Night's Templar: A Vampire Queen Novel (Vampire Queen Series Book 13) (35 page)

Uthe smiled at the qualification, but his heartbeat remained erratic. “I would like you to reinstate the terms of your binding. You may demand of me what you wish, as part of the price of your assistance.”

Keldwyn pushed himself up on his elbows and sat up. “Look at me, Varick.”

Uthe turned his head, met him eye to eye. Keldwyn’s mouth was close, too close. He couldn’t take his eyes away from his lips, the slope of his jaw, the pulse beating in his elegant throat. That autumn scent was surrounding him. Apples and earth. It changed from day to day, but all within the same spectrum that let Uthe identify him by nose alone.

“If I do so, it will not be part of a barter,” the Fae Lord said. “It will simply be what it is between us. Do you understand?”

The edge of command was in his voice, and raw need, volatile and strong. Yet he had it so controlled the demand of it felt like a fire pressing against Uthe’s body. “Yes.”

Keldwyn held his gaze. “Very well. But before I say yes or no, tell me what you know of me. I would hear you say it aloud.”

Uthe didn’t flinch, his voice coming out even and steady, no matter what was hammering inside him like a crazed lunatic. “When you have pursued a relationship with another, you are in control. Your preference for that is male. Your sexual liaisons with females still require elements of dominance, but you don’t seek prolonged relationships with them, merely the enjoyment of coupling. Your deepest pleasure comes from holding the reins, exploring the lines of power and that give and take. It is why you are so effective in your politics, whether it is with the Vampire Council, Queen Rhoswen, or King Tabor and the powerful members of their courts. Yet behind closed doors, your craving is to exercise that desire on a male who is a Dominant…just not as Dominant as yourself.”

“And how long have you realized this?”

“For almost as long as you’ve served as our liaison. Recognizing another Dominant is not a difficult thing for a vampire. Learning the shape of it is the challenge and the pleasure.”

Pleasure was an understatement. In watching Keldwyn handle a volatile interaction with Belizar or Stewart, Uthe had occasionally realized mid-negotiation he wasn’t calculating rebuttals to rescue his fellow Council members. He was doing nothing more than absorbing exactly how deftly Kel worked the conversation where he intended it to go, eliciting the response he wanted and gaining submission and acceptance to his direction. Most times they didn’t even realize how effectively he’d done it. Lyssa usually did, if the gleam in her eye and set of her mouth were any indication. Her disagreements with Keldwyn mesmerized all of them, two Dominants fencing with words, body language. Uthe had never seen one get the upper hand on the other, but more than once watching the two of them had sent him to bed at dawn aching.

“You are a Master, Lord Keldwyn, in every sense of that word, in every aspect of your life. It defines your relationships at every level. Despite all his responsibility and leadership abilities, Reghan submitted to you sexually during the time you were lovers. He did not love you as you loved him, but that didn’t matter. His loss, first to Lyssa’s mother, and then to his execution, destroyed your desire to love, or to be anyone’s Master, ever since.”

Uthe didn’t usually make the mistake of striking a nerve he hadn’t intended to strike, but at Keldwyn’s silence, the slight stiffening of his body, he wondered if that was what he’d done. Before he could offer an apology, Keldwyn touched his face, a bemused look crossing his face. “You have…stubble.”

He put his hand up where Keldwyn was touching him to confirm it. “The dagger has that effect. Gives me body hair, facial hair. It disappears after I don’t wear it for a few days. It helped me blend with the Templars, because they wore beards to increase their standing against the Saracens. They thought a man without a beard was little better than a boy.”

“If they thought that, they’ve never sampled you up close.” Keldwyn sat back. Despite the segue, Uthe could tell the Fae was turning over Uthe’s words. It was in the set of his face, the look in his eyes. Uthe reached out and closed his hand on Keldwyn’s shoulder.

“I apologize, my lord. I did not mean to open an old wound, asking about your children or Reghan.”

“It was quid pro quo, for my misstep with Della. But it is never an old wound, and it has never closed or healed. No apologies are necessary. I opened the line of questioning, dug into what you might perceive as your own weaknesses, so deserve the results of it.”

“I wasn’t striking back.”

“I know that. You are a unique type of vampire, Lord Uthe. Dominant in all the necessary ways, and sincere about it. Yet you are more than that one thing. Your cunning and your strength defies a single definition. I seek to offer you a place to go where neither is necessary. A place where the relentless pace and restraint you have had to maintain on everything else is no longer necessary.”

