17. Seventeen

“There is no way that Aryn is involved with a blood ring, whatever the fuck that is.”

Blowing her off was easy, but getting past her wasn’t.

Alora wouldn’t let me fucking leave to go after Vastian. Why am I trying?

“You seriously don’t know what a blood ring is?”

Groaning, I shook my head.

“The smaller groups are just scorned humans looking to avenge a dead mother or something. But the bigger ones? Ones like Mr. Darcy dabbled in? Those are serious shit, Atreyis. They’re in the business of tracking down purebloods and zapping them of their magic blood.”

I was halfway through tying the blanket around my ass when she said magic blood. “Their blood is magical? Since when?”

“Word from my sources says yes. And there’s a sparkly gem within a specific coven. That’s what Aryn wants. It’s called the Nova Born.” So that’s the whale Aryn was looking for.

Snorting, I fashioned my skirt and fisted my hip. “Mr. Darcy didn’t have anything close to that. He was just a fairy fucker who lied and used me to—”

“Didn’t think it was odd that your new boy toy hasn’t left your side?”

My head hurt. I was hungover, and my tongue felt like it was going to snap off. I was so dehydrated. “If you are trying to tell me I’ve got the one thing Aryn wants, don’t. Why would Aryn want a fucking Vampyr? Magic blood or not. Aryn’s a demon.”

She clicked her tongue and examined her nails. “No one outside the Vampyr court knows what the Nova Born is. But rumors are floating around. Saying things like it’s a power on par with that of a deity—primordial stuff. And if that’s true…” she trailed off.

No.

Just no more fucking info vomit. I wanted a cup of water and a pancake. But most of all, I wanted to see what got Vastian’s panties in a bunch—that and some pants.

She closed the distance and looked up at me. Her hair and eyes were blue today. The only constant was her facial structure. “You are in deep shit. And if you keep that Vampyr around, Aryn will sniff him out.”

“He was right before Vastian and didn’t seem that interested!” I snapped at her.

“I warned you, Atreyis. And what did you do? Fuck Alora. Fuck anyone who cares about you because you’re going to do what you want. If he is the Nova Born, there isn’t a place in all of Evalasia where Aryn won’t find you.”

I leaned down so our noses were touching. “Then let him. Maybe he’ll finally kill me.”

She scowled. Then moved behind me and yanked up my shirt to tap at the brand between my shoulder blades. “You are marked. Forever.”

“Don’t you think I don’t know that? That it doesn’t fuck my skull every second of every day!” I jerked my shirt down and headed for the door.

“Just let him go. At least you won’t be caught in between two raging fires.” She placed a palm on my arm.

Gods damn it! I knew she was right. It felt like my spine was ripping out of my back, and my stomach was falling through my ass. Everything was just… hurt—hungover and a million other things I didn’t want to address. The one constant was that I wouldn’t let anyone come for Vastian. And that was an awful idea because every time I’d done something like I was about to do then…

“I’ve been in the flames since I was fifteen, Alora.”

The look of shock ran across her face. “You… like him. Don’t you?”

Chewing my cheek, restless and wasting time, I didn’t have a moment to think. “I do.”

Sighing, she looked at the door, then me. “Alright. Let’s go fucking find him.”

Vastian killed Max.

That was the first of too many fucking victims.

There was a line one drew in the sand. Those who fucked with you? Kill them—every last one. I didn’t blink or think twice when it came to that. But to do this? Maybe I forgot Vastian was a predator. The monster that so many humans feared.

I guess I was immune to that. But that teenage girl wasn’t. And she was dead now. So was the beggar, who was lying on the cobblestone like trash, and the older woman slumped against her front door.

I wish I could say it stopped there.

This was the most morbid cookie-crumb trail I’d ever seen. It was like there was no rhyme or reason. Bodies of every age led out of the town and into the woods. From there, Alora tracked his prints. He moved so fast that it created a literal line in the mossy dirt, a line that stopped abruptly at a large oak tree.

Its thick branches spanned overhead and wedged between one, and the trunk was a bloody, panicked Vastian. His fangs were visible as he clung to the bark. He was hissing and writhing like something was attacking him.

“Is this what a Vampyr mental breakdown looks like?” Alora whispered.

“Go away!” He roared, and his voice echoed.

“Meet me in Belfor. Our place. He can’t kill me, but… well, you know.” Then I leaned to kiss her forehead.

She shifted into a wolf—of all things—and disappeared out of view. Eyeing him and unsure how to tackle this, I hauled myself up the tree. Do you know how hard it was to climb that tree when you were thirty and haven’t done so since you were ten? Really fucking hard. Several grunts, cracking joints, and a pulled back later, I was perched across from him.

“You killed Max, you know,” I started and situated myself.

“Leave me.” He turned his face defiantly toward the trunk, which made him look so young—a little boy who knew he was in trouble.

“Why did you do it? Those people didn’t do anything to you.”

His shoulders hitched, but he remained quiet. I guess we were doing this the hard way. Shimming across the branch to him, I grabbed his head and forced it to me. That neck of his was solid. It took everything in me to succeed in this.

