Thrall of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 4) by Bella Klaus (elon musk reading list .txt) 📕

replaced by a pair of hands encircling my wrists and pinning them to the bed.

My heart leapfrogged to the back of my throat and every muscle in my body trembled. The scent of sandalwood and musk and woodsmoke filled my nostrils, making my head spin. My lips parted to let out ragged breaths, and despite the danger of being so close to an enraged Valentine, the pulse between my legs pounded as hard as my heart.

He lowered his lips to my ear, engulfing me with his larger body. “Kresnik is my master, but I am yours. I take care of what belongs to me.”

Heat rose to the surface of my skin, and flutters spread from my heart to the muscles of my core. What was wrong with me? I was probably under the biggest death sentence of my life, with the man I loved once again about to be manipulated by magic into becoming my executioner, but my body thought this was a prelude to pleasure.

I squirmed beneath him, trying to shake off his overpowering presence. “So that growling was the noise a dog makes when his master takes away a treat?”

Valentine nipped at my ear, making me shriek. “Precisely. And if you don’t behave yourself, I’ll lock you in my kennel.”

My heart sank, and prickly heat rushed to the backs of my eyes. Wasn’t there a part of Valentine who loved me more than others? The part that had ended his own life so that he wouldn’t cause my death? I blinked, and two fat tears rolled down my cheeks.

He drew back, his brows furrowing. “Innamorata.”

“Don’t call me that,” I whispered.

“Stop resisting Lord Kresnik,” he said. “His power is absolute.”

He said it again, and a denial sprang to my lips. I wanted to tell him about the sparks of magic I’d made earlier today and how Kresnik’s failure to reduce that man to ashes hadn’t been a coincidence. But a surge of self-preservation clamped my lips shut.

The last thing I wanted was to make Valentine feel conflicted about that revelation. It was a miracle that he had spoken up today in my favor. While he was under the influence of the Mage King, he hadn’t hesitated to hand me over when commanded.

“What are we going to do about tonight?” I asked.

Valentine’s hand released my wrist, slid down my arm, and settled on my breast. He rubbed tight circles over my nipples, making them tingle. “We’ll go, of course.”

“What?”

“It will be an honor to accompany Our Lord on his first foray into the outside world.” He lowered his gaze to my neck and ran his tongue across his lips.

“Don’t you think it might be a trap?” I asked.

Valentine snorted. “You didn’t see how he dealt with the Demon King. Lord Kresnik’s power is—”

“Absolute,” I snarled. “I got the message the last two times you said it.”

Valentine’s eyes narrowed. “Perhaps you need a little thrall to stay out of trouble tonight.”

“No,” I blurted. “I know my place now. I’ll be good.”

He continued staring at me as though debating whether or not to keep me under the influence for our dinner date with Kresnik. Valentine’s hand continued to caress my breast, and the sweep of his thumb against my nipples sent sparks of pleasure to my core.

I reached out with my free hand and slipped it down his broad back, letting it settle on his glutes. “Cross my heart,” I said in a voice soft enough to make myself cringe. “I’ll be an obedient pet but I’m just worried there’s nothing nice to wear.”

He lowered his nose to my neck, took a deep sniff, and hummed. Apparently, my arousal had convinced him that I was telling the truth. Maybe I was. Direct confrontation didn’t work with people far more powerful than me and I already had a spy who could sneak in and out of places without being detected. I needed to stick to my plan of working against Kresnik from the shadows.

“The wardrobe is full of beautiful dresses,” Valentine drawled. “Wear the green.”

“Alright.”

Valentine wrapped an arm around the small of my back and captured my lips in a kiss that was both domineering and possessive. I relaxed my muscles and let him plunder my mouth.

The last thing I wanted was to go anywhere with Valentine when Kresnik was around to command him, but tonight might be an opportunity to prove to them both that I had learned my lesson and was willing to obey.

As I lay beneath Valentine, clinging onto his back as he lavished me with toe-curling kisses, I cracked an eye open, looking out for signs that Hades was in the room. The air was still without even a dust mote. Perhaps he would show himself while I was alone.

Chapter Ten

After a few more of those kisses, I melted beneath Valentine’s larger body, letting him lavish me with his tongue. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I arched my back, pushing our bodies together. Valentine growled his approval and slipped a hand beneath my sweater and would have pulled it off if a knock hadn’t sounded on the door.

Valentine stilled. “Who is that?”

“General Sargon?” said Aurora’s voice from behind the door. “Our Lord says that a car will pick you up in an hour.”

He released my wrist and pulled away, leaving me devoid of his warmth, and stalked to the door where he exchanged some words with Aurora. She leaned to the side, her gaze meeting mine through the gap between his body and the doorframe.

Unease settled across the lining of my stomach. Was she taking one last look at me before Kresnik got rid of me tonight? I slid off the bed and headed to the drinks cabinet, where crystal glasses sat upon its open shelves among bottles of spirits and wine. Were they supposed to be for me? I’d never seen Valentine consume anything but blood.

Dropping to my knees, I opened the refrigerator at the bottom of the cabinet, and let out a tiny