Page 77 of Shadow's Heart

Scalding lashes took both of her breasts. Her straining red nipples peeked up through whipmarks of white seed.

He yelled over and over until his voice broke, till he could scarcely utter a stunned,“Sand almighty.”

Her tension ebbed in time with his, her movements slowing, breaths easing.

Spent, he gave a last husky groan. “Look at this.” Pure masculine satisfaction lit his face as he stared at his seed upon her. “I’ll never come again. You’ve drained me, princess.” He released her and collapsed against the back of the sofa. Between breaths, he said, “And you’ve shocked me. Do you know how difficult it is to shock an immortal like me?”

“Hmm?” His pearlescent semen was slashed through with a thread of red. Unable to help herself, she dabbed her finger in both and brought it to her mouth. Her tongue darted for a taste.

“Oh, fuck me,”he muttered in shock, and the madness began all over again.

Thirty-Five

After several more bouts of bed sport, additional food for Silt, and a bath for both of them, he and the princess lay in bed, bodies fitted together. Their appetites—matched as if he and she had been cut from a single grain of sand—were sated. For now.

He still hadn’t claimed her, but it was only a matter of time.

The fire crackled as Kosmina rested her head on his shoulder and traced his tattoos. He threaded his finger through her hair, taking its irresistible scent into him. His thoughts were clear, and yet relaxation stole through him.That’s new.

He still puzzled over who he was and what he ultimately wanted—just knew it included more of this. He’d thought smoking was bliss. Yet nothing could compare to thisconnection.

He frowned down at the intoxicating vampire. Had he traded one drug for another?

Over the night, she’d confided to him that she used to be tongue-tied and shy. At times, he’d seen hints of that bashful princess when she blushed to the tips of her pointed ears at some new pleasure he introduced, but mostly she’d struck him as a femme fatale he’d barely kept pace with.

Now she’d grown quiet, and he didn’t like that he had no idea what she was thinking about. “What are you musing in that clever mind of yours?”

In a wry tone, she said, “Tell me, did you feel as if we were eleven females short?”

He raised his brows. “I can hardly handle just you, Kosmina.”

“Who?” She languorously stretched beside him. “As you foretold, enchanter, I forgot my own name.” She laughed. Feminine laughter was his aphrodisiac, but hers was different.I canfeelit.

Her levity faded too soon, and she grew serious. “I shouldn’t have taken your blood. I’ll only get accustomed to it. And eventually I will lose control and bite you.”

“When those drops first hit your mouth, your eyes cleared for a moment, the red receding.” Their true color was light azure ringed with gold, the color of that Sorselan oasis he’d found. The spring lake had been all the more vivid against the expanse of sand surrounding it.

This princess was as otherworldly as his home realm. If he possessed her, then maybe never going back wouldn’t hurt as much. “My blood temporarily muted the sickness. With enough of it, you could beat the plague.”

She looked like she didn’t dare to hope. “How could that be?”

“Do you remember when I told you the sand hisses at the sun? It does at the rain too, warning it off. But then a shock wave of energy gets released, and the sand welcomes it with opened arms. I felt something shift like that when you consumed those drops.”

“A shock wave is exactly how I’d describe it.”

“Sorceri often possess unknown powers. What if one of mine is to fight this plague in vampires? To test out my theory, I’ll need you to feed on my blood often.”

The gratitude in her expression as she gazed up at him jabbed his conscience further. Her smile returned, but it was sad. “Can I depend on that? Have you forgotten I’m going soon?”

“Considering what you’ve found with me in this bedroom, perhaps you shouldn’t plan so easily to leave it.”

“I don’t want to leave you, but I can’t remain here indefinitely. And not just because of the plague. Something isn’t right with Enti.”

He’d had the same feeling. Her hedonism, though typical for a Sorceri, seemed to carry an edge.

Kosmina frowned. “Everything she says makes sense, and she is trying to help me, but . . .”

“But . . .”

---