The Last Guardian Rises (The Last Keeper's Daughter) (23 page)

“You’re keeping things from me.”

He raked his hand over his close-cropped hair. “Two iron cages have been discovered. One with the bones of a woman and child. Another with a vampire that could be Azazel or more likely something completely different. King Carlos is dead and now I–” he placed his hand on his chest– “am the king of two continents. My closest advisor almost lost his mind.” He tilted his palms to the heavens. “Did I miss anything?”

She hadn’t thought about how much responsibility rested on his shoulders. “Will you travel to South America soon?”

“Not for many weeks. Now, if I remember correctly we have unfinished business to attend to.”

His voice was deeper, his meaning clear. An ache spread throughout her lower belly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I think you do.” He extended his fangs. “Your exact words were, ‘Take me, make me burn.’”

Her face flushed with heat and she took one step back, then two. “I wasn’t myself.”
He’ll chase me down if I run
.

Krieger tilted his head and inspected the pendant. One-handed he unbuttoned the first three buttons of his oxford shirt. “I think you were more yourself than you want to admit. Why do you wear the pendant?”

“Do you know what it means?” She backed into the side of his desk.

Instead of answering he walked into the bedroom. She could hear him using the poker to stir the fire and then the sound of logs being added. Feeling silly standing alone in the room, she tiptoed in to see him placing large pillows on the floor. “Here,” he held out a wine glass for her.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“Drink.” He took her hand and put the glass in it.

He sat on the floor with his back resting against the sofa and patted the pillow next to him. “Sit with me.”

She could be as stubborn as he. “Answer me.”

Krieger leaned back his head and admired the coffered ceiling. She remembered kissing his neck, his mouth, and itched to run her hands over his chest. Instead she gulped down the wine. “You laced it with your blood.” A great deal of his blood.

His demeanor was unrepentant. “You’ll need it.” His meaning was clear.

Irritating as his behavior was, she was grateful for the distraction it gave her since the sensation of his blood moving through her system was intoxicating. She placed the empty glass on the table and allowed herself a second to luxuriate in the warmth extending out to the far reaches of her limbs.
Don’t give him the satisfaction of knowing what his blood does to you
. “Tell me what the sign means.”

“It’s the sign of the Lynea.” His words froze her in place. “I told you about the fabled women who fed the warrior vampires.”

Yes, he had the night they’d argued, before they’d discovered her mother’s body. “You never said their name, that they had a symbol.”

“That is true.”

Arrogant, insufferable, domineering…why had he not told her the whole truth? Why was he always keeping pieces of information from her? All this time she could have been studying the Lynea. “You could have told me.”

Still lounging on the floor with his back against the sofa, he leisurely turned his head to her. “And what have you not told me about your time in London?”

It had been a mistake, throwing herself at Lucien. Or maybe he was talking about the hotel room when she’d levitated, again. Her hands rolled into fists. The words “I kissed Lucien” spilled out.

His jaw muscles clenched, but the rest of him remained so completely still that she thought he’d turned to stone. Finally, thankfully, he spoke. “I know. What I don’t know is why.”

“Why? Why do you think? To see what it felt like. I’ve kissed only you. I wanted to experiment.” Her conscience stung a bit at not telling Krieger the whole truth. Since she’d met Lucien, Lily had felt an affinity for him. She’d needed to figure out if it was sexual or something else. Now she knew it was the latter. “So did you decide which one of you should drag me off by the hair? Or maybe vampires don’t do that. How stupid of me – that’s cavemen, isn’t it? Will there be a duel? Straws drawn?”

“His
kiss
, what did it feel like?”

She hadn’t expected him to ask, she’d expected him to fly into a rage, for them to argue and then she could escape his room and the feelings she had for him. Is that what she truly wanted? “Not like when you kiss me.”

“Do you love him?” It was said very matter-of-factly, without emotion.

Her anger evaporated as suddenly as it rose, replaced by frustration. “There’s something I feel with Lucien. I can’t explain it.” In for a pound, she thought. “You’re so intense, so overwhelming. What I feel for you frightens me. Does that make sense?”

