Page 256 of Cruelly Bitten
Your brother is a lunatic,Ismerelda thought at me as I flexed my palm against her lower back.A raving mad lunatic.
He’s immortal,I returned while surveying the room for a place to sit.And very, very old.
So are you, yet you’re not throwing a fucking orgy while preparing for… for whatever the hell it is he’s planning to do.
When you’re our age, you process time and threats differently. He sees this as entertaining,I replied as I began guiding her toward a leather couch near the back of the room.He’s obviously been very bored.
Not that I considered boredom to be an acceptable excuse—I merely meant to offer an explanation. Or, at least, the only reason I could fathom for his behavior.
He’d been betrayed, yes. But this went far beyond revenge or a need to ensure the safety of our kind.
Time to play, my queen,I murmured into her mind as my palm left her spine.
She paused as I took over the center of the couch.
“Straddle me,” I said aloud, my voice underlined with authority.
We had a show to put on.
And fortunately, my mate more than understood her role.
She slipped onto my lap, her dress parting up both legs almost to her hips as she settled on my thighs.
I fisted her hair with one hand, then used my other to place the glass at my lips. Holding her gaze, I took a sip and allowed her—and everyone else—to see the disgust in my features.
“Definitely not what I’m craving,” I muttered, setting it on the end table before sinking my fangs into her neck.
She clung to my shoulders, her thighs squeezing mine as I took several deep pulls from her vein.
“Muchbetter,” I told her, wincing as the taste of the other human’s blood lingered in my mouth. I’d only taken a sip topacify my brother. And now I was making a statement—nothing and no one can replace myErosita. So don’t fucking touch her.
Ismerelda arched into me, her pleasure cascading around us as I imbibed her essence. It provided the perfect cover for me to observe the room, to glance at the other royals as I devoured my mate.
The others would see my move as a detached one—just a vampire enjoying his meal while taking in the scene.
In reality, I meant it as a proprietary move. A way of publicly claiming myErosita.
It also allowed me to evaluate each and every attendee.
Helias.
Robyn.
Ayaz.
Jenkins.
No sign of Thida or Jasmine.
Perhaps they were in their private rooms, wherever those were in this part of the underground. I’d never been in this area before, leaving me slightly uncertain as to what exactly my brother had in store.
He’d said the royals had all wanted to see me.
Definitely a lie,I decided, taking in their sensual antics.
Robyn was playing with two males, her long, manicured fingers wrapped around one of the men’s throats as he fucked the other human beneath him.
Helias was a bit tamer, his eyes closed as a female knelt between his thighs.
