8. Karmen

8

KARMEN

M y face felt like I'd stepped too close to a raging inferno. In a way, I had, because Sunzi's body blazed with heat.

I wanted to feel the heat spreading on his skin, the fine trembles of his muscles twitching beneath my fingers. I loved the way his scent heated with the scent of sweat and leather. The wholesome, regular scent of a man, nothing like the god, may I never again recall what Ra smelled like.

More than anything, I loved that Sunzi simply stood here while I touched him. He didn't seize me, toss me over his shoulder, and throw me on the bed. Or leer at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. Or grab my hand and force me to pleasure him.

Instead, he allowed me to torture him with my hesitant exploration without making a single demand on me.

I wanted to torture and tease him. I wanted to feel his entire body quiver against me while I touched every inch of him. Listen to the sounds he made when he climaxed. Surely a diabolical thing to do to this honorable man who was trying so very hard to restrain himself.

But I couldn't help but push him. Test him. See where the invisible line was, whether he'd reveal himself to be more like Ra rather than my closest Blood whom I trusted to hold me in bed. If that line existed at all…

I needed to know. If I couldn't implicitly trust him, no matter what, then this could never work. I might as well find a way to free him.

"Never," he growled out, the word so raw as to be nearly unintelligible. "Do what you will to me."

A challenge. If I dared.

I flattened my palms over his sculpted chest. He wasn't a large, heavily muscled man, though he was certainly bigger and physically stronger than me. He'd be able to easily overpower me if he chose. Lithe muscles flexed beneath my hands, promising lethal speed. These hard, lean muscles knew more about warfare and battle than any living man.

My fingers brushed over his nipples, and he shuddered against me with a sharp exhale. Though he kept his hands fisted firmly at his sides. Sweat dampened his skin, his scent raw and thick in my nostrils. Like an animal in rut, as if he could tempt me to mate him with pheromones alone. Maybe so, because I found myself rubbing my mouth on his shoulders, tasting his skin with a flick of my tongue. Teasing him with the scrape of my teeth.

No. My fangs.

Hunger throbbed through me, a deep, rolling wave of need. Maybe bleeding so much had weakened me. Or he was simply addictive. I wanted more of his blood, even though I'd fed deeply before. Certainly the back of his shoulder wasn't the best place to bite him anyway. It would only give me a taste and likely hurt him?—

"You could never hurt me."

I couldn't help but tremble against him, stunned at how tightly our bond had grown. A bow string humming with intensity. He was finishing my thoughts now—which meant he knew all my thoughts. Not that I intended to hide anything from him, but I'd been locked alone in the prison of my mind for so long. Afraid to think—for fear I would fall apart into a million shattered pieces. Desperate not to feel anything at all, because a spark of sensation would allow all the agonies to register in my mind.

I'd learned how to stay empty. Cold. My mind like silent, dark hallways stretching into infinity. Now I wandered these paths, stunned at how far the emptiness stretched. Afraid I might not ever find my way out again. Only to find someone right beside me. His heartbeat was strong in my ear. His arms ready to sweep me up and carry me anywhere I wished to go—without selecting the direction or swaying my decisions.

I didn't want to shut him out—but his presence so deep in my consciousness was intrusive just the same.

His body didn't move but in our bond, his mind tried to withdraw to give me more space. Even in my thoughts, he tried to respect my boundaries, despite the Blood bond pulling him ever closer.

Slowly, I trailed my right hand down his stomach, stilling any thought of retreat or space or breath, for that matter. Neither of us dared breathe as my fingers danced over the fine tremor of his abdominal muscles to brush the tip of his cock.

His muscles coiled tighter against me, straining and swelling and cording with impossible power. But he did not move.

He allowed my hesitant, light touches, even though I could feel what it cost him. A maddened, ravenous beast howled inside him, wrapped in chains and locks to keep himself under control. His cock strained upward, seeking more of my touch, moving of its own accord. The velvety skin was hot and hard against my palm, but not the lava-hot molten gold I'd been accustomed to in Ra's bed.

