7. SEVEN

sevenMy confidence in my abilities was sadly premature.

Hours later, I dragged my exhausted body through the front door just as the dawn’s rays stretched their fingers across the sky.

Apparently, Connor’s stag form was incomparable to his human shape. He’d run me ragged as we traipsed back and forth over the property and the surrounding areas.

I was pretty certain he was running literal circles around me at one point. But that might have been a product of my oxygen deprived brain.

As it was, I could barely keep my eyes opened as I struggled up to the second floor.

Connor caught my shoulders as I listed to the side, guiding me away from the wall I’d nearly crashed headfirst into. “Your room is at the very end.”

A mumbled thanks was my only response as I staggered in that direction, too tired to point out that we hadn’t chosen rooms yet.

At this point, I didn’t even care about finding a bed. Any horizontal surface would do. A vertical one if that wasn’t available.

My eyes drifted shut as lethargy invaded my limbs. Just for a few seconds, I promised myself.

A pair of arms caught me as I started to sag. Liam’s familiar scent surrounded me.

“Where have you two been? I was getting worried.” Liam’s chest was a comforting rumble beneath my ear.

The sound of a door opening, along with the sensation of being carried inside. Somehow, I knew it was Connor who smoothed my hair back from my face a moment before Liam set me down on what felt like a cloud.

A sigh left me. So comfortable.

I snuggled into the clean smelling sheets, losing the thread of conversation as I hovered on the cusp of unconsciousness.

“Lay of the land,” Connor was saying.

Liam’s unhappiness hit the room, leaving me confused before the words “ancient vampire” and “possible devolution” registered.

Frowning into my pillow, I fought to resist the pull of the sun for a few more seconds.

“Are you sure?” Liam demanded.

I didn’t hear Connor’s response, but I felt Liam’s displeasure. It lingered on the air, an oppressive weight that made my chest tight.

I tried to reach for his hand, my arm flopping uselessly onto the bed instead.

Don’t be mad, I tried to say.

The words didn’t come out, my strength deserting me as I slid into sleep.

The last thing I was aware of before darkness closed around me was the bed sinking and a hand sliding into the one I’d just tried to lift.

Liam pressed a kiss to the inside of my wrist. “Sleep, mo chuisle. I’ll watch over you until you wake.”

The door closed as Liam’s body spooned mine and I finally lost the battle against unconsciousness.

A deep, unrelenting, velvety black surrounded me. A siren’s song tugged at my senses.

I wavered, on the cusp of answering.

On some level, I knew to take a single step forward was to court death and madness. That I risked losing my bearing in the darkness and becoming lost to its embrace.

Better to stay where it was safe. Even if my soul resonated with what was inside this place.

Oddly enough, I wasn’t afraid.

Then again, the darkness had never been a source of terror for me. Even as a little girl, I’d been fascinated by what waited in the shadows. It had been a place of solace and comfort.

Maybe my acceptance stemmed in some small part to my recently uncovered heritage as the granddaughter of a Fae king. A being who sprung from the heart of darkness itself.

Some could say I took after the family line. I’d been formed from the darkness—or maybe of it.

It was why the floaty, white dress I was wearing felt so out of place. The airy fabric and color didn’t match my surroundings.

I plucked the material away from my body with a frown. Why had my psyche put me in a nightgown?

I was way more badass than this. Even in my dreams.

As I puzzled over the incongruent detail, a spot of black on the bodice marred the perfect white.

“What?” I touched the blot. It spread, dying the dress black at a visible speed.

Water encased my feet, slowly climbing up my ankles toward my knees. My breath came faster as it reached the hem of my nightgown, staining it red.

Blood. That’s what I was standing in. Not water.

The white of my nightgown vanished. A victim of the blood from below and the darkness above.

Childe, it is not time yet, a voice said moments before an unseen force picked me up and evicted me from the dream.

I came to consciousness with a jolt. A sharp pain in the side of my neck registered a split second before it was replaced by a piercing pleasure.

I buried my fingers in the hair at the back of Liam’s neck as a moan left me.

Once the avalanche of sensations had receded, I blinked dumbly up at the ceiling as I waited for my brain to reboot. “That’s one way to wake up.”

