Page 57 of Queen Takes Checkmate
“Who says so?” His voice was tight, his neck strained back under the force of her grip. But he didn’t resist her. He never would.
“Me. I say so.”
“Who?”
She forced him down to the mattress, sliding off me to pin him beneath her. “Shara fucking Isador.”
Daire let out a rumbling chuckle. “Yes, my queen. Prove it to me. Prove it to us all.”
Daire
I should die. It should be me.
That was all I could think every time I looked at my fearless queen and the rest of her Blood. I was good for cuddling and purring. I loved it when she allowed one of her other guys to push me around and fuck me. But in the end, what use was I, really? I wasn’t alpha. I wasn’t dominant. I liked to tease and test boundaries, but generally I was more annoying than anything.
I’d thought my warcat was badass when she’d first claimed me, but she had bigger and badder Blood now. If I could die so she could defeat Ra, I’d count that as a victory, especially if that spared Rik at the same time. Or Mehen. Or Ezra.
My throat ached and my eyes burned. I would not fucking cry. I refused to add another burden to the list of things she had to carry for us.
If I paid the price for the red serpent, I would know that I meant something to her. That—
She leaned down, nose to nose, and glared at me. “You’reeverythingto me. Don’t you know that?”
“No,” Rik rumbled, his voice deep with reproach.
I closed my eyes, blocking out the sight of her. The love shining in her luminous eyes hurt too much. He was right. I wasn’t everything to her. I couldn’t be. She had too many Blood to deal with a bratty submissive cat, no matter how loudly I could purr.
Massive fingers seized my jaw and ground into my face, forcing me to open my eyes again. Rik scowled and gave me another good squeeze that made me wince. “He doesn’t know, my queen. You’ll have to remind him.”
She pushed upright and opened her thighs, sliding down more fully over me.
Which put her bare, bloody pussy on my stomach.
I quivered. Every hair on my body stood straight up, like I’d just stuck my finger in a light socket.
She laughed softly and wriggled. Fucking smeared that hot, sweet blood on my skin. “You’ll have to help me, Rik.”
I groaned like she’d shoved her fist into my chest and yanked out my still-beating heart.
“Gladly, my queen, because he’s everything to me, too.”
“Don’t fucking lie,” I retorted, though my breathing was already ragged. “She’s everything. I’m nothing. We’re all nothing, as long as she lives. She can find another alpha. She can fucking take her pick of a dozen purring Blood right now from one of Skye’s siblings. Her life above all. I learned my lesson, Rik, and you were right. You were fucking right.”
Power flared to life, demanding that I look at her. That I worship her like the fucking goddess she was. Her bond weighed heavier inside me, crushing the life out of me. Until I surrendered. Until I finally met her gaze.
My heart stopped. Literally. Her power pulled on my will so hard that I couldn’t breathe without her permission.
“I learned my lessons too.” Her words fell heavily one by one, laced with power that throbbed through my body. “What this queen takes, she loves, and what she loves, she keeps for all time. I won’t give you up. Not one of you.”
“But—” Rik started.
She didn’t move, but the force of her immense will snapped toward him, allowing me to breathe again. The biggest, baddest alpha ever to walk this earth immediately stilled. He didn’t roll over and show his belly like I would have, but he gave up the fight before it could start.
He could have grabbed her face, like he’d done mine, and forced her to listen to him. But he would never touch a hair on her head in any way that was offensive. And to him, a giant smash-em-up rock troll, any gesture or word that was aggressive in any way to our queen would be as offensive as pissing on a goddess’s shrine.
“I. Won’t. Lose. You. Not one.”
I couldn’t help but drop my gaze to the red snake curled around her throat. Maybe it was a trick of the light, but I swore its head moved faintly, as if it was trying to free itself of her body and act. Now. Before it was too late and she missed her opportunity to end Ra’s shiny ass once and for all.
