Chapter 8

Lies leave my lips so easily. I did hate her, and she read it on my face so easily. Lily always was good at reading people. It was one of her gifts, and yet she seemed so different than she'd been before. Fifty years of hate was not enough. The burning in my soul was not enough. I never suspected I'd ever see her again. Not after what she'd done. Yet with her death, I did not find peace. Time did not heal all wounds, nor would I let it. I would remember the pain that could only come from brokenness—a fracture that she'd created with her betrayal.

She belonged behind these bars and in the dungeon. Jagged rocks pointed from the roof and floor. They met in the middle like teeth in a monster's mouth. It was our version of prison bars but would hold a demon as powerful as her. It was cold and damp down here with condensation building up on the slate walls, giving them a damp sheen. I felt the chill seep into my bones. Yet she slept like she hadn't rested in days. She curled in on her side, shivering as she slumbered. Our dungeons had no beds, only a simple rocky shelf sticking out from the wall. There were no blankets or pillows, and still she slumbered. Another shiver racked her body but she did not wake. That damn ferinx lay on top of her, puffing itself up to try to warm her. What would entice such a creature to be dedicated to one such as her? I snapped my fingers and my magic sparked and jumped around me. Fire bloomed in a slow burn, warming my outsides. It illuminated the dank dungeon, bathing her pale skin in soft firelight. I didn't do it for her . . . I did it for myself.

Do keep telling yourself that.

The tension in her muscles eased and her face smoothed as though she found comfort in my warmth. Enough. I extinguished my flames and backed into the shadows, watching her fitful sleep. Her eyes moved behind her lids, and her muscles twitched. She was so similar to the Lily I once knew . . . and yet so different. She was harder, tougher . . . mouthy even.

Two soldiers walked up to her cell. I'd gone unnoticed, hidden in the shadows. They stared at her for long moments. One elbowed the other. "Her beauty tempts."

The other nodded. "Deadly beautiful."

"I could do with a bit of that," the other teased.

"She looks like an angel."

Funny, I'd had that same thought when I watched her sleep years ago. But that was a life time ago and a memory that'd been burned into my mind. Lily had always been eye-catching to the masses. Her beauty was delicate, with a small pert nose, full lush lips, and bright cat-like eyes. Her body was curved in all the right places, and even now I felt a stirring for her. Memories of her were too strong to resist at this moment. I let them consume me so I would remember why I hated her and wouldn't fall for her delicate and sweet act again.

"Another visit, Lord of Shadows?" The madam of the brothel stood next to the stairs with her elbow propped on the railing.

I handed her a canteen full of nectar. "Indeed."

"See that she pleases you well." She sauntered away, letting her gauzy skirts flow out behind her.

I'd become too frequent here, and all I really wanted was a moment with her . . . a few words. I walked down the hall to her door and gently turned the knob. Usually when I came to visit, she was sitting in her chair by the window, letting the breeze drift through her hair. Tonight, I found her lying in the bed with her head propped up on some pillows. She was curled on her side with her hand resting just in front of her. She was an angel . . . my angel. I didn't care that she worked here or that other men knew her in a physical way. I knew her soul, and as long as she freely gave it to me, it would be enough.

She peeked her eyes open, and a light smile played on her lips. She whispered my name like a prayer. "Avalon."

I held another canteen up, this one bigger than the one I'd given the madam of this establishment. "Nectar. For you."

Her smile grew bigger. "You didn't have to."

"Come drink." I didn't like how pale she'd gotten lately. She'd lost weight. It wasn't so much that any other would notice, but I did.

"Later, love." She held her hand out toward me and I took it. "Have you come to speak with me once more?"

"I will always return to hear your words." I sat at the side of the bed and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. She wrapped her fingers around mine and pulled me down to her. I leaned over her and she pressed her lips to mine. Her kisses were so sweet, so gentle. Our tongues wound together, and I found myself wanted her . . . all of her.

I pulled back. "We don't have to."

"But I want to." She reached up and pulled her blonde wig from her head and shook her hair out. It was a long, lush deep-red wine color, and I sucked in a sharp breath. "With the real me."

She was so beautiful. At first my pale angel, and now an angel of darkness. I cupped her cheek and pulled her up toward me. The strap of her nightgown slipped down from her shoulder, and I let my fingers wander over her skin and pull the strap just a bit lower. She leaned into my touch. arching her back, inviting me to caress her full milky breasts.

