Page 123 of A Throne of Blood & Vengeance

The heat of the late summer afternoon hit me like a runaway horse as soon as I stepped outside the temple. This was going to be a brutal run across the badlands.

My best bet was straight east to avoid the trapper spiders. Once I made it to the forests, I’d angle south a bit and then?—

“Oof!”

A pair of bright purple eyes brimming with fury looked up at me from where Samara had slammed me against the wall of the temple.

“Something you need, my queen?” I asked in a flat, bored tone, doing my best to keep my emotions from rolling down the bond.

“I wasn’t done talking to you.” Her hands gripped the fabric of my shirt as she crowded my space. It should have been absurd. I had over a foot of height on her and could easilyoutmuscle her, but some small part of me had enough self-preservation to not try.

Samara liked to fight dirty, and I’d prefer to keep all my bits attached.

“Oh?” I tilted my head in a way that I knew would annoy her. Black flashed across her eyes, and I smiled. “You don’t have to say anything. I can feel it, remember?” I tapped the back of her hand that was covering my heart. “If there were anyone else you could have asked to do this, you would have because you don’t trust me. I felt it all. Your hesitation. Fear.”

“Vail,” she ground out.

“Yes, my queen?”

She stood on her tiptoes to get a little closer. “You are a fucking idiot.”

I blinked. “What?—”

Samara let go of my shirt to yank my head down. Then her mouth claimed mine, and for a second, I stood there rigidly, not completely sure this was happening.

I felt her lips curve into a smile against mine before she whispered, “This is the part where you kiss me back.”

“So bossy.” I smiled before doing just that, sliding my tongue into her mouth, reveling in the way she tasted.

Then I flipped us around so she was pinned against the wall and broke our kiss. Samara panted before going still as I wrapped my left hand around her throat and planted my right hand against the wall.

“You’re so fucking frustrating,” I growled.

“Yeah,” she rasped. “You’re a real fucking peach yourself.”

I chuckled and squeezed her throat a little harder, and she let out a low moan that went straight to my dick.

“What do you want from me, Sam?” I brushed my thumb against her rapidly beating pulse, and she arched her back at the touch.

“Everything,” she breathed out. “I want everything from you.”

“You have it.” I leaned my forehead against hers. “You are mine, and I am yours. I will never betray you again, and I will spend the rest of my life making up for it.”

“I know,” she whispered, and I eased my grip on her throat a little but didn’t remove my hand.

“Why?” I closed my eyes as I breathed in her scent. “Why did you hesitate in asking me to do this? I felt your fear.”

“Because if you get captured, Carmilla will make an example out of you.” Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I’m not saying all of our bullshit is resolved, but I want to have the chance to fix it—to fix us. You still piss me off half the time you open your mouth, your bullish attitude is incredibly frustrating, and Draven is right, you suck at apologizing, but none of that changes the fact that I love you beyond reason.”

“Fuck.” I yanked her to me and kissed her hard, pouring every ounce of what I felt for her into it even as I practically screamed it down our bond. I’d never been good with words the way that Kieran and Draven were, and apparently I was even worse than Alaric and Roth at expressing how I felt. I’d just have to make damn sure she knew from my actions that I fucking loved her beyond reason too.

My tongue slid across one of her fangs, and she groaned as my blood filled her mouth. Then I slid my hand down until I cupped her breast and squeezed. She sucked on my tongue as her soft body pushed into me more. Suddenly, I was very desperate to know how wet she was.

I tore my hand away from her breast and roughly dragged up her dress until I felt bare skin. Then my fingers dove underneath her panties.

It was my turn to groan as I found the hot slickness waiting for me. I slid two fingers through her wetness, and Samaramoaned, finally breaking our kiss as she tilted her head back against the wall.

“More,” she demanded.

---