Wicked Vampire Prince by Bella Klaus

Chapter Fourteen

Draco settled me onto the cushions and lay at my side, staring down at me with a look of hunger that made the pulse between my legs pound. I ran my fingers over the contours of his cheekbones, marveling that something so beautiful could be interested in an inexperienced nun.

He wrapped his fingers around my wrist and brought the back of my hand to his lips. “You’re a proud, willful creature.” Each kiss he placed on my knuckles sent an explosion of pleasure across my skin. “Even as I have you under my command, you still resist.”

“I can’t stop looking at you.”

His deep, throaty laugh made my insides tingle. “And I can barely remember how you look beneath all that fabric,” he said. “Take it off.”

“Alright.”

He drew back, giving me space to unbutton my coat. My breath hitched. Part of me had hoped he would do the undressing, but then I remembered that no one but a nun could remove her own habit.

As soon as I unfastened the coat, I shouldered it off, letting it fall to the cushions.

Draco leaned forward, his eyes wide, his lips parted.

I slipped my trembling fingers beneath my veil and hoped to whichever deity was listening that he wasn’t disappointed. As I pulled it over my face and head, his magic took over and flung it across the room.

He groaned. “I’ve never in my entire life gotten so hard at the sight of a woman taking off her outer garments.”

My pulse pounded a staccato beat, and I licked the remnants of his blood from my lips. “I hope I’m to your liking.”

“I remember being very pleased the first time we met, even though the details are somewhat hazy.”

With a deep, shuddering breath, I pulled off the coif. Cool air wafted across my skin, and I dipped my head and stared down at my leggings.

“Look at me,” he said.

I raised my lashes and met his turquoise eyes.

His hand drifted to the side of my face. “May I?”

“Please,” I whispered. “I want you so much.”

Draco reached behind me and pulled at my hair fastening, releasing a mass of corkscrew curls. They puffed around my head like a dark brown halo, some of them falling into my periphery. I clasped my hands together and pasted on a smile.

He drew back, his gaze roving my face, seeming to commit my features to memory. My breaths turned shallow, and I wished time would speed up, so he would finally say something.

“Exquisite.” His deep voice resonated across my chest and filled it with warmth. “Fate could not have bestowed me with a sweeter mate.”

Warmth spread across my cheeks. “Oh.”

Draco drifted toward me, his gaze skimming my neck. The pulse there fluttered, and I placed a hand on my chest. What would I say if he demanded my blood? My gaze dropped down to his mouth, which was closed, but I was sure I could see the outline of his fangs beneath his lips.

He wrapped an arm around my back and brought our bodies so close that the warmth of his chest seeped through the fabric of my tunic. His heart thrummed a steady beat that reverberated across my skin. It was slow for a witch, but rapid for a vampire.

“May I kiss you?” The words came out more of a command than a request.

I parted my lips and moaned. “Please.”

His mouth brushed against mine in the gentlest of movements that made my nerve endings sing.

“You have such deliciously plump lips,” he murmured against them. “And you taste and smell of ripe berries.”

“What kind?” I asked with a smile.

“A sweet variety that is only available to me in my most fervent dreams.” He threaded his fingers through my curls and brought our mouths together.

The kiss was softer than I would have expected from a vampire, proving that he was exceptional. Draco lay on top of me with his weight balanced on his elbows as he placed kiss upon soft kiss on my lips.

He was patient, gentle, unhurried, and paused to stare into my eyes and let our minds touch.

“You want me as much as I want you,”he said as our eyes locked.

His command slipped through me like a breeze, and I murmured out loud, “I need you so much.”

Draco groaned. “How I wish you could be this agreeable all the time.”

“I can be like that for you.” I slid my hands over his broad shoulders and wrapped my arms around his neck.

He shook his head, his lips curving into a tiny smile that only halfway reached his eyes. “You’re only this pleasant because you’re high on my blood.”

A knock sounded on the front door, making him turn his head. “Who the hell would visit a house that’s been empty since November?”

