10. Talia

CHAPTER 10

Talia

" W hat about Rome?" Zachariah asks from where he sits across from me at the table in the center of the records room.

It was hard not to blush when I walked in this room, given what happened here last night.

I did my best not to glance to my right where Zachariah had taken me against the stacks less than twenty-four hours ago.

And goddamn , it had been mind-blowing.

It'd been fast and frenzied and better than any sex I'd ever had before.

Which again, seemed unfair , seeing as how now I felt totally hooked and could think of little else.

Especially when there was a mission at hand.

"Talia?" Zachariah says my name like a question, and I snap back to the present, shifting pieces of parchment spread out before me.

"Yes," I say, making a note on the list of compiled aristocratic vampire families, their homesteads, and artifacts. "I tracked Conrad through Rome," I continue.

Zachariah nods, turning to the table next to us where a few of the rookie assassins sit.

"Corbin, I need you to get in contact with the Casias," he says in an authoritative tone. "They're the wealthiest vampire family in Rome and we'll need to know if any of their vaulted or prized artifacts have gone missing in the last six months."

The rookie assassin nods and heads out of the room.

"What about Athens?" Zachariah asks me, his tone much softer.

I blow out of breath, nodding. "Yes," I answer. "I tracked him near the Barros' property, and I already know from my run-in with the lady of the house that one of her lockets had been stolen."

"And each of these artifacts are significant?" Zachariah asks.

"It looks that way," I say, guilt swirling in my stomach. "Every artifact so far that's been reported missing by the noble bloodline vampire families has either been an urn filled with ashes of a powerful vampire, a piece of jewelry or vial with blood from a powerful vampire, or busts and pottery or other items with ancient herbs and remedies inlaid into them."

Zachariah digests this information, and then continues down his list. "What about Istanbul?"

I shake my head.

He turns to the next rookie assassin. "I'm assigning you to the Pollot bloodline," he says. "Get in contact with them and see if anything's been stolen from their archives."

The assassin immediately obeys, heading out of the records room.

"Prague?"

I shake my head, every disappointing answer only further souring my stomach.

"That'll be the Novaks," Zachariah says to the final rookie assassin remaining in the room with us, and the young vampire dips his head and walks out, leaving Zachariah and myself completely alone.

"Barcelona?"

Flashes of tracking Conrad through the beautiful city makes my chest tight. "I missed him there too," I say, unable to keep the disappointment from my tone. "I'd been so close, too. He actually waved to me with a smile on his face like this was all a fun game to him." I lean farther back in my chair, raking my fingers through my hair.

"This isn't your fault," Zachariah says, looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

"Well, from where I'm sitting, it sounds like I'm the shittiest huntress that's ever existed." I shake my head, anger over taking the guilt offering a momentary relief. Anger I'm used to dealing with, guilt not so much. "I just don't know how ," I say, more to myself than to Zachariah, but he listens nonetheless. "I've never had a target evade me for so long. Especially when I catch his scent. I don't know how to explain it. It's like I'll see him, then I'll blink and he's gone. No trace of his scent, no trace of his face, no trace of anything. Almost like I'm chasing a ghost."

"It doesn't help that you've been working alone," he says.

"While the huntresses have thinned out over the centuries, there are only a handful of us left. You know what that's like."

"I know," he says. "But now you're not alone. Now you have the hunters on your side, and the king and everyone at his disposal. We're going to catch him and we are going to stop all this nonsense."

He's so confident in the way he says it, I almost believe him.

"Ever the optimistic leader," I say without a hint of sharpness. "Some things haven't changed."

"And some things have," he says cocking a brow, his eyes dancing in a way that says his mind is on anything but the mission.

A flush races over my skin, and my eyes betray me as they dart to the right where I can all too well practically taste what he'd done to me against those books.

I shift in my chair, forcing myself to concentrate on the task at hand. I glance down at my list, and then back at him. "Is someone researching the Tanaka bloodline in Kyoto?"

"Ajax and Dagon are on it."

"And the Hassans of Cairo?" I ask, eyes flaring slightly as Zachariah shifts from his seat, coming around the table to lean and look down at me. "Talon and Cassandra."

"What about the Lowes out of London?" I asked, shuddering as his fingers graze down my arm. "The king's highlander and his mate, Valor." He gently tugs me out of the chair, bringing me flush against him, his hands cupping either side of my face.

