Page 199 of Collared by the Vampire Prince

Mark frees himself and tears my skirt out of his way.

I tense as the blunt head of his cock presses against me, hard and warm and repulsive. I forget how to scream, my mouth opening soundlessly. He pushes, and I fight to calm myself as I wait for the pain I’ve heard can come.

It’s uncomfortable, but he fails to breach me—my body will not yield.

Pain bites through me as he tries again, harder.

“Can’t get it up, Mark?” someone taunts.

“Shut up.” He pulls back, breathing heavily. “It’s not my fault. She’s dry as a fucking bone.”

“I’ll fetch the lubricant,” Chelsea says, moving towards the door.

“No,” Mark says. “Leave it. I’ll get her wet.”

“Mark, wait,” I breathe.

He lines himself up again.

I grit my teeth as he presses harder, trying to force my body open around him. “Stop,” I gasp.

“Just a little more.”

“Mark, stop,” Chelsea snaps. “You’re hurting her.”

A fist hammers against the door.

“Who is that?” someone asks.

“Ignore it.” Mark bears down on me again.

I wince as he tries once more to force himself inside me while the pounding grows louder.

“Shouldn’t I see who it is?” Chelsea asks, edging towards the door.

“I said leave it,” Mark snaps.

The door shudders beneath a final blow. The latch splinters, and it flies open.

A cold draught tears through the attic, extinguishing half the candles, and Mark lifts his head. A dark figure fills the doorway, tall and lean against the dim stairwell behind him. Two eyes burn crimson in the gloom.

I blink, trying to make him out, but a candle gutters beside me, its flame dazzling my night vision and reducing the figure to a predator bathed in shadow.

Then he steps into the candlelight.

Nathaniel.

“The prince,” someone whispers.

His hair is dishevelled, his black coat flung open, his neckcloth loose and his shirt open at the throat. His chest rises and falls with hard, uneven breaths, as though he has run the length of the Academy.

His burning gaze sweeps over the mattresses and the twelve males before finding Mark between my legs. Then it lands on me. My heart lurches unpleasantly.

Naked fear strains his face. Then he sees my skirt above my thighs and Mark pinning me down. His expression empties. His face turns ghostly white. He releases a vicious hiss that makes every alpha flinch.

“Get. Off. Her.”

My cheeks heat as I lie frozen beneath Mark. Of all the ways Nathaniel could have found me, it had to be like this?