“Let them continue knocking.” I tightened my grip around his neck. “We can stay here until they open the wards.”

The knock sounded again, this time hard enough to shake the floors. Whoever was outside the door had to know the cottage was occupied. The only question was who they were and how they’d managed to track us to the former home of King Valentine’s phoenix.

Draco wrapped a hand around mine and gazed down at me with a gentle smile. “Let me see who’s at the door.”

“You’re going to leave me again.”

His turquoise eyes twinkled. “Will you miss me?”

My throat thickened. I gave him an eager nod.

Draco cupped the side of my face. “It will only be for a few seconds while I look out of the window.”

“Do you promise?”

He stared down at me and grinned. “I swear on my life.”

With a reluctant sigh, I released my hold on him and lowered my arms to the cushions. Draco kissed the tip of my nose and rose from on top of me, robbing me of his warmth. I squeezed my thighs together and suppressed a moan. How could I have survived so long, knowing my fated mate was out there, without going mad with desire?

He rushed to the window. “Fuck!”

I pushed myself onto my elbows. “Is it the enforcers?”

“Worse.” He turned back to me, his features twisted into a rictus of rage. “It’s that third-rate goddess and a pair of frigid nuns.”

My eyes bulged. “Surely you don’t mean Mother Hecate?”

“That’s what I said.”

“Oh, no.” I scrambled to my feet. “How on earth did she find us?”

Draco swept his arm to the side, making the salt crystals scatter across the windowsill. “At least now I understand why the wards punished you so severely.”

I placed a hand over my mouth. “Why?”

“When you tampered with the wards, your magic must have sent them an SOS.”

The words hit like a slap, and I stepped back toward the cushions. “I didn’t mean to?”

His eyes softened. “You’re so much more powerful than you’ve been led to believe, and those nuns have been wasting your talents.”

My throat thickened, and I gulped down a surge of emotion. I wasn’t sure what I felt for Draco beyond this maddening desire to connect with him. The man was an endless source of fascination and I was enraptured by his company. But the nuns were my family.

Out in the hallway, the front door rattled, and the foundations of the cottage shook. My heart made a triple backflip and crash-landed against my spine.

“Shit.”

“No truer words have been said.” He strode to the door.

I jogged after him and grabbed his arm. “Don’t hurt them.”

Draco scoffed. “Your goddess is glutted on the magic and offerings of every pervert who has ever worshipped at her temple or wanked himself myopic over her official photos. Not just that, but she’s had centuries of the devotion of the orphans she brought up as nuns.”

I stared at his perfect profile, my mouth opening and closing. He made Mother Hecate sound like a monster.

“What are you saying?” My voice shook.

“Until I find a way to restore my power, there’s no chance of me ever besting a goddess.”

Magic streamed from the front door, filling the hallway with light. I bit down on my bottom lip and frowned. “She must be breaking through the wards, then?”

“It looks like she’s even more possessive than me,” he growled. “And now’s the time to disavow her of the notion that you are her property.”

I tugged on his arm. “She’s not like that.”

Draco raised his brows. “Your loyalty is admirable, but you have to admit that gods and goddesses obtain their power from worshippers.”

I bowed my head. “That’s true,” I murmured. “But it’s not like Mother Hecate forces anyone to pray to her. She also can’t help the way she gains magic the same way I can’t help getting mine from food.”

“And vampires?” He raised a brow.

My lips parted as I tried to muddle through my thoughts. Draco was so enrapturing, it was hard to even group him with blood suckers. “Not all of them are terrible. Some of them are captivating.”

He exhaled a long sigh. “I hope you still feel this way when the blood wears off.”

I tilted my head to the side, and studied his classically handsome features. Draco was an enigma that I wanted to explore. Everything he said held more wonder than my brain could handle.

His blood filled my veins with warm euphoria, making me drift toward his majestic body. I gazed up into his handsome face and I murmured, “Why would I ever change my mind about my fated mate?”

The door opened with a slam and an explosion of silver sparks. A shocked yelp caught in my throat, and I jumped into Draco’s arms.

