Blood and Reign (Cassandra Myles Witch Series) (8 page)

“How odd
. I didn’t know seeing the future was part of your magical gifts.”

“You don’t need to be a psychic to know we have way too many things stacked against us.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“
I want you to respect my decision.”

“No.” He was smiling at me and it took all my strength not to smile back. I loved this man and if I thought for one second we could be together, I would walk into his arms right now.

“Did you drink the blood?”

“No, I tried, but the smell, the color
. I couldn’t. Everything in my body is telling me it’s poison.”

“So you’re just going to go back to the way you were?” I was hurt
that he hadn’t taken the blood. He had done and tried to do some really horrific things. He couldn’t drink the cure because it didn’t smell good.

“No, of course not. I brought it here.” He pointed to the familiar goblet sitting on a side table. “I wanted to be with you in case it doesn’t turn out like we hoped.”

I nodded and held his hand. “Of course.”

He reached for the glass and looked inside and then up at me. He raised it in the air and smiled. “
Salute
.”

He smelled it one more time, took a deep breath
, and started to chug it down. My stomach was threatening to give back the soup I had eaten earlier. He gagged twice while he drank, but managed to keep everything down, even licking his lips when he was finished.

I sat there
, waiting for him to say something. He doubled over, clutching his stomach. “Fuck, oh, this hurts.” Gulping for breath, he pressed his forehead against his knees.

“What can I do?”

“If I don’t make it, kill that fucking Goblin King.”

Moaning
, he closed his eyes and scrunched his face. I put a shaking hand on his back. I didn’t know what to do. His muscles slowly relaxed and, when he turned to me, his face was more relaxed. After another minute, he sat up and leaned back on the settee. He looked so pale, even for a vampire.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so. The pain is gone. I just feel wiped now. Blood usually makes me feel energized, hyper.”

“That was a cure
, not an energy drink.”

“It was a cesspool in a glass, but now that I’ve had a chance to recover, I do feel more myself. Even when I drank the fae blood, I still felt I was on borrowed time. I was waiting for the poison to come back and control me again. I don’t feel that anymore.”

“Thank you. I know it was terrible, but it means a lot to me that you took it.”

“I would do anything to prevent you from seeing me the way I was after the poisoning
. I have flashes, not just what I did, but what I wanted to do, and they are hard to live with. I could have killed you.”

“
I need you to know that anything you did while you were…sick…was totally forgivable. I know it wasn’t your fault.” I took a deep breath. I felt so relieved.

“That means more to me than you know.”

He looked like he was going to kiss me. “Why don’t you go back to Vancouver? You must be worried about Quintus.”

“No.”
He had that same smile on his face. A shit-eating grin that said he knew something I didn’t.

“What do you mean
‘no’?”

“You’ve just been attacked
; what kind of bodyguard would I be if I left you now?”

“You don’t have to do that. I have people to protect me.”

“They don’t seem to be very good at it, do they?” He was recovered. His cockiness was in full swing.

“If you stay, you won’t change my mind, but it will hurt me. It will hurt to see you every day and not have you. Why would you want to do that?”

“Then be with me …problem solved.” He thought he had me backed into a corner.

“It
will hurt you too.”

“It won’t because I still have hope. Every minute
we are together, my charm and sex appeal will be winning you over.”

I touched his cheek. It was cool
, yet the heat between us still burned. “Your charm and sex appeal was always hard to resist, but I will because I have to. I will beg you. I beg you to leave. This is no one’s fault. I love you; don’t stay and ruin that.”

“I can’
t leave you, Goldilocks…I just can’t. Even if you grow to hate me, I have to be here to make sure you’re safe. If you were hurt, I’d never forgive myself. As you like to point out, never for me is a very long time.” His voice had a catch.

I had to let it go. I couldn’t bring myself to force him to leave and he wasn’t going to be
convinced. “Okay, but you’re not staying in my room. Killian will be close by and you’ll probably scare the shit out of him.”

Lu
cius nodded. “I will leave for now, but I want the same deal as the big bat. I want you to let me know when you have to leave your room.”

“If you insist.”
I was trying to be cold to him, but it was hard. I blinked and then he had me in his arms. He bent over and nuzzled into my hair. His breath tickled my neck and down my spine. I leaned into his hard body, closing my eyes and enjoying the wave of pleasure that washed over me.

“I
do insist, Goldilocks. We are meant to be together. We will look back on this and you will apologize to me for making us wait so long. You will regret that the whole time you denied me; I could have been showing you how much skill in pleasuring a woman I’ve acquired over the past one thousand years.” His mouth nibbled at my ear. He bent me slightly backwards and ran his lips over my neck. Then I struggled to stay on my feet.

He left and I was glad because despite how much I had
gone on about my ability to resist him, it was a bold-faced lie. I was seconds away from wrapping my legs around his waist and spending the rest of the day in bed. Even at the thought, my body ached to have his strong arms around me again.

Ruby appeared as soon as the doo
r was shut. “Your Majesty, I’m having your rooms set up as we speak. There is a smaller bedroom off of yours. It will be perfect for your friend. I have called the royal healer and he will drop by to see if there is anything he can do.”

“That sounds perfect
, Ruby. You’re a miracle. Where is Dominick?”

“He decided to stay and help with the move. Those two are very sweet together. They c
are very much for you too. You’re very lucky.”

“Yes
, I certainly am, aren’t I?” My cup runneth over.

