She paused for just a moment before doing as I commanded, allowing me to catch sight of her perfect pussy.

“You are dripping for me,” I growled.

She moaned, lifting her hips, spreading herself more for me. “Please, Lucien...”

The sound of her plea made my cock throb. I used two fingers to spread her lips apart, making her more vulnerable to me, her needy clit begging to be touched. She whimpered and clenched as I kept her clit exposed to the air and slowly slipped a single finger inside of her. “Your pussy wants to come. I can feel it squeezing my finger.”

The words caused her to further drench my hand. I rocked my finger in and out of her while feathering lightly across her clit, not rubbing the way she so desperately needed. She pushed forward against my hand, and I added another finger, twisting them inside her. She dug her heels into the bed and lifted, trying to get more friction.

“Make me come, baby. Please,” she begged.

I thrust my fingers inside her faster, harder, making her breasts bounce. “I love watching your tits when I have my fingers inside you.” Phoebe moaned, and I finally added the friction she needed on her clit. Her entire body tensed and then began to shake as I felt her come around my fingers, screaming my name as she orgasmed. When I felt her relax and her body go languid, I pulled my fingers from her pussy, licking them clean. Gods, she tasted amazing.

My cock was rock hard as I kneeled between her trembling thighs, positioning my shaft against her wet folds to rub myself against her. I imagined the ways I would fuck her and thrust jarringly against her. She locked her ankles around my waist, unable to do more with her hands bound. She rocked her hips up and down, yanking me higher up the bed. Every time she dragged her clit over my piercings, I choked on a moan, my eyes rolling up at the feeling. I could feel her edging toward another orgasm, shoving me at my own.

“Fuck!” she moaned.

I panted, and my lips parted to expose my teeth. Phoebe tipped her chin up and leaned forward, trailing her neck along my mouth, nicking the delicate skin of her throat. A drop of her addictive blood landed on my tongue, her flavor exploding in my mouth. I licked over the small wound, my eyes glazing over at her taste. Gods, she was amazing.

I sank my fangs into her neck, and she hissed, rubbing harder against me. She circled her hips frantically and moaned, her second orgasm ripping through her. She screamed as she came against my cock, and my release quickly followed. I pulled my fangs from her, panting at the force of my climax, feeling the heat of my cum against her belly.

My body felt boneless, but I nearly hardened again as I untied her from the bed, and she grabbed me, covering my face with kisses. I massaged her arms, making sure the blood returned to them. She was such a wicked female.

My smile turned sinister, tempted to play with her more, but she slid out from under me. She cuddled close to my side, throwing her leg over mine, and resting her head on my shoulder. I kissed her head affectionately, a deep feeling of contentment coming over me. Had I ever felt such satisfaction, even after a long night of debauchery? I threaded her soft fiery hair through my fingers, luxuriating in the silky texture. Both of us were breathing hard, still riding hard from our orgasms.

“I will always protect you, Phoebe, but know that I intend to earn your trust,” I murmured into her hair.

She looked up at me, her lilac eyes unreadable. “Lucien…” she began, but she glanced away, pulling away from me. I immediately mourned the loss. However, she was already withdrawing from me, and the madness delightedly returned.

She can’t wait to leave, just like everyone else.

Phoebe couldn’t wait to leave, just like everyone else. First my mother, then Cassandra, now Phoebe. She didn’t speak again, heading for the closet to pull on clothes. I remained where I was but pulled the sheet over myself and sat up, my back against the ancient headboard.

She returned wearing tight jeans and a white blouse, still glowing from the pleasure of her orgasms. I growled at the sight, hardening again for her. Would I ever get enough of her? Instead of returning to bed, she headed for the door. “Where are you going?” I demanded, tempted to stop her, but I remembered my plan of baby steps and stayed where I was.

“I need… I just… give me space, Lucien,” she murmured, the door clicking shut behind her. I bit my tongue to keep from roaring.

XV

The Realm of Mortals.

Întuneric Castel, Romania.

“Aunt Caroline!” I cry, the sound muted by the persistent ringing in my ears and my makeshift mask. I scramble to her side, trying to remember the spells for healing, but I don’t know them. They’re in my grimoire, the stolen grimoire.

Still, I have to try. I close my eyes and focus all my energy into my hands, hoping to force it from my body into my aunts. My palms warm slightly, and my tear-filled eyes open, expecting to see my aunt’s wounds healing.

I ESCAPED THE BEDROOM,knowing I might already be in too deep with Lucien. I admitted to feeling safe with him. Even if it was true and I felt protected for the first time in a decade, even if I imagined staying, it gave him a major advantage in their constant battle of wills. I couldn’t let it happen. I had to find a way to escape. My hands absently tugged at the cuffs, reaching for my connection of magic just out of reach.

I meandered through the halls again, looking for Cassandra or Elijah, anyone to distract me from my own thoughts. But I couldn’t find anyone, not even one of the lingering vampires who shot venomous looks at me when I first arrived. I couldn’t find anyone. My arms wrapped around my stomach.

I did not know how long I was lost. There were no clocks or even windows in this part of the castle, nothing to tell me how much time had passed. But something was calling to me. How had I gotten here? The corridors must have changed. The very hallways morphed, delivering me to another area of the fortress. As if the massive stone labyrinth wasn’t hard enough to navigate normally, was it also spelled?

I glanced around, disconnected voices suddenly echoing through the hallways, making my hair stand on end.Okay, what the actual fuck?I started sprinting down the dark corridor, hoping to put some distance between me and the approaching sounds. Despite the distance, the whispers only grew louder. They were overlapping hushed murmurs, but nothing I could understand or decipher. I tried to cover my ears to block them out, only for them to become hushed screams that sent me running down the dark hallway, attempting an escape.

I saw the familiar library doors and rushed forward. I pushed them open and was shocked that they did not lead to the library but into my childhood home.

A step back, and I was in the ominous hallway of the castle. If I stepped forward, I would be in the only home I had ever truly known. My eyes filled with tears, emotion clogging my throat. Like shades, transparent outlines of my parents and I flickered before me, moving at an almost invisible speed. My hand shook as I stepped further into the past, reaching out to touch the intangible, ghost-like shapes of my mother and father. As my foot fell, the scene solidified, playing out before me.