“Yana?” Mother Hecate’s soft voice drifted over me like a breeze.

I turned my head to find her standing in the doorway, flanked by Sister Mariah, Sister Lindsay, who I had helped with the holy cypress, and a few other high priestesses.

Mother Hecate wore her usual burgundy gown, but with a green snake draped around her neck and an identical serpent around her right arm, which held her Holy Sword. On her left, she raised her ceremonial torch to the ceiling, filling the hallway with the light of her magic.

Even though she held her features in a mask of calm, there was nothing serene about her eyes.

“May we come in?” Mother Hecate asked as a pair of black hounds stepped over the threshold baring oversized canines.

Once they sat on their haunches, the three women crossed the threshold.

I wrapped an arm around Draco’s middle, my insides trembling. Mother Hecate and the high priestesses would never believe I hadn’t meant to send that SOS.

“Yana told me she was having trouble with a vampire, but I hadn’t expected it to be the scoundrel who stole our bottled blood.”

Draco and I exchanged a glance.

“She doesn’t know who I am,”he said into my mind.

“The newsflash only showed your old appearance,” I replied into our shared connection. “So far, only the enforcers have the most up-to-date images.”

He rubbed his chin. “That would make sense.” Before I could ask him what he meant, he said to Mother Hecate, “The bottled blood wasn’t up to standard, so I decided to take one of your delectable young nuns.”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and the torch in her hand flared bright enough to hurt my eyes. “I would like the return of my novice.”

I swallowed hard. Up until now, I’d felt like an outsider among my fellow Sisters. Every day someone would hint or comment that I was keeping secrets. Yet they’d come to my rescue when they thought I was in danger.

Draco stepped forward, his arm sweeping me into the front room. “Yana Torchbearer belongs to me.”

“I beg you to reconsider.” Even though she said those words with warmth, the hounds growling at her sides raised their hackles, and the snakes draped on her arms rose like cobras and hissed.

A boulder of dread rolled through my stomach, making me clutch at my insides. There was a reason why the Witch Queen never attacked the temple directly, and why no outsiders ever trespassed. Our Goddess Superior only reserved her magic for protection and healing, but when she employed it against others, the results were catastrophic.

I darted out of the room and placed myself between Draco, Mother Hecate, and the priestesses. “Please, don’t hurt him.”

She leaned down and stared into my eyes. “Your pupils are dilated, child.”

“Because we were kissing.”

She drew back and frowned. “What else did he do to you?”

“You don’t need to answer that question.” Draco placed a hand on my shoulder.

My chest rose and fell with frantic breaths. “He’s my fated mate. Our souls are linked.”

Her lips parted. “Yana, that’s impossible.”

“It’s true,” I blurted. “We met years ago. That’s when he gave me the mating mark.”

Mother Hecate’s eyes widened. “When you abandoned Richelle and went missing for half the night?”

For the first time since that event, my insides didn’t writhe with shame. If I had known how good things could be with Draco, I would never have ensorcelled him and escaped. Claws of guilt twanged at my heartstrings, but I ignored the mournful sound. We were together now, and I needed to keep Mother Hecate from unleashing her power.

“The reason I kept silent about what happened was because I thought you would reject me,” I murmured.

Her lips formed a tight line. “I’m disappointed you couldn’t have divulged this information.”

Sister Mariah nodded. “You should know we would never shut you out for resisting a vampire mate.”

Draco barked a laugh. “She’s only told you half the story.”

“Please don’t,”I whispered into the bond.

“Yana?”he asked.

“I want to stay with you, but I still care what these women think. They’re the only family I’ve ever had.”

“You don’t want them to know about the doll?” he asked.

“It would mean my excommunication.”

“Why did you send a desperate plea for help?” Mother Hecate asked.

“It was a mistake,” I blurted.

Her eyes narrowed. “How so?”

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. How could I phrase it so she wouldn’t suspect I was under Draco’s vampiric influence? Because I wasn’t. “We talked a little, and I changed my mind.”

