Page 101 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

“Soon?” The corner of his mouth tugged up and warmth spread through me.

“I hear most of the important vampires are going to be in town shortly,” I whispered.

“They are.” He hooked an arm around me and dragged me into his arms. “What do you say? Surprise last-minute wedding?”

“It’s not like we have anything else to do,” I teased. Despite everything we were facing, I felt light for the first time in weeks.

His mouth found mine. The kiss started slowly, his lips soft but demanding as he claimed me, claimed this, claimed our love. My arms coiled around his neck, my fingers digging into his taut shoulders. I tasted forever in his kiss, the promise that no matter what we faced, we would do it together.

And when we finally broke apart, our foreheads still pressed together, I lifted my fingers to trace the contours of his lips. This was what I wanted. This male. My mate. The family we might make if the world allowed it. Our own bit of eternity.

And I knew one thing. I couldn’t have any of it until I faced the truth—the dark fear that woke me at night and the terrible, selfish thoughts that consumed my days.

“Julian,” I whispered, hoping he would understand—needing him to understand. “I don’t want to be Queen.”

CHAPTER THIRTY

LYSANDER

Everyone was fucking or fighting except me. My brother and his mate were definitely doing the former. I suspected Camila and Jacqueline were doing the latter. Although, they might be better served by just giving into whatever there was between them. I couldn’t imagine wanting someone for centuries. I’d had blue balls for a week thanks to Lia and I felt like ripping off some heads.

I was in the library in the name of research, or maybe because I’d hoped to find Lia here again. But it was dark; not even the fireplaces were lit. I switched on a bronze lamp and found the pile of books I’d pulled the other day was still waiting for me. Given that the court had just bothered to bring in new guards, I supposed a new librarian was a long way off. I picked up a book on Sumerian prophecies and settled into a chair. The Mordicum might want us focused on some boogeyman, but I couldn’t shake the sense that all of it was connected. But how?

Two sentences in, the door to the library creaked open. The scent of sun-ripened cherries soaked in jasmine drifted toward me, and I cursed under my breath.

I didn’t bother to look up from my book as she approached.

“How can you even see that?” Lia moved behind the chair, peering over my shoulder at the text. “On second thought, how can you even read it?”

“Don’t speak Sumerian?” I kept my eyes on the pages, determined to keep her presence from affecting me. The truth was that I hadn’t processed a damn word since I’d opened the book. First, I’d been thinking of Lia. Now she was bothering me in person. I caught another wave of her aroma and decided being bugged by her in person was a clear upgrade.

“I didn’t take you for a snob. Then again, you are a Rousseaux.” She settled in the opposite chair, propping her feet on a stack of books. She was still in her leathers, right down to the platform boots she wore. Her clothes hugged her body in tempting ways, but it was the damn boots and their crisscrossing straps and buckles that caught my attention. And she hid it all behind that old-fashioned cloak. How could someone with so little experience in the world be so fucking sexy?

“What are you researching?”

“Nothing you’ll care about.” I forced myself to look back at the book. If I didn’t, we were going to find ourselves in trouble again, and this time I might not be able to stop myself. Not with her scent assaulting me.

“Try me,” she said. She swung her feet down and leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her knees, sending another wave of sweet cherry in my direction.

My eyes shuttered momentarily as I tried to remember that she was a handmaiden and a virgin, and a self-proclaimed enemy. But while my brain got the memo, my dick seemed less interested in it. It was much more interested in those boots and her scent and...

I needed to avoid her, not mind-fuck her in the same room. I glanced up, trying to keep my voice as bored as possible. “The prophecy.”

Lia’s brows pinched together. “The one that foretold breaking the curse? Why? It’s done. Magic is awake.”

“I’m more interested in why magic was cursed in the first place, and I have a theory.” I shut the book. I wasn’t going to find the answers I needed in it, and its usefulness as a distraction with her present was about as helpful as using a sieve as a cup. “They believed in anthropomorphic polytheism.”

“Gods taking human form?” Lia said, nodding her head.

I dropped the book in my lap, my head tilting. She was full of surprises. “You know what anthropomorphic polytheism is?”

“Is it that shocking?” Her mouth twisted in a rueful smile. “Just because I don’t speak Sumerian doesn’t mean I’m an idiot.”

“I never said you were an idiot. I just asked if you spoke Sumerian.”

“Not all of us have had centuries to waste on dead languages.”

She looked up at me, and something clenched my heart in a tight grip. The trouble was that it wasn’t just about keeping my hands off Lia. Every time she opened her mouth and reminded me that she wasn’t just beautiful and brave but intelligent, I wondered what would happen if I crossed the line again.

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