"That leaves Edgemont," I say, doing my best to stay focused. "There are at least four ancient bloodlines with homesteads here," I continue, my eyes fluttering closed for a moment as he gently kisses my cheek, then the other, his fingers gliding into my hair at the base of my neck.

"Yes," he says, his lips grazing down the side of my neck and then over my collarbone.

The sensation is like liquid fire, igniting every single one of my senses, prickling my instincts at the same time. My heart picks up speed in my chest, my hands automatically splaying against his body.

"Edgemont will be our best chance to lay a trap," I continue. "We should send recon teams out to each location."

"Already done," he says, his lips making his way back up to the underside of my jaw, and then to the spot just beneath my ear that has me arching against him.

"We should be working," I say, but even I know it sounds like a weak argument.

"We are," Zachariah says, repeating the same process on the other side, completely turning me liquid. "We have been for the past nine hours," he says. "We're allowed to take a break."

"Easy for you to say when you're not the one who's been epically failing at this mission for the last six months," I say, still arching to give him better access to my neck.

He draws back, catching my gaze. "It isn't your fault and you haven't been failing. He's evading all of us, just as Samuel has been. It only further makes me believe they're working together and trust me, I understand that guilt and that responsibility, but you no longer have to bear any of it alone."

My heart fills with something like hope at his words, and I swallow the tangle of emotion in my throat.

I want to believe him so badly.

I want to fall into the fantasy he's spinning where we get to live happily ever after, but it's hard to believe when I've lived with a broken heart for so damn long.

No. Believing in anything involving a future with Zachariah can only lead to heartbreak. I need to stick to the present, to what feels good right now .

"So about that break," I say, not acknowledging the monumental show of emotion he just gave me. I trail one finger down the center of his chest, arching against him again to show him exactly what kind of break I'm referring to.

A low growl rumbles in his chest and he clings to me tighter.

"Tell me where you want go, and I'll take you there," he says.

My mind conjures images of his bed, his fangs sinking into me while mine sink into him, the two of us connecting on every single level and rekindling what used to be so strong and unbreakable between us.

But I know I can't allow that to happen. Can't give myself wholly to him like that. Better to be safe and keep it quick, keep it semi-public.

"Take me somewhere I can see the stars above us," I say, reaching up on my tiptoes to graze my lips over his in a featherlight kiss.

He kisses me back, and I can feel his power swirl around us as he bends us through time and space, a sensation so familiar to me now, he's done it so many times with me in his arms.

The smell of crisp autumn air hits my senses as my feet connect with the soft, lush grasses among the king's luxurious gardens.

I glance where Zachariah has brought us, smiling at the private little oasis under the stars. Expertly tended hunter green hedges surround us on either side, a marble fountain with hand-carved mermaids mid-jump sits just before us, the sound of trickling water only adding to the serene setting.

"How's this?" he asks, gliding his hands up and down my body.

"Beautiful," I say, spotting a stone bench near the fountain and gently nudging him toward it. He goes willingly, chuckling softly when I reach for the clasp on his pants, flicking it open and tugging them down.

"Needy little thing, aren't you?" he teases as he steps out of them, tugging his shirt off in one smooth motion after.

I'm already halfway undressed, anticipation curling in my veins at the sight of him. I finish shedding my clothes, relishing his reaction to seeing me completely bare before him, my nipples peaked because of the chill air.

"I won't deny it," I say, stepping toward him, my hands splaying on his chest as I urge him to sit.

He hisses at the cold stone beneath him, and I laugh, quickly situating myself on his lap.

"Better?" I ask as my breasts graze his bare chest, his arms immediately encircling me to draw me closer.

"Infinitely," he says, capturing my lips.

I sigh against his kiss, sinking into it like it's a much-needed deep breath. I do my best to stay grounded in the present, not hesitating for a second to think that a simple kiss shouldn't feel so world-shattering.

I rock against his hard length, shivering at the way he feels hot and smooth between my thighs. Need courses through my veins, an tangible thing that's starved .

Shifting atop him, I move my hand between us, wrapping my fingers around his shaft and dragging his thick head through my heat, gasping at the sensation.

"Fuck," he groans, hands smoothing up and down my back. " Talia ." He thrusts up and into my hand, but I keep a firm grip on him, not letting him in an inch.

His eyes flare at the control, and I can't help but turn absolutely liquid from his obedient attention. He's infinitely powerful, and yet he's yielding to me . I'm dizzy with the thought, with need , and I can't help but smile.

"You want me?" I tease, flicking my tongue over his lips and pulling away before he can kiss me.