“Bullshit,” said Sister Mariah. “Yana is one of our most committed protesters. This has to be the workings of that blood sucker’s mind magic.”

Mother Hecate raised her hand. “In a situation like this, where the victim has formed an attachment to the vampire and refuses help, we must seek assistance from the Vampire Council.”

“Shit,”he hissed into my mind.

“What’s wrong?”I asked.

“Two of my nephews serve on that council,” he said. “Step aside, I’m going to blast her across the street.”

“No,” I said out loud.

Mother Hecate tilted her head to the side. “Yana?”

“I don’t want to talk to other vampires, and I don’t appreciate how you’re interfering in my relationship.”

Her brows drew together. “Your mind isn’t your own—”

“You’re a goddess,” I blurted. “Can you sense a link between our souls?”

The two priestesses who had accompanied her exchanged puzzled glances. I guessed they also thought I was under some kind of mind control. My chest tightened. All these years, I’d been taught that vampires were predators, and that was bad. But nobody ever protested the other supernatural creatures who fed from people.

“If I perform this enchantment and find no such link, I will have you confined in the infirmary until we break whatever control he has exercised on your mind.”

“That’s fine,” I rasped.

Mother Hecate pointed her palms to the ceiling and released two balls of white light. One of them floated toward me and the other rose above my head. I turned around to find that it had landed in front of Draco’s chest and stretched in a line as thick as my arm from my heart to his. A second line linked our third eyes, but it was about the width of my finger.

I turned back to the trio and grinned. “You see?”

She shook her head and frowned. “You were telling the truth.”

“We’re mated,” I said, my voice trembling with conviction. “And I owe it to myself to pursue happiness.”

Draco pulled me into his broad chest. “Since the day I discovered my connection, all I’ve ever yearned for was Yana.” He added through our link, “Even those days I had forgotten you existed, there was a hole inside me I couldn’t fill.”

I melted against him and smiled.

“Mother Goddess,” said Sister Mariah. “Do we call the Vampire Council?”

My breath stilled, and Draco’s muscles tightened. This was the moment that would determine if he would allow them to leave in peace or attack. I gazed at Mother Hecate, who stared back at me with a frown.

“Why would someone who hated vampires be so content being mated to one?” she asked.

I bit down on my bottom lip. “Part of me felt guilty for running away from my mate that night, and I’ve been compensating for it ever since.”

Her shoulders sagged. “I have seen enough. Sisters Mariah and Lindsay, we will take our leave.”

The dogs remained in place as Mother Hecate turned back toward the exit, but her snakes twisted to give us one last threatening hiss. The two high priestesses stepped aside to let Mother Hecate through before they also walked out through the door.

A few reprimanding barks later, the hounds also trotted out.

Draco shut the door with a flick of his hand. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“Yes.” I placed a hand on my roiling stomach. “The moment they hear I’m wanted in association with Prince Draconius, they’ll return with an army of armored nuns.”

“I would laugh if I hadn’t already seen them in action,” he muttered.

“You’ve witnessed the nuns fighting?” I followed him into the kitchen.

He opened the window, letting in fresh air. “My brother, Antonius, was murdered by a monster called Kresnik. Kresnik raised him as a preternatural, and Antonius abducted a nun.”

“What happened?”

“Your Mother Goddess stormed the palace and cut through our guards to get her back. The poor woman was on the brink of death, but she recovered.”

My breath hitched. “Isn’t Kresnik the one who caused the supernatural disturbance?”

“More or less.” He scooped me into his arms and ran his fingers down the side of my face. “Can you manage a journey across town?”

I nodded. “Where are you taking me?”

He placed a soft kiss on my forehead. “While I was gone, I secured us a serviced apartment more fitting to our station.”

“That was quick.”

“When it matters, I know how to take my time.”

My brows drew together. “Okay?”

His eyes twinkled. “You’ll see what I mean in a moment.”

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I turned my gaze to my lap. He was probably referring to sex.