Bonds of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 7) by Bella Klaus (reading e books .txt) 📕

A storm of sensations thundered through my body, and pleasure swept through me like a tornado. I convulsed around Valentine’s larger body, holding onto him as though he was the only thing keeping me from being swept away.

As Valentine drank from my vein, his growl tore through my ears, and with one last thrust, he shuddered, filling me with jet after jet of warm fluid.

My climax continued long after he licked the wound clean, after he positioned me against the wall and rode it out with the grinding of his hips, and after he’d set me on my feet and turned off the spray.

“Are you alright?” He stared down at me with a curious smile.

I shook my head. “How many minutes do we have left?”

His gaze darted to a spot behind me on the right. “Five.”

“Bloody hell.” I stumbled forward with my arms splayed, catching myself on his pecs. “We need to get dressed, dry our hair, collect my samples, and—”

Valentine placed a finger on my lips. “There’s plenty of time.”

“What?”

“Vampire speed.” He flashed me a knowing grin.

“Right,” I said through panting breaths. “I’ll just stand here, then and you can whizz around the cabin, finding me something to wear.”

His frown deepened. “Are you hungry?”

I slumped against the shower wall. “Ask me again once I’ve recovered from that last orgasm.”

Valentine burst into a blur of speed that made my head spin. I was sure he’d left the bathroom a few times, but it was hard to tell with all the condensation still lingering in the air. No sooner had I caught my breath than he lifted me into his arms and wiped me down with a towel that made me wriggle like a tickled cat.

“Slow down,” I said with a giggle.

He set me back on my feet in front of the mirror, dressed in a turtleneck and a pair of black pants more suited to Audrey Hepburn. He’d even swept my damp hair into a ponytail.

Valentine stepped toward me and grinned, already dressed in a similar outfit with his cloak draped over his shoulders. “I would have chosen green, but the train’s store had a limited selection.”

I turned in a circle, marveling in the mirror at how svelte and sophisticated I looked in the pants tailored around my modest curves. “Why would I ever need to get ready in the morning when I have you?”

“Don’t get used to it,” he said with a chuckle. “I rather enjoy watching you dress and undress yourself.”

Minutes later, the Express stopped at Atlantis Central, and Valentine helped me into the reaper cloak. I stepped out of the cabin into a hallway of mahogany panels with doors down one side and tall windows down the other.

Outside, supernaturals waited on the platform. Some of them had luggage and were likely boarding the Express, others stepped back, seeming to wait for another train. Everyone looked magical, from the faeries with their horns and wings on display to red-skinned demons, ogres, half-transformed shifters, and wizards holding tall staffs that glowed with power.

Life certainly was different in a large nation of supernaturals, down to the public transport. In Logris, we only had the bus.

Valentine placed a protective hand on the small of my back and guided me off the train, which smelled of fresh rain, mingled with the aroma of roasted coffee beans.

The station reminded me of the interior of a cathedral with its impossibly tall walls, vaulted ceilings, and the abundance of stained glass. Light streamed in through arched windows that depicted green landscapes of trees and lakes and animals, much like how humans might imagine the Garden of Eden.

“Would you like a drink?” Valentine asked as we approached what appeared to be an unmanned coffee booth.

It looked like a London telephone box painted green and covered with a huge parasol. Its interior consisted of shelves containing stainless steel appliances at eye and waist level, and a glass refrigerator filled the bottom. Paper cups took up its upper levels, and an array of snacks floated in front of its open door.

My gaze zoomed in on the display of choux buns filled with cacao cream and topped with melted chocolate. Saliva flooded my mouth. “Do they have mochaccinos?”

One of the paper cups floated down from the bottom, and hovered beneath the nozzle of a machine that looked part-barista machine and part-ice cream maker. I stepped back, wondering if this was operated by magic or an invisible employee.

When my drink was ready, Valentine took the insulated cup, dropped a couple of bronze coins into thin air, and steered me toward the end of the platform with an arm around my shoulder. We paused to let a family of pointy-eared faeries race past, floating a cloud of miniaturized cases.

I turned to meet his violet eyes. “How can you know when an invisible person is near if they’re cloaking their magic and scent?”

“My uncle taught me the basics of counter-subterfuge.” He handed me the cup.

“Prince Draconius?” I inhaled my drink’s chocolate and coffee scent.

“Unfortunately,” he replied.

“At least that explains how Nonaginta-Novem managed to track my location in that slaughterhouse,” I muttered under my breath.

An announcement sounded over the loudspeaker, and the Express pulled out of the station. The image of encrusted snake bile slammed into the back of my mind, and my breath caught. “Did we forget—”

“Your glass jar is in my pocket,” he replied with a smile.

A relieved breath escaped my lungs, and I returned his smile with a grin. “Why haven’t you ever taken me here before?”

“Atlantis?” He swept a dismissive glance across the platform as though he’d seen the station a hundred times and the trinket sellers and souvenir booths we passed were now commonplace. “It’s not nearly as interesting as exploring the Human World with you.”

“Can we explore?” I asked.

He peered down at me with a frown. “You just escaped an undetermined amount of time with an immortal deity bent on stealing your soul.”

“Right.” I took a sip of my