Uthe swallowed and looked toward Della and Catriona. “It is a kind offer, but I cannot embrace the desires of a child, my lord. Some things, if you let go even a moment, you lose for all time. I become prey, waiting for the right predator to notice. I will not be a burden, requiring protection from those I value.”

Keldwyn nodded at Catriona. As if feeling his regard, she turned, waving in his direction. “She has some power,” the Fae observed, “but it is like a drop of rain in a thunderstorm, and that thunderstorm represents the dangers that could take her from me. Protecting her is an honor, not a burden, because of the joy she can give the world. But that’s not why I protect her. I protect her because of who she is in my heart. Because when I draw breath, I know she is in that breath. We are connected.” Keldwyn brought his attention back to Uthe. “Love can often be a heavy burden, my lord. But without it, we are empty vessels, and the lightness of an empty vessel is a curse.”

Uthe went still. To an outside observer it might look as if Keldwyn had cast a spell over him, and maybe he had. The bridge their words had built was overwhelming, the implications of it.

Go ahead, try to change the subject,
the Fae’s fixed expression told Uthe.
But I am holding your soul in my hands and we both know it.

“I enjoy our conversations, my friend.” Keldwyn spoke after a weighted pause, sliding a knuckle down the front of Uthe’s tunic. “And you look more comfortable in Fae clothing. A tunic and leggings suits you better than your human wear.”

“It is similar to what we wore at the turn of the millennium.”

“That is my point.” Uthe tried not to react as Keldwyn’s hand dropped to his belt, tracing the bitter end of the strap to his upper thigh. In Uthe’s cross-legged position, Keldwyn could slide his hand under the tunic to fondle Uthe’s cock and testicles through the stretched, formfitting leggings, but the Fae only hinted at that with the direction of his hand. He slid his palm over Uthe’s thigh, outlining the layers of muscle there.

“On a day as beautiful as this, one’s impulses must be obeyed. Come down here, my lord. Stretch out with me.”

Uthe glanced toward the stream. The girls were disappearing into the woods, the dragon and unicorn genially trailing behind.

“They are going exploring. They will not be back until I summon them. Come down here, Varick.” Keldwyn’s expression changed, that subtle shift that had Uthe’s cock stiffening and his hands feeling too empty, his heart too full.

He stretched out next to him and then tensed, surprised, when Keldwyn pushed him to his back and shifted on top of him in one graceful movement, adjusting Uthe’s thighs so he was pressed between them. For all his leanness, the Fae was more solid than one would expect, weighted with firm muscle.

“Yes, Lord Uthe. I will grant your request. The terms of the binding are restored. You will submit to my demands, as long as they do not conflict with your God’s.”

No caveats this time about those demands being sexual in nature, or about it being in force only until the quest was complete. Just as Kel had said—no bartering this time.

Chest to chest, groin to groin and Keldwyn’s thighs spreading Uthe’s open to pin him to the ground. Keldwyn was aroused already, but he didn’t adjust any clothing. Instead, he filled Uthe’s vision as he bent his head and began to nibble at Uthe’s lips, his fingers sliding along Uthe’s face and throat, caressing the line of jaw and carotid, the shape of his ears, his skull beneath his short hair. Uthe’s lips parted as Keldwyn applied skillful short flicks of his tongue, a smooth tracing, then another short nip, continuing that torment until Uthe wanted his mouth fully on his, his tongue invading, capturing, a sucking, all-encompassing heat and strength.

Yet Keldwyn kept up the seductive tease with tip of tongue, light brushes of lips, a sharp press of his tooth. When he licked Uthe’s fangs, Uthe bit back a groan. He realized his hands were on Keldwyn’s hips, fingers digging into the upper rise of his narrow, tight ass.

“We are two immortals, at least by human terms,” Keldwyn said thickly, his thumb stroking Uthe’s jugular. “With all that time, the perfect day would be to lie here for hours, kissing you. Just your mouth, your face, your throat, in a million different ways, until you came simply from me rubbing my body against yours and kissing your hungry mouth.”

He couldn’t suppress the groan this time, for Keldwyn not only bit his lip, but pressed his groin more firmly against Uthe’s. “Your cock is getting hard and thick, Lord Uthe. But I want to hear what you want me to do to your mouth. Beg me to kiss you, really kiss you.”

