Page 42 of Death Comes for Her
“Gorgeous when you’re coming for me. So gorgeous, aren’t you?” He bowed over me, delicately sweeping my hair from my sweaty skin. His lips peppered tender kisses over my cheeks, neck, and shoulder. My walls throbbed as he climaxed, filling me with his satisfaction.
He slowed, keeping his cock buried inside me as we basked in the heat of our tryst. I came down from the high of pleasure and he gently kissed the side of my mouth. “Thank you for letting me take care of you. You did so well for me, sweet pet.”
And I didn’t know how it happened, but after I regained my breath and we broke apart, things settled with startling ease. Simon and I found ourselves at the tufted couch across from thefire. He sat poised and proper on one end yet relaxed with a book in his hand. I lounged on the other end with my legs in his lap, flipping through an ancient fairy notebook.
We fell into an unknown world of intimacy, deeper and beyond the animalistic levels of sex. And I soaked it in, craving the bond that chased away years of loneliness after finding another being to connect with. As the storm raged on outside, I ignored the one growing in the recesses of my heart.
Chapter 14
The phases of my life were a never-ending whirlwind of confusion. I wasn’t born lonely. Quite the opposite. From birth to my transformation as a young adult, I had every opulence and indulgence a beloved child could wish for. Even through the war, I had my wings, my parents, a palace, and luxury.
The Everdark Morning changed everything, and the loneliness that followed suffocated me. Wings cleaved from my body during the harrowing hours a vampire horde marched on my home. Secreted from the palace, as they butchered my parents. Left alone in the wilderness with open wounds seeping golden ichor down my backside as the sun vanished and crimson bled into the sky.
Against my will, I’d become an unpalatable, woe-begotten creature. A burden, a workhorse, and a whore for a family that degraded me for a decade. I didn’t care if the gods deemed me an ungrateful wretch for thinking good riddance upon their deaths.
I found myself in a maelstrom, caught between instinctive reactions and burgeoning feelings. Vampires were, in every way, the veritable enemies of the fair folk. They’d nearly devoured my kind into extinction. Yet I woke every day with a quivering bloom of longing in my belly that blossomed in the lords’ presence. Each moment spent with Dante and Simon encouraged that growth until there were roses with thorn riddled vines tangled in my ribs.
They were the exceptions to the rule, and the peace we found ourselves in danced in the shadows of incoming strife. More vampires were coming. Hundreds of them, in fact. All high society, venerated war heroes, nobles, and extended members of the Ambrose clan. Chiefly among them, Sanctus Ambrose.
And I would be the shiny fairy toy that Simon and Dante showed off for their Grandmaker. With fair folk in short supply ten years after the war, my existence was a fluke. Their possession of me lifted them higher than they already stood, an undeniable prize and proof of their status.
They’d be remiss to show me off.
With that in mind, it struck me as odd that neither lord had brought up the upcoming event. Everything I heard of the planning came from Imani or the other servants. If Dante or Simon spoke of it within earshot, they didn’t continue when they noticed me lurking about.
Dante had returned from his werewolf hunt the night before. I only knew because his voice carried down the halls as he argued with Simon. Their conversation had devolved into a full shouting match until I’d rounded the corner. They’d clammed up instantly, both men stalking off in opposite directions.
I needed to know what would become of me. If they had expectations of me, they had a responsibility to enlighten me. It might spell life or death if I slipped up, spoke wrong, or walked past the wrong undead bastard.
I couldn’t fathom them hiding me away in my room during the festivities. Proud, arrogant vampire lords, direct descendants of the current vampire ruler who consumed the sun, wouldn’t hide away their most prized possession.
After breakfast, I scoured the manor for one or both Ambrose lords. It only took half an hour before I heard another heated discussion drifting from the west wing of the second floor. Entangled in the heat of their argument, neither Dante norSimon looked up from their debate as I slipped through the crack in the door.
“—won’t be safe if we parade her in front of them,” Simon sneered.
“We don’t have a choice in the matter.” Dante carded rough fingers through his unruly black waves. A harsh sigh tore from his lips. “They already know of her existence. Sanctus knows we have her.”
“But he doesn’t know who she is or how important she is.”
“We barely know who she is.”
“I’m quite sure of my theory. So sure of it, because I know your thick skull had the same thought. If you were able to manage it, I must be right.” The tension in Simon’s shoulder slackened a fraction, but his gaze remained on the window. “When I tell her I’m going to take care of her, I mean it.”
Dante scoffed. “You’ve never wanted to take care of anyone.”
“You never needed anyone to take care of you.” They locked eyes, going silent for what felt like an eternity.
Sensing the rippling tension settle, I cleared my throat. Nothing more than a delicate sound, but both men jerked to attention, angling toward the doorway. Simon’s reserved expression barely flickered as he noted my existence. The twitch of a perfect pale brow gave him away. Dante barked a brief chuckle from the back of his throat. His sinful mouth kicked into a smirk.
“Speak of the devil,” Simon drawled.
“Devil?” Dante’s gruff laughter made my stomach dip and spin. “No, brother, she’s more divine than we deserve, and you know it. A goddess walks amongst us.” He waggled his brows in a roguish way that stole a giggle from my lips.
“Are either of you going to tell me when Sanctus will be arriving?” No point beating around the bush.
Simon flinched, then swiped a hand over the back of his neck. Dante placed his hands on his hips, staring at me like a puzzle he needed to solve.
“I know he’s coming. I’d prefer you to tell me now, so I know what to expect. Or do you expect me to water myself down into some meek, helpless creature for you to parade around your peers?” Their continued silence on the matter provoked that seething beast of burden rattling against my ribs like a cage.