Sunzi's cock filled my hand but I could wrap my fingers around him. Touching him didn't sear or blister my skin. I had nothing but the gigantic god to compare for size, but holding Sunzi's cock in my hand didn't make my brain want to run screaming down the empty hallways back to the dark prison basement where I'd kept myself hidden away.

I could imagine taking him inside my body—and not fear he would tear me apart.

He sucked in a loud, deep breath, his chest filling like a mighty bellows. His back shuddered against my cheek. In his bond, I could feel a burning fist squeezing the base of his spine. The heavy ache deep in his testicles, approaching an unbearable level of pain and need. Yet he still restrained himself. A warrior falling on his own sword, determined to die with honor. He didn't want to besmirch our bond in any way, even if that meant his death.

I pressed tighter against his back, melding our bodies together. My free arm hugged around his chest. My mind merging fully with his, so I could feel him inside of me.

:Please.: I opened my mouth against his shoulder and sank my fangs into the fleshy muscle. :I want to feel you come.:

His back bowed, his body heaving in my arms. A deep, ragged grunt escaped his chest, a wordless groan that sounded like his last dying breath. His cock pulsed in my hand, spurting hot cum on my fingers.

I waited for panic to set in. For my body to lock down, or for my mind to retreat to safety. But this was different. So very different. Than anything Ra had ever done.

I wasn't hurt or in pain. I was in complete control. Despite his need, Sunzi hadn't even climaxed until I asked him to release his fierce determination.

Even more, I felt every moment of his release in our bond. The sheer pleasure rippling through his body. A real body—not a skeleton—coming so hard he almost couldn't stand. He sagged in my arms, his knees trembling and weak. His heart thundered. His mind obliterated. Not from climaxing—but from the feel of me inside his head. My request in our bond. The Blood bond itself.

I'm inside him .

Rocked to my core, I soaked in every single sensation. True, pure pleasure. Not something forced or taken. But given.

Other arms surrounded us both, helping me support Sunzi until he regained his feet. I didn't lift my face from his back to see who had come to us. I knew exactly who it was.

Vlad. His bond rippled inside me, a deep, silent ribbon of dark water, as open to me as Sunzi's bond. No hesitation. No plotting or avarice or ulterior motive in his thoughts. Simply a desire to be near me. To help me before I asked.

I couldn't see Vlad's face but I felt his wry grin flowing through our bond. Okay, yes, a hope that I would touch him the same way and bring him to climax.

They'd served in Heliopolis for so long that they'd forgotten what it felt like to be living men. I couldn't fault any of them for hoping I would touch them. Hold them like this. Feed on them. Whatever I wanted.

And that was the key difference between my Blood and Ra. I'd known the truth, of course, but having irrefutable truth demonstrated before my very eyes gave me the confidence I needed. The trust.

I'm in control. I decide what I do or don't do with any of them.

I can feel everything through our bond—and know their most secret thoughts. Their minds and hearts are laid open to me.

They're mine. As no one else can ever be.

Mine for the taking.

EIVIND

She should've been mine.

I braced for Harris' reaction but he simply stared back levelly at me, waiting for an explanation.

"I felt her," I said hoarsely. "A queen in need of help. We're supposed to protect them. Feed them to power up their magic. The odds that I'd be anywhere near Chicago when she was dumped in that alley were fucking astronomical. You know me well enough to know I'd never willingly be in a city without a damned good reason. A seemingly random urge. Go left, not right. See what's happening among the humans. Then I felt the Call like a sledgehammer up the side the head."

"The call?"

"Queens call unattached Aima to their side and make them their Blood. It's a compulsion. A drive to find the queen and protect her. I have reasons to be suspicious of any queen trying to leash me against my will." I didn't care to get into all the gory family details.

"That's why you called me. You wanted someone to help her, but it couldn't be you."

Misery flooded me, a ravaging torrent of guilt and shame. "I thought she'd take me as her Blood against my will."

"But if she was supposed to be yours…"

"Exactly." I let my breath sigh out softly. "I fucked up. I should have allowed her to Blood me then. I could have gotten her to safety, fed her to power, and been with her every step of the way."

