted to each other. It was no easy feat, but necessary. I couldn’t have Alek getting distracted while he and his Assassins were out dispensing justice. Just the mere thought that I might put his life at risk was enough to make a shiver race down my spine.

  “Oh, I am,” he said and took one step closer to me. I nearly whimpered at the nearness. “But Lachlan was droning on about rumors of an old enemy resurfacing. No hard proof. Sounded like he was reaching. So my mind wandered for half a second, and what should I find you doing?” He smirked, reaching out a finger and trailing the tip along my bare arm.

  I trembled under that innocent touch, my heart racing. “Shame, shame,” I teased, my voice breathless. “Tuning out your best friend like that.” He stepped closer, only an inch of space left between us. My eyes trailed down, and my lips parted open at the sight of him—hard and stunning for me. “Poor Lachlan probably got his feelings hurt,” I said, flickering my gaze back up to his eyes.

  A low, warning growl rumbled from his chest. His hand darted up faster than my eyes could follow and gently clutched around my neck. Heat licked up my spine as he pushed me back and back until my spine kissed the warm stone wall.

  “Don’t,” he warned, lowering his lips to my mouth. “Ever.” His fangs descended in a flash, and anticipation flooded my blood. “Say another man’s name when you’re naked and dripping wet.”

  Challenge radiated from my eyes as I glanced from his face to the hand still wrapped around my throat. Power ebbed from every inch of him, buzzing my skin like a flicker of electricity. One move. One squeeze. And I’d be gone.

  I shaped my lips into a wicked smile, arching a brow up at my mate. Warmth flooded my core, a churning desire I knew he could feel down the bond. “Or what?” I teased.

  His eyes guttered, that gentle pressure at my throat not budging an inch toward pain. “You are reckless with that precious life of yours,” he said, his voice low, gravely. “Challenging the king of vampires isn’t something many do so lightly.”

  Another warm shiver danced along my skin, his hard cock just grazing my thigh he stood so close. Steam wafted around us, kissing our bare skin as my self-control fractured. I reached between us and gripped his hard length. “My king,” I said, pumping him. He hissed, the water from the shower making my hand warm and slick for him. “My mate,” I whispered, adding my other hand and gripping him harder. He thrust his hips, sliding between my hands. “Who better to challenge you?”

  He growled again, his eyes flaring wide as they locked with mine. “Lyric,” he said, baring his fangs.

  I went wholly liquid at the sound, at the display.

  He jerked me upward, that hand at my throat propelling me toward him until his lips crashed onto mine. I didn’t falter, didn’t lose my grip on him, and he groaned as his tongue met mine. Water rolled down our skin, slicking our bodies as we glided together.

  I carefully teased my tongue over his fangs, his bottom lip, nipping at him with my own show of power. He hissed against my mouth, moving his hand to cup my face. Such gentleness, such careful calculations when it came to touching me.

  Because he was terrified he’d break me.

  I jerked my head back, just enough to catch his gaze. Releasing him, I shoved my hands against his rock-hard chest. Surprise lit his eyes, but he moved. Not because I had any real strength, but because I wanted him to.

  I narrowed my gaze on him as I shoved him again and again until the backs of his muscular calves hit the slick stone bench across the shower. He sank atop it, eyes locked on mine as finally we were on the same level. Eye to eye, nose to nose, the peaked tips of my breasts brushing against his chest.

  “You wouldn’t have to be so gentle with me,” I said, stepping out of his touch. “If you’d turn me.” I dropped to my knees before him, and he growled in response.

  “Lyric,” he warned.

  I smoothed my hand over his strong thighs, digging my fingers into his flesh with just the right bite of pain to make him hiss. “Alek,” I echoed his tone and let him see the burning need and love in my gaze as I lowered my head between his thighs.

  “You—”

  I wrapped my lips around his hard cock, cutting off whatever argument he’d been about to make.

  “Fuck!” He hissed as I took him deeper into my mouth. God, he tasted amazing, all heat and power in my mouth. I shot a glance up to him as I rocked my mouth back and forth, drawing back enough to have him slip out with a satisfying pop. A tremor rolled through his body as I gripped him, spiraling my hands up and down his hard shaft, teasing his head with soft kisses, quick flicks of my tongue, and light grazes of my teeth. Alek arched his head back, writhing beneath my torturous teasing.

  Damn, I could do this all day. Working him up, coiling him into a tight spring ready to pop. Just like he did to me by simply existing.

  “Lyric,” he groaned, driving his hips up, trying to claim my mouth. I smiled up at him, teasing him some more, never fully taking him in.

  I trailed the tip of my tongue along the length of him, swirling my tongue around his head. “Turn me,” I breathed against him.

  “No.”

  I sucked on his head, pumping his shaft. “Change me.”

  “Fuck,” he hissed, lifting his hips. I drew my mouth back, smirking up at him.

  “Let me taste you,” I said, my heart pounding against my chest. I turned my head and bit at his inner thigh, the way he’d done to me so many times, only I didn’t come close to breaking his skin. Just more torture for him, by the tenseness in his muscles.

  “I’m not controlled by my dick,” he said, all growly. “You can’t sway me—”

  I took him fully into my mouth.

  As deep and fast as I could.

  I moaned around his considerable length, my blood flaring to life
at the way he filled me here. I rocked back and forth, taking him in so much my eyes watered. But I loved it, loved the way he writhed beneath me, loved the way his fingers tightened in the wet strands of my hair. Loved the way he tensed with each stroke, each suck.

  In this—our starvation for each other—we were equal.

  “Fuck, Lyric,” he hissed. “Baby, I’m going to come.” He tried to pull away.

  I gripped his thighs as I continued to devour him, holding nothing back, showing him exactly how much I loved him, wanted him, needed him. And when his hold tightened in my hair, when his entire body went taut—

  I moaned as his flavor filled my mouth. As I slowly, sweetly swallowed and pulled back and looked up at my mate.

  He clenched the back of my neck, moving so fast I barely registered that I was no longer on my knees. My back to the wall, he hooked my legs around his hips. I locked my ankles and tilted my head to the side, baring my neck to him. Wanting him to plunge those fangs into my neck and drink.

  “You are incredible,” he said, teasing the seam of my neck with his lips. He rocked his hips upward, and I gasped as I felt how hard he was already. The hard-as-granite length teasing between my thighs. Rolls of heat danced along my skin, and I trembled against him.

  “Alek,” I pled, moving on him. But the way he held me? I was entirely at his mercy.

  And I fucking loved it.

  He teased my entrance with the tip of his cock, slipping in an inch only to slide back out. Winding me up until I could barely breathe or think from wanting him.

  “Alek,” I groaned, digging my nails into his back. “Please,” I begged, my voice to the point of pain from needing him so badly.

  The plea broke him.

  And he plunged upward, filling every inch of me. I threw my head back and gasped, relishing the feel of him inside me. He gripped my ass, easily controlling my body, moving me up and down the long length of him, causing tremor after tremor of pleasure to rock my body. I held on, rolling my hips with each of his thrusts, matching him move for move until he growled and gripped me harder.