Page 44 of Bitten By Chaos

“Vanquished enemies, huh?” I giggled like a crazy person. “You are my knight in shining armor. Or shiny suit I suppose.”

“I was never a knight, only a peasant with dreams of courting a beautiful lady.”

“Silas is dead.” Looking deep into Julian’s eyes, I reminded him of the truth I knew was on his mind. How I knew, I wasn’t sure, maybe because I’d shown him the replay of the zombie attack.

“So are Grival, Merlin, and the queen, thanks to you,” he answered.

“It’s hard to process everything that’s happened,” I admitted, twisting the edge of the blanket in my fingers. “But all I keep thinking is how every one of these horrible people did what they did because they were so hungry to be the most powerful.”

Gently stroking a tear from my cheek, Julian leaned in close. “Vampire, fairy, or human, things have not changed much over the years. Those who don’t crave power don’t see the point in fighting for it, so it leaves those that do to manipulate, lie, steal, and kill in order to climb toward the top. I wish I could change the world for you, mon couer.”

The tears flowed freely now over his hands, but he did not relinquish my face as I smiled through them. “I’ve become what I never thought I could. I am not the innocent woman you first fell in love with. My hands are tainted with blood.”

“As are mine,” Julian answered quickly. “Charlotte, I love you no matter what you do. I will continue to fight for you—for us—and will not regret it. It hurts when you look at me as a monster for taking life because I know I am, and yet, nothing will stop me from doing what I must every time if it means being free to be with you.”

I grasped his arms. “I understand now. It’s because of you and our love that I won’t give up. You are what makes it possible to keep trying, Julian.”

I drew another deep breath then reached up to meet his mouth. Every swipe of his tongue, nip of his teeth, and press of his lips was executed in the expert way of a man with too much experience. Tracing the map of his body, this time dry, smooth, and cool, I wound my way slowly to his thigh.

Climbing over me, Julian guided me to my back on the bed and tugged the blanket over our heads, never releasing my kiss.

We made love slowly, softly this time, the passion slowly building into a pressure bomb as we tasted and touched every part of each other. And when he entered me, he did so with controlled and steady motions, filling me so completely, I felt whole for the first time in so long. I held his face between my hands, and we stared into each other’s eyes as he moved inside of me.

This was the gentleness of the man inside, not the drive of the controlling vampire. Julian was still Julian, and I knew he was still in control.

“I love you,” I breathed, as he drove me mad with the feel of him, too slow to release the pressure, but enough to bring me to the precipice.

“J’taime, mon coeur,” he whispered back. Then reached between us to circle the bundle of nerves at the apex of my thighs.

My head rolled back as Julian’s thrusts went deeper, harder, and more fervent until we both lost control. He collapsed beside me and cupped my cheek as I rolled to face him in the soft, damp grass of the forest.

We both sat up straight, staring around at the place that definitely wasn’t his room. I must’ve transported us when I…

“It’s lovely,” Julian said, standing and holding out the blanket for me so I could wrap it over my naked body.

“This isn’t funny,” I squeaked at his amused face.

“Well, it sort of is,” he said with a shrug then set his hands on his hips, which made me take a second to appreciate the vision of Julian in the nude. “At the very least, it’s quite a compliment if making love to you causes this kind of loss of control.”

I smacked his arm but not hard as I spun to try and figure out where the hell we were. We’d been intimate here before, I realized. Surrounded by birch trees with a large boulder in the center, the clearing was where we’d plotted to surprise the general what felt like a million years ago.

“Thank you,” Julian said, pulling me against him. “For loving me in spite of what I am and what I’ve forced you to be.”

“Thank you for loving me back in spite of whatever the hell I’m becoming, which is most assuredly not your fault,” I answered, then I opened a portal back to his place and tugged him through after me. But the moment I closed it again, a deep exhaustion fell over me, weighing me down like an anchor.

Supressing a yawn, my eyelids fluttered.

“Sleep, love. You’ve expended a lot of energy, and even vampires need rest on occasion.” Julian swept me up into his arms and lay me on the bed, tucking the blanket back over me properly.

There was so much to talk about still, but I was ridiculously tired. And as Julian pressed his lips to my forehead, I gave in to the losing battle and let sleep pull me under.

It felt like seconds later that I sprung up in bed with a gasp. Julian was by my side in an instant, face pale with concern despite the flush of fresh blood that colored his neck. He’d fed while I slept.

“Thank gods you’re awake.” Julian’s grip felt suffocating.

“Why? What happened?” My pulse quickened at his behavior.

Then I realized. I had a pulse. And…and I’d been breathing for a while now as though it were a normal thing. I stared at Julian’s concerned face.

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