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

also been Kresnik’s target, considering the previous Vampire King had served him so well.

I bowed my head. This wasn’t my Valentine, and as soon as I got the chance to hear what Aurora had to say, I might be able to save him from this magical bondage.

Valentine’s warm fingers slid beneath my chin and tilted my head up so our gazes met. Candlelight reflected in his red eyes, making them dance with malice.

I licked my lips. “My father summoned me this morning to test my magic.”

“You should have returned to your room afterward.” His other arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer.

“I was hungry,” I said. “A girl needs to eat three times a day.”

His hardness pressed into my belly, and a breath caught in the back of my throat. The corner of his mouth curled into a smile, making his eyes twinkle. It was the kind of smirk that said he had something for me if I needed sustenance.

Maybe if I played along, I could get through this with my senses intact.

“Thank you for bringing Macavity.” I placed my palms on his chest and pressed a kiss on his jaw. “It was a pleasant surprise to wake up next to him.”

Valentine stared at my lips with a hunger in his eyes that said he wasn’t just going to take my blood today.

“Let me change Aurora’s dressings, and I’ll join you upstairs,” I said with a wink.

Valentine scooped me bridal-style into his arms, making me squeak. Without a word, he sped out of the dimly lit room, through the infirmary, and through the curving hallway.

I whacked him on the chest. “You were supposed to let me finish. Aurora just got—”

“Aurora Griffin has fallen out of favor with Our Lord,” he said as he passed through the wards that led to Kenwood House.

“For failing a mission?” I wrapped an arm around the back of his neck.

He paused halfway up the stairs and glowered into my eyes. “What do you know of Aurora’s task?”

“Only what you told me.” The words tumbled out of my mouth, and I stared into my lap. The last thing I needed was to have him rummage through my mind and discover that I knew about the failed plan to steal a phoenix from the realm of the gods. I also didn’t want Valentine finding out that a part of Hades had escaped his jar.

Valentine continued staring at me without making a move toward our room.

My breath quickened. “Last night when Kresnik wasn’t in the limo, and you said she and a few others were performing a ritual. And I don’t know if it failed or not, but when I went to the infirmary—”

“For what?” His eyes narrowed.

“I wanted to check my blood count.”

Valentine snorted. “That quell I gave you will maintain your blood levels.”

“I forgot.”

“Your punishments are mounting.” He continued up the stairs.

At this point, I should have felt relieved that he wasn’t taking me to Kresnik, but I clenched my teeth at the arrogance of his last comment. “Why does everything with you have to be a punishment? You weren’t like this when you were alive.”

“If I had trained you properly from the start, I wouldn’t have to contend with this level of defiance,” he growled.

My shoulders stiffened, and I clenched my hands into fists. Valentine had never complained that I had disobeyed him while he was alive, and neither had his soul.

Sure, he’d hinted annoyance or alarm when he thought I was about to do something reckless, but he’d been decent enough to present the information and ask me to make the right choice. Preternatural Valentine was a tyrant, and now that he was under the control of Kresnik, his overbearingness had become worse.

At the top of the stairs, he sped down the hallway and into our room, where he deposited me on the rug.

I scrambled to my feet and backed away, only to hit my ass on the footboard of the four-poster bed. Pale light streamed into the windows on our left, and fire crackled within the hearth on my right.

“Strip,” he said.

I glanced from side to side, looking for a familiar little face to emerge from beneath the furniture. When the cat didn’t show himself, I folded my arms across my chest. “Where’s Macavity?”

“He asked to leave.”

“What?” I frowned.

“He wanted to hunt.” Valentine advanced toward me, his gaze lingering on my neck. “Now take off your clothes.”

“I’m not getting naked for you.”

His eyes darkened, and his lips curled into a wicked smile. “Innamorata,” he said in a voice of smoke. “Are you challenging me?”

A shiver skittered down my spine.

“Maybe I am.” I stepped forward and prodded him in the chest. “Maybe deep down, you also love to hunt.”

A growl reverberated in the back of his throat, and he bared his teeth, seeming distracted from punishing me. At least for now.

“I was right.” I slid my hands up his chest, which vibrated with a rumbling purr.

It looked like I might be able to escape this encounter sober enough to return to Aurora for her to finish what she’d been saying about helping me. If she knew Kresnik’s secrets, I might never need to help Hades.

My hands slid down his hard abs and settled on his belt. “The big, bad vampire likes a challenge.” One of my hands slid down to the erection straining against his pants. “And when I say big—”

Valentine’s lips crashed on mine in a demanding kiss that had me pinned against one of the posts. I flung an arm around his neck and melted against his larger, harder body. Valentine hadn’t even given me the chance to finish my dirty talk. If I could get him to realize he preferred me alert, I might even get the chance to sneak out for a few minutes to find out the information I needed to regain my powers and defeat Kresnik.

He slid his arms beneath my reaper cloak and peeled the garment off my shoulders. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”

“So are you.”