In the Service of the King (7 page)

His movements possessed her, claimed her. He wrapped his body over hers as he hunched and thrust between her thighs. His hands cradled and held her as he moaned and sucked at her throat. Her body had broken out in a sheen of sweat and she was slick everywhere, easing his way as he slid his massive taut frame above hers. She wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingers into his shoulder blades, his lats, his ass, as she tried to anchor herself to reality.

The suction at her throat pulled through her whole being until her toes curled against his calves. Her legs fell open and she ground her center against his hammering thrusts. Each suck of his mouth throbbed in her pussy until she was mad with need.

Shayla whined and pleaded and nuzzled his hair and writhed against him. Kael growled as he fed and the sound vibrated through her chest. Impossibly, her body detonated again. She arched back against his robes while her muscles clenched and pulsed around his. For a split second, she went insane with the pleasure. Her mind couldn’t handle it. The world disappeared in a floating blissful haze as she shuddered and moaned and gasped for oxygen. It was glorious. And totally overwhelming.

Kael licked the wounds closed on her neck and looked down at her. “That’s right, Shayla. So good, you are so fucking good.”

Her heart swelled at his praise. She had nothing to compare him to, of course, but he was proving himself an amazing lover—passionate, attentive, and impossibly sexy. She couldn’t imagine needing—or wanting—anything more than him, than what he was giving her. The fear of losing him at the end of the night burst into her brain and stole her breath for just a moment. It was true. It could happen. So she shoved the useless emotion away and focused on the incredible man atop her. She wouldn’t waste a moment worrying. She would burn every touch, every sensation into her memory. In case that’s all she had come morning.

Satiation surged through Kael’s system. Her powerful blood fed his muscles and reinforced his humanity. Shayla was magnificent beyond his hopes and expectations. Her body was decadence personified. Her eyes blazed with life and acceptance. Her hands held and touched him and made him
feel.
And her words, the longing and…
familiarity
with which she called out his name. It was their first time together, but it felt as natural as if they had always been.

Her orgasm played out, Kael withdrew from her and sat back on his haunches. He pulled her into a sitting position and kissed her, long, languid twists of lips and tongues that spoke of much, much more than lust. “Turn around,” he whispered against her lips. “I want to watch you as I claim you.”

Trembling and nearly limp, Shayla moved until her back was to him. He pressed a large hand against her spine and she fell forward onto her hands and knees.

“It’s so much deeper this way. And I want every inch of you.” He pushed home and they both groaned. He went slow, tormenting them both with his restraint. When he’d first entered her, Kael the Fair had disappeared in favor of a nearly feral vampire who craved blood and carnal pleasure in equal amounts. That raw male remained in him, just under the surface. But Kael wanted to draw this out, wanted to revel in every sweet sensation. It had been so long since sex had been about more than just slaking a physical thirst.

Wrapping his arms around her abdomen, Kael pulled Shayla into a kneeling position over his lap. Every bit of his skin screamed for contact with hers, and this way he could hold her as he took her.

And there was another benefit as well. He cupped her chin and guided her eyes across the room to where their movements were reflected in a huge gilded mirror hanging on the wall. “Watch,” he commanded.

With one hand, Kael fondled and teased Shayla’s full breasts. Using his other hand and his massive thighs, he set a hot, satisfying pace gliding in and out of her velvety heat and chasing what he knew was going to be massive orgasm, one that hopefully delivered a revelation that would change the rest of his life. Shayla urged him on with her searching hands, first gripping his hips, then reaching back over her shoulders and tangling in his hair. She murmured a string of whispered encouragements full of belonging.

The energy in Kael’s body congregated in his groin, tightening his muscles and stealing his breath. “Shayla,” he panted as he thrust and observed the beauty of their joint movements, “I want you. I want you.”

“Yes.” Her hand fisted in his hair and she reclined her head and kissed his cheek. “I…want you…too.”

“Please,” he cried, begging her, imploring the ancient blood magic that joined mates together. Unable to wait a moment longer, he sank his aching fangs into the yielding flesh of her throat.

His body was wound so tight from the intensity of the whole night with her, this time the first hot pull of her life-giving fluids unleashed his orgasm. He clamped down tighter—his mouth on her neck and his arms around her body—as he bucked against her. His cock pulsed again and again, releasing his seed deep within her. He devoured her blood, unable to stop sucking but knowing he needed to. She would already be drained from her earlier blood loss and the sheer vigor of their lovemaking.