Liam’s lips curved against my skin. “Is that a complaint I detect?”

I circled his leg with mine. “Never. Just an observation.”

Liam swiped his tongue along his bite marks, the gentle movement tugging at my core. Before I could relax into the sensation, his mouth locked around the wound. He sucked hard.

A rough sound left my throat as climax burst through me.

Several seconds later, I came back to myself to find Liam with his chin propped on my breast bone, watching me.

“You’re feeling frisky today,” I said, sliding down my pillow to make myself more comfortable.

He lifted his chin, rising up onto his elbows until his face hovered a few inches over mine.

I ignored the desire that tried to ignite as it always did around him. Liam was an addiction I had no intention of resisting. I could see why some humans were willing to sell their souls for this kind of pleasure. Even an eternity spent in his arms would be too short.

I shifted under him into a more comfortable position, still a little drowsy. Now that I had time to think, I realized the fiery ball of awful was still high in the sky. There were hours yet until I was due to wake.

I covered my yawn, concentrating on his face. “Was I imagining it or did you arrive last night?”

I seemed to remember something to that effect right as I was drifting off.

Liam brushed a piece of hair from my face, his expression tender. “I did.”

I kicked the covers off my legs.

Liam’s gaze dipped down my body, an appreciative look on his face as he ran his hand down my side to my hip. “I’d hoped to be here to see your reaction to the house but was delayed by an unfortunate piece of business.”

“The attack?”

Liam’s ducked his chin in a nod.

“So, they’re back.”

“It would seem so,” Liam agreed.

A grumbling sound left me as I pressed my head harder into the pillow. Why couldn’t things ever be simple?

“How bad is this?” I asked.

Liam’s gaze turned inward, his mind occupied as he drew idle circles on my waist.

I fought to keep my hips still as his fingers moved toward my lower stomach, dipping under the edge of my sleep shorts before withdrawing. Warmth flooded my center as my nipples tightened. A tiny sound left me, making his lips curve before they flattened again.

The bastard knew exactly what response he was drawing from me.

“I find it disturbing that hunters arrived on the same day as Dominick,” Liam said.

It was hard to keep with the flow of conversation, distracted as I was.

That’s why it took me a moment to respond.

“You think the two are connected?” I asked, the topic putting a damper on some of my passion.

Liam shook his head. “I wouldn’t go that far yet, but it is a concern.”

Before I could do more than frown, Liam leaned forward to drop a light kiss on my lips. Only he didn’t draw back once he’d finished. He lingered, his breath mingling with mine as a dark light entered his gaze.

I knew that look. He wanted me the same way I wanted him.

His lips touched mine, gentle at first but that quickly changed. The kiss deepened into something else. I clung to him, one leg slipping up his.

The action snapped his control. His arms clenched around me as he ground his hips into my center.

The pressure sent sparks shooting through me.

I needed him inside me. Now.

The kiss turned rough, someone’s fangs nicking the other’s tongue.

A snarl left me as his head lifted from mine, his eyes wild.

I yanked him back down to me, burying my teeth in his neck. I was far past being gentle as the taste of pure sin slid down my throat.

I’d only swallowed a few mouthfuls before Liam squeezed either side of my jaw. I unlatched with a whimper that changed to another moan as he ripped my oversized sleep shirt off my body.

He left a trail of kisses down my neck and collarbone. Over the swell of my breasts before he paused to latch onto one of my nipples. A pinprick of pain pierced the sensitive nub, sending fire shooting through my nerve endings.

I dug my fingers into the back of his neck as he moved to the other nipple, doing the same thing there.

I twisted in his arms, wanting more. Needing it like I needed my next breath.

So close.

Liam didn’t let me move as his mouth left my breast to trail a line of kisses down my naval toward the sleep shorts I wore.

His fangs scraped against my skin, leaving a reminder of the pleasure/pain of his bite.

I shivered. As intense as my earlier climax had been, it was nothing compared to the level of suspense that left me hovering on the precipice.

His chuckle sent puffs of air over my skin in a sensual caress.

One finger slid into the leg of my shorts, playing with the skin there before dipping to the place where I most wanted him. His touch was whisper soft before he withdrew.

I snarled.