“It does.” He inhaled an unneeded breath. “Lucien wanted me to relay his goodbyes. He’s attending to some matters for me.” Lily started to ask where he’d gone, but Krieger spoke over her. “Sit.” He waited, she hesitated. “Sit,” he said in a more forceful tone. She sat on the sofa instead of the floor. If it annoyed him, she couldn’t tell. “He chose to go. I did not order him.”

She believed him.

“It’s time.”

Time, time for what she almost snapped back at him. Her confusion and frustration must have been clearly readable to him.

Between blinks he’d moved and was now sitting next to her and holding the pendant in his hand. “There are things about Lucien…he must be the one to tell you. But if you love him, I will not stand in the way. I will arrange a plane to take you to him now. If that is what you wish.”

“How dare you!” She slapped his face, hating that it literally hurt her more than him. 

He went motionless again. Only his blue-grey eyes moved as he searched her face. “Liam and the vantors will travel with you. Lucien is a good man. He will keep you safe.”

No, no, no. He thinks I don’t love him. No
. “I’m afraid.”

The fabric of his shirt rippled as his shoulder muscles tensed. “Yes, you have said that before. Haven’t I promised to never hurt you? Does my word mean nothing to you?”

“You’ve had thousands of women. You’ll get bored with me. It’s just because of this blood bond, that’s the only reason…”

He took her hands in his. “No.” He kissed the palm of each hand. “It’s not just the blood we share.” He placed her hand on his face. “You bewitched me the moment I saw you.” He pulled her towards him to gently kiss her lips. “You were so shy that first night I met you, trailing behind Walter, hiding behind him, like you thought I couldn’t see you. My heart was lost to you then, before you ever spoke or we shared a drop of blood between us.”

“What if it doesn’t work, or…”

“Do you love me?” he asked.

“Yes, but…” She did love him, had always loved him.

He kissed her, soft at first and then harder, claiming her mouth with his. She found herself clutching at his shirt when he pulled away. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear, kissing down her neck until his fangs slipped into the mark that lay on her neck. The slight pain it caused made her sigh with pleasure.

The feel of his lips against her skin, the blood moving between them, totally undid the tight hold she had over her emotions. In one easy movement, he lifted and carried her to the bed and placed her between the sheets. He tore the fabric of her dress between his hands. His eyes blazed as he released her bra, sliding his fingers underneath the cups until her breasts were free.

“You kept me waiting too long.” His lips pleased her nipple.

She arched her back as he lavished each; instinctively her fingernails clawed along his shoulders.

“Don’t.” He swiftly imprisoned her wrists above her head with one hand and the other trailed down to tease the flesh underneath the waistband of her underclothes. “Drawing blood will push me over the edge of my control. Is that what you want?”

Yes… No… I don’t know
.

His hand slid underneath the lace, coming to rest where she ached for him the most. “You’re going to beg.” She bucked against him, but he held her tight. “Yes, my Apryini, tonight you’ll pay for your sin of making me wait so long for you.”

“Ahhh,” she breathed out, feeling his fingers roll over the sensitive area.

“So wet.” He brought his fingers to his mouth. “So sweet.”

A flood of lust and desire and longing and abandonment washed over her. “Don’t stop.” Her voice sounded hoarse.

His hand released her wrists as he glided down her body placing kisses along the way until he slid between her legs and ripped away the last bit of her clothing and tossed it to the side. “I want to hear you scream.”

She’d never felt anything as divine as his lips upon her, building her towards a peak. Right at the top with her breathing ragged, her heartbeat echoing in her ears and her legs quivering, he paused and lifted up. “No, no, no.” She grabbed at his forearms. “Don’t stop.”

“Look at me.”

Yes, I’ll do anything just don’t stop
. Her heart constricted as she did. Krieger’s eyes were wild. She watched, transfixed by his tongue sliding over lips glazed with her moisture and as he blew a cool puff of air over the one spot on her body she wanted him to touch the most.

“God,” she screamed. “I’ll die if you stop.”

“Who do you love?” he demanded.

“You!”

He toyed with her, lazily circling his finger over where his mouth had been.

“Who do you want?”

“You, please Krieger, please. I’m begging you don’t stop.”

“Good girl.” His tongue, his mouth, was again building the tension.

