I wantedsex. Rough sex, and I wanted blood.
But just as my eyes began to dilate and my vampiric magic rose, a kernel of my old self, the true Primelle Hollaran, sparked.
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced my fangs to stay hidden. It was bad enough how I’d reacted to Nathaniel. I wouldn’t compel Kole as well so I could drink his blood.
Instead, I focused on Kole and his pounding cock, and I took every inch of it until the waves were building, and he was pushing me toward a mountainous peak.
We came together only a minute later. A mind-blowing orgasm ripped me in two, and I screamed my pleasure for all to hear.
Kole slammed his mouth to mine as his seed pumped into me, swallowing my scream as he did so, and then thrust into me a final time as he emptied himself completely.
But his claiming magic never came.
The threads that would tie us together as mates were never woven.
I’d been too caught up in controlling my vampire urges and had kept my magic down so much that it couldn’t have reared, and with a start, I realized Kole had done the same.
My eyes widened, and my stomach tightened just as Kole slipped out.
Not looking at me, he pushed away until he was standing at my bedside and roughly slipping back into his clothes. Following that, he reharnessed his sword until he was the portrait of a dutiful warrior.
But shame filled his aura, horrific shame. “Gods, I just—” He ran a hand down his face, not looking at me.
I was vaguely aware that I was still naked, and Kole had likely felt how cold my entire body was while we fucked. But he didn’t comment, and that awful feeling in my stomach spread as it hit me.
He’d kept his magic in check so as not to fully enact our bond.
He’d chosennotto complete it.
“Kole?” I said, my voice trembling.
“I’m sorry,” he rasped. “I’m so fucking sorry.” Anger, hurt, and betrayal filled his aura.
But even though he’d been rough with me, even though he’d taken me out of anger and not love, I’d wanted it. I was as much to blame for what had just happened between us as he was.
My dry throat bobbed in a swallow, and I wanted to stab myself that I’d caused our bond to becomethis, this ugly thing between us.
I hated that I’d hurt him so deeply by feeling attracted to Nathaniel and wanting to bed the lordling, even if it was a feeling I couldn’t control. And I hated that Kole had acted on his baser instincts and roughly fucked me in response.
“I’m sorry too.” I crawled across the bed toward him, still naked, and even though he finally looked at me, his eyes glowing while his nostrils flared as he drank me in, his jaw clenched even harder.
He abruptly turned away, and it felt as if everything inside me came crashing down.
“I can’t, Prim. What I just did—” He shook his head. “I can’t. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said tersely.
“Kole, wait!” But even though I lunged forward and tried to reach him, he disappeared in a blast of mistphasing magic.
There wasno way I could sleep. Everything was falling apart.
It was near eleven at night, and I stood at the window. Nathaniel’s folder sat on my bedside table. I knew I needed toread it, but I couldn’t. My heart was breaking, so much so that I couldn’t concentrate.
But even though my soul had been sliced in two following Kole’s departure, it didn’t stop my uncle’s command from taking hold of me. It didn’t stop my soul from being minced into tiny pieces.
Only an hour after Kole had left, I’d found my father, gotten him alone, and then raped his mind. He now was firmly aligned with Lordling Torleaf’s delusional beliefs that creating mining tunnels with Stonewild was a good idea and would be financially prosperous for our kingdom.
I had no doubt the mines would be brought to fruition, and my uncle would be heartily compensated because of it, but it was quite possible House Torleaf would only bleed rulibs from it.
Tears filled my eyes. I didn’t want to think about everything I’d done tonight, but it was impossible not to.