If he didn’t quit playing around, I wouldn’t be responsible for my actions.

His answering snarl made me jolt. He was up and over my body in the next second, his movements a blur.

He flashed his fangs at me in an aggressive display that should have frightened me. Instead, I thrilled to the challenge as I lifted my lips to show mine.

He yanked my shorts down, nearly ripping them off my body in the same way he had my shirt.

The faint tearing sound from his rough handling told me he would owe me another set tomorrow.

Despite that thought, I made no move to protest as Liam divested himself of his clothes.

I sat up on my elbows to admire the hard lines of his chest. His muscles rippled as he pulled his shirt over his head and threw it somewhere in the corner.

I couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful man as he crawled over me.

Sometimes I couldn’t believe that he was mine. It was in moments like this that I felt like I was in the midst of a dream. One I had no intention of waking up from.

The sensuous glide of Liam’s body wreaked havoc to my libido as I got lost in his pretty blue eyes. A willing victim. Complicit in my own downfall.

“Keep staring at me like that and I don’t know what I might do,” Liam rasped.

My mouth quirked as I trailed a thumb over his jaw. “I’d be happy to take responsibility for any loss of control.”

Liam nuzzled his face into my palm. He placed a gentle kiss on it before catching one of my fingers between his teeth. He bit down. Not hard enough to hurt, just enough so I felt the pressure in an intimate place.

My breath caught as he released my finger with a pop.

He whispered something in Gaelic, the meaning of which I didn’t know. But then, I didn’t need to.

Even without the words, I understood what he was saying.

“Me too,” I breathed.

He lowered himself over me, his biceps bulging. “I plan to wreck you. You’ll never be able to breathe without remembering what I did to you, mo chuisle.”

“Is that supposed to scare me?”

Because it didn’t. It only made me want him more.

Darkness filled his eyes. A promise that made my clitoris pulse.

“I thought there would come a day when my obsession with you would end,” Liam crooned. “I’m beginning to realize that was never a possibility. You’re stuck with me. I’ll never let you go.”

“Good,” I told him. “I’d have to hurt you if you did.”

I’d never been one to give my heart lightly. Because I knew when I did, it would be impossible to take it fully back. Loving someone meant giving them a piece of you that you never recovered. It stayed with them. Even if the relationship ended.

It was a precious thing to be able to open yourself up to the potential hurt. I’d never managed it before. Prior relationships had been insipid things that I could take or leave. In my case, it was more often than not me doing the leaving.

No one had ever come close to breeching my defenses in the way Liam had. The thought of something happening to him left me terrified. An enforcer’s life was dangerous and filled with enemies. As powerful as he was, no one was infallible.

Liam’s eyes darkened at my confession, his touch skating along the insides of my upper thighs. Each time climbing higher but ultimately evading the sensitive bundle at my center.

Fed up with the games, I grabbed his hand, directing it upward to where I craved his touch.

“What did I tell you about impatience?” His chuckle came as he yanked his hand out of mine. “It delays the experience.”

He leaned forward, kissing a trail down my body that had me twisting in his arms once again. Those lips stoked a delicious fire in me.

My body rose to his touch, seeking more.

A finger found my center, plunging inside. A needy sound left me as his lips found my clitoris.

Every muscle in my body was strung tight. I hovered on the edge of a cliff, yearning for what was just beyond only to find it out of reach.

A wail left me. Desperation making me thrash in his strong grip.

Liam’s mouth left me, his fangs plunging into my inner thigh a second later.

That shoved me into climax. I screamed as my body bowed.

Liam swiped his tongue over the wound he’d made, stopping the flow of blood. He rose over me in the next second, plunging home before the rhythmic pulses of my climax had abated.

I sank my fangs into his chest, one piercing his nipple before I latched on.

An animalistic snarl rumbled from his throat as he started moving faster.

His hips plunged, the bed rocking from the force of his thrusts. I lost myself in the haze of passion, a primal madness descending.

Neither of us were gentle as we gloried in the other.

Liam’s climax triggered a third in me. This time I nearly blacked out, coming to several seconds later.

“Oh, damn,” I gasped.

That was—

Words weren’t enough. I felt like someone had torn me apart and then reassembled me into something new.