Finally, he eased his fangs from her neck and licked her wound, his body still shuddering Around him, the room seemed to spin. He anchored himself to Shayla, held her close and prayed.

As the last streams of his cum filled her, Kael felt it: a sharp tingling radiating out of their still-connected loins, up his chest, and down his arm to his right hand. He gritted his teeth against the biting burn and squeezed Shayla in reassurance when she cried out at the sensation.

Her head went slack against his shoulder and she unleashed a deep, sleepy sigh. He tilted his gaze to the ceiling and whispered strained, fervent words of gratitude in the ancient language.

He laid her down on the bed and stretched out alongside her. She immediately turned her body toward his. Their gazes met for a brief moment. The corner of her lip raised in a half smile. And then she fell asleep.

Lifting his hand, Kael admired the intricate mating mark, a series of symbolic knots that wrapped around the front and back of his hand. He was amazed by it, in awe. His heart ached with fullness and hope. Long-lost joy flooded his mind, enlivened his soul. Joy not just for the chance at a mate again, but because it was her. Shayla. Her beauty and grace and strength had already breached his heart.

He fingered the unique pattern, different from the one he’d shared with Meara. Its disappearance from his skin upon her death had been salt in the devastating wound of her loss. Never again. His life would be first and foremost about protecting Shayla’s. Assuming…

He shook his head and focused on the decadent sight of her luscious curves, curled up against him, so trusting and vulnerable in her repose. He wished she would awaken so they could join hands and see the way the marks flowed from his right to her left in a continuous, conjoining pattern. But as her heart settled into a normal pace again, he resolved to let her rest and recuperate.

Hopefully, there was no rush. They would have all the time in the world.

As long as she wanted him the way he wanted her. Completely. Totally. Forever.

Shayla was deliciously dazed, sated like she could never need anything again in her whole life. She stretched against the soft covers and her muscles ached in a way that reminded her how she and Kael had used one another so thoroughly. She rubbed her eyes, trying to remove the grogginess from her head. Unexpected color caught her attention and she stilled.

Beautiful, thin black knots covered her left hand.

She gasped and bolted upright.

Kael appeared out of nowhere, wearing the emerald silk robe again, and settled on the bed beside her. He placed a tray near her knees and held out a glass of water which she gladly accepted, nearly draining the entire thing as if she’d been lost in the desert. She lowered the glass against her leg and raised her hand, then looked at Kael.

He grasped her left hand with his right and kissed it. Her eyes drifted to his mirror markings and she gaped. The hair rose on her arms and neck. “What…?”

Kael shifted onto his knees on the bed. “Shayla McKinnon, this mark proves what I already suspected. You are my mate. You are destined to walk beside me, rule with me, share my blood and, through that, my immortality.”

“Mate?” Shayla’s mind raced as she traced the incredible marking with her fingers, then followed her tracings onto his hand. “What…I mean, I don’t…”

“I know, dear heart.” He kissed her forehead and sighed. “Just relax for a moment. We have time to talk.” He folded a length of tartan over her legs and waist and scooted the tray and then closer to her. “You must be hungry, yes? I brought you some food. I know it’s not much, but…” He shrugged.

She tugged the robe up to cover her breasts and glanced at his face, found him a little shy for the first time. “I’m starving, actually, and this looks and smells delicious.” She picked up some cashews and popped them in her mouth, all of a sudden ravenous for the feast before her. “Thank you.”

His smile was dazzling, proud, and grew as she polished off her piece of the savory frittata and, at his insistence, half of his, the spicy olives and artichokes, most of the nuts, and an orange.

With a satisfied groan, she pushed the tray away. Kael’s eyes flared at the sound, which unleashed a new hunger low in her belly.

He inhaled deeply and chuckled, ran his hand through his hair. “I like the way you think, Shayla, but perhaps we should talk first?”

For a split second, his words confounded her, but then he took another slow, deep breath in through his nose and licked his lips. Could he…? Oh, jeez. He could! He could smell her. She crossed her legs where they were extended in front of her.

Kael frowned and gently encouraged her ankles to part. “Never apologize for needing me,” he said, echoing her earlier words in a low, serious voice that amped up her desire further.

Shayla shook her head, blushing and smiling at the expression she swore could only be described as adoring. She drew her legs up to her chest and embraced them, rested her head on her knees so she could see him.

“Okay, well, about this mating…” She admired the design on her hand. Realized the ache she’d earlier felt was gone. Interesting.

“Yes. It pleases me. Greatly. I want you to know that. I hope it pleases you, too.” He tucked his right hand into her grip, once again joining their marked hands.