The new quarters were luxurious. The sitting room was bigger than my old house. The bedroom held the best surprise. It was one of those things that is so extraordinary that you don’t recognize it at first. My human brain needed a minute to process what I was seeing. A four-poster bed. Each corner post made of a tree carved from wood and gilded with silver. The branches laced together at the top, forming a canopy over the bed. Interwoven delicate branches holding thousands of gold leaves. It was stunning and the bedding wasn’t to be outdone. A cover made from the softest red silk covered the bed. Silver thread was used to mimic the pattern of the trees all around it and each pillow cover did the same.

“
Looks pretty comfy, doesn’t it?” Dominick entered from a side room.

“Yes, but I don’t think I could stop looking long enough to sleep. It’s so incredible.”

“You’re incredible. Killian is sleeping. We could try it out?”

“Stop trying to distract me
. You need those cuts cleaned before you heal.”

“Q
ueen, nurse, witch, friend. I’m a very lucky wolf.” He waggled his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Beside a chair next to the door was
a table with everything I needed to clean his wounds. Ruby was a marvel. I pointed to where I wanted him to sit. He wasn’t getting an infection on my watch.

Peeling back
his robe from his shoulders, I slowly revealed his wounds. Scratches criss-crossed every inch. “You look like you got caught by a psycho cat.”

“Not a cat fan
,” he deadpanned, wincing when I touched his shoulder with the salve.

“Don’t be a baby.
Who knows what kind of fae bacteria is floating around here?”

“That stings.”
He pouted.

“I’ll be gentle
, I promise.”

My fingers
lightly applied the salve to each scratch. I swallowed hard as I looked at my handy work. Every touch made me want to touch him more. My body was on fire. I licked my lips, wanting to place them on his neck, his chest…lower. Images of us in bed together kept flashing in my mind. My body wasn’t under my control. I knew I needed to walk away, but I couldn’t.

My hand
s glided over his strong shoulders. He shuddered under my touch. He wanted me too. As my fingertips trailed down his arms, they sent sparks of electricity through my body. I was wet and my breath was coming faster and faster.

“Cass
.” His voice was little more than a puff of air.

“Dominick, I want you. Oh God
, I need you inside me.” It was painful not to have him.

He flipped me onto his
lap. I wrapped my legs around his waist, feeling his hardness pushing into my core. I rolled my hips, pressing myself against his hard cock. His smell of earth and musk filled me, intoxicated me. We kissed and our mouths were starving for each other. Nibbling and sucking. I couldn’t get enough of him. Each caress, each kiss only made my need stronger.

Firm lips moved down my neck and his tongue darted out, lapping at the hollow of my
collarbone.

“You’
re so beautiful, Cass.”

Slowly
, I let the robe fall, taking the tatters of my dress with it. I felt free and sexy. This was right. This was what had to happen. I cupped my breasts, offering them to him. He took one rosy nub into his mouth and nibbled lightly. A low moan escaped my lips.

Running my fingers through my hair and arching my
back, I was about to cum without him ever even entering my body. Lost in that moment I started to scream, when something made a loud clunk on the floor. It felt like a cold bucket of water splashed over me. Quickly scrambling from his lap, I lunged for my robe and threw it around me. What had I done?

“I’
m sorry, Dominick. So sorry. I don’t know what happened.” My cheeks were burning. I had behaved like some wanton slut. I had been out of control.

He just stared at me like I had lost my mind and I think I had. “What the hell
, Cass?” He was confused and angry. I didn’t blame him; so was I.

“I don’t know. I was so out of control and then it was like someone shook me out of a trance.”

He picked up a small brooch from the floor. It held a blood-red stone shaped like a heart and he dropped it immediately. “It was this. I touched it for a second and I’ve … ummm … never been so hard.”

“How did I not sense it or feel it in my hair?”

“It must be fae magic. I’m sorry, Cass. I thought you really wanted me. You know I’d never force you.”

“Dominick
, don’t. I should be apologizing to you. I’m the one who came on to you. It was like I couldn’t help myself. I mean, I’m attracted to you, really attracted to you, but this was different. This was like I had no control, just need.”

“I get it
, Cass.” He looked like he was in pain. Oh yeah, oops.

“Sorry.” I was blushing from head to toe.

A knock at the door sent me two feet into the air. We looked at each other, feeling silly. At least it broke the tension. Madly dashing around so we looked a little less mid coitus, I dashed for the door.

“Good
day, Your Majesty. I’m the royal healer. My name is Eli. I’ve come to see if I can be of any help to your friend.” Twinkling black eyes looked down at me from a thin face framed by silver and black hair. He carried a large, leather onyx bag that tinkled as he walked. Some fae like Na’min gave off an electric current. Some gave off nothing that I could detect. The healer gave off a calming effect.

“Of course
; please come in. I was just about to go see him myself, Eli.” I didn’t add, but I got distracted by attacking the sexy werewolf to my right.

“Your
Majesty, it is my job as royal healer to do my best for you, but I must be honest, I’ve never tried to help a vampire. I don’t know how much I can do.”

“I understand. Just the fact you
are trying is all I can ask.”

I took a deep breath and Dominick took my hand.
I wanted to run away. I didn’t want to see Killian in pain and I didn’t want to see what Quintus was capable of. I wouldn’t give in to the fear. Killian was my friend and he needed me.

He was lying there in whatever sleep young vampires go into. Killian’s pale skin was mottled with bruises. His hands
were deformed and they looked so painful. They hadn’t healed properly. I sat on the bed beside him and kissed his cheek.