Liam’s head sank onto my shoulder, his body coming down to rest on mine.

I ran my hands over his back in a lazy caress as we lay there, catching our breath.

After a while, Liam shifted to settle onto the bed next to me. He drew me into his arms until I ended up with my ear pressed against his chest and the front of my body nestled into his side.

His fingers brushed a lazy caress down my arm, the room quiet as we got lost in our thoughts.

Eventually, I propped my chin on his chest to look up at him. “Did you know Thomas planned to give me this house?”

“I had an inkling.”

I lifted partially off him. “And you didn’t see fit to warn me?”

Should I be mad about that?

His expression was wicked. “Why do that when it’s so much more fun to see your reaction?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Maybe anger was the appropriate response.

“You’re so cute when he catches you off guard.” Liam shifted to avoid my pinch, his expression entertained before he caught my hand and pressed it to his abdomen.

I relaxed into his side, a little grumpy at his admission. “We’ll see if you think it’s cute when I put a boot up his ass.”

“You never answered me about what you think of the house,” Liam pressed.

I avoided his gaze.

“That perfect, huh?” Liam asked, sounding amused.

“It’s sickening how great this place is,” I snapped.

How was I supposed to walk away when it was everything I had ever wanted? No house after this would compare. It was like he’d had a checklist of what I was looking for and then ticked every box.

Liam’s chest vibrated with laughter.

“I’m not keeping it,” I told him.

Liam pulled me tighter against him. “You sure about that?”

“Absolutely.”

Now if only I could make myself believe that too. Walking away was a lot harder when it was something you actually wanted.

“Seeing you try is sure to be entertaining.” Liam stretched one arm over his head, running his gaze over the length of my body as a sensual smile tugged at his lips. “Until then, I’ll be happy for more interludes like this one.

A tingle ran through me that I quickly quashed. Finding it prudent to put space between us, I sat up. My plan didn’t work as Liam got a fixated look on his face. He licked his lips, desire stretching the skin tight over his features.

I grabbed the covers and pulled them up to my chest, veiling my body from his gaze.

Liam slipped a finger between the sheets and my breasts, giving the cloth a slight tug in hopes it would fall.

I slapped his hand away. “None of that now. It’s time for answers.”

Liam stretched his arms over his head, the long lines of his muscles on full display.

I got lost for a moment, staring at his taut body before I snapped back to attention. “Stop distracting me.”

Liam’s sigh held disappointment as he dropped his arms. “You’re always so curious about the things that will get you killed.”

“It’s part of my charm.”

“I disagree.”

“Tell me about Dominick,” I ordered, ignoring the disapproval on his face.

There were other questions I wanted to ask. Like why he’d gotten so upset when Connor mentioned an ancient vampire and devolution last night. All that could wait, though.

Dominick was the more immediate threat.

Liam made an aggravated sound in the back of his throat. “What do you want to know?”

“Everything you think is important.”

“That’ll take quite a bit of time.”

I settled against my pillow, making it clear I wasn’t going anywhere. Sunset was still hours away, and I had all the time in the world.

Liam ran a hand over his face before shooting me a vexed look. “You can be a brat; did you know that?”

I smirked. Yes, I did. It was also part of my charm.

Liam’s head dropped onto the pillow. “By himself, Dominick is more of an irritant than anything. It’s his sire who is the true threat.”

“What does he want?”

Liam’s laugh was humorless. “Our line annihilated.”

That didn’t sound dire or anything.

Seeing my expression, Liam grimaced. “There’s a long-standing grudge between my sire and his. They’ve been after our heads for a long time. If they can, they’ll sow discord and discontent in the city and use it as evidence of Thomas’s incompetence as a ruler.”

“Will he use that to legitimize his challenge to Thomas?” I asked, a chill sliding through me at the thought.

“He’s a fool if he does. Dominick isn’t his match despite what he thinks.” Liam looked thoughtful. “But yes, that’s likely their end game.”

“Why let him into the city? Why not just deny him entry?”

It seemed to me that it would be easier to evict him from the territory than wait for him to strike.

“Because he’s here on Council business,” Liam said with a sigh.

“So, he claims.”

Liam nodded. “So, he claims.”

