I slashed my claws down the length of the fae’s face, and he released his hold over me with a snarl.
I danced away from him, cackling madly. “Stupid mate.”
His huge hand slapped over his face to cover the savage claw marks ribboning his flesh. “Vicious bitch!”
“Thick-skulled bastard,” I retorted with a grin that was all fang. “At least I have your attention now. You’ve got some real balls on you, fucking with me like you have.”
I sauntered over to the cage he’d kept me in, and I turned back to look at him, my grin turning sour. “Makes me wonder what the priest will do to you once we get back home. He has a monster, too, you know. I’ve seen it deep inside. You don’t want to fuck with that part of him because it will eat you alive after what you’ve done. That is if I leave anything left once I’m done with you.”
Being the twisted bastard that he was, the fae smiled at the threat. He stalked toward me, a beastial hunger glossing his eyes as they slowly raked over my body. “There’s my wild mate. I was wondering when you were going to shift to your stronger form. This is the body that was made to take a cock like mine.”
I licked my lips, lifting the hem of my dress to flash him my bare pussy. “What, you mean this body?”
Pure glee rippled through me at the way his eyes widened to the point where they looked like they were going to pop out of his head. They were all black now, meaning his vampire side was once again at the mercy of his fae nature.
He surged forward, swiping one of his tree trunk arms at me. I ducked and hopped onto a branch outside his reach and too small to hold his weight for him to fly to it.
His lips twitched with amusement. By the way his pants twitched at the crotch, he was enjoying this game of cat and mouse a little too much. He strode along the branch beneath mine, head craned up to watch me as I crawled back on my hands, scooting toward the trunk.
He was hunting me…
My pulse fluttered like my heart was taking flight in my ribcage. I paused on my branch, delicately balancing my weight on the thin spindle of wood as Vincent watched me like a hawk from his own perch.
“You’re nearly in heat. I can fucking taste it in the air. That’s how needy you are for this.” Searing warmth filled my chest as I watched him yank down the band of his pants, freeing his massive erection. Its size caught me off guard every time I saw it. He gave it one pump, and my mouth watered when I zeroed in on the pearl of pre-cum oozing from his tip.
“Now, be a good little monster and get down here so I can give it to you.”
“Agree to shift back to your vampire form, and maybe I’ll consider it.”
The male stiffened. “No.”
“Then I guess I’m not coming down.”
He shoved himself back into his pants with an angry growl. “I’ll rip out this entire tree by its roots and shake you out of it if I have to.”
“You’re so sexy when you’re mad.” I laughed loudly, sticking my tongue out at him.
“Keep your voice down!” he growled, urgency underscoring his voice. “Dusk is nearly here, and this part of the jungle is known for its apex predators that hunt at night.
“So what? Let them come. Maybe then you’ll see that I’m the strongest predator in this jungle.”
He gnashed his teeth. “Yeah, and how do you figure that when you haven’t been in it for more than a few hours?”
I blew out a sigh, examining my razor-sharp claws with a dramatic flourish of my wrist. “I am Ruby Renada Knight. Daughter of Thomas Knight and Sapphire Lockheart. The first Helsing to sit on the vampire throne. I can rule any fucking throne I damn please.”
He paused, a wicked expression taking over his face. “Will you prove it?”
I sent him a blank stare. What was he getting at? How was I supposed to prove I could rule if he was keeping me trapped here? Before I could ask him to clarify, his wings shot out, and he launched himself into the air. Leaves and twigs were clipped on his wings, sending a disorienting spray of debris raining over me. I threw up my arm to shield my face, and he caught it, wrenching me from my branch. His arms encircled me, and he twisted his body to take the blow as he brought us crashing down onto a colossal branch, thick enough to hold us both. The second we landed, he twisted so that he was on his hands and knees, keeping me caged between the tree and his titanic body.
It was dangerous being this close to him. I thrashed, kicking and throwing my fists until he caught me by the throat and squeezed. I fell still, hating how much I loved the pressure.
My vision blurred, but I could still make out the gorgeous mass of man looming over me like a dark angel straight from Hell’s bowels. The slide of his thick fingers over my throat, how his thumb rested in the dip of my collarbone. How his feathers quivered with every ripple of his sinewy muscles.
“Prove it.”
“Prove what?” I gasped as his hips settled between my thighs, a razor’s edge close to a fucking aneurism.
His lips curved into a smug-ass grin. He knew exactly what he was doing to me. “Prove to me you can rule any throne by taking over my father’s.”
