Page 41 of The Firebrand
Rein stomped to a dresser, opened a drawer, and flung a tee at her. “Here.”
She snagged it mid-air, slipping it on, snuggling under the covers but facing away from Rein.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” Braelyn warned, her voice muffled by the blanket.
Rein grabbed her shoulder, spun her onto her back. His eyes glowed red when she scuttled toward the headboard.
Damn her challenges.
“Let me tell you about vampires. We’re horny. We’re violent. We’re selfish. We’re thirsty most of the time. Love a fight. Live to chase our prey. You’re practically staked out, asking to be dinner. When you say something fucking crazy like what you just said, I want to strip you naked. To take you in every way possible. To be inside you. To fuck you until you shout my name. And, yes, I want to bite every inch of your freckled skin. After which, I’d sink my fangs into your pretty neck and drink until you’re empty. Do you get it?”
Braelyn swallowed so hard her throat bobbed. Then she snapped. “Well, use a little more control!”
She scrunched down, punched her pillow, rolled over, and faced the other side of the room,hmphingwhile she tossed around. “Arrogant,” she mumbled.
Rein padded out of the bedroom, growling, needing to get away from the call of Braelyn’s blood, her desirable body, and the stupid comments that only served to erode his control.
****
Whilesurveying the city from the great room window, Rein sipped the remainder of the Lucifer’s Forge Cabernet. His fangs clinked against the glass, making it difficult to drink.Damn.He had just fed yesterday. He should be able to better manage the blood thirst.
The female in his bed could erase one hundred and fifty years of mastery over savage appetites and raw, violent urges. Braelyn stirred too many hungers that had broken loose during the Awakening, the ascension of his vampire powers. Rein prided himself on never having taken human blood. Though he’d heard it was the sweetest, most addictive flavor, he had abstained. He wouldn’t cross the line now. Besides, Kole had entrusted her safety to him. All the more reason to tamp down his baser instincts.
Life was about balance.
Breathe. Breathe. Control.
Rein turned from the view, placed the drink on the table, and sat cross-legged on the Turkish rug, arms relaxed at his side. When he snapped his fingers, a nearby candle flickered on. The light became his single focus. He began his meditation by recalling the last day he had been innocent.
His mother had never lived with his father and had rarely visited Rein or Elisabeta, preferring the company of her purebred vampire friends or family. Despite never showing maternal instincts, she had betrayed him, claiming it was for his own good. And once she interfered in his life, he was forever changed.
It was the late 1700s. He was a tall, broad-shouldered, pre-Awakened, cocky youth whose black hair streamed down to within inches of his waist. He was flirting with a striking blonde in a dark blue full-length gown. At something she said, he threw back his head and laughed, a joyous sound that carried across the garden, loud and deep. He was happy.
He wore a long-sleeved white ruffled shirt, haphazardly tucked into snug black leather pants that hugged his thighs. While other men at the party donned intricately patterned waistcoats and tight knee-length breeches with stockings and brocade shoes, Rein dressed for sex appeal rather than the times. He was aware of his effect on the lasses, using all his skills to attract them. His bed was never empty.
He lifted a booted foot, resting it on a rock, leaned an elbow onto his knee, and smiled. Confidence poured from his blue eyes. His rakish grin would get this female to his room tonight. In those days, no hint of darkness or doubt crossed his face.
When a friend tapped his shoulder, he twisted around. His mother glided across the lawn, tilting forward on her toes, not letting her fashionable heels sink into the turf. She captured everyone’s attention. Castia, Bludclan Melius. Eyes turned to her as always. Her black hair was piled high, contrasting beautifully with the long, red Rococo dress she wore. But everyone’s gaze rested on her breasts, pushed up into plump mounds by the ornate, low-cut bodice. Just as she intended.
She was putting in a rare appearance to celebrate her son’s Awakening celebration. As a warlock-vampire-incubus mix, Rein could choose his preferred breed. He had chosen. At the end of the pending ceremony, his vampire and incubus powers would be unavailable to him forever. Only the awakened power of the mage would remain. But that was what he desired. He held the other breeds in contempt. And everything pointed to his becoming a powerful warlock.
Rushing to Castia’s side, his father folded her into an embrace. As he stared into her eyes as blue as the waters of the Aleam Ocean on the Covenkirk coast, he brought his lips to her mouth, kissing her passionately, murmuring what the young son imagined were sweet nothings.
Arm-in-arm, they sauntered toward him, the delighted parents of the guest of honor.
She stepped away from Alarik to approach Rein on her own, stopping to chat with several groups along the way until she reached him, took him by the elbow, and drew him aside. She whispered in his ear and nodded at his father, her co-conspirator. Then she and her son disappeared from the garden. And as they dissolved into mist, likely a spell cast by Alarik, Rein caught a resigned expression on the male’s face.
His meditation complete, Rein concentrated on slowing the beat of his heart. He settled his breathing. He allowed his mind to float above his corporeal being. Here in this place, he was free from blood hunger, from the desire to inflict pain, from his lust for the human female. Here, he was in control of all things.
ChapterNine
Aftera fitful sleep spiced with erotic dreams, Braelyn awoke with Rein beside her, face down, buck naked on top of the covers. She slipped out from under his arm, resisting the urge to stroke the wide pads of muscles on his back, to press her nose to his skin, to inhale his masculine scent. Her admiring gaze roamed over the slope of his tight, firm ass.
Before she drooled, Braelyn swung her legs onto the floor, trying not to awaken Rein. She scooped up her torn clothes, tiptoeing into the bathroom.
Feeling stronger than she had for months, she scanned for a washcloth. Slipping out of Rein’s T-shirt, Braelyn turned on the shower. With water trickling into her palm, she waited until it warmed. She squirted a dollop of shampoo into her hand. It didn’t take much.
Short hair, a side benefit of the chemo.Funny. I kept the spiked cut. Must have expected a return visit from cancer. Boy, was I right.
