“Very well. Come back here.” There was laughter in his voice.
She eased down again and was rewarded with a long, incredibly skillful lap that sent exotic sensations shooting up her spine.
And that was only the start of the delicious pleasure.
Sometimes he traced exotic runes over her jutting clit with the very tip of his tongue. Sometimes he lapped between her folds, or thrust deep into her sex in a maddening tease, or suckled her until the muscles of her thighs danced and quivered.
Amaris had thought herself experienced in the ways of passion, but Raniero taught her differently. He seemed to know her body far better than she did.
And he used that knowledge to whip her into an orgasm that rolled over her and drowned her in sweet fire.
Gods, what lush pleasure. The scent of the Rose flooded Raniero’s head as her taste flowed over his tongue, astringent yet impossibly delicious, reminding him of a juicily ripe persimmon. Warm thighs clasped his head as slender fingers fisted in his hair, demanding and begging by turns.
Driving him mad with frustration.
He ached to touch her, to jerk free from his bonds and tumble her down and thrust his cock deep in that luscious peach of a cunt. But he was helpless.
Yet he’d never felt more powerful. Bound, he explored the power he could wield with only his tongue, his teeth, his lips. Nibbling, sucking, licking, he listened to her helpless cries of pleasure as his balls tightened into burning knots and his aching cock stretched up the length of his belly.
She’d fought for him. She was half his weight and a fraction of his strength, but she’d gone against those towering reptilian monsters to save his life.
Yet he was the one who was supposed to do the saving.
And now her delicate body quivered and jumped against his mouth, right there against his face—so frustratingly far from where he most wanted her.
She came again, her voice lifting in high, helpless cries of pleasure.
He dragged his chin up until he could gaze along the length of her beautiful body. “Fuck me,” Raniero growled at last, unable to take anymore. “Red God’s balls, fuck me.”
She looked down at him with dazed eyes. And then she rose from his face.
For a moment he was afraid she’d leave him like this—aching, furious, his cock hard as a sword hilt.
But then she moved down over his hips and freed his sex from his breeches. He almost moaned in relief. Grabbing the thick shaft of his cock, Amaris impaled herself, sliding the length of him in one deliciously tight swoop. Raniero shivered at the sensation—tight as a cream-slick fist, hot and dazzling.
He threw back his head and ground upward, desperate for the climax that was just inches out of reach.
So damned close.
SEVEN
Raniero stuffed her with mind-blowing sensations, his cock a searing length buried halfway to her throat. Amaris tossed back her head and began to work her thighs, thrusting, grinding, driven by a burning whip of need.
Bracing her hands on his rock-hard belly, she gazed down at him as she rode. His face was drawn tight and stark with hunger, black eyes wild, fangs bared. His long hair tumbled around his bare and brawny shoulders. Sweat and streaks of blood marked his skin, muscles flexing in hard relief with each powerful driving thrust.
She wanted to free him. Wanted to experience all that feral passion, to know exactly what those black eyes promised. To feel his bite, his kiss, his hands on her breasts.
He shouldn’t be any man’s captive. Especially not Korban’s.
Give him your blood, temptation whispered.
She imagined what it would be like—the stinging pain of penetration, the magical connection binding them together in drugging pleasure as he drank.
She could almost see his big body surging with the power of her blood, snapping the chains. The guards would have no chance against him. He’d free her and Marin, and they’d flee together.
Red God, she wanted to trust him. And every instinct she had swore he’d never play her false.
He surged upward so hard he lifted her clear of the bed, his body bending into a bow until only shoulders and heels touched the pallet.
Her climax hit like a ball of fire, blazing its way up her spine, detonating in her skull. She screamed, dimly aware of his roar of pleasure as he found his own peak.
Until she collapsed over him, both of them gasping, sweating skin to skin in a dazed heap.
Raniero had known Blood Roses—too well, in fact. His stepmother had only been the first. They might be beautiful and seductive, might even seem kind if it suited the moment’s purposes. Yet their focus was always on their own advancement. Any vampire who forgot that was a fool who’d soon find himself paying the price for his gullibility who’d soon find himself paying the price for his gullibility.
As he had.
But none of those women would have risked their lives as she’d done.
Still, that left him with one nagging question. He asked it as they lay together, panting in the limp aftermath of passion. “Why do you work with Korban? Especially considering he seems to have formed some kind of alliance with the Varil.”
She lifted her head off his chest and met his gaze, her sensual lips pulling tight. “He seeks a way to breach the Great Barrier. He’s at work on the spell now. He believes his allies will make him ruler of Ourania after the conquest.” Amaris snorted, a surprisingly indelicate sound. “More like he’ll find himself king of rotting corpses.”
“So why in the name of all the gods do you aid him? Even if King Ferran manages to drive the Varil back and repair the breech, hundreds will die. And without those peasants to work the fields, there’ll be famine. Death will pile on death.”
“I know.” She rested her hands on his chest and propped her chin on them, her expression brooding.
“Then free me.” Raniero lifted his head to meet her eyes in urgency. “At least let me taste your blood that I might free myself. I can alert the king and stop Korban before he destroys us all.”
She considered his proposal for a long moment before she finally shook her head. “It’s not so simple.”
“But it is.” He searched her face. She looked torn, as though she struggled with herself. “If you fear his threats, I can protect you. I have power, and the skill to use it. I would not be the king’s investigator otherwise. I can get you away from that madman and his plots.”
“It’s not myself I fear for.”
“Then who?” When her eyes slid away from his, he felt an inexplicable surge of jealousy. “A lover?”
Amaris blinked at that, and a quick, ironic smile flashed across her face. “Hardly.” She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself to trust him. “It’s my sister. She is but three years old, an innocent, yet she has great potential power. That’s why Korban sent my father to kidnap her. Tannaz murdered my mother and stepfather and forced us to accompany him.”
Suddenly too much became far too clear. “Breaching the Great Barrier will require vast magical resources. He means to sacrifice the child for the power it will give him.”
She nodded tightly. “The Varil gave him a magical object called the Blood Orb, so called because it requires a death to trigger it. Fortunately, there’s some part of the spell he still hasn’t mastered. Once he does . . .”
“The child is dead.” He flexed his fists restlessly. “Amaris, surely you see that I am the only chance you and your sister have. But we must act now, before . . .”
She bit her lip.
He ground his teeth. “You don’t trust me.”
“If you had my father, you would know why.” She grimaced. “And my lover once tried to rape me. So no, I do not find trust an easy thing.”