"Yes," he growls. "Always."

My heart expands at that, but I tell it to stand down. She has no business here.

I squeeze his cock tighter, rocking my heat over his head before moving away. "How badly?"

His hands flex on my hips, another growl radiating from his chest. "Talia," he warns, and the power in his voice makes me tremble.

My grin deepens, my heart racing. I loosen my grip, sinking down on his cock an inch, then two, just enough to watch his eyes close in relief before I draw up and away from him again.

"Talia," he groans, his hands on my hips pressing down, urging me to sink back onto him again.

I resist, instead crushing my mouth on his in a punishing kiss that makes my pussy throb.

Zachariah shifts a hand between us, gliding his fingers through my wetness and teasing my aching clit. I jolt against the touch, so damn sensitive from the teasing I've done to us both.

I hesitate, losing myself in the sensation of his hands on me, his mouth on mine?—

I pull away from his touch, moving his hand back to my hip. "You're going to watch," I say, my voice taking on a level of primal seduction I've never heard before. "You're going to watch me use your cock to make me feel good."

His eyes widen, nothing but molten heat. "You can use me however you want."

The words, coming from someone as powerful as him, someone who is used to being the one making the calls, has me completely undone.

I sink atop him in one fast motion, taking him into the hilt.

His fangs immediately punch out, a groan escaping him as I lift up and sink down again.

"Talia," he growls as I rock against him, my fingers digging into his shoulders as I increase my pace. "You're spectacular. Fucking made to ride me."

My fangs distend as I ride him, each roll of my hips sending me further into orbit, into that wonderful place where nothing else exists outside of the sensation of our bodies crashing together in the most delicious way.

I throw my head back, eyeing the sparkling stars above us as I gasp for breath, my body tensing each time I lift up and sink back down on him.

"So damn beautiful," he says, dipping his head to kiss my collarbone, the tops of my breasts, anywhere he can reach. He holds me so tightly, keeping his hands right where I told him to. His touch is almost worshiping, holding and kissing me like I'm something to be revered.

I shift to look at him, catching his gaze and getting lost in it…lost in him . In the way he feels inside me, against me…like the connection we have never got severed—it merely went to sleep, and each graze of his lips, each crash of our bodies against each other is bringing it back to life.

Bringing me back to life.

Everything tightens in me the harder I rock against him, the harder I take him, and I whimper at how badly my fangs ache to sink into his flesh. My eyes fall to his neck, and I can't help but wet my lips. I'm so damn thirsty for him.

He tilts his head. "Take what you need," he says, offering himself to me.

It would be so easy to feed from him, to let him feed from me.

It would feel fucking amazing too.

But it would mean something.

Something I'm not ready to admit.

The thought is enough to jolt me right back to reality.

The one I've lived in for centuries.

I shake my head, incapable of forming words as my release builds beneath my skin like a storm.

He drops his forehead against my chest, kissing and licking and sucking on tender parts of my flesh, never once even grazing a fang against my skin.

A low growl rumbles in his chest as he clings tighter to me, his control wavering the harder I fuck him.

I'm drunk on it, on him, his kiss and his body and his words.

Goddamn him.

I rock against him harder, relishing the sweet sting of pain-laced pleasure.

" Z ," I gasp as my orgasm builds, gathering right there on the crest.

"Yes," he groans, hardening another degree inside me. "Fuck, Talia."

The primal, claiming way he says my name sends me flying over the edge, my release snapping through me like a lightning strike. Pleasure bursts beneath my skin, a succession of sparks that travel from the crown of my head to the tips of my toes, leaving me limp and languid atop him.

The crisp air chills our heated skin after a few moments, so I gently remove myself from him, kissing him quickly before I hurry back into my clothes.

He does the same, and when he finishes, he looks like a damned god under the moonlight, his eyes lust-slaked and his hair mussed from my fingers. His fangs are still down as he softly smiles at me, and my heart aches as I look up at him.

Too many emotions swirl in my chest—need and regret and fear and…

Too much.

It's all too much.

He steps closer, gently gripping my chin. "When are you going to let me bite you?"

I swallow hard, hating how soft the question is. "When I can trust you again," I answer honestly, hating the hurt that radiates in his eyes.

"That's fair," he says, drawing me against him. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

His power swirls around us, wending us back toward what I assume will be the library so we can resume our mission.

And while we move through time and space, I can't help but wonder what it truly would take for him to regain my trust, and chide myself for thinking he may have already done it.