CHAPTER ONE

K urt Mazzarelli walked through the halls of the Moretti royal castle. His eyes were peeled for... well, you’d think as one of the five Senior Lieutenant Commanders—or SLCs as they were known—in the king’s army he’d be looking for threats to the royal family. Or danger. Or trouble.

Hell, even keeping an eye out for insubordination by any of the hundreds of soldiers who reported up the chain of command.

There were only two higher than him and the other SLCs and that was Craig, the commander, and Brayden, the captain. Brayden Moretti was also the prince.

Kurt wasn’t looking out for any of those things. Well, perhaps he was. He’d been doing this so long it was second nature now.

Which was why he hadn’t hesitated when he saw the red, swollen bite mark on Madison’s neck. He’d ordered a Moretti jet and flown home to Maine from Seattle with the little flirty blonde.

She was somewhere within these great walls, but he needed to keep away from her. At least when he was on his own.

Three young female Moretti soldiers, dressed in top-to-toe black just as he was, walked past him and shot him blushing smiles. He nodded at them in acknowledgment and continued not looking for Madison.

When he got to his room, he shut the door and drew in a chest full of air and let it out loudly.

Fuck me.

It had been two weeks of physical hell.

No one knew what was wrong with her and, while she wasn’t technically in isolation or quarantine, she’d been told it was best if she restrained from any sexual activity.

Well fucking hell, he should have thought of that...

Kurt pulled off his large black boots and kicked them into his wardrobe. Pants, jacket, and black long-sleeved Moretti t-shirt came next. He threw them on the armchair in the corner of his room.

Unlike some of his colleagues, he didn’t do commando. He liked his junk tucked up nicely in a pair of briefs. Leaving them on, he flopped his enormous muscular body down on the bed, face up, and let out another sigh.

Running a hand through his dark hair, his mind, yet again, returned to the flight home with Madison.

They had boarded just before daylight after teleporting to her home so she could pack a few things. She clearly wasn’t a wealthy vampire, and at only fifty-five years old, he wasn’t surprised. They’d jumped in an Uber, because teleporting into an airport unless absolutely necessary wasn’t recommended with all the security and cameras.

Their teams could clean it up, but it was just another job. They’d had time, so it was no biggie to order a car via the app.

What he hadn’t factored in was his reaction, even just sitting next to her in the back of the sedan. The proximity had set off sparks between them he’d not been expecting, and his fingers had twitched to touch her. Instead, he had jammed his hands between his thighs.

When he’d followed her up the steps of the plane and his eyes were glued to her ass, his cock growing ready for action, she had suddenly spun around, and those green eyes had captured his.

“I’ve never flown before,” Madison had said.

“Ever?”

She shook her head.

Kurt had taken a few more steps, her ass now out of his eye line, and placed a hand in the small of her back.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Most people would love a private jet as their first flying experience.” He winked down at her. “Come on.”

He’d led her onto the jet and the crew had made sure they had all they needed while Kurt unpacked a few of the weapons he had on him and tucked them into a cupboard.

Madison knew he was an SLC, so she hadn’t reacted when the handgun and two knives had appeared. In fact, it had been the opposite. Her eyes had glistened with obvious need.

Before he spotted the bite on her neck, he’d been about to kiss her. Both of them had built up tension and if she looked down and saw the bulge in his pants, she’d know he was on the edge, too.

They had the entire jet to themselves, with the exception of the crew. Did he go sit on the other side and give her space?

No.

Did he sit opposite her to see where the sizzling chemistry might lead?

Yes.

Given he’d whipped her away from her home and she was in a new territory, he wasn’t going to be assertive about it, but Kurt had no intention of making it difficult.

An hour into the five-hour flight, the sexual tension was off the charts.

Madison had asked him about his job with the royal army, and about his training.

“You must work out a lot to keep all that going on,” she said, waving her hand around in a circle at his body and grinning at him.

“We work out. The job is physical, so there’s not a lot of sitting around.” He leaned to the side, his head tilting as he took in her lithe tight body. “What we do is dangerous.”

Her eyes sparkled.

Kurt knew this shit got females wet, and he was playing it up.

“Were you on a job in Seattle? Is that why you were there?”

Now that he couldn’t answer.

“If I told you that, I’d have to kill you, wouldn’t I?” He winked.

She blushed, but grinned. “You wouldn’t hurt me, Kurt Mazzarelli. You’re one of the good guys.”

He let out a snort.

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m not all that good. Don’t mistake a warrior for a knight in shining armor. I am no Lancelot.”

It was a bit of an inside joke. Lance was one of the SLCs and had always been a ladies’ man. Then when his mate, Sofia, came along, that is exactly what he’d done. Pulled a “Lancelot” and saved her.

“So, you’re a bad boy.”

“If what you are thinking is the same as what I’m thinking, then yes. Very, very bad.”

She’d bitten her lower lip and his cock had jerked right up. Their eyes had locked and burned as his mind completely stopped working.

“Come here,” he’d said.