A picture was coming into focus and it wasn’t a very nice one.

What did I want to bet that this sire of Dominick’s was on the council? Even if we drove Dominick away this time, his sire could just issue another order leading him back into our territory.

In a sense, Thomas’s hands were bound.

Politics—I really hated them.

It didn’t help that for vampires, being on the losing side usually resulted in loss of blood, death or dismemberment.

This information also put a new spin on the sudden increase of hunter presence in the city. I couldn’t help but think there was a connection there.

“What are we going to do?”

Liam’s expression warmed as he took my hand in his and squeezed. “We’re going to watch and wait and not give him any chance to hurt us.”

“Sounds reasonable.”

“I’m so glad you agree,” he drawled, giving a slight tug on my hand to bring me closer.

I let myself fall against his side. “Now that we have that cleared up, why don’t you tell me why my new stalker had you so upset?”

Liam’s body went still against mine. “You were still awake.”

I nodded.

Liam’s arms loosened around me. “Sometimes I hate how perceptive you are.”

I was going to take that as a compliment even though it didn’t sound like one right now.

“There’s a chance—a small one—that Dominick isn’t here for any of the reasons we suspect.” Liam’s playfulness faded as his gaze met mine.

“And this has to do with my mysterious stalker who may or may not be an ancient vampire suffering from some form of devolution?”

“There is someone Dominick and his master wants dead more than Thomas and me,” Liam said with a meaningful look in his eyes.

Their sire. A man I’d only heard snippets about. Someone who’d been a father figure to Thomas and a brother to Liam.

“If your stalker is who I think he is, it would be a very bad thing for everyone involved.” Liam’s face was grave as he stared up at the ceiling.

“Why is that?”

“A devolved ancient is a terrifying thing. They can’t be trusted to know foe from ally. The body count would be—” Liam trailed off and shook his head.

It’d be unimaginable.

I’d done research after I’d come close to devolvement myself. Vampires who suffered from the affliction became mad, raving things that left a trail of bodies behind them. The last one the council put down killed a hundred and two people before an enforcer ended their life.

An ancient on the level of Liam’s sire would be much more difficult to control.

We were looking at a possible blood bath in my city, my home, if we were right.

“Don’t look like that, mo chuisle.” Liam drew me against his chest to press his lips against mine. “I checked before I came over to see if there have been any recent swaths of murder leading to our doorstep. I found none.”

That was a relief. A small one.

“Is it possible your sire hasn’t devolved?”

Connor had been right last night. If we were dealing with someone in the midst of devolution, they would have tried to feed off us. The fact this stalker hadn’t, meant he either wasn’t as far gone as people thought or we were totally off base.

“No one has seen him in centuries,” Liam admitted. “He disappeared without a word. Though his mental state in the decades beforehand was concerning. He’d grown paranoid and short tempered. There were several incidents that made the council wary.”

From the careful way Liam said that, I assumed people had gotten hurt and/or died.

“I take it from the way you speak there’s no hard evidence to point to devolution,” I said.

Liam ducked his chin. “Just rumor and innuendo.”

“Then it’s possible he’s not devolved. Connor suggested an extended sleep could explain the appearance of my stalker.”

Liam nodded, running a hand down my back. “He’s right, but the council will be difficult to convince. Given his behavior prior to his disappearance and the fact he was their ruler, there are some who think they would benefit from new leadership.”

I put my chin on his chest. “What do you think?”

Liam’s face was contemplative. “I’m not convinced Ahrun has fully devolved, but I don’t wish to take chances with your life. If you see him—run.”

It was funny that he thought I could escape an ancient vampire on my own. Even one who wasn’t devolved. When we both knew I’d be better off holding my breath and hoping he didn’t see me.

“Interesting name. Ahrun.”

“I asked him about that once. When I knew him, he was going by the name Aaron to fit in with the humans around him. He told me he’d had so many names throughout the ages that he no longer remembered his first.”

“Did you believe him?”

Liam’s eyebrow quirked. “It’s hard to believe anyone could forget something like that. Then again, Ahrun is older than civilization itself. From the way he spoke, it sounded like his name didn’t exist anymore.”

