Roman let out a long cry, echoing through the night, and then—with a sharp bark—“Enough. My turn.”
His gaze blazing, he shoved me back onto the ground, a cruel smile playing across his lips. He was hungry. My drinking from him had spurred on his desire, and he came at me, fangs bared, cock rigid and hard. I let the need to please my sire take over—it was a new feeling for me, and that I could actually enjoy the desire to please was both astounding and heady.
There was a power in submission that I had never before understood. Camille understood it—we had talked at length about the need to balance strength to the outside world with vulnerability in the one place it was safe to express it. But with my background, with the torture and degradation Dredge had put me through, I never thought I would ever be able to open the door to that side of myself. And yet . . . here I was, hungry to please Roman, aching and willing to obey his commands.
He loomed over me, cupping my chin in his hands. As if reading my mind, he whispered, “You know that I will never abuse my place in your life. You know this, don’t you? It’s important to me that you understand I will never betray you.”
I nodded. “I know how you feel about me, and I know you understand why I can’t return the same feelings. But we have something together that is powerful and untouchable. Something I share with no one else. Feed on me, Roman. Drink from me. Take me deep into your darkness.”
His lips touched my throat and as smooth as silk, his fangs pierced my vein, driving deep. I let out a throaty cry as the weight of his body pressed against me. He lapped at my throat, and in a tidal wave of hunger and desire, I shifted—spreading my legs so that he could drive his cock deep inside me, plunging into the core of my sex haze.
He was thick, and hard, and as he shifted, angling so that he slid in to the hilt, the motion sent a ripple through my entire body. He began to pump against me, and I rose to meet him, encouraging him to ride me hard. He freed one hand, bringing it down to caress my clit, circling it—demanding that I not ignore his presence. He filled me full, and the smell of him was everywhere—heady and musky and overwhelming. He was my world at this moment—inside me, touching me, drinking from my blood—Roman was the only reality and everything else faded into white noise.
And still he drank deep, the blood flowing from my body into his mouth in slow, exquisite droplets. His tongue lapped in a rhythmic motion, the sound of it grazing my skin became my only focus—and then the haze became a dance, a swirling mist of sensuality that flowed around us like a cloud of tendrils, and every inch of my body felt caressed by the motions carrying me into the depths of the night. All my scars—all of the marks that Dredge had claimed me with—faded in my mind. They would always adorn my body but now they were merely war wounds, scars of survival rather than of subjugation. Nerissa had helped me reclaim my soul from Dredge’s torture, and Roman had helped me reclaim my ability to revel in my power.
With one last cry, I let go, coming hard, as Roman met my lips—my blood on his tongue—and kissed me deep under the early-summer moon.
Chapter 4
By the time we reached Training Room Two, forty vampires were waiting for me, all clad in Roman’s signature black turtlenecks, black jeans, and black sunglasses. They were standing at attention, hands clasped behind their backs, legs slightly spread, staring straight ahead as we walked into the room. Both Roman and I had taken some time to freshen up after our tryst in the woods, and we looked entirely presentable.
I glanced over at Roman. “I thought you said twenty.”
“The attack on the apartment complex changed my mind. I’m giving you double. We’re facing threats from both outside this world and inside, so we might as well put more manpower on the streets.” He moved to the front of the room, motioning for me to join him. As I did, he saluted the contingent and they came to full attention, saluting him back. In unison and with precise form, they reminded me of robots.
Two words echoed as a single voice from forty throats. “Lord Roman!”
Roman nodded. “Stand down.”
They returned to their former position? but this time a little more relaxed.
“I’m appointing my consort, Menolly, in charge of you. Soldiers, you will obey her commands as if they came from me. She has full authority in this mission, and you will neither question her methods or her choices nor disobey her. Any man or woman who refuses to carry out her orders will be staked. We are at war, and you are my warriors. I expect you to behave the part. Do you understand?”