Page 97 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
I didn’t need to read minds to guess what he was thinking. My attention drifted to the hair in his hand.To my red hair.I had to squeeze my eyes shut against a sudden wave of nausea. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, along with the heady desire, I was left with my messy emotions about my new identity.
He didn’t say anything when I looked away. He understood I was conflicted about these new powers. We were married, joined. There should be happiness and celebration. But instead, a heavy feeling of guilt was lodged in my stomach. I’d married him even though I was lying to him about my family.
If they could see me now, with my red hair and my vampire husband, they’d be more than disgusted with me. Givingmyself over to him meant my lie became my truth. I was an orphan now. I wasn’t sure if Sera would look at me as a sister again. A sob caught in my throat, and Bastien settled his hand on my lower back, dragging his fingers along my bare skin in comforting lines.
My toes curled into the rough cotton sheets, and I turned my attention back to my mate. His pale blond hair falling into his eyes as he watched me. Despite his stony exterior, Bastien was the only person who made me feel loved. I liked being the person he believed me to be.
Intelligent. Stubborn. Beautiful.
His cool fingers traced lower, traveling down until they reached the sensitive skin of my backside. His touch raising goosebumps over my legs. Each caress tantalizing and new. The temperature of his skin and the stillness of his heart were the only signs that he was different from other men. Besides his lust for my blood.
I swallowed hard as soon as the word came to mind. Since meeting Bastien, I’d been forced to be arounditmore than ever before. And while I was nowhere near unaffected by it, the sharpness of my symptoms was beginning to diminish.
So much had changed. For me. Around me. About me. I wasn’t the same weak girl that arrived at the capital. Something thick settled in my throat, making it difficult to swallow.
I called Bastien’s name through our connection. I needed reassurance that he hadn’t changed his mind. Just because we were bound together didn’t mean he’d always love me. I’d learned long ago that family didn’t always mean love.
He offered me no words, nor did he ask what I was thinking, but his steady presence filled the little bedroom until he was the only thing I could think of. I allowed myself to get lost in the pale blue of his eyes. His hands were as grounding as the earth. Hishair shone the color of sunshine. And his lips… So soft and delicious, they made my breath hitch in my chest. His lips were godly. Holy. Sacred in the way they moved over my skin and claimed me as his own. Benevolent in the way they gave pleasure.
I wished we never had to leave this room. That he could keep me in his arms. Locked away. Where we could live out this fantasy together.
Bastien’s deep voice broke me from my thoughts. “You’re sad.”
It wasn’t a question. I knew he could feel it. A crease settled between his brows as he contemplated me. His head tipped to one side.
“You have something to say, but you’re afraid that bringing it up will make me even more sad,” I said.
He lifted a hand to my hair and spun a lock around his finger, rubbing his thumb over the strands, yet his attention never left my face. His cool eyes focused on mine, drawing me into their depths. He drew in a deep breath, and his gaze dropped to the swell of my breasts, heating my flesh with his full attention.
“Then let’s not talk,” he said. His cool breath fanning over my heated skin. He lowered his mouth to my breast, sucking my nipple into his mouth.
My body reacted on instinct, arching into the press of those godly lips, offering myself to them. Letting them move over my skin like they were reading from a sacred text. Showing me with more than words that he wanted me. Wanted to satisfy me. Deeply. Carnally. As only a mate could.
Being wanted in this way spurred my desire.
Wrapping a hand around the small of my back, Bastien pulled me against his body, bringing us together once again. Lying side by side, his hardness pressed against my thighs ashe licked his way across the valley of my breasts. Finding my other nipple and drawing it into his mouth.
My fingers sank into his forearms. His shoulders. His back. His hair. There wasn’t enough of him to grab. To hold. To get as close as I wanted to be to him. He was the only thing I had left, and right now, I wanted him to fuck me like no one else mattered.
I didn’t have to be sad when he was inside me. I was just his.
Bastien’s hand slid down my leg, gripping me by the back of my knee and spreading me open. He didn’t waste time with words or asking me what I wanted. He dusted kisses over my thighs and over my heat. Tasting me. Slowly rebuilding the fire inside me. I didn’t think it was possible for me to find release again, not with all the thoughts weighing heavy on my mind. Until he circled my clit with his cold tongue in painfully soft little strokes.
A low moan escaped me.
Heat pooled between my thighs, melting for him.
When I was twisting in the sheets, he crawled on top of me, his thick length pressing against me. He caught the back of my knee in his hand, and with a gentle thrust, he slid inside me.
Bastien didn’t hesitate this time. Didn’t ask if he was too much. He just gave me what I needed. My hips rolled with each of his deliberate thrusts, meeting each one until we found a steady rhythm. He held me. Kissed me. Was so present. His attention never drifting from my face. Catching my lips with his as he thrust in and out. In and out. Our chests rising and falling in tandem as we moved together.
Our first time was a rush of firsts. Of exploding emotions and whispered promises. This time, we were making love. He rested my leg over his hip, and his hand came to cup my backside, squeezing my flesh hard as he dovedeeper. It felt so good I moaned into his mouth, and he swallowed the sound like it was all he needed to survive.
I kissed him back with everything inside me. Our teeth clacking together, lips mashing, tongues twisting. The friction between us building with each steady beat.
He pushed our foreheads together and showed me what he was seeing, what he was feeling. How close he was to coming because of how good I felt.
“Does my wife want to come?” he said against my mouth. His forehead pressed to mine. Breath ragged.
