Page 63 of Queen of Vampire Hearts

“Because they were planning to execute you, a young woman who’d recently lost her parents, for a crime she was not responsible for.” He said it so reasonably like it was impossible to draw any other conclusion.

I wanted to collapse in relief at the fact that Lucien’s gaze hadn’t changed in the slightest when he looked at me, even knowing everything. I was falling hard for the legendary king and didn’t want to fight it anymore. At that moment, I realized with a jolt that I was staying. I was staying with Lucien.

When the Council came for my head, and they would, we would fight them together. I would trust Lucien with my life and my heart. Somehow, he’d wormed his way past any defenses I had, and there was nothing left but him.

I threw myself at him and kissed him hard, pushing him back into his throne, desperate for him as always. He caught sight of my fevered eyes, his own turning red with lust and his fangs descending into his mouth.

Lucien moaned as I dropped to my knees between his spread thighs, cupping his length through his pants. I murmured, “Every time I’ve seen you sitting here, all I could think about was sucking you off while you sat on your throne.”

He gulped, a tremor of anticipation shivering through his body. “Gods, you’re perfect,” he groaned as I slowly unzipped his jeans, freeing him from their confines. I glanced over my shoulder at the door.

“What if someone comes in?” I asked, one eyebrow raised.

“They won’t if they want to live,” he growled in response. I took him into my hands, and the muscles of his thighs went stone hard. My eyes locked with his when my tongue first lapped at him. I tortured him slowly, licking over the crown, pre-cum beading on the head. “Take it into your mouth,” he ordered.

I ignored him, enjoying how the tables had turned. Though I was submissive to him in bed, and I knew he was allowing it, I was enjoying taking control for once. I ran my tongue from base to tip, and he shuddered when I finally took the head into my mouth. His glowing gaze shot to the ceiling, then immediately came back to watch.

My lips wrapped tightly around his shaft, and I flicked the piercings with my tongue, feeling him throb in the wet heat of my mouth. I began a slow rhythm, moving up and down, taking as much of him as I could. Lucien’s knuckles went white as he gripped the throne, the stone groaning beneath the pressure of his grip. He muttered half in English and half in Romanian. I increased my pace until his hips thrust up, his cock pushing deeper and his balls tightening, preparing to come.

“Going to come on your tongue. Swallow me down,” he commanded.

Lucien came with a yell, and I obliged, swallowing every drop of him. I licked him clean, giving one last loving drag of my tongue before pulling back and smiling up at him. He looked blown away, utterly decimated, and the expression of wonder in his eyes had my heart thudding. He was still looking at me as he always had.

He reached for me, but I dodged him, a massive smile lighting my face as I turned to exit the throne room. He caught me and pulled me back against him. “And where do you think you’re going?”

His tone made me shiver, and my good humor lit up my voice. “You have vampires waiting to speak with you.”

“Fuck my vampires. I want to make you come,” he whispered, biting my ear playfully, his hands taking an extensive tour down my body.

“Later, Lucien. Finish with them, and then you can make me come as many times as you want. I’m a giver like that.” The smirk I gave him earned me a slap on the ass, but he released me. He walked me toward the door, trailing his fingers down my back.

“You can count on that, my queen. Wear something sexy.” He growled, swatting my ass again before opening the throne room door to let me out. I noticed the various wide-eyed stares of the vampires present, but I ignored them. I knew Lucien would make his meetings as short as possible.

My stomach was once again in knots as I headed for our bedroom but for a different reason this time. I was going to ask Lucien to claim me, and I wasnervousbut not exactly sure why. I’d wanted to sleep with him since our first night in Tír nAill. Finally, I was getting my wish, and it filled me with anxiety. Part of me wanted him to blow off all the waiting vampires and head straight for me. He had a way of calming me down.

I stood in the dressing room, biting my lip and glaring at the various lingerie that Adelaide had purchased for me. Tonight was special, and I didn’t want the mundane or hooker light. Bast came up behind me and rubbed against my legs, sensing my disquiet. I scratched the cat’s ears, the feline purring in delight at my touch. “What do you think, Bast?”

The cat tilted her head and blinked at me. Though witches and familiars had a special bond, often used to steady their magic when they were younger, I wished Bast could give me actual advice instead of her usual stares. The cat disappeared through the hanging clothes, spreading her scent on the fabric. The familiar often spent nights curled between us, even cuddling up on Lucien’s chest a couple of times.

Bast let out a long meow, calling to me. I drifted farther into the closet, finding the cat clawing at a box wrapped with a bow. Was this another gift from Lucien’s mother? I pulled it out and looked for a note but found none. My smile turned wicked when I lifted the lid and caught sight of the contents.

Lucien will have no idea what hit him.

XXX

The Realm of Mortals.

Întuneric Castel, Romania

I WAS GOING TO STRANGLEthe next individual who kept me from Phoebe. My rage and lust were still running high after her ex’s appearance in Întuneric. Rage practically blinded me, and my nerves vibrated inside my skull, making my vision narrow. It was impossible not to imagine the boy’s hands on her, and when she said she’d once loved him, a haze of red had fallen over me. The crowd of vampires in front of me took a deep breath at my glowing eyes. My subjects knew to bolt, people usually died when it happened.

Why had she never mentioned she’d dated a vampire before? When I reflected on our time together, I realized for the first time that she never made a fuss over drinking blood, even offering her own without hesitation. It was familiar to her.

At the thought of the boy drinking from her, my jaw tightened and my muscles primed. I was a breath away from unleashing everything boiling within me. An inferno, magma hot and scalding, was about to blow, and I’d take down everyone,everythingin my proximity. He had sampled her blood, her body.He got affection, evenlove, from her. The unbroken arm of my throne came away like dust in my hand. Shards of stone slipped through my shaking fingers. For ten thousand years, the throne of the vampire king had sat on that pedestal, and in less than an hour, I’d rendered it into nothing but an armless hunk of rock.

I muttered to myself madly, the words unrecognizable even to my own ears. I didn’t even notice the vampires vacate the throne room, Erik standing in their place looking grim. Where did the werewolf come from?In my mind, I shoved past my old friend, storming to my mate, losing myself in her writhing form. Instead, I settled heavily into my armless throne. “What is it, Erik?”

Erik’s eyes made me shift uneasily. They were sky blue and vibrating with a pulse of amber through them. The wolf was surfacing within Erik, fighting to take control.His golden hair was falling in all directions, and the white of the scars on his face were stark. His voice shook when he said, “I heard from the Witches Council.”

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