Page 18 of To Crave Truly

Indecision warred inside me. I wanted to stay here but I knew that I needed to go with Mordecai. In the end, my instinct for survival ran out.

“Okay,” I said as I released my grip on him, allowing Mordecai to pick me up. I managed to catch a final glance of Jasper before I was carted away. His eyes met mine and I saw in them a desperate plea to survive. His eyes told me that, together, we would get through this.

Chapter Nine

Mordecai

Unbelievable.

Un-fucking-believable. How could she have been so stupid to let him take so much.

Was she that blinded by love? That she’d give her own life for his?

Something lurched in my chest. An ache of a memory long since forgotten.

Elspeth.

At one time she’d been my everything. But then Lucifer had twisted those memories into a nightmare that had destroyed me every day in the Pit. Over and over again until the memories were tainted and ugly.

I looked down at Lori in my arms. She loved him. Even with all his faults, this woman loved Lucifer, shared a soul and heart with him. If I wanted to destroy Lucifer for what he’d done to me, I’d have to destroy her too.

Lori was the key to my plan. I was only planning on killing Lucifer but the fact that I could break his heart too, well, that just sweetened the deal.

Didn’t it?

The corridors flew past me as I used my speed to get back to my quarters. I had to save her because I needed her alive until the conduit was ready. I was so close. Almost everything was in place, I was just waiting for the next lunar event and then the real fun could begin.

Until then, I’d just have to make sure Lori stayed in line.

Hmm, that might actually be enjoyable.

I wasn’t surprised she had so many people wrapped around her little finger. There was definitely something alluring about her. And the way she kissed was like she devoured you from the inside out. Consumed your every breath until you were begging for her to save you with just one more taste of her lips.

Maybe I didn’t have to destroy her. Maybe I could keep her after all this was over.

I burst into my room and immediately went to the bed. I relaxed against the headboard and cradled her in my lap. Her head lolled backwards onto my shoulder and her heart was barely beating.

She was such a fool. I tore a gash in my wrist and brought it to her mouth. My blood trickled down her throat. She wouldn’t need much to regenerate what Jasper had taken. I was old and being the original vampire had its perks.

After a few seconds, her fangs pierced the sensitive skin at my wrist and a moan that was a mixture of pain and pleasure rumbled deep in my chest.

Yes, she was definitely worth thinking about keeping after all this was over. If there was enough of her left…

Her eyes flew wide, the dark crimson irises ringed in flames flashing with a myriad of emotions. Rage. Need. Hatred. Confusion.

She retracted her fangs and scrambled away from me, her ass rocking against my suddenly aching cock. It was a natural reaction to feeding someone. I didn’t always indulge when I was feeding, but there was something tempting about her. Something that fired up my blood in a way no one had done for centuries.

“I hate you,” she spat as she wiped my blood off her chin.

A surge of desire had my trousers feeling uncomfortably tight. I liked that she was feisty.

“No, you don’t,” I replied with a chuckle. “You don’t know what to make of me. And that scares you.”

She stared daggers at me but didn’t respond.

“Look, whatever way you look at it, we are tied together. I am your sire, and you will be forever linked to me. The sooner you get on board with that the better. Now, about this little item I want you to steal for me—”

“I won’t do it.”

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