Shadow Of The Vampire. Meagan Hatfield

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СКАЧАТЬ vampire bite, all the arrogant certainty drained out of him. Fury tackled him from behind, taking its place. The force blinded him, nearly making him black out.

       It should be me at her vein. Will be me. No one else.

      The words repeated a litany in his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping to quell the voices along with his vision. It didn’t work.

      Lips curling tight, he snatched her chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Have something you’d like to explain to me?”

      The flesh beneath his finger trembled, but she did not answer. Again, his gaze fell to the two teeth marks on her throat. Using his forefinger, he slid his long black nail over the bite. At the twinge, she hissed in a breath. He smiled at the sound and brought his finger to his lips, slipping it between them. At the taste of her blood on his tongue, light burst behind his eyes and he instantly grew hard. Her power surged through him like a jolt of electricity. Sucking in a breath, he rode the wave, coming close to orgasm as it crested and lapped through every nerve ending in his body.

      A low growl of dominance bubbled up from his chest.

      None of his men would dare bite her. It was that beast. He had fed from her. Rage at that dragon thing and Alexia for allowing him to absorb her power, power that rightfully belonged to him, engulfed him. The wound on her pale neck mocked him, his power, his plan. He could almost hear the dark prince laughing at him from beyond the Fatum.

      Quaking in anger, he wanted to rip Alexia’s head off, but settled for shoving her back with a push instead.

      “Hold him up,” he shouted, turning back to the soldiers. The dragon groaned, his face a mask of pain as the men seized him under the armpits and forced him to his knees.

      Lotharus stared down with disgust in his eyes at the filthy flying rat. These creatures were below his race. For centuries, vampires had lived amongst human civilizations, evolving alongside them. The dragons rejected change and kept to the shadows, clinging to their barbaric ways. Shameful beasts. They reeked of animal. He could smell this dragon’s filth, taste it in his mouth, feel it smother and cling to him like a wet towel.

      Squatting, he fisted the beast’s hair, wrenching his head up to meet his gaze. With his other hand, he forced his jaw open to inspect his teeth. Two canines similar to those he’d looked at in the mirror all his life stared back at him. “Interesting.”

      The dragon growled in his throat and the two fangs lengthened, hanging over his lips. “Very interesting. It appears there is more to you than meets the eye, Derkein.”

      He lowered his head even further, wanting to be sure his next words rang clear as a bell in the dragon’s ears and only his ears. “Or should I call you Declan?”

      A flash of fear passed over the dragon’s face before his features twisted into a study of rage. Like a leashed pit bull, he lunged for Lotharus. The soldiers held him in check, as Lotharus knew they would. Slowly, he stood, giving a nod to the guards.

      “Take him to the dungeon.” Then he turned to Alexia who stood watchfully in the corner. “Let us see what he knows of our lost little bauble, hmm?”

      A ripple of sickness folded over Alexia. She turned, heading toward her chamber, needing some free air, some space to think.

      Lotharus’s hand snaked out, his long fingers digging into her flesh. “Where are you going?”

      “I don’t feel well,” Alexia muttered. The anger pouring off him was palpable and cold. She wanted nothing more than to get away from him. But his grip on her arm tightened.

      “Perhaps it is because you let him feed from you?”

      “I didn’t let him,” she snapped, tugging her arm free. “He attacked me.”

      Lotharus offered her a smile that didn’t reach his onyx eyes. The next thing she knew, she was airborne, flying across the room. Her back slammed painfully against the far wall, and the side of her face went numb from the force of his blow. She cupped her cheek protectively, staring in shock as Lotharus straightened the cuffs of his suit jacket as though he’d merely swatted a fly.

      “You will not lie to me again, Alexia. You know I do not approve.”

      “Lie?” she began, but the look he tossed her froze the words on her tongue.

      With lightning-fast speed only ancients possessed, he crossed the room in a flash and stood in front of her. Dragging her to her feet, he pinned her between him and the wall at her back. At the feel of his erection digging into her hip, she sucked in a breath.

      “Yes, lie,” he seethed. “I saw you kiss him.”

      Alexia swallowed down the acrid taste of bile rising in her throat and pressed back against the wall. He leaned closer. So close his nose brushed hers. “I saw your body writhing beneath his, begging for him to claim you.” The hot breath of his words fanned against her neck before he swooped, licking the wound. His low groan vibrated against her throat and a shudder moved through his body. That male part of him grew harder, pressing more insistently against her.

      “I watched you grab his face,” he said against her neck, sliding his fingers through her hair. “Saw you pull his mouth closer.” With a feral snarl, he dug his fingers into her scalp, pressing his mouth against her. Alexia’s stomach rolled when he forced his tongue into her mouth, flopping it around with the finesse of a fish.

      Thankfully, it was over almost as soon as it had started. He didn’t enjoy kissing. Didn’t do it with the dragon lord’s passion.

      Lotharus pulled back. His head cocked to the side as his bottomless eyes regarded her. “Thinking of him, are you?”

      Alexia swallowed.

      “So am I.” He released her. She breathed deep, filling her lungs with the air she’d been depriving them of.

      “I think I’ll go and see if our soldiers have broken that bird yet.”

      Vivid images of the dragon fighting earlier flashed across her mind. He was so strong, so proud. He would not fall, would not go down on bended knee before Lotharus.

      “You are coming with me, aren’t you? After all, torture is your forte.”

      Chapter Three

      DETERMINED TO BREAK the dense fog that had clouded around her mind since the dragon’s arrival, Alexia notched up her chin and fell into step behind Lotharus. After descending the spiral stair, they maneuvered down the narrow corridor to the dungeon. The dark walls on either side of them wept. Musty water and stale minerals filled the air. The scents comforted her like a reassuring security blanket would a child. She’d made this trip dozens of times. This was what she did, what she was good at. Although she never found the twisted pleasure Lotharus did in torture, she’d always successfully retrieved information she needed from her captives.

      And she needed that crystal.

      The sharp crack of a whip followed by a tensed, muffled groan pierced the quiet. She stopped, her heart pounding in her ears. The whip lashed again. At the answering grunt of pain, the bite mark on her neck burned. Alexia fingered the sensitive flesh, covering it with a curtain of her hair when Lotharus looked over his shoulder at her.

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