Page 13 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

My vision darkened, and I lifted black eyes to her. She’d given me an invitation, so I offered her a warning. It was a warning. Her fingers sank into my shoulders. She urged me closer to those scars, to the veins that pulsed under her fair skin.

All of you.

Danger. The Queens. Nothing mattered if we were together.

I lowered my head and kissed those sensitive marks. Thea’s breath hitched.

My fangs pierced her skin as I slid inside her. Deeper and deeper until I filled her entirely.

Her legs circled my waist as I drew out her pleasure with slow thrusts. Her blood spilled on my tongue was made sweeter by her keening moan.

You belong to me. I want you, my love. I want you as you were meant to be, mine for all eternity. I sent the thoughts between us as I fed.

She cried out, trembling and clinging to me as I plunged in and out.

Her palm found the mark on my chest, and I felt that spark of magic that belonged only to us. Our bodies had changed when we mated, but now I felt that bond even more deeply. We were one, our lives as twined together as our bodies.

I lifted my mouth to capture hers, letting her taste the blood and venom mingling on my tongue.

Her fingers splayed over my tattooed heart as I drove us toward that eternity. With every thrust, my lips found hers. Erasing all the fear and pain we’d felt with each kiss. I was hers. I would always be hers. I didn’t need words to tell her that. I didn’t need my voice to speak to her heart. And as we reached the precipice, I knew she was mine, too.

On the verge, I sank my fangs into her neck once more, and she pressed her hips to meet me. “Take it,” she whispered, willing me to wring the last bit of pleasure from us both.

I felt her release build, her body loose and tight as she surrendered. It hummed between us, vibrating in our veins. I had never felt anything like this, not even in her arms. In death, the last bits of her left unchanged had transformed.

My fangs retracted, and I lapped at the pricked wounds to help seal the skin.

She went limp in my arms, but I didn’t let her go.

“I will burn down the world before I ever let anyone take you from me again.” I buried my face in her hair as I made the vow.

There was a battle ahead of us. I knew she needed to think, to breathe. Just like I did. Our hearts raced together. The blood I had taken from her wasn’t enough, and I wondered what would be enough to help soothe the trauma of our separation.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” I said, drawing back to stare into her eyes. I traced the changed lines of her face, now more beautiful than ever. More precious.

Had death transformed me in her eyes?

I needed to see her, touch her, prove to myself that she was real.

But we also needed to be practical.

“How can you promise that?” she asked, snuggling deep into my arms.

“Because I’m bigger, stronger, faster, and more vicious than any vampire who doesn’t respect my Queen.” I forced a grin, knowing she could see through it.

“I told you that we’re equals,” she reminded me. “Whatever happens, we’re ride or die.”

I inclined my head. “Even as equals, it is my pleasure to serve you and to set an example. I will kneel before you at court. They will all kneel before you.”

“And with the court behind us—with its magic—no one will dare touch us.” I felt our magic thrumming inside me now, rising and ebbing with each breath I took. “Or our family,” she added softly.

I snarled in approval.

No one will hurt us or our friends and family—even the family yet to be born.

I nodded in agreement with her unspoken words, a hand slipping between us protectively to the spot where our children would one day grow.

“But, Thea, we need to be prepared,” I began.

---