Page 36 of Smoke and Lure

Amaros.

Amaros opened his eyes and felt content, at peace.For a moment, he laid still and took in the sounds of the world around him.He heard not only the movement and noises within the mansion but also those of the birds chirping and running around at dusk in the mountainous forest around them.Pushing all of those sounds away, out of his mind, he isolated down to what was important to hear: the steady, slow heartbeat of his little angel.Each beat of her heart now thumped in time to his.

However, the small ones' heart rates were offbeat, but the tiny sounds overlapped each other in a synced wave...thum—thum—thump.

Michaela had come through the other side of her transition perfectly and had fed.He tightened his arm around her narrow waist and drew her slim form closer to him.She was practically splayed fully over his body, but he didn’t care.He loved feeling her warmth, the soft press of her pert breasts against his chest, and the heat of her sex pressed snugly against his thigh.

In her dreamless sleep, which he knew because Vampires only saw darkness when they closed their eyes.Most likely, it had to do with the Great Spirit blessing them to have a modicum of sanity while they slept since, while awake, they could be haunted by memories of their past and the past in general.After living for centuries and centuries, the mental weight of it all could be exhausting.However, even though his little angel did not dream, her body produced a high level of testosterone, estrogen, and oxytocin, which kept her grinding her wet sex up and around his thigh quad, seeking satisfaction.

Hell, it wasn’t her fault; vamps always desired blood and sex.

Even now, his dick was hard.It had been erect since he first smelled the piquant sweetness of her blood and knew she was his in the caves.But even though Michaela had awakened, he needed her a bit more lucid before he fucked her and claimed her.

Amaros needed her out of the manacles of bloodlust, at least in the first two phases.Now that she had cleared her first feeding, animal blood, she needed to consume human blood.

Through him, of course.It would be at least several more days before he could let her take away from an actual person without harming them.However, as a new Vampire, she needed nutrients for brain development and the strengthening of babies that could only be found in the blood of a human.It was the reason his kind could not remain sane or in full strength if they only fed on animal blood, and vegetables were only a snack to them, like chips or cookies to a human, with no nutritional value processed through their vampiric digestion.It essentially became dust once it hit their stomach, non-existent.

Now, her feel and scent made him crave more than blood.It would take little effort to guide her body until she was fully splayed over him and remove his slacks and glide his stiff cock right into her wet pussy.He could thrust into her with deep, long strokes and have her in the throes of climax and make her awaken as she screamed his name.

His dick throbbed and rose in his pants, in complete agreement with the idea.

He smothered the groan in his chest.It was more critical for him to feed before she woke than to fuck her brains out.This time.

Amaros.

One moment, Marceline, he bit out mentally, still trying to calm the raging storm of arousal, sending lightning bolts of desire through his body.

Amaros heard his Vice the first time she channeled to him.Even though he’d kept himself sequestered in the room with Michaela, he’d constantly communicated with Marceline through their mental connection.Right now, he knew his Vice was only reaching out to him because of the request he made of her an hour before.

Lifting a hand, he grazed his little angel’s face.He brushed away the side bang that had fallen over her eyes in the hours she’d slept.The misnomer that Vampires slept on their backs like the dead in a coffin wasn’t true unless one was an ancient sealed in the caverns below.

The corners of his mouth twitched, nowhere near a smile, but he found humor in how sprawled Micheala slept.She appeared more human than a vamp now that a significant amount of color had returned to her cheeks and body.Silently, he requested that she open her lovely eyes so he could see her, see into the soul, and lose himself inside her.

He shook himself.There would be time for that later.He needed to handle the necessary things before she awoke.

Instead of focusing on shifting his body gingerly so that he didn’t awaken Michaela with his movements, he became black smoke and teleported himself from the bed to the bottom of the dais.With a thought, his vampiric phantom form became corporeal in a step as he strutted without pause toward the door.

“The Fae Queen radioed back.She has received your request and will get the word for the council to meet in a few days.”Marceline stood in the hallway with her long, black hair bundled up high at her crown in a bun so tight it would make a Prima ballerina jealous.Already dressed for the evening meal, his Vice wore a gossamer amaranth gown that hung to the floor with over half of the material trailing along the polished floor behind her, hiding her shoes.The material was sheer and left not only her breasts but revealed her bare crotch on display through the fabric for everyone to see.

Marceline was an attractive female, skin as youthful and smooth as porcelain, but seeing her lightly covered nude body now that his mate was within reach in his arms, Amaros no longer felt even a spark of desire.Not even with his dick still attempting to snap apart the metal teeth of his zipper to free itself.

Don’t make an about-face and go back into the room to Michaela.He inhaled to calm his body the fuck down and focus his mind on what needed to be done now.

“Perfect,” he grumbled.He reached back, grabbed the handle briefly, and pulled the door firmly.It wouldn’t do to have his mate running amok.“And is everyone gathered?”

Moving in stride beside him, they started down the hall toward the stairs.

“Set.In the solarium.I know you love to watch the sunset through the windows on the west side of the mansion.”

“Good.”He led them down and around the wide, winding staircase to the second floor.

“Sire, are you sure you want to do this?”When he glanced at her, Marceline paused and added, “What I mean is that it has been almost a hundred years since the last human mate was discovered.”

“That may be true, Marceline.However, if I do not present Michaela to the council as soon as possible, I am no better than Aodh withholding the Lupine’s female in his territory or even his mate.”

“Now, I can understand why the Drahk leader hesitated.The transition of a human mate can be unpredictable.”At the bottom landing, they turned right to get to the corridor leading to their destination.

“Be that as it may, it must be done.”Amaros closed the few buttons of his shirt he had undone while holding up in his room.He wished he’d thought to get his suit jacket and a tie.It didn’t sit well with him not being put together outside his suites, especially knowing that most would be dressed elegantly, even provocatively, for the Coven’s final meal of the night.

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