When Madison slid her things away and stood, Kurt reached to press a button, locking the crew out of the cabin. Then he unzipped his jeans.

Her eyes had shot to his cock as he pulled it out.

“Is this the kind of bad you’re looking for?” he asked, gripping one of her hips with his other hand as he began to stroke himself.

More licking of her lips.

“Take off your clothes,” he said.

Her eyes had locked with his, nerves beginning to show. He smiled.

“You want to play with bad boys, Madison, you need to be brave. Are you brave?”

She nodded without hesitation and began to undo her jeans. He stood and removed her top, running his hands over her lacy bra.

“We don’t need this.” He pulled down the straps and she helped him by undoing it at the back. When her breasts were bare, he groaned. “Gorgeous tits.”

“Is this what you usually do?” Madison asked. “With females you meet?”

His smile grew as he removed the rest of his clothes. “Did you think I was a virgin, Madison Michaelson?”

He took her hand and planted it on his cock, hissing out at her touch.

“No,” she replied, lust thick in her voice.

She wanted to know she was special. He was surprised. Humans asked these questions usually, not vampires. But she was young.

Kurt had long ago decided he’d never mate. If he ever met the one, he had a plan. He would move to the Antarctic or some shit so he couldn’t bond with them.

That love shit wasn’t for him.

He’d seen too many things and lived a hard life since he was young. Love wasn’t something he wanted or desired.

Tugging her with him, he stepped back and sat on the leather seat. Without coaxing, she fell to her knees.

On glance at him, where he nodded, and she took him in her mouth.

Oh, yes, fuck!

Her mouth was warm, wet and not entirely skilled at what she was doing. Yet, it felt incredible. She fumbled away, sucking, licking, stroking, and watching him for a reaction. He was reacting, all right.

When she reached and gave his balls a squeeze, he had to make a decision. Come in her mouth or no.

He decided no.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled Madison off him and up to her feet, nudging a knee between her thighs. She gripped his shoulders.

“Man, you really are built.”

“And it’s all yours right now.” He grinned and her little hands ran over his skin, down to his pecs and over his biceps like she was a kid in a toy shop. His ego, he wasn’t ashamed to admit, doubled.

While he glowed under her touch, he slid his fingers along the seam of her panties and then tugged them to the side.

“You wet down here?” he asked, and she moaned in answer, her legs going a little weak. His fingers moved further and struck her creamy moisture, and his mouth watered.

He got rid of her panties and tugged her closer, planting his mouth on her clit. She cried out, gripping his body.

“Holy shit.”

Had she come already?

He slid more fingers through her pussy and then inside her. She was so damn tight he had the feeling she wasn’t all that sexually active despite her flirty bar girl act.

Fuck, she was going to feel incredible around his cock.

He worked her a little more and stared up at her face. She looked like she was in heaven, her teeth clenched around her bottom lip.

God, he could play for hours with this pretty baby vamp.

His cock was impatient, though. It was dark red and leaking, needing to sheath inside her center.

Kurt pulled his fingers out of her and, as she watched him, he licked them slowly.

“Still like a bad boy, sweetheart?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Good,” he said, tugging her onto his lap. “Let me feel you on my cock.”

“Go slow. You are bigger than I’m used to.”

A sliver of annoyance rushed through him. Who else was touching this female?

“We can go as slow or as fast as you want,” he had said, lining his cock up at her entrance. Then Madison had lifted one of her hands from his arm and flicked her hair back.

The bite.

Red, swollen, pulsing.

She tried to slide down onto his shaft. He held her firm.

“Kurt,” she groaned.

His eyes had locked onto the wound.

“Fuck, Kurt. I need...”

With vamp speed, he lifted her, dumped her back on her seat and then fled to the door of the cabin.

“Get dressed,” he had ordered her.

As he exited the cabin to take a cold shower and change, he heard her questions behind him, but couldn’t stop. If he did, he’d plunge into her.

What had he been thinking?

God knows what that bite meant.

The vampire who had bitten her was on the run after they’d assisted his escape from BioZen, a pharmaceutical company who were doing experiments on vampires.

Callan had been with them for months after being captured. They had no idea what had been done to the male, but after seeing the wound on Madison’s throat it didn’t look like anything fucking good.

Until he knew, he couldn’t touch her again.

If she ever let him.

Kurt blinked, coming back to the present, and found his hand inside his briefs, stroking his cock.

Again.

For two weeks it was all he’d done, and it was never enough. Every time he saw Madison his body flared with desire. She barely looked at him, but when she did his fangs ached like a mother fucker.

She was distracting and too pretty for her own good.

And right now, she wasn’t going anywhere, so he was going to have to learn to live with her being in the castle.

He jumped up.

There was a female in the castle he shared body juices with from time to time.

Fiona.

It was time to go see her.

One good fuck and Kurt was sure this aching need would subside. He should have done it earlier.

Then he could forget about wanting to sink balls-deep inside the little blonde bar girl once and for all, and get back to focusing on his damn job.