She thought of all she’d hoped for from this night. “It does, Kael, more than you know.” She squeezed his hand. “But what does it mean? How does it work?”

He tilted his head. “More than I know? Tell me what it is I don’t know, then. Please?”

She nodded. “I will. I promise. But please explain all this first. I need to understand.”

He stretched forward and kissed her cheek. “Of course. In my world, Shayla, blood is magical, powerful, the source of all life. Some blood, when joined together, is especially strong, especially right. For a vampire, that rightness can manifest in a bond that identifies mates who would be a good match, who would bear strong offspring. And it is a rare, special thing.”

Shayla studied her hand, his words opening up new worlds in front of her, worlds she’d only dreamed of and never once thought would truly exist for her. “So, we’re mated now?” A cacophony of reactions flooded her mind.

Kael’s eyes flared. “No. Not yet. The mating mark lasts for three days. If the mating ritual isn’t completed within that time, the mark will disappear along with the chance to ever be together. If you agree, on the other hand, there will be a ritual ceremony to affirm the bonding and celebrate the start of our life together, with you as my queen, sharing my world, my blood, my immortality.”

She frowned and struggled to make sense of her thoughts.
Queen? Immortal?
So, getting what she’d always wanted came along with some things she hadn’t imagined. Did that really matter? “I see,” she said as her mind worked, compiling pro and con and to-do lists, weighing options, and imagining alternate paths. She knew she couldn’t accept the mating without some sacrifice on her part. She was twenty years old with a world of opportunity and possibility in front of her.

But then she looked at Kael and realized that everything that had ever motivated and interested her, everything she’d ever imagined would make life worth living, was sitting right next to her on the bed.

She could have eternity to ask him her questions about his life and times.

She could have justice for Dana. Vengeance against the Soul Eaters.

She had to tell him. “Before, when I said there were things you didn’t know?” He nodded. “When I was fourteen, my older sister was murdered by vampires.”

Kael gasped and moved closer, one arm threading around her shoulders. That preternatural light flared in his eyes, but it was darker somehow, more menacing. “Soul Eaters,” he growled.

“Yes. Before they drained every drop of blood from her body, they raped her. Then, when she was dead, they slit her open and ripped out her heart. That was how she was found. Those are the images my parents have to carry around in their heads.” Shayla held her breath and refused to surrender to tears and grief.

“Were you close with her?”

She smiled and released her breath. “Yeah. I mean, you know, we drove each other crazy like siblings do. But she was my hero. She’d just graduated high school…” She shrugged. “What happened to her, well, I have to play a role in bringing justice to the animals that did that. I’ve never known what that role would be, exactly, just that I
had
to do something. What do you think of that?”

He studied her for a long moment, then leaned forward and dragged his nose along the skin of her arm. Pressed a kiss there. “Many years ago, I was mated, and she conceived a child.”

“Yes,” Shayla whispered, reaching out and trailing her fingers through his hair. She’d learned Kael’s history, of course, it was part of why she imagined he might understand what drove her, but hearing it from the man himself was something else all together.

“When Meara was in her sixth month, the Soul Eaters attacked Dunluce. We’d been betrayed by one of our own whose treachery went as far as allowing them entry to the castle, and we were caught completely off guard. The assault began at four in the morning when they used our own cannon against us to destroy the walls, insuring there would be no protection from the sun when it rose. Meara shepherded the women and children to the relative safety of the dungeons. There is no telling how many lives she saved. But she went into labor. It was too early and she was bleeding. I was above, engaged in the fight, pinned down and outnumbered when my blood felt her alarm. By the time I could get to her, it was too late. The newling was gone and she’d hemorrhaged so badly feeding her could not save her.”

“I’m so sorry,” Shayla said. Could she ever replace such a woman?

He turned his face and kissed her hand, still stroking him. “Thank you, but that is not why I told you about her. You asked what I thought of your need to act on behalf of your sister. I understand it, completely.”

His words stole the breath from Shayla’s throat and wrapped themselves around an old, damaged part of her soul. He wasn’t only her dream. He was her dream come true. She threw off the covering of his robe, embraced his big shoulders and climbed into his lap, straddling him. She swallowed his groan as her center ground against his cock, already waking under her. The kiss was intense and sensual, full of compassion and shared grief and understanding.