"My lips have only ever been yours." She crawled to her knees, then threw her leg over my hips to straddle me. She ground her hips down on me, and my body responded to hers. I couldn"t resist her beauty or the way she touched me. The connection between us was undeniable.

We'd spent weeks getting to know each other, weeks of conversations, and yet I felt I knew so little. She danced around words keeping her secrets. Secrets I wanted to share with her, to keep for her. "As I have only been yours."

She pulled her dress up to her hips and let it fall over us. The top of her gown fell down and her breasts spilled out in front of me. "Show me."

I cupped my hands over her and let my thumbs toy with her peaks. She arched her back and leaned into my touch. "Show me I'm yours and only yours."

"Then all you need do is feel." I wrapped my arm around her waist and twisted to lie her back on the bed. I fell down beside her and let my hands run over her thighs and up her body. I let her get used to my touch. I wanted her to feel my skin against hers, to know my touch would always be gentle.

The tension left her muscles, and she sighed as I played with her breasts and slid my hand over her hip and down her thigh. She curled into me, welcoming my every caress. Her knees fell open, and I slid my hand between her legs, feeling her warmth and spreading her wetness with my fingers.

"Wh-what're you doing?" She glanced down where my hand was.

"Pleasure goes both ways love." I leaned over and pressed my lips to her breast sucking her peak between my lips as I stroked her between her legs, drawing out those slow small circles I knew she'd love.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and her mouth dropped into a little O-shape. Her breaths started to draw into quick pants. Tiny moans escaped her lips, and when I pressed my mouth back to hers, I caught her sounds of pleasure on my tongue. As I quickened my pace, she reached for the laces at the front of my pants, making quick work of them.

"I need you. Please." She set me free, and I fell into her delicate hands. She wrapped her fingers around me and stroked me up and down. Pleasure racked my body and we arched and moved into each other. She drew me close, so close to my own pleasure, but I wanted to give her more. I rolled between her legs, and she closed her eyes and turned her head to the side.

"No, love, look at me so you know it's me . . . so you know this is us . . . together." She turned back toward me, and I guided myself into her.

Her hips rose up to meet my thrusts, and I closed my eyes for a moment, lost in her pleasure. She placed both her hands on the sides of my face. "Don't close your eyes."

Pleasure racked my whole body, and I wanted to throw my head back and roar to the ceiling, yet I couldn't. She needed me here with her, to show her everything that she meant to me. Lily wasn't just a good time bought and paid for. She was the touch I dreamed of, the whisper of pleasure on my lips, and one thing I wanted to see each night. I thrust into her, and she met each of my moves with her own pleasure building.

"I never knew . . ." her eyes widened with wonder as she took deep gasping breaths, ". . . it could be like this."

"Always with you and me." I pressed my lips to hers and forced myself to last long enough to bring her to her end. My thrusts grew hard and fast. The sound of our bodies mingling together filled the room. Her breaths caught in my ears, and her muscles quaked.

"Come on, love, come on."

She threw her head back and moaned my name as she found her pleasure beneath me. I felt her muscles tighten around me, and I could no longer fight the urge or hold back. Her eyes never left mine, and I found myself falling into the abyss of pleasure. Her hold on me was unbreakable. It was so much more than physical pleasure. It was a connection I felt deep in my soul. I wanted her, I needed her, and in that moment, I knew I would take her from this place to be with me . . . always.

Always.

Anger flooded my body, and my flames wanted to explode from me. I shook myself, fighting for a calm I did not feel. I held my shadows around me, staying away from her cell and away from the soldiers leering at her.

"She looks like a pleasurable one." He chuckled and the other one nodded in agreement.

Lily had always been the pleasurable one who tempted those around her. She was born that way . . . bred to be as tempting as she was. Though her hair was no longer that deep red, nor was she the vampire I'd met those years ago, I still saw her for what she was . . . a traitor.

I stepped from the darkness and let my shadows fall away. "And when she kills you as she did the others, will your pleasure be worth it then?"

The soldiers jumped at the sound of my voice and turned toward me. They hesitated for a moment, then one got the nerve to speak. "With a female so fair, it might be."

I curled my hand into a fist at my side to hold back from throttling them. "Fools. You're dismissed."

I flicked my hand, and they hurried down the tunnel away from her cell. When I turned back to look at her, she still lay there in a fitful sleep. Lily had always been beautiful. But to me, she would always remain a beautiful nightmare.