Page 111 of Marked
For the first time since he said I was a vampire, it dawns on me that he may not want me at all now.
Was that the only thing that drew him to me? My humanity?
The little lines along his neck says differently.
“Ruin–”
“I can’t guarantee to ease up immediately, baby girl. But you are going to need to be trained. Someone has to teach you discipline. There are others, of course, if you would prefer it not to be me, but as your sire–”
“Sire?” I ask.
He grimaces. “It was my blood that pumped through your veins when you died. If you had never drank from me, the change wouldn’t have worked to begin with.” He looks heavenward. “Something Markus only told me after we got back here.”
The way he says the king’s name tells me all I need to know. “How much trouble are you in?” I ask.
“With the colony? None. With Markus ... We will work through it. But the Council is angry.” He snorts and his hand drops back to his side. “Furious actually. At me and Markus.”
“Why?”
“Changing a human was banned almost a hundred years ago after so many died during the experiments overseas. It takes a strong bloodline in order for it to work at all. And the practice became taboo when a lot of the older, stronger bloodlines became diluted. Weak.” He looks away, and I know he is wondering how a bastard vampire had that much power.
“But worse than all that? I killed our only lead. With Vlad dead, we don’t know who our supplier is.”
“How bad?” I ask carefully.
He exhales. “I am being demoted with a pay decrease for now. It’s probationary. Any more slips ... They are within their power to ask for my imprisonment. Or worse.” My stomach knots with icy dread. “Gage will act as Markus’ second in command, and I will go back to being a hired hand until the trial in a month.”
“Trial?” I croak.
“It’s purely for their benefit. Punishment has been issued. It’s a mere formality.”
I watch him. “Ruin ...” Draven’s words float back to me. But they are distant now.
Did he really send the Brightex to Georgia?
My lips part to speak, but he raises a hand. “Just let me get through this,” he cuts in, brows pinched.
I clamp my mouth closed and nod.
“My job was the only thing I had, Lilah. It was what made me who I am. What defined me.” His dark eyes cast over my face. “But now ... I would rather base who I am on the deeds I do for the ones I care about, than the deeds of a title I am no longer sure I want.” His pulse is steady in the muscled column of his neck.
“But I do know what I want.” He steps closer, pushing me back until my legs hit the hood of Caine’s car.
“And what is that?” I ask, mouth dry.
“I want you naked under me, with your fangs in my neck.” I inhale. “I want to fill you with my blood and my seed until my very scent pours from your skin.” His body heat is warmer than before, or maybe the same as mine now. He boxes me in, fitting his hips to mine and leaning me back until I’m draped over the hood like a car ornament. My core turns molten, and my thirst ratchets higher. “I want you, Lilah. In every sense of the word ... If you will have me.”
I stare into his dark eyes from so close.
He means it. All of it.
I wrap my arms around his neck. When my hips rise to meet his, he bucks and grinds into me until Caine’s car dips under the power in his frame. “Even with my humanity gone?” I ask.
He smiles and leans into me. “Humanity is nice and all. But I hear sex with a vampire is great. Think of all the positions.” His eyebrows wiggle.
With a laugh, I kiss him hard. “And we’re going to tryallof the positions for ... How long, exactly?” I prompt.
He nips at my lip. “Forever,” he demands, hands roaming all over me, each pass hotter than the last.