Kael pulled back and rested his forehead against the bridge of her nose. Then he met her gaze again. “
You
must understand, though, my dearest heart,” he began in a strained voice. “I could never expose you to the kind of danger that took Meara from me. My intention would never be to stifle your dreams or impose my will as if…”

She lifted an eyebrow. “As if you were my king?”

One side of his full lips quirked up. “Is it wrong that I like the sound of that?”

The heat of a blush warmed Shayla’s cheeks. Truth be told, she did, too. “No, as long as you don’t think it’s going to get you your way in everything.”

“Sometimes, though?” His fingers made slow, teasing drags up and down her spine, igniting delicious shivers and chills.

She grinned. “Maybe.”

“Maybe.” He threw his head back and laughed. His expression grew serious again. “I only mean to say, I understand your need, Shayla, but I could never tolerate you out there…exposed…fighting.” He grimaced at the words. “My warriors are many, strong, well-trained. They will fight for you. As will I.”

His words were a promise, fierce and true and utterly male. She knew he was right about the fighting, but her heart ached at the idea there wasn’t
something
she could do.
 
“I know, but, isn’t there anything, anything at all—“

“Of course there is.” He crushed a lingering kiss against her mouth. “You can stand by me, and give me the strength to face the fight. You can advise me—I’ll never hide from you the difficulties we face. You can facilitate our relationship with the Electorate Council, and secure the alliance between vampires and humans. You can feed me, and make me strong. You can feed me, so, in turn, my warriors will feed more frequently, as they must, as they should’ve been doing all along. You can bear our children, and bring new warriors into the fight.”

So much passion imbued his words they brought tears to Shayla’s eyes. He made her believe she really could make a difference. For Dana. For herself. For him. “Oh, Kael.”

“And, another thing, I spoke with Simon while you were asleep. I wanted to assure him of your well-being, well, after earlier.” The lightest of blushes colored his cheeks. He shook his head. “I have learned you are quite a scholar, Shayla, of the history, culture, and languages of the British Isles, of the Celtic people in particular.”

She was almost embarrassed at the pride filling his voice. She hugged herself and nodded. “Yes. Though, how would mating impact my ability to finish my degree? Would I have to give it up?” The thought made her stomach flip-flop. On the one hand, he personally embodied the very history and culture that had fascinated her all these years. On the other, her twenty-first-century mindset balked at giving up her education and career to marry and have babies. Not that she didn’t want those things, for she truly did. And Kael’s words only bolstered that desire.

“Simon suggested the reminder of your studies might be doable through telecourses. We have archival collections and rare books here you could use for your research. Maybe you could even impose some order on our library, insure the records of my people are known among us and well preserved. And—” he twisted his lips and looked down “—we could send security along with you on any trips you might
have
to make to complete your degree.”

She wouldn’t have to give it up? Would long-distance course work even be possible? Would her program allow it? And, what might be in his records, documents surely no one had ever studied before? Questions fired through her brain and energized her with the idea there might be a way to have both, do both. “Kael. Thank you. Even if that can’t work out, just the fact you inquired about it, entertained the possibility.” She grasped the skin over her heart. “It means so much.”

“I’m pleased you are happy.” He tucked a thick strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture so full of caring. “So, does this mean…”

Only one other concern held her back from an enthusiastic acceptance. He said the mating bond pleased him, but would it ever be more than that? Would he ever love her? Could she ever replace the love he must’ve felt for Meara? A warm fullness in her chest told her she was falling for him, maybe had fallen for him already—after all, she’d had years of imagining them together. Having met him, she now knew that his beauty, his gentleness, his fierceness, his playfulness, his power—they comprised the real man, not just fantasy. But she wanted him to want her for her, to
ask
her to be his. She rubbed her hands together and studied the stunning, intricate markings. She wanted it to be more than just some…mystical…biology that drew them together.

Kael let out a deep sigh and gently moved her off his lap. He rose and cleared the tray from the bed. Then he turned to her. “This is a lot to take in. And I’m sure the pressure of the deadline is difficult. I will prepare an apartment for you. Anything you need will be provided—“

“Wait. What? Why?” She scooted herself until she was sitting on the edge. Though she was entirely comfortable being nude in front of him, the air was chilly against her tired body. She pulled the robes up over her lap again and tucked them under her arms to cover her chest.

“I need you to be close until you’ve made your decision. I cannot send the woman who may be my mate out into the world unprotected. But I don’t wish to pressure you any more than necessary, so I will give you your own—“

“I can’t be with you?” Shayla didn’t know the protocol. No part of her training had covered
this
amazing possibility. But didn’t the mark mean they were to be together?