Page 80 of Queen Takes Queen
I could save her. As long as I could protect myselftoo.
Leaning closer, I breathed in her scent, my lips brushing the soft line of her throat. She quivered against my knees, leaning harder into me. She wasn't scared or worried, even though I'd warned her about mybite.
Opening my mouth, I sank my fangs deeply into her throat. She cried out and her back arched, straining, her hands flailing to the side. I cradled her head, supporting her as she shook againstme.
She tasted like sweet, delicate petals floating on a small pool of pure spring rain deep in the jungle. A hidden pool, secret and lush and warm. Her power rushed into me. She called jaguars, all big jungle cats. In fact, she could communicate with the animals. She'd sent the quetzal to warn me about the ants that would try and invade my nest. Yet there was a darker side to her power, a sense of destruction. She descended from the mother of gods, who represented both the womb and the grave. Mayte could stretch out her hand and will the crops to fail, plants withering and rotting with disease. People would starve. Famine and disease would spread in the wake of her power. Unleashing a deadly plague on New York City would have been her last line of defense in order to protect herdaughter.
I sank into her mind, absorbing her bond. Her power. The feel of her Blood suddenly firmed in my mind. I felt their fur and smelled the feral musk of their scents. Prowling the night, mighty predators, sleek and deadly. Their eyes glowed in the darkness of my mind. Daire's warcat hissed a warning and Eztli's gigantic black jaguar made a coughing growl that sent goose bumps racing down my arms. The two cats crouched in my mind, tailslashing.
:Be still. Leave himbe.:
Eztli's jaguar looked at me and lowered his sleek body to the ground. Surrendering to mywill.
Through her bond, I could control them. I could feel them. I hadn't realized what that would mean. I could order them, as I ordered my own Blood. I'd never given orders to someone I didn't love. I'd never had to force someone to do my will. But I felt that certainty now. I could command them to do anything at all, no matter how opposite to their natural inclinations, and they would be forced to doso.
Such power. It terrifiedme.
I could only imagine what kinds of things Keisha Skye would order her Blood, or her sibs' Blood, to do. If she'd takenMayte...
Rik's bond gleamed like a hot forge in my head.:She could have made Eztli or even Tepeyollotl slaughter their own people and they wouldn't have been able to resist hercommand.:
Mayte moaned, her arm sliding up to hook around my neck.:Goddess, don'tstop.:
Her mental voice slid through our new bond like smooth, decadent chocolate. I tasted her pleasure in her blood. Her scent of flowers deepened, still sweet but now dusted with sultry spices. Hot cinnamon and chilies and darkchocolate.
Her skin beneath my lips was so soft, her smaller body so different from my big, powerful Blood. Soft curves instead of sheets of muscle. Sweet tender skin instead of hot velvet over iron. Both were wonderfultemptations.
Desire pulsed through me. Throughher.
I lifted my head and she blinked languorously, her incredibly long lashes fluttering like birds over her stunning crystaleyes.
Turning my head, I offered her my throat. Her arm tightened around my neck and she leaned up to lick my throat first, making me shiver. I expected her to bite delicately, sweetly, but her bite punched into my throat, making me groan. She wasn't shy about taking what shewanted.
Which made me groanagain.
I could feel my blood flowing into her, lighting up her magic like a circuit board. My power fed hers, pushing her limits further andhigher.
Gasping, she pulled back and drooped against me. "Too powerful. I can't take much or it'll burn meout."
Blood trickled down my throat, making me glad for the black material of the dress, though every person here could smell my blood, even if they couldn't see it. She settled against me with her head in my lap and I stroked my fingers over her hair and face, tracing her cheekbones and the curve of her forehead. She was so fucking beautiful. Her bone structure like fine hand-thrownchina.
"Eztli Zaniyah," Bianca called out, and Mayte's alpha strode towardme.
Glowering, he went to one knee and bowed his head. I wasn't sure why he was mad at me, unless it was because his queen was draped in my lap. "My queen, I'm yours tocommand."
:You can access his thoughts through her bond now,:Rik reminded me.:But I can tell you why he's upset without touching his bond. You have the right to claim him as your own. You could even order me or one of your Blood to fuck her, and we would. And she would allow you to make such an order, regardless of what her own Blood wouldprefer.:
I squeezed my eyes shut, every cell in my body shuddering with revulsion.:I would never order any of you to fuck anyone against yourwill.:
:We know that. But he doesn't.Yet.:
I thought a moment, trying to find the best words to tell him politely I wasn't interested in taking him, without insulting him, and also making sure he understood how I was going to work in the future. "Eztli, you will best serve me by continuing to serve yourqueen."
Some of the tightness eased about his eyes. He saluted me, fist over his heart, and then stood. He hesitated a moment, looking among my Blood to find the best place to stand close to his queen without offending any of mine. I gave Mehen a mental nudge and he grudgingly moved down a bit so Eztli could stand by Nevarre and be within touching distance of hisqueen.
Her other Blood came to me as well, and I gave them the same order. A hush fell over the crowd when Tepeyollotl approachedme.
I’d be a fool not to take such a powerful Blood. He was a god. If I ever wanted a child, he might be the only answer to me being able toconceive.
