Or left him with an aching, hard cock that didn't seem to soften, no matter how many people were in the room.
It had to be some fated bride instinct magic. Or possibly his shifter side trying to push him toward fucking her to revel in the scent of her orgasm. His vampire side may be dominant, but the shifter side had needs too.
He barely resisted running a hand over his face.Bloody hell.He needed her to change clothes, and sooner rather than later, or he'd never be able to think clearly.
He growled for good measure, but his fated bride kept her back to him, ignoring him.
Because of course she wouldn't be intimidated by him. That would be too easy, and Stone's life had never been fucking easy.
Yesenia chuckled and he glared at her. She gestured toward the prickly fae witch. "Say hello to Reika, Stone. I think you've finally met your match."
* * *
Reika's heart pounded,grateful the heat of the range kept everyone from seeing her blush.
True, the fire from the coals was hella hot, and having a tall, broad-shouldered male standing less than a foot away, radiating his own inferno, didn't help.
But the blush was from touching him and having him stare down at her with his intense, almost golden gaze. His brown hair and chiseled jaw all but screamed masculine, as did his broad chest. A solid, muscled chest, judging from when she thrust the coat back at him.
And instead of being super pale like most white vampires, he was tanned, as if he spent time in the sun.
Most vampires couldn't handle that much sunshine, but half vampires could.
If she were back home and had met the tanned, sexy, growly male, she'd probably be a bit more charming. Might even try to flirt with him, as bad at it as she was.
But a hungry Reika was a cranky one, and she didn't have the wherewithal to be charming or flirtatious. Besides, if she were his fated one, he'd want to claim her regardless.
Especially since he'd go crazy if she didn't sleep with him and let him drink from her once.
So screw putting on airs; she was going to be herself.
After all, Yesenia had said to stand up for herself from the get go since nineteenth century males could be a little domineering. And if you didn't start training them right away, they'd try to contain you into what would be a suffocating box for any modern female.
Not wanting to think more about fated ones, or Stone's tall, large body thrusting over her, Reika went to the large table that sat smack dab in the middle of the room. The kitchen maid had already laid out the ingredients she'd asked for, thank goodness.
And while she'd have bread baking soon enough—the cook had taken one look at Reika, ordered her out of the kitchen, and quit when Yesenia told her no, which meant she would have to teach the remaining kitchen maids how to do it—she'd start with omelets.
As she chopped the vegetables and then whisked the eggs and milk, she did her best not to lift her head and stare at Stone.
But she could feel his gaze. Oh, how she could feel his gaze. It was like some sort of heated laser beam aimed straight at her.
Was it always this way between fated ones? Or was it just because the male didn't say much and had the most intense eyes she'd ever seen?
She took everything to the stove and glanced quickly to the side of the room. Stone had his arms crossed over his chest, a hard expression on his face.
For a split second, she wondered if he ever smiled, let alone laughed.
While she should just ignore him, she could use his help in the kitchen since most of the kitchen staff had left with the cook. And she needed to be able to concentrate if she wasn't going to burn her first attempt on the weird-ass cast iron stove. She gestured with her head. "The ingredients and recipe for the bread is over there. Can you mix it all up for me while I cook this?"
He blinked. "What?"
She smiled. "Don't you want to be useful?"
"I—" He started and then stopped.
Yesenia laughed from her stool at one end of the long table but didn't interject.
Reika raised an eyebrow the way she did with employees who didn't listen. "You can either help or get out of my kitchen. I need to concentrate and your staring at me isn't helping."