I couldn’t imagine what that was like. To be so old that your name had passed into the sands of time. No wonder their sire had kind of lost it. To live in a world where your name was no longer spoken or even remembered.

“Why do Dominick and his master hate your line, anyway?” I asked.

Liam adjusted me against his chest. “Vitus and Ahrun’s history is long and complicated, spanning almost two thousand years. From what Ahrun told me, Vitus was raised by him in much the same way Thomas was. Only, unlike Thomas, Ahrun saw something in the boy that made him wary. He refused to change him into a vampire.”

I could see how that might have angered the boy. To know your father figure had no intention of offering what must have seemed like the greatest gift possible.

“The two went their own ways and Vitus found someone to do what Thomas wouldn’t. From what I heard, it took a lot of effort on Vitus’s part since no vampire wanted to upset an ancient of Ahrun’s standing.”

“Let me guess. The person he found wasn’t sunshine and rainbows.”

“Very cruel in fact,” Liam said. “The vampire was known for his depravity. I’m sure Vitus suffered in his care.”

It was hard to be sympathetic for a vampire who was actively plotting our deaths.

“How angry was he when he learned about Thomas?”

I was guessing the news had left him enraged. There he was, suffering, while his father handed over eternal life to another. He’d probably felt betrayed.

Liam nodded. “I think he was more upset about me than Thomas. Our first century was filled with assassination attempts. We learned quickly to master our new abilities.”

Rather than anger, there was a hint of nostalgia in Liam’s expression. As if he remembered those times with fondness.

Of course, I would choose a lover who thought attempted murder was a form of entertainment.

“Dominick was Vitus’s answer to the insult. He found him on the streets and raised him to adulthood before offering him the change.”

Poor kid. I had a feeling he’d never had a chance to be anything but Vitus’s dog. He’d probably been brain washed from the moment Vitus took him in. Every interaction designed to instill hatred in Vitus’s enemies and loyalty to his master.

Seeing my expression, Liam’s lips tilted up on one side. “Pitying him would be a mistake, mo chuisle. He is every bit a monster.”

I was sure he was, but that made the situation no less tragic.

“You don’t talk about your sire often,” I said, changing the subject.

“That is because my feelings for my creator are complicated.”

I pressed a kiss against his shoulder. “I guess we have a lot in common.”

I wasn’t certain my relationship with Thomas would ever be anything but prickly. Then again, eternity was a very long time. The years tended to soften even the harshest of blows.

“At one time I considered him both a father figure and brother,” Liam said.

“What changed?”

“He did. Or maybe it was me.” Liam stared up at the ceiling. “Once, I considered him my hero. The way I was raised, we respected strength more than intelligence. Ahrun showed me you could have both and that it didn’t make you weaker.”

“That sounds like a good thing.”

Liam nodded. “It was. He was my confidante. Wiser than anyone I’d ever met. He understood the parts of me that had always felt out of sync with the rest of the world. He was the one who guided me onto the path of an enforcer.”

I waited as Liam fell silent again, sorting through his thoughts.

“Watching the man I knew fade away in front of me was difficult,” Liam confessed. “I was almost grateful when he disappeared because it meant I wouldn’t have to be the one who slayed him.”

I lifted my head from Liam’s chest with a sense of dread.

“That was the agreement we made,” Liam said, sounding lost. “If he devolved, I would be the one to end him. He thought I was the only one who could.”

I understood now why his feelings for Ahrun were complicated. The idea that he might one day have to destroy his sire, a man he respected and loved, with his own hands, was heartbreaking. I didn’t know how I would respond if someone as close to me as Ahrun had been to Liam asked the same. Maybe betrayed? Resigned?

“I’m so sorry, Liam,” I whispered.

He didn’t respond, instead changing the subject. “Ahrun’s death leaves Thomas on shaky ground. Right now, few are willing to challenge Ahrun’s successor.”

“If Vitus’s issue is with your sire, why target you and Thomas?”

“That’s something I’ve never been able to figure out.” Liam’s face was serious. “All I know is that Vitus wishes to see the both of us dead. And now that you and Connor are here—”

He pressed his lips together, his expression telling me everything I needed to know.

“They’ll come for us too,” I finished for him.

His nod was all the confirmation I needed.