* * *

“It’s freezing.”

I slipped off her boots then tugged down her bottoms, making her naked from the waist down. “Then let me warm you up.” I laid her back on the bedroll and pulled the cover over us both. My body smothered hers and chased away the cold instantly. Her little body was folded under mine, and I brought us close together before I entered her.

The moan she released was quiet and unwilling. Her eyes closed, and her hands immediately went to my ass because my upper body was still sheathed in the armor.

I rocked into her next to the dying fire, the camp empty except for the two of us because Fang had excused himself to hunt in the wild. We remained quiet, as if someone would hear us, even though it was just us for miles.

Every time I was inside her…it was indescribable. It’d become as addictive as her blood on my tongue, the pleasure I felt being joined with her, the joy I felt knowing I was the man between her thighs and not someone else. Elias could enjoy the weed he’d chosen over this rose. I could handle her sharp thorns and water her roots. Make her petals open and bloom every night.

It started off slow, our lips locked together as our bodies ground together, but it quickly turned hard and aggressive, our bodies sweating and impervious to the cold. We held on to each other as we moved, our thrusts quick and fast, our breaths louder than the crackle of the fire. It was desperate, as if every night before this had somehow left us unsatisfied.

I made her come and enjoyed the performance, her moans feeding my ego, and I filled her pussy to mark my territory, to erase every unworthy man who’d been there before. I worshipped her body like a shrine, kneeled before her beauty and power, surrendered myself completely to the only woman who’d ever made me feel weak…and enjoyed that weakness.

* * *

We approached on our horses, Fang draped over my shoulders as we entered The Mountain. When the vampires recognized me from the top of the gate, the doors slowly creaked open to allow us entry.

“Should I wait for you out here?”

“You don’t have to be scared of anything when you’re with me, sweetheart.” I clicked my heels into the horse, and we moved through the open gates into their domain. I’d been here countless times, and since it was inside a mountain, it possessed a harshness I didn’t care for. I preferred the open skies—even if they were covered with a blanket of heavy clouds.

We dismounted our steeds and were led to the same sitting room Viper and I had visited before. I hadn’t spent an extensive amount of time in The Mountain, so I was unfamiliar with their hospitality.

Larisa was on edge the entire time. She didn’t say anything, but it was obvious in the way she carried herself, the way she stayed silent instead of asking questions like she usually did.

I helped myself to a drink then held up an empty glass to her. “Would you like one?”

“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

Instead of making her a double scotch, I poured her a glass of wine. I took a seat in the armchair. She sat alone on the couch, so Fang slithered over and joined her, his body over the back of the couch and on the armrest, circling her completely to make her feel better. When she smiled, I knew it worked.

A moment later, Cobra entered, dressed in his king’s uniform but without the armor and weapons. His eyes went to me first, subtly hostile as always, and then shifted to Larisa. Now he had a whole new look altogether—and I didn’t like it.

Without addressing us, he made himself a drink—a double scotch—and then took a seat in the armchair. His arms were spread out over the armrests, and his legs were far apart, taking up as much space as possible. All four of us looked similar, with dark hair and dark eyes, tall with lean builds, though Cobra and I looked the least alike. “Didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

“We’ve got shit to do.”

“Do we?”

“You’d feel differently if you were the first line of defense.”

He took a drink then set it on the table beside him. “What’s the plan?”

“We speak to Father.”

“Why do you need me for that?”

I gave him a hard stare.

“Oh, that’s right.” He snapped his fingers. “Because all you do is piss him off.”

“And all you do is piss me off.”

Larisa’s eyes moved back and forth between us, probably surprised by the way we spoke to each other.

Cobra grinned before he raised his glass to me. “Good one, brother.” He took a drink before he directed his stare on Larisa. “I don’t bite, sweetheart.”