Page 152 of Claim of Blood
As Leo followed Oren down the corridor, he was filled with anticipation and anxiety about the evening ahead. The ritual, the other vampires, his place beside Adam during whatever ancient ceremony they were about to perform.
“Lander is waiting to help you dress for the evening,” Oren said as they reached the main hall.
Leo nodded his thanks and made his way upstairs, the ring on his finger warm against his skin. Whatever tonight brought, he was walking into it with his eyes open. He was no longer the reluctant hunter who’d stumbled into this world—he was Leo von Rothenburg, claimed by Adam Matthews, and tonight he would stand beside his vampire at the most sacred moment of their year.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Leo
Leosteppedintothebedroom, fingers working at his collar button as the evening sun slanted through the half-drawn curtains. The Court gathering had left him with barely enough time to change before dinner.
The soft click of the lock made him freeze.
“Adam?” He squinted into the shadowed corner. “I thought you were in meetings until dinner.”
Adam stepped forward, sunset light catching the dangerous glint in his eyes. “I left them.”
Leo’s pulse jumped at that look. Adam’s shoulders were tight, his focus sharp and predatory. This wasn’t the controlled vampire who’d sat through hours of diplomatic meetings—this was something rawer, hungrier.
“You smell like them,” Adam said, moving closer. “Everyone downstairs.”
Leo took a step back. “I was just with—”
Adam moved in a blur, grabbing Leo’s wrists. The touch sent electric sparks through Leo’s skin, his body instantlyresponding. The ring on his finger grew suddenly warm, pulsing with heat that seemed to echo his racing heartbeat.
“The blood sacrifice at noon has left me hungry,” Adam said, voice tight with need. “I’ve been sitting with my siblings all afternoon, thinking about you. Wanting you.”
Leo swallowed hard. “Adam, I need to change for dinner—”
“Dinner can wait.” Adam yanked him toward the bed.
“I would have come willingly,” Leo said, breath catching as Adam spun him around.
“I know.” Adam pushed him down, bending him over the mattress with his chest pressed to the sheets, feet still on the floor. “But that’s not what I need right now.”
Leo felt Adam’s hands at his waist, efficiently stripping him from the waist down. His pants and underwear pooled around his ankles as Adam’s boot nudged between his feet, kicking them wider.
“Expose yourself to me,” Adam commanded, his voice dropping to a growl that made Leo’s knees weak.
Heat flooded Leo’s body as he shifted his feet out of the tangled material, spreading them wider, as ordered. The position left him completely vulnerable, ass on display for Adam’s hungry gaze. Already, that familiar fog was creeping into his mind—his body yielding to Adam before his thoughts could catch up. The ring pulsed hot against his finger, as if responding to his submission.
“Beautiful,” Adam murmured, one hand tracing the curve of Leo’s spine. “So eager to be used.”
The first slap came without warning, Adam’s palm connecting with a sharp crack. The sting bloomed instantly, radiating heat through his body and making him arch into the touch.
“Count,” Adam ordered.
“One,” Leo gasped, his fingers digging into the sheets.
The second strike landed on the other cheek, harder. “Two,” Leo breathed, his cock already leaking against his stomach.
By the fifth strike, the world was getting fuzzy around the edges. Leo’s mind floated above the burning pleasure-pain, catching only fragments—the sound of his own voice counting, the fire spreading across his skin, the growing ache between his legs that demanded attention.
“Five,” he whispered, voice wrecked.
Adam’s hand softened, massaging the tender, heated flesh. “Good boy,” he murmured, fingertips teasing along the sensitive crease where thigh met ass. “Look how red you are for me.”
Then those fingers moved lower, cupping his balls with just enough pressure to make Leo whimper. “Should I spank these, too?” Adam asked conversationally. “Make you really feel it?”
