Page 124 of Fratelli: Eternal Bloodlines

“Take me,” she panted. “Drink me.”

“I don’t need to. All I want is this,” he sighed, and she could feel him defeat the climax that was mounting in him. “I want you like this, it’s all I need.”

Tears welled in Darlene’s eyes. He was so beautiful, and the way he loved her body was so different from Lucio. With Dolly, Lucio was tender. But with her, it was always raw, untamed sexual heat. That was until Lucio returned to her and apologized, told her he loved her and made her feel complete. She felt the betrayal and the regret. Lucio was supposed to be her forever. She did not know that her mate was always there, waiting and needing her. Never had a man, in all her existence, cared for her in lovemaking the way Domenico did. He kissed her, and together they rolled beneath his dark energy making it their own light, slipping into a pure light they had created just for themselves—a space uniquely their own, like when they hid from the darkness in the void.

“Do you love me?” she asked.

Domencio slowed his thrusts and looked into her eyes. “I will love no one after you. I have loved no one before you. Yes, Darlene. I love you. Nothing competes for my heart. Ever.”

She felt his words manifest in his actions and she finally understood how complete love could be. No one, not even her sweet brother Russell, gave her the kind of love she felt in Domencio’s arms. She would defend and protect this feeling and union between them with her life.

“Drink Domencio,” she pleaded.

“I don’t need to,” he groaned. But she felt his resistance and smiled—he wanted to protect her. His Draca was clawing and shredding him from the inside. He would not serve her to his beast.

She needed this union, and she needed it now. Darlene forced Domenico onto his back. She rode him harder and faster than she ever had sexually overtaken a man before. His strengthcrumbled beneath her power, and soon he weakened enough to lose control. Then came the release of his Draca. She saw the precise moment his will shattered. In defense, she was quick to throw up a shield of protection as the Draca surged to life and flipped her position beneath him and slammed his cock dripping with the wetness from her vagina into her ass, in a possessive primal motion. His ruby-tipped fangs pierced the back of her neck, sending a deep, reverberating shockwave through her body. Domenico’s Draca took her wild and with a renewed force. It fucked and fed on her with raw, unbridled abandon. And as it did, she absorbed the very essence of him.

Inside Vittorio’s castle,another figure entered. His footsteps echoed hollowly across the stone floors. He paused, glanced up at the ceiling, sensed the dark energy and its swirls above. A knowing smirk crossed his lips as he continued to Vittorio’s chamber. The door to the Master Vampire’s room swung open without him lifting a finger.

He could hear the old bastard groan and repeat Julia Brown’s name. He approached the coffin; he stared at the heavy locks. With a simple wave of his hand, they turned to dust.

Vittorio forced the lid open and sat up, feral and wild. Before anything could be done, the old Don launched himself at the window, crashing out of the glass into the night, skittering like a crab as he disappeared into the forest, racing toward the nearby town to feed.

Phoenix smiled. He knew Vittorio would return, and when he did, the last hour would be upon them.

Darlene ranher hand with gentle care and love down Lucio’s back. She let him drink from her. Moments later, his body seizures, and she felt his Draca’s control over her release. His gem-tipped fangs slipped from her jugular, and he collapsed beside her, coughing and choking. She sat up in a quick fashion. Domenico’s hand clamped around her arm; his other hand clutched at his chest. The agony etched across his face brought tears to Darlene’s eyes.

“I’m sorry, Domenico,” she whispered and touched his hand.

“What… what have you done?” he wheezed; his eyes wide with shock. Her blood coursed through his veins. It burned his Draca from the inside. Paralyzed by the pain, he could do nothing but stare at her in disbelief.

Darlene pulled him close. She held him against her chest, against his will as she wept. “I’m doing this for you. For us. I have to. I can’t let you suffer. I promise once I kill Vittorio, you will be free from this torment. I’ll come back. I’ll heal you—I know how. I did it with Lucio. Just hold on.”

“Darlene... no, don’t... help me, don’t do this…” Domenico pleaded.

Frustration ripped through her, and she screamed, her tears falling harder. She almost gave in—almost healed him right then. But she couldn’t. They had reached the point of no return—as Papa Legba had told her.

Gently, she lowered him back to the bed. His eyes were filled with desperation, they pleaded her to stop. She stroked his jaw. Her heart ached. “I love you. When I kill your father, we’ll finally have peace. We’ll be together, in love. We’ll make vampirebabies and live on top of pyramids. You are my mate. We are one now. Trust me. I’m smart. I know what to do.”

Domenico’s brow furrowed with concern. He shook his head, warning her it wouldn’t work.

“You’ll see,” she insisted, her voice soft but resolute. “You’ll forgive me because I’m doing this out of love. I’ve figured it out. I know how to save everyone.”

“Darlene...” His voice was weak, fading.

She pulled away from him.

“Darlene!” he gasped, reaching out for her, but she slipped from his grasp.

In the mirror, she saw Papa Legba and reflected her soul—part of the price she had already paid—greeted her. A smile tugged at her lips. It closed her eyes, she felt the change begin, just as Papa Legba had promised.

When she opened her eyes again, she was Domenico.

From the bed, Domenico looked up, stunned, as he saw himself standing by the mirror—naked, tall, with an exact reflection of the man lying in the bed. “Darlene?” he rasped, his voice trembling.

She smiled back at him from the mirror, a changeling, fully transformed.

“How do I look?” she giggled.

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