There was only one problem. Aralynn was in no way prepared to take on the duties that belonged to his harem of doneuses. To ask her to donate was impossible. She’d become his battle partner and taking from her vein was definitely crossing the line.
“I’m so glad Elias is safe.”
“Me, too.” Brilliant response.
She glanced at him quickly, a brief fluttering of her eyelashes in his direction then away as she stared out into the night. Something was on her mind.
He flared his nostrils and drew in a slow deep breath, taking in every subtle scent of her. Besides the heightened quality of her blood, he could now smell her growing desire for him. The wolf wanted him … bad.
He salivated. Aralynn was athletic and strong. She’d make a perfect lover for him. He’d wanted her all this time, craved her in ways he’d never before experienced.
Her red hair was wild around her shoulders. But the upper half was pulled back and revealed her strong cheekbones. She was a beautiful woman with large brown eyes and arched brows.
Something about her reminded him of Rosamunde in a way he couldn’t explain. But Aralynn hadn’t just served in the Castle Guard, she’d studied under the queen. Apparently, Rosamunde had served as her mentor, which he considered an unfortunate circumstance. Yet he saw little of the queen’s influence in Aralynn. She was an excellent warrior-partner, had all the courage he could ever want in a woman, and she was game for about anything.
Above all, Stone trusted Aralynn. She’d proven herself over and over from the time she first showed up at the Com Center ready to serve.
And yup, he wanted her bad, too.
As though understanding the trend of his thoughts, she slowly turned to face him. Last night, she’d disappeared before his lips had touched hers. But right now he knew something had changed with her. This time, she would stick. He could feel it in his bones. Her brown eyes glittered and her desire became a beautiful resonance moving over his skin.
It would seem she’d finally come around, that they could enjoy each other for a time, while the terrible war against Margetta and her wraith-pairs played out.
She didn’t say anything, but waited, her breaths high in her chest.
Her lips called to him, luscious and full. He was barely a foot away from her now, standing like a massive shadow over her. He was taller than most Guardsmen, and heavily muscled, a perfect counterpoint to her lean female wolf’s body. He didn’t fully understand the hold she had over him, because even the scent of her blood had him rock hard.
His heart pounded in his chest. He’d wanted this from the same night they’d worked together for the first time. She’d had a vision about a busload of troll kids and he’d gone with her to see if her vision was accurate and it had been, down to the last detail.
At the time, a small river had flooded and the bus had tried to cross the bridge. But part of t
he supports had been damaged and threatened to collapse. The driver had started backing up, but one of the supports had given way and the right front wheel had lost traction. He’d basically kept the bus from plunging off the bridge and she’d somehow added a burst of power that had helped him get the bus back on solid ground.
He’d been hooked since.
He doubted Queen Rosamunde would be happy if he established a liaison with Aralynn, yet somehow he didn’t care.
This time, when he drew close, she didn’t pull away or vanish as she had in the past.
Instead, he could feel her surrender like falling into a warm pool of water. He dipped his head ready to take the kiss he’d wanted for so long.
~ ~ ~
Rosamunde stood so close to Stone her whole body vibrated with need. Her heart felt heavy yet excited. She knew what she was doing was very wrong, but she couldn’t help herself. She was a wolf in this moment, Aralynn, who ran missions with Stone, who’d learned to anticipate his thoughts and moves, who’d wanted the vampire like she was a dry desert plant and he was rain.
She could also sense the depth of his blood starvation, a chronic condition that afflicted all mastyrs. Each lived with tremendous pain and she wanted to ease his suffering. Maybe because she knew what it was to endure pain every night, she felt as compassionate as she did.
But it was the thought of his vampire fangs breaching her vein that caused her gaze to fall to his lips.
Sweet Goddess, those lips that she’d dreamed about so many times, dozens in fact since she’d first shown up at his Com Center. But Vojalie was right about one thing. She’d had a thing for Stone since he’d made his first formal visit to Ferrenden Peace.
He leaned in, ready to kiss her, but she put a hand on his chest and met his gaze.
He frowned. “You’re stopping me? Again?”
“No. I wouldn’t be so cruel. I wanted to tell you something. It’s important to me.”
His expression softened. “You can tell me anything.”