Page 10 of Queen Takes Blood
My dick throbbed, my fangs crested, and my blood shifted inside me, rising to the surface of my skin. Rushing to the wound, an easy way to offer myself to my queen. “I only thought to be polite.”
She reached out and dragged her finger through the blood dripping from my side. I shuddered at the slight touch, my heart leaping, drumming against my ribcage. Yes. So close.Taste me, my queen.
She wavered, her eyes locked to my blood. Her head moved closer, her eyes fluttering shut. But then she jerked back a step as if shocked by her own reaction. Her lips parted, her breath a soft pant of desire despite her hesitation. Her heartbeat pounded in my head, the call intensifying. She needed to taste me. She needed to take me as Blood. Even if she didn’t know what that meant.
Ever so gently, I caught her elbow and tugged her closer. Letting her feel my heat. My strength. While also showing her how carefully I would touch her. How we would treasure her. Always.
“Take what you want from me, my queen.”
* * *
Shara takes Alrik & Daire as her Blood in Queen Takes Knights.
There are also bonus short stories, “Queen Takes Alpha,” and “Queen Takes It Out On Me” available in Queen Takes More.
QUEEN TAKES… GUILLAUME DE PAYNE
Song: Who Wants to Live Forever by The Tenors & Lindsey Stirling
6
GUILLAUME
No honorable deed was ever done in a dark, stinking alley at midnight. Yet here I stood, leaning against the rear of my car, waiting to see if my contact would show. If I was still sane, I would have left half an hour ago. Late sellers were never a good sign.
But I had crossed the line toward insanity long ago.
I would stay on the barest chance that this human possessed what he claimed to have. And if he would not sell it to me as we’d agreed…
Well. I had killed too many to count, for much less of a reason.
Finally, a sleek, black luxury car approached slowly through the trash-strewn narrow passageway. Two men got out of the car, one clearly the muscle, the other man in a business suit. Arms crossed over my chest, my manner casual, I didn’t move a muscle as they walked closer.
“I apologize for the delay. The last deal took a bit longer than expected.” The businessman gave me an ingratiating smile. “Are you Hugh Troyes?”
Not my true name but one I used for human affairs. Nodding, I reached into my front jeans pocket.
With a low hiss, the muscle man whipped out a gun. “No funny business.”
Arching a sardonic brow at the man, I slowly pulled out my business card, holding it up between my curled knuckle and thumb. “Just business.”
The other man jerked his head in my direction. Muscle man stepped close enough to snatch the card. Without reading it, he passed it to his boss.
“I’ve never heard ofThe Hell Horse Collector.”
I shrugged. “The business has been around for nearly a hundred years.”
What else would a former knight do in his spare time than collect ancient weapons?
Still doubtful, the man looked me and my car over. I didn’t give a damn about appearances. I wore faded, comfortable jeans and a white long-sleeved Oxford shirt. My Doc Martens were scuffed and well worn. Though he couldn’t say shit about my mint white and red 1967 GT500 Mustang. “Do you have the cash?”
I pushed up from my casual stance and opened the trunk. A single black case lay on top, with the rest of my treasures covered with tarps. They didn’t need to knowallmy business. I unlocked the case and flipped it open so the man could see the neatly stacked rows of bills. “Show me the goods. I need to authenticate.”
He turned back to the car and called out, “Bring the Templar case.”
A third man climbed out from the rear seat carrying a long black case. “Where do you want me to open it?”
My heartbeat quickened. The case was at least the appropriate size, though that didn’t mean much of anything. He could have a dozen shitty replicas inside that case and not even have a clue that they were fake.