I’ll die if this continues
.
I’ll die if it doesn’t.
“Oh god, yes, yes!” She screamed and grasped at the sheets and moved her hips against him, not caring about anything but the explosion ripping through her body.

When she regained her senses, he was resting on his side with his forefinger tracing lazy circles on her belly.

“How do you feel?” he asked.

“Wonderful.”

“I think we can do better than that.”

“I want to see you.”

The mattress dipped as he left. He’d been naked around her before but she’d always looked away. She rolled onto her stomach and watched as he unbuckled his belt, slipping it through the loops and letting it fall to the floor. She didn’t remember when his shirt, shoes, and socks had been discarded. He knew the effect he had on her as he slowly unzipped his pants and let them slide down his legs until he stepped out of them. He was large, completely aroused.

She’d seen plenty of naked men before in sculptures and paintings. They’d been beautiful but somehow vulnerable – at least, that was the impression she got from them. There was nothing remotely vulnerable about Krieger. He was powerful, muscled, and right now solely focused on satisfying his own considerable need. Panic caused her to rise up on hands and knees and crawl backwards. A crocodile grin spread across his face as he stalked towards the bed, grabbing her around the waist and tossing her on her back.

“Don’t,” she whimpered and tried to free her hands.

He easily slipped his body between her legs and lifted them up around his waist.

“You just told me how much you wanted me.” He dipped down to lightly bite her nipple. “In fact you screamed it.”

“That was before I saw you.” She couldn’t fight him nor did she truly want to. “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

“Not the way I do it,” he answered, his voice husky. There was no chance for a response as he kissed her, running his tongue over his fangs to fill her mouth with his blood. Pulling away he whispered in her ear. “Are you sure?”

She let her kiss be her answer.

His hand ran between them, finding her core, and slipped a finger inside her. “So wet,” he murmured.

Her hips found his rhythm and when another finger was added she felt fullness but no pain. Another orgasm was building, this one different than the one before, grounded deep within her. “Harder,” she found herself saying. His head fell to her chest pushing her towards the edge until mercifully she flew off soaring and crying out his name.

“You’re going to kill me,” she teased.

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” She met his eyes, seeing in them the restraint, the need he’d been holding back to pleasure her first. “I want this.”

His arms shook with the tremendous effort it took to slide inside her with an exquisite slowness that was torturous for him. “So tight…gods help me.”

“Krieger,” she whimpered, already feeling overwhelmed by his size.

“Lily.” He stilled. “Look at me.” And waited until she did before speaking, “I love you.” He pulled back slightly and thrust his hips forward.

“Ohhh.” The stretching was almost painful.

He eased back again, looking deep into her eyes. “Forgive me.” This time he didn’t stop halfway but thrust completely inside her.

Her whole body felt owned by him. Every movement shifted him deeper inside her, overloading her with pleasure, with hunger, with a soul shattering need for this to never stop. 

“Apryini.”

She hadn’t realized her eyes were closed.

“I’ll stop,” he said through gritted teeth. “If you need me to.”

Stop, was he mad?
“No.”

A look of relief eased some of the tension written on his face. His large hand slipped underneath her, cradling her to him, and tilted her hips. As they moved together she lost all sense of self. There was no Lily, no Krieger, only the need to release, the need that caused her limbs to shake, and her fingernails to sink into his back as her body exploded around him.

“Krieger,” she cried out.

Arms of iron enveloped her. “You. Are. Mine.” He roared each word and shuddered against her.

She woke curled up against his side. “How long was I asleep?”

He kissed her gently. “An hour, maybe more.”

“Was I okay?” Her voice faltered.

Krieger lifted her chin with his finger. “You are perfect.”

She tried to sit up and winced, her body sore.

“You need more of my blood.”

“No, I like it, the aching. That’s normal, right?” Why did she feel embarrassed and uncomfortable after experiencing something so intimate with him?

His fingers played with her hair. “Yes,” he said, kissing her forehead. She shivered at the strength of her emotions. “You must be cold.” Krieger wrapped the blanket around her, carrying and placing her on the sofa. He added wood to the fire until the heat from the blaze reddened her cheeks. “Was it what you expected?” he asked as he scooped her up to sit in his lap.