Uthe vowed he wasn’t going to do that. But Keldwyn knew he would, because he returned to kissing, nipping, licking and teasing until Uthe’s body was shuddering beneath his. The friction between their bodies, the rub of cock against cock, contributed to Uthe’s rising need, but even in his fevered mind, his focus was on that mouth. That hot, wet, firm, sensuous, full mouth, and all the things it was doing to his. Keldwyn moved to nip his jaw, tease his ear with heated breath and whisper things in his own language. Uthe didn’t understand the words, but the intent was enough, especially when Kel’s teeth grazed Uthe’s throat.

His self-control snapped, but Keldwyn anticipated him. Before he could shove up from the ground, try to roll them and turn this into something Uthe could control better, the Fae Lord had shifted so his thigh was pushed between Uthe’s legs, mashing his testicles into the base of his ass. His fingers were wrapped around Uthe’s throat, holding him to the ground. Uthe knew Fae were stronger than vampires, but Keldwyn had rarely shown it so blatantly. He’d also done it without pause, warning or admonition. The Fae just kept kissing him. Sometimes his tongue would snake in a little deeper, but just as quickly retreat, teasing him with what he could offer him.

“Please…” Uthe growled it, desperate.

“Please what, my lord?” Keldwyn dipped his head to nuzzle his ear. “What do you need from me? What can I give you?”

Strength was not the only weapon a warrior had. Uthe shot a hand up to grab hold of Keldwyn’s nape, determined he’d just slam his mouth onto the Fae’s and be done with it. As fast as he was, Keldwyn was faster. He twisted away and manacled Uthe’s hand in his own, shoving it to the ground next to him. Heat shimmered under Uthe’s knuckles and he jerked, but the grasses were already wrapping around his wrist, forearms and biceps, holding his arm to the ground. Keldwyn forced his other arm down on the other side for the same treatment. They were the same meadow grasses Catriona had twined into Keldwyn’s hair, but Keldwyn’s magic reinforced their strength, held him fast. The edges cut into his arms, a sharp kiss of pain. Keldwyn’s eyes were like heated coal as he bent to kiss Uthe again.

Uthe tried to snap at him. It had worked before, the threat of taking Kel’s blood without his consent. Glancing up at the tree shading them, Keldwyn lifted one hand. A branch quivered, then snapped, dropping neatly into his hand. He forced it into Uthe’s mouth like a bit, binding it around his head with more of those enchanted grasses. His expression unchanged, implacable, he bent to resume his torment of Uthe’s mouth. With the stick gag in the way, everything was even more sensitive as he traced Uthe’s stretched lips, nibbling on them with short, concise presses of his teeth, darting his tongue in above and below the stick, adding to the wood flavor with the heat of his mouth. He might look unperturbed by Uthe’s resistance, but his exceptionally large, throbbing cock pushed against Uthe’s suggested it was fueling his desire, as much as Keldwyn’s mastery was provoking his.

Mastery. A word summoned by his lust, not logic. Lust was lust. Yes, it could spiral to a level where the mind ceased to function, but only if he allowed it, if he dropped his formidable discipline and self-control. He’d never been out of control with a lover. Nothing could override his discipline, the demands of his brain. Yet he was getting closer than he had in…ever. From nothing more than having the Fae stretched out on him for a slow, leisurely kissing where the Fae seemed to have nothing better to do.

“This is not your brain sickness,” the Fae muttered, lifting his head and pinning Uthe with an expression that said he might be the one in control, but he was far from detached. “You will not escape the truth of what this is by lying to yourself.”

He’d been about to summon that as his next internal defense, and it wasn’t an illogical one. It could in fact be a symptom of the Ennui, his breakdown of self-discipline. But he didn’t want it to be. God help him.

“Is it your pride that keeps you from begging for one simple kiss?” The Fae’s eyes were obsidian fire.

Uthe shook his head. It was just too much. He was about to erupt like a volcano from a surfeit of pressure, and he didn’t mean the seed boiling in his balls. The pressure came from the need for an emotional release, a storm roused by this devastating assault on his mouth. Vampires were masters at tormenting their servants sexually, bringing them to the brink of screaming orgasms, but they didn’t usually use such intimate tactics as this unless…unless they had greater feelings for their servant than had heretofore been sanctioned in the vampire world. They did this kind of thing if they loved their servant, if they wanted to possess and cherish them, above and beyond all other relationships.