Page 99 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

“Miss Baxter, look at me,” Sterling whispered on a soft coo, pulling me from my thoughts. I don’t know how he knew my gaze was currently rooted to my feet, but I obeyed and lifted my eyes to his, finding a tender smile on his face. “I think I know what’s on your mind. I hope I can ease any feelings of inadequacy by telling you that you being a half-blood is a gift.”

“It is?”

“Yes.” My heart clenched as his voice shifted to a gentle whisper like a tender cadence meant only for a lover. “You can control your instincts better than a full-blood. You can still walk in the sun. You can touch silver. You can have a family, a child forged out of love, rather than a vampire progeny whose life you would have to steal.”

Something in my chest stirred, making my heart heat with an intense fire that melted my insides. I leaned against Sterling and closed my eyes as I felt his arms draw me against him.

“But I would be stronger as a full-blood,” I countered. “And what will the other covens think when the news of the half-blooded heir spreads? The Boston Coven has already started rebelling.”

Sterling pressed his knuckle beneath my chin to lift my gaze to his. Even though he was blind, at that moment, I felt as though he could see me. “You would be stronger, but even as a half-blood, you are a force to reckoned with. I heard about what you did to that Boston Coven member when they tried to ambush you during your botched escape attempt the other night. Evil as he was, Thomas Knight’s power was unmatched by any other vampire, at least on this continent. You must have inherited some of that power. And you will live plenty long. Hundreds of years, if not more. As for coven loyalty, that much is true. But having a male like Vincent as king, he would rule with an iron fist. Most would be too terrified to defy him. Eros too.”

“What about Corry?”

“Corry is… fresh from the human world. He could be a great comfort to you. As vampire queen, your life won’t be ordinary, but at least he could provide you with some semblance of something normal.”

I frowned against Sterling’s shoulder and wrapped my arms tighter around him. “I don’t like that I have to choose. Why do I have to pick a king? Can’t I rule on my own? This is the twenty-first century, after all. Queen Elizabeth doesn’t need a king, so why do I?”

The vampire prince plucked me away from his chest and held me away from him, giving me a hard frown. “Do you think if Queen Elizabeth was only half-human she would be so beloved by her people? With a strong, full-blooded king by your side, there will be far less chance of rebellion from the other covens.”

My glare eased, and I felt those butterflies resuming flight in my belly. “What if I pick you?”

His shoulders tensed, and his serious expression locked back into place. “We already talked about this. I haven’t changed my mind. I won’t take the throne.”

I made a low-rattling growl of frustration, baring my fangs at Sterling. He didn’t flinch, though. Instead, he shoved his hands in his pockets and showed me those beautiful pouty lips of his turned down into a scowl that made me ache with an unmet need.

“Are you going to attack me again?” he asked. “Before we even get to my den?”

My heart pulsed in my chest as a hot rush of heat simmered low in my stomach. Those monstrous, confusing tangles of hormones inside me seemed to react to the mention of his den. “We’re going to your den?”

“Yes. Do you know what that is?”

I mulled over my answer for a second before giving it to him. “It’s a separate room where you keep your coffin? Like your hidey-hole?”

“Yes.” His brows twitched in surprise. “How did you know?”

“I kind of saw Eros’… I think. He had his main bedroom with a normal bed in it, then he had this back room that was tucked away, with his coffin and er…personal items.” I wasn’t really sure what to call Eros’ cruel collection of instruments, but I doubted Sterling wasn’t privy to them.

“Yes, sometimes we’ll have little spots we burrow behind. Places we feel most comfortable being ourselves, away from the eyes of others.”

“Of course, vampires would have formal bedrooms,” I chuckled, feeling my smile return as my weird monster hormones settled back down. “So you’re taking me to your den? Are you going to drag me back kicking and screaming and suck my blood? And then I’ll be turned from the lowly pauper girl to your hot queen of the night?”

Sterling had blinked only a handful of times since I’d been with him tonight, and he chose that moment to give me a blink. “What?”

“Um, never mind. You haven’t read enough dark vampire novels, and it shows.”

“No, I suppose I haven’t. But the library is filled to the brim with archaic dribble. It’s time we order some new books for the coven’s collection. We’ll get whatever you want, and you’re welcome to come here any time to read.”

“You’re promising a girl infinite books and a beautiful library to read in, any time I want?”

“Why not? You’ll soon be queen. It will be your manor, your library. You can have whatever you want in it.”

Everything except him.

“Wow, you’re giving me a library? Way to get a girl all hot and bothered.”

A wolfishly sensual smile stretched his lips, making me whine and squirm with a fresh wave of need. “Well, it was that, or your little fantasy from the vampire novels, where I’d drag you back kicking and screaming.”

My jaw fell open, a lustful haze settling between my thighs as I watched him turn around and continue leading me through the library. He paused in front of what looked to be a dead-end and reached to pull on the head of a marble bust nestled between a copy ofThe Divine ComedyandParadise Lost. If his naughty teasing hadn’t gotten me properly turned on, the shelf that swung open with a groan to reveal a hidden passageway sure did.

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