Page 62 of Vows Forged in Blood

Her body finally gives out, melting to collapse on top of me. I catch her and quickly maneuver her so that she’s beside me, tucked against my side with her legs thrown over my thighs. I use what’s left of her nightgown to wipe up the mess on my skin and we both sit tangled together trying to catch our breath and wrap our minds around what just happened. Her heart eventually slows, that steady beating that’s become the most important sound in my entire world.

“I’m not broken,” she finally says, voice a little husky from all the screams. I wince slightly, knowing that her Keeper atthe very least would have heard if she was in her own cabin…perhaps even the entire camp with the way Dahlia was crying out. Even so, I can’t help my smirk, my male ego preening at the thought of the pleasure I’ve given my mate this night, at the idea of all the other pleasures I can bring her in the future…but I shake myself, focusing on the present. This is a…delicate situation, one that should probably remain as private as possible until I can figure things out fully.

“What do you mean?” I ask, frowning. I run a finger along her thigh, not seeming to be able to stop touching her, even for a moment. Gods, this is going to be problematic. I’m going to have to learn to handle this.

“You were worried about hurting me. But here I am, completely intact. Not a scratch on me.” I shift her leg to show the two puncture marks on her thigh and arch a brow. She laughs lightly. “Ok, maybe a few scratches, butdear godsare they worth it.” She reaches over and runs her fingertip across my stomach, drawing idle shapes it seems. “Does that always happen? When you bite people…do they always, uh…”

“Come instantly and so hard that their legs shake and the gods themselves hide from the force of their screams?” I supply helpfully.

She throws her head back and laughs and the sound warms my heart. I’ve never had this…what is it Elias always calls it? Afterglow? He says that you must always bask in the afterglow with your women, but I’ve never done such a thing. I enjoy my time with them, we both find our pleasure, and then I leave—or ask them to leave—almost immediately. None of them have ever seemed to mind, but I can’t imagine not having this time with Dahlia. To just be with her after we’ve just shared something so intense and profound, to…bask in the afterglow of it all, I suppose.Gods, I sound so ridiculous. Elias will never let me hear the end of this.

“Aye, that sounds about right,” she says, “ye right arse,” she adds quietly, though of course she knows I can hear her. I smile at her brogue, at the fact that we’re here together like this, touching so effortlessly and joking about orgasms. I never would have dreamed…

“Yes, I understand that it can be very pleasurable.”

“You understand…?”

“I’ve never taken blood from the flesh before you, Dahlia.” I hold her gaze and she swallows hard.

“Oh,” she says quietly. She starts to say something else but yawns widely instead, her eyes becoming glazed with exhaustion.Oh, little mate, we’ll have to build up your stamina…My pulse speeds up at the thought of what’s to come. Because I know that it is inevitable now. I will take Dahlia. I will claim her fully as my own in time. It is not a matter ofif, it is a matter ofwhen, and my gods when that day comes…

“To bed,” I say, scooping her up into my arms and rising from the couch. She doesn’t argue, only wraps her arms around my neck and rests her head in the crook of my neck. I stride from the study but instead of turning towards Dahlia’s chambers, I go towards my own. It’s foolish, of course, but I cannot be parted from her, not yet. I know I must learn to be, but I do not need to learn tonight. She doesn’t seem to notice where we’ve gone, eyes closed and her breathing becoming soft and even.

I settle her into my bed and stoke the fire before sliding in behind her. I pull her tightly against my chest and wrap my arms around her. I sigh in contentment, never having felt so completely whole in all of my long years. This is where I’m meant to be. This is where I belong.

“Stay with me?” she whispers, her words slow and slurring as sleep takes her in its clutches.

“Always,” I promise.

Chapter 31

DAHLIA

The nightmares don’t find me in Alaric’s arms, and when I wake the next morning—in Alaric’s room?—I feel better rested than I have in months. My heart falls when I realize that I’m alone in the giant, unfamiliar bed, but then I see a note on the pillow beside me, along with a flower. A dahlia. I smile and pull the flower to my nose, inhaling deeply while I read the note.

Dahlia,

I’m sorry I must leave before you wake, but I am ever the High General and duty calls. I was sorely tempted to tell duty to fuck off, but alas, she is a demanding bitch. I will find you later.

-A

P.S.

You look beautiful.

I grin like an idiot as I read the note twice more. This has to mean that he doesn’t regret what happened between us, right? I sigh and decide I should go back to my own room, only to realize that I have no clothes. My nightgown is in tatters somewhere in the study and I smile and blush as the memories of the night before come flooding back. Alaric’s fingers, his tongue, his fangs…A shiver runs through me and I suddenly want my hands on him so badly I have to curl my fingers into fists. I rummage in Alaric’s closet and put on one of his tunics. It’s long enough that it covers everything that should be covered, though if Alaric isn’t here, I don’t anticipate running into any of his men in the halls. I slip from his chambers, padding quickly down the hall and across the expanse of the cabin to my own wing.

I nearly scream when I come into my room and find Takara sitting in front of the fireplace. She looks somewhere between impressed, astonished, worried, and amused.

“And where might we have been, Lady Dahlia?” she asks with a knowing arch of her brow and I cross my arms defiantly.

“Just out for a morning stroll.”

“A morning stroll in the High General’s tunic without your panties?” I gape at her and she laughs, lips curling up into an affectionate smile. I stride over and collapse into the chair across from her, tucking my feet up beneath me and pulling Alaric’s tunic around my knees.

“Tell. Me. Everything,” she demands, holding out a plate of bacon and eggs and fruit to me while sipping on a cup of blood.

And I do. I don’t know if I should since I get the feeling this thing between Alaric and myself should probably be a bit of a secret, but I know that Takara won’t tell a soul, both as my Keeper, duty bound to me and me alone, but more importantly as my friend.

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