“What fucking happened?”

He bared his fangs and hissed. Ooo, so scary. “That won’t work with me. Talk. You know. All that crap you love to do so much.” Then I lightly slapped his cheek.

“You lied to me!” His voice was so loud I swear a gust blew in my face.

“About what?”

He frowned and tilted his head down while holding my gaze. That shit was terrifying. “This whole time. You knew. Was she in on it, too? What was the plan, Atreyis? Hand me over to the blood ring and somehow rid you of your immortality? How bloody hard is it to stay alive forever? Is it truly that awful that you’d knowingly sacrifice a stranger to the cause?”

Low blows, asshole. “You just killed what—twenty people? For what? Because you misunderstood something? That’s the pot calling the kettle black. And yes, that is the fucking analogy. Pebble-mountain saying twat.”I shoved at his arm roughly.

“I guess you really do use people. Isn’t that right, pup,” he sneered, and I slapped him for real that time.

He lunged. Scrambling to one-up each other, he went to slam his fist down, and I dodged, which cracked the branch we were on. Then, we both plummeted. I flipped every which way on the way down and landed with a painful thud on my stomach and face. He landed like a damn cat. And in a similar form, he pounced. Stradling me and successfully landing blows that time. Managing to get in a few of my own and a headbutt, I slid out from under him and kicked him in the head.

“I didn’t lie. I didn’t know jack shit about the blood ring. Alora just told me what it is. You left before we got to that thrilling part of the conversation!” I went to kick him again, but he grabbed my ankle and tossed me back.

He angled his foot over my cock. Was he really going to destroy the only good thing about me? Nope. He broke my femur. Fantastic. Wait—

“What the fuck!” My balls skyrocketed into my gut, and I rolled over to hurl.

Out of all the physical blows, that one hurt the worst. But he wasn’t done. Oh no. Vastian grabbed my hair and dragged me up. He punched my face, chest, and ribs. Bones just shattering in the process.

“No one will do it to me again!” He screamed.

“Do what? Save your ass from being drugged?” I croaked, spitting out some blood.

That caught his attention because he let me drop. All the wind knocked out of my lungs. It took a few moments before everything mended back together, and I said, “I don’t save people, Vastian. But I saved you. Twice. If I wanted to lie, it wouldn’t be about this. For fucksake, you went to my house. Do you know how many people have done that? Zero.”

He was still seething, but his eyes had softened a touch. “Who is the woman? Alora. How did she find us?”

“She always knows where I am. It’s the unfortunate part of our relationship. Maybe she put a locator spell around my cock.” Wiping the blood from my lips, I got to my feet.

Somehow, after all the bones he’d just broken, my balls still ached.

“You don’t know who I am then?” He narrowed his eyes.

Sighing and bending over to brace on my knees, I shook my head because this man was getting on my last nerve. “Vastian Fane. Vampyr and apparently a murdering psychopath.”

“Anything else?” He seemed to be calming down now, and it would probably be poor timing to mention what Alora threw up in the Inn.

“No,” I said and straightened; my back cracked something vicious as I did.

Raking a hand through his hair, he finally retracted his fangs. “I… lost control. It won’t happen again.”

“Why did you do it though?” He might be able to move past it, but I had difficulty swallowing that load. Sure, Max was a fuck from the past, but I didn”t think he deserved to die, nor did his kid.

He toed the dirt, and some moss stuck to the boot, so he flung it around. While doing so, it detached and landed on me. Then he growled, stomped over to me, and pawed it off my leg.

“Ever since I was… chosen, I’ve had difficulty containing my anger. It manifests and then unleashes. When that is coupled with other things, it becomes uncontrollable. This was just a taste of what I can do.” His tone was back to normal.

“Hell, when I get mad, I just have an angry jerk off and get drunk. We need to work on your coping skills.”

He stood now, brushing his hands together. “Says the one who refuses to have an actual conversation of meaning.”

“At least I’m not a prude.” I poked his chest.

“I’d rather be a prude than a deviant.” He poked me back.

“I don’t kill people for fun.”

“I don’t string people along and make them feel worthless.”

With a huff, I said, “Whiskey is better than wine.”

“Is not.”

“Is too.”

We were inches apart now. “I bet you’ll try to convince me that star blossoms are better than a good old-fashioned red rose.” What the fuck, Atreyis?

“Never. Star blossoms are overrated and meaningless. Roses have meaning.”

I gulped. And he knows flowers. Fuck me. “Never would have taken you for a rose man.”

Our chests touched. “On the contrary, I find them fascinating and beautiful, and despite pricking me, the pain is worth tolerating so I can savor everything else.”

I was hot, burning up like someone shoved a torch right up my sphincter.

That pitiful muscle in my chest pounded, and my blood surged to my face and cock. It was dark, no one was around, and I was pretty sure Vastian just used a rose to describe me, and I wanted to suck his face until it came off. But he hadn’t made the move. Not that I was shy about things, fuck I’d have done it if he”d given me the go-ahead.

“I’m sorry we fought,” he said, but that wasn’t why I got hung up. It was the knuckles stroking my arm.