"I'm sorry, I truly don't mean to be a dick, but what stopped you from helping her later? In the beginning, I could see maybe being worried about an unknown queen, but it only took a few minutes talking to her to know she wouldn't force anyone to do anything. Not after what she'd been through—and I still don't know what all happened to her. Just enough to know it was bad."

"While I drove her to that hotel, she told me a little about what was after her. I didn't believe her."

Harris' eyes narrowed. "But you know this magical shit exists. You've seen the evidence in your sister, and other of these Blood creatures. You're a fucking wolf. Right?"

My shoulders slumped and I sank deeper into the chair. "I was… scared."

"Bullshit. Nothing scares you, Wild Man." He drained the beer, crumpled the can, and dropped it into the trash bin. "You couldn't admit you were wrong."

I bristled, my eyes snapping up to his. "You saw how powerful queens are. She could have snapped my neck without laying a finger on me."

He huffed out a laugh, and another while watching my reaction. Evidently he found it fucking amusing because he finally tipped his head back against the chair while he laughed and gasped for air.

"Queens are fucking dangerous," I retorted. "Especially to kings like me. I was right to be wary of her."

Another peal of laughter cut me off. "Yeah, sure, Wild Man. I wish I'd known what a giant pussy you were before?—"

I was on my feet, my hands fisted in his shirt, before I could blink. I jerked him up toward me, leaning down into his face. All my rage twisting my features. My teeth bared. My eyes red with rage. Any other time in my life, I would have shredded his flesh off his bones. He'd seen the evidence of my beast, carefully left to look like animal kills. He'd had his suspicions even then. "What were you going to say to me?"

"The big bad wolf is actually a pussy," Harris repeated without hesitation. "Though if I'm reading things right, you're not even a wolf now."

I shoved him away from me and whirled, giving him my back so he couldn't see the truth shining in my eyes. "I changed my mind," I finally managed to ground out through clenched teeth.

"Riiiiight," he drawled. "Did you change your mind because you lost your wolf? Or because you really care about what happens to her?"

"It's not too late." My voice rang with brittle desperation. "I can fix this."

"Maybe you can, sure. But not if you can't even admit the truth to yourself."

"If I can just talk to her, explain things, she'll understand."

"Ah. That's why you broke into my room. You're hoping I can lead you to her. Bad news, Wild Man. Other than confirming the phone works wherever she went, I haven't seen Karmen since the last time I was at your sister's cabin in Minnesota."

I finally risked turning around so I could see if he was telling the truth. He sat loose and easy in the chair despite my earlier eruption and met my gaze levelly. "You haven't seen or talked to her at all?"

"Nope."

I didn't smell a lie on him but it was too convenient. "Will you at least answer my call next time so I don't have to track you down?"

"I won't make promises I don't intend to keep."

Fury pulsed in me with every beat of my heart. My fists ached to pound him into a bloody pulp—but then he for sure wouldn't ever call me again. "Guess I'll hit you up in person, then."

He shrugged casually. "Be my guest. Though I'm not sure how much longer I'll be here. I'm interviewing out of state for several positions, and I'm headed to Arkansas tomorrow. I'm getting as far away from all this magical shit as possible."

As I opened the door to leave, I couldn't help but snort with derision. "Jokes on you, Harris. House Isador's nest is in Eureka Springs."

I slammed the door shut behind me and headed down the stairs to the parking lot. Frustration bit up and down my spine. I wasn't any closer to knowing where Karmen was, and Harris was the only other person not directly affiliated with…

Then it dawned on me. Arkansas. House Isador. Motherfucker.

Could they be offering him a job? But then why would he say he wanted to get away from all the magical shit if he was going to go work for a Triune queen? Pausing in the shadows beneath the stairway, I leaned against a support pillar, my thoughts a jumbled mess. My shoulder throbbed hard enough that I rubbed the tender scar with my other hand.

Think, man. Can I trust him?

Not just a human but a fucking cop. Who might know things about Karmen and was deliberately lying about it.

Only one way to know for sure.

Let's see if he actually leaves for Arkansas tomorrow.