He brushed the hair back from my face and placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. “Me too.”
We lapsed into silence, each of us in our own heads. My thoughts turned from his past toward our tenuous future. My mother was arriving in just a few hours. What might I say to compel her to forgo her own wedding plans for me? To let me have Vasil, the only man I could ever want?
“Will you bite me?” I asked.
He was silent for a spell, though I knew he’d heard me. “Do you think it’s a good idea to renew our bond with the uncertainty that lay before us?” he finally asked.
“No, but I want it anyway.”
“I want it too,” he said somewhat sadly.
I bared my neck to him as an invitation. He inhaled and shifted, took hold of my chin with one hand. I sunk into the pleasure of his teeth piercing my flesh. If my body weren’talready so wrung out, I likely would have orgasmed again, but this time, I only let the pleasure course through me in soft waves, riding the gentle high.
“Thank you, Master,” I said when he’d finished and was licking the wound to heal it.
“You’re welcome, my sweet prince.”
My eyes shuttered, on the verge of slumber. I’d never been this content before, so sated and at peace with myself. The hollows that my father’s death and my mother’s resentment had left in my psyche, Vasil filled them with tenderness, loyalty, and devotion. Perhaps he didn’t love me, not yet, maybe not ever, but the way he touched me and cared for me was more than I needed. I could love him enough for the both of us. I swore to the Goddess Imogen that I would marry Lord Vasil and become his consort, permanently, irrevocably. My mother’s machinations be damned.
I’d hold my ground this time, and I would win.
Chapter 19
Lord Vasil
It wasn’t until I heard the resounding bang on my dungeon door that I realized we’d overslept. I’d only meant to nap a little after ministering to Cedrych’s tenderest places, but the soporific haze had caught up with me, and I’d fallen into a deep, peaceful sleep.
Now we were each scrambling to redress in yesterday’s clothing while the queen and her retinue waited for us in my parlor. At least I could count on my servants to make sure the queen had proper refreshments. I didn’t need her to be hungry in addition to cross at our tardiness.
“How do I look?” Cedrych asked, wide-eyed and disheveled. He looked like he’d been recently and thoroughly fucked, which the queen would surely notice. The smell of our sex was potent, even for a non-vampyre. I tried to order his hair but gave up at the utter unruliness of his curls. They simply would not be tamed.
“Dashing,” I said at last. “And me?”
“Handsome as ever,” he said with a boyish grin. I smacked his ass lightly and ushered him up the staircase while admiring the view. Anika accompanied us into the elevator with a sideways glance, and a few minutes later we were entering theparlor where the queen was already seated and sampling an array of tiny confections.
“Your Majesty,” I said and bowed deeply.
“Mother,” Cedrych said with a tidy, practiced bow, sounding far less enthused.
She rose from the table in her regal, unhurried way, pausing to pull the train of her dress to the side. An attendant rushed up to further arrange it. Then the queen approached us both with a calculating look, her eyes scrolling me from head to foot before turning her scrutiny on her son. From her knowing expression I gathered she’d concluded her son had been recently tumbled and was only considering whether to address it.
“Lord Vasil,” she said and offered her hand for me to kiss her emerald signet ring, which I proceeded to do. “Cedrych,” she said next and leaned in to allow him a chaste peck on her powdered cheek. Her eyes alighted on the betrothal bite, freshly marked, and she shot me a recriminating look. I cleared my throat and stood my ground, unashamed of my claim or that she’d seen it.
“Please, let me offer you some tea, Your Majesty,” I said as I escorted her back to the table. I waited for her to sit, pushed in her chair, then poured her a glass of spiced black tea before taking my own seat at the table. Cedrych took his time getting comfortable, and I was glad for the cushion to ease his tender backside.
“Have you been riding lately?” the queen asked, directing the question at her son.
“No, why do you ask?” he replied, suspicious.
“You appear as if you’re sore.”
Face now aflame, he plucked up a folded napkin and shook it out. “I’m fine, Mother, no need to worry yourself.”
The queen then addressed me. “In the fae realm it is considered uncouth to leave marks on members of the royal family.”
Cedrych glared at her and reached up to adjust his collar, a poor attempt at hiding the bite. I rested one hand on his shoulder to soothe him.
“In my realm, we claim what is ours,” I told the queen. “Surely you’re familiar with the betrothal bite, Your Majesty? I marked your son moons ago when we first decided to embark on this arrangement.”
