But, as he turned to leave, his gaze, filled with desire and bloodfeeding satisfaction, pierced her. "Come."

Aekeira trailed him out, her breaths shallow and quick. Everything about him ensnared her senses. He hadn’t fed from her, yet shewantedit.

No sooner had they crossed the threshold, the door closing behind them, did he press her against the stone wall.

"I feed from Merry, but it is you who invades my thoughts." He lookedstarving, his tone softer than she'd ever heard it.

“I-I.” Aekeira's eyes were drawn to his lips. She swallowed.

Lord Vladya's hand caressed her cheek. "You are the one I envision spread out beneath me, my dick lodged deep inside you, my fangs at your neck. Why, Aekeira?" Without awaiting her reply, his lips slammed down on hers.

The kiss was fierce, desperate. Grand Lord Vladyaconsumedher.

All thoughts vacated Aekeira's head as he plundered her mouth, except one.Lord Vladya is kissing me! He really is kissing me.

Aekeira had never been properly kissed before. The drunken slobbering of lustful ministers who had won her in card games and bets didn’t count. Those experiences only set her up to expect the worst from a kiss. Nausea. A churning stomach. Involuntary retches.

But the reality of this grand lord's kiss shattered everything else.

Aekeira moaned as his tongue plunged into her mouth, coercing hers into a dance she never learned but now found herself desperate to master. His lips suckled at hers greedily, every pull drawing a deeper, more shameless sound from her throat.

Her fingers rose of their own accord clutching at his robes, pulling him closer as he thoroughly explored her lower lip before sucking it back into his mouth. It was filthy. Raw.

So arousing.

Aekeira's body went from warm to molten. She was suddenly aware of her breasts. Acutely aware of how heavy and achinglysensitive they felt. Wetness pooled inside her, dripping onto her undergarment.

"By Ukrae's bones," Lord Vladya groaned into her mouth. His hands cupped her cheeks, keeping her face captive as he ravaged her lips like it was his personal playground.

Aekeira clung to him, making helpless little, soft, throaty moans as he kissed her within an inch of her life. She felt devoured. Alive.

Breaking the kiss, he murmured, "There's my elegant little whore." Breathing ragged, he rested his forehead against hers. "Just a kiss and already you are so wet, your musk's scent is nearly suffocating me."

An embarrassed mewl left Akeira. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could hide from his penetrating gaze.

"I could take you right here, in Merilyn's hallway, and you would let me, wouldn’t you?" His tone was taunting, yet alluring. "Knowing that everyone in the house would hear your cries... well aware they would know exactly what I am doing to you, you would still let me."

Humiliation tangled with arousal, stoking the fires within Aekeira until she felt as though she might combust. She buried her face against his neck, rubbing her arching core against his thighs like a shameless wanton.

A raspy, soft laughter came from him, as his hand stilled her whorish movement. "Words, little bird. Use words."

He's laughing.Aekeira might have marveled at that sound under different circumstances, but right now, all she could focus on was getting relief.

"Y-yes, I want you," she panted, shyly.

Lord Vladya pressed closer, his hardness blatantly firm against her midsection. Then, he made a rotating motion, shamelessly rubbing his thickness against her.

"Soaked. Swollen. My sexy little witch," he growled. "By the gods, Aekeira. You are bad for my control. You make me want to—" He stopped. Elongated ears twitched.

"Merilyn can hear us,” he muttered after a moment, the slightest amusement touching his lips “She said we are not helping her situation in the slightest—huh." A brief pause followed. "I haven't heard such colorful language from you in centuries, Merry."

They were overhead?Aekeira's face burned.

Mortified, she wished for the earth to swallow her whole.

A moment of silence passed before Lord Vladya clicked his tongue, a small smile briefly crossing his features. "Using some uninterpretable choice words, Merilyn suggested I take you far from her abode."

Aekeira could only nod. She agreed wholeheartedly.