Page 17 of Bitten By Chaos

“They are watching,” Julian agreed, sipping his coffee, and pulling me closer with an arm around my shoulders. “My people detected their scent as well.”

His people were Sam and Lydia in this case. I knew because he’d informed me a day ago of the trail they’d found in the woods.

“It is only a matter of time before they make a move. I suggest we have a plan in place,” Elsa continued. “I’ve asked Merlin to join us for brunch.”

Merlin? I repeated to Julian through our bond. My jaw dropped. Could she mean…Merl? Merl was THE Merlin? I shook myself to try to focus on the demon issue but was only partially successful. I’d drunk from Merlin’s veins. I’d rebuked his attempts to bring me coffee. Julian knew—no worked with the most famous wizard to ever live? I’d assumed he was only a legend. And he’d made the vamp mobile…

“And Kayora?” Julian inquired mildly as his grip tightened slightly.

Elsa remained still in that way that vampires had, though I’d somehow missed out on when I was turned. Only her eyes gave anything away as they flashed with something so fast, it was impossible to catch it, even as a member of the living dead. “I haven’t heard from her in decades. Meet us in my quarters in an hour. Charlotte, bring any information you’ve gleaned from your work in the lab that might be useful.”

I watched her sweep from the room like a queen, though I supposed she was close to one in her day. A scary, bloodthirsty one from what I understood.

“Yes, it’s him. No, that doesn’t change anything. You should still keep your distance,” Julian announced, as I pulled away so I could turn to look at him, then changed the subject. “Have you found anything?”

Elsa had requested I focus my research on learning whatever I could, scientifically speaking, about the demons and the way they manipulated energy, i.e., their magic. I’d taken to making sure my father wasn’t present when I was busy at my own little station I’d set up in the furthest corner from him. Lydia hadn’t been happy about my avoidance but agreed it wasn’t her business and answered truthfully when I’d asked about his work habits.

“Not a lot,” I admitted, spinning the ring on my finger. “But I did find a signature unique to their magic left behind for a few minutes after they finish using it.” What I didn’t add was that I was able to do so by studying Zoe’s portals since they matched those of the demons whose DNA we’d been given by our father as children.

“I’ve been researching Soul Eater,” Julian said, setting down his mug. “There is some lore surrounding its existence dating back to medieval England. Clearly, both I and Elsa were busy elsewhere at the time. But since then, the title has been dormant.”

“I know someone who was in England around then,” I said, staring pointedly at my own coffee, which I still drank every morning out of habit despite craving the amazing lattes Merlin made.

“It’s not worth the price.” Julian’s stern voice didn’t have the effect it used to on me.

“What if it is? What if Merlin has knowledge of it? What if…what if he helped create it or something?” I’d tried, but I couldn’t recall the sword having the same signature that the demon’s magic did. And I’d been able to counter it. It made sense it was from our own dimension since it certainly wasn’t from theirs.

“Then he sold it to a demon and that should be enough reason not to trust him,” Julian said, taking my cup from my hands and setting it by his so he could inch toward me, enveloping me in his bergamot scent that curled my toes.

“You aren’t playing fair.” I grinned, unable to help it as his hand slid over my thigh, and he leaned in close.

His answer was a kiss that stole my breath and every dissenting thought in my brain.

We have a little time before the meeting, he purred in my head.

“Mmm hmm,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around his neck and scooting into his lap.

Julian zoomed us up the stairs and to our suite, where he kicked the door shut behind him and tossed me onto the bed before diving in after me. I laughed as the mattress bounced. But in moments, my mouth was otherwise occupied, and my clothes were torn from my body.

It’s going to be obvious what we did when we show up in new clothes, I complained.

Good.

My protests halted as his fingers dipped between my legs to be sure I was ready. And as always, it seemed, I was. Opening myself to him, I lifted my bottom from the bed and hooked my legs around his hips. When he drove inside of me, the world around us fell away, and that feeling of oneness, of rightness, of pleasure beyond thought filled the moment.

“I love the sounds you make when we come together,” Julian whispered in my ear before dragging his elongated fangs down the curve of my neck to my breastbone and sinking into my flesh.

Being a vampire didn’t eliminate the erogenous feel of his bite. If anything, the sensations were so intense they bordered on that thin line between pain and ecstasy. Digging my nails into his shoulders, I arched up to meet him as his speed and strength brought us both quickly toward release.

I didn’t want it to stop, but I knew we didn’t have much time. So I used my own strength and flipped us over, seating myself completely over him and rocking my body like the vibrator he often provided with his tongue or finger.

Gripping my hips hard enough to bruise even my vampire flesh for a moment, Julian’s normally schooled expression shattered into the vision of a wild, untethered beast. The blood he’d drawn from me, fresh from my breakfast, stained his lips which had drawn back over his teeth. I reveled in the sense of power I suddenly possessed as the tension coiled in my core, building toward an eruption I could no longer suppress.

He reached up to grip my breasts, his thumbs slipping over the hardened buds of my sensitive nipples as I threw my head back, ready to shatter.

“Oh gods, Julian,” I screamed, unable to keep quiet and thankful for the soundproof wards on his doors.

I flipped my torso forward as I tumbled over the edge of sanity, sinking my own fangs into the crook of his neck as he held me sealed to him by the hips for his own climax. The deep grunts of satisfaction made me smile as I licked the double wound I’d left to close it. It would have healed on its own, but we both enjoyed the intimacy of the act.

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