Those featherlight touches and those searching eyes drifting over every inch of my face sent ripples of want through me. When they landed on my lips, I couldn”t help but run my tongue over the bottom one. I”d been attracted to him since that first moment. He just beat the shit out of me, but for me, that was foreplay. I was rearing to put this budding erection to use.

His hair appeared darker under the moonlight, and those full, pouty lips parted in anticipation as he continued his light stroking, only having swapped his knuckles for his fingertips.

My stomach fluttered, cock woke up, and my aching balls throbbed with the need to empty.

“One of two things is going to happen right now,” I paused to fucking breathe. He pressed his hips flush against mine. The intention was fucking clear. “I’m going to step away or—”

“I’m going to kiss you.” The words barely left him before he locked his hand behind my head and crushed his mouth into mine.

At first, I thought he would keep it a simple kiss, but then his tongue ran along the seam of my mouth, and all bets were off. My hands grew a mind of their own, and I pulled him as close as I physically could. Every part of his tongue trailed mine, exploring, tasting. I moaned like a whore, which he gobbled up greedily. Tilting my head so he could get deeper, I clung to his back with desperate fingers, ready to hump a hole into him. Gods, he was just so fucking gorgeous.

For days, I”d done nothing but ogle him, daydreaming about either beating him or beating off on him. I didn”t think he”d ever let this happen, and now that it was, I couldn”t fucking stop myself. And as it turned out, neither could he. Vastian, ever the gentleman, did the unthinkable.

He purposefully rubbed his thigh against my stiff cock, and I nearly came. Right there, in my pants.

Running my hands under his shirt, I shivered, not because his chilled skin bothered me but because every delicious muscle flexed under my touch. He moved from my mouth, kissing my chin, jaw, and neck. His tongue worked the sensitive flesh, and I slid my hand down to cup him. He moved my hand away and backed me into a tree just as I did.

“Remember what I said at the tavern?” he whispered through his devourment before licking a stripe from my jugular to my earlobe.

“No.” If I remembered one thing about our little chat, it was that. How could I forget it? He was practically spoon-feeding me thoughts of all the things he could do.

He pulled back, pinning my arms over my head, and continued to rub his thigh over my straining length. “Don’t lie to me, Atreyis.” Then he kissed my lips and moved to the other side of my neck.

I’m going to come right here.

“Fine, I remember.”

“Good.” Then, with one hand, he reached down and grabbed my cock.

He was palming me and rubbing. Shudders racked through me, and my hips jutted forward. Grinding against him like my life depended on it. He chuckled deeply and captured my mouth again. Who knew my sweet cherub could be so dominant? And why did I bother getting pants? I’d wiped off all the funk before leaving the Inn so that the makeshift skirt would have been ideal.

“Don’t move,” he whispered and released my wrists.

Unable to stop watching him, he undid my pants, and when he slid his fist over my cock, I had to palm at the bark.

“What did I say?” His eyes flicked up to me. That predatory look he’d given me so many times. My balls bunched up to hug my base while I whimpered.

Stroking my length and gliding his fist up and down was torture. I knew he was doing it on purpose, too. I was three seconds from blowing all over him, but he drew it out. He was taking his time to torture me. Did I mind? Absolutely not.

“So hard for me,” he breathed and licked my bottom lip. Flicking his thumb across my slit, he gathered the arousal building and coated me with it. ”Is all this for me too?”

By all the gods. And I’m the deviant? ”Obviously,” I panted.

He snatched my lip again and bit down on it. He sucked at the flesh and pricked it with his fangs. When the tang of iron from my blood hit my tongue, he sucked it off. I didn”t know how much more delicious agony I could take, but then he dropped to his knees.

Do you know how difficult it was not to move when someone like Vastian was about to suck your cock? It was impossible.

His mouth parted. Waiting with fated fucking breath for him—I bucked when his tongue ran along the underside of my cockhead. He slapped my thigh. Hard. Which only made me that much closer to the edge.

Then he licked again. Tease. Big fucking tease. It was the most brilliant thing I’d ever seen. When he took the tip into his mouth and sucked, the moan that left me was demonic. I suppose that was all he needed to hear because he no longer held back. The things he did with his tongue were downright filthy. Dipping in and out of my slit, sucking my firm balls into his mouth, nibbling my sensitive cockhead.

Every single sensitive spot he found and worked. I couldn’t breathe as I was nearing the edge. My vision blurred, and I tilted my head back. His nails scratched down my thighs and then cupped my ass to push me even further down his throat. He swallowed around me precisely three times, and I came. It was hard, fast, and eruptive.

“Fuck. Gods. Fuck!” He didn”t stop his vicious sucking until I was utterly spent and sagged against the bark.

He stood, cupping my face tenderly, and stared into my eyes. “If you ever call me a prude again, I’ll make sure you take at least three times as long to come.”

I debated that—it sounded like a good time to me. “Prude,” I squeaked.

He laughed. Deep, beautiful laugh that had me awkwardly rubbing my neck. I didn’t get awkward. “Put your cock away, Atreyis.” Then he kissed my lips.

I think I’m in love.