Page 52 of Tempted By the Vampire Prince

It was wrong to be thinking about tearing the linen shift from her body and dragging my hands up her curves. It was wrong to think about finding the soft, wet place between her thighs. But I did. By the gods, I did. I imagined I was there now. Pumping inside her, driving both of us closer and closer to the edge. Her legs wrapped around my waist. Her tight cunt squeezing around me.

I imagined how she’d look.

How her lips would open on a gasp when I pulled out just to taste her.

How she’d say my name.

Yves.

How she’d beg for more.

Please. Please.

How she would taste when I finally sank my teeth into her.

A few more jerks were all it took. I was already too far gone. I came so hard I saw stars behind my eyes. A constellation that formed into the shape of her body. I’d never felt anything so satisfying. Leaning back against the door, breathing hard, I closed my eyes, unable to believe I’d just done that.

One touch had turned me feral.

It wasn’t like being my old self, but I felt free of the dark haze that had shrouded my life for many years.

After cleaning up, I settled at my desk, knowing I was supposed to be writing a letter to Marius, but there was an image in my head I needed to get out. Grabbing my astronomy journal, I flipped it open to a page with one line of text.

Stay. Or Leave. I am lost either way.

Beneath it, I began sketching. From the lines, the shape of her eyes emerged. Then her nose, dotted with freckles. The bow of her lips, open on a gasp. Her long neck. The swell of her breasts. The bend of her waist.

I stopped and stared at her.

Cora.

She had stayed, and I was still lost, just as I’d predicted. More so than if she’d left without a trace.

It was clear I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about her. Whether it was because I’d rescued her, or because my son was already in love with her, or because she was such a strong, beautiful woman, I didn’t know. All I did know was that everything I felt for her had to stay right here, inside this journal.

I slid it aside, then pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment. I’d promised Cora that I’d conceal her identity with a new name. I dipped my quill into the ink and began to write, carefully choosing my words in a letter to Marius.

Her image watched me as I wrote to the High Prince, imploring Marius to grant this woman a title so she could work as Adrien’s nanny without question. Every once in a while, I’d glance up at the picture of her, and my attention would snag. It took every ounce of control not to stop what I was doing and pleasure myself again to an inked image of her.

Maybe I should.

I set down the quill, knowing it would be quick. So quick.

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall jarred me from the reverie, and the clipped cadence told me it was Severin. I quickly closed my journal and placed it in a drawer, not wanting him to pick it up and flip through the pages, only to find her. That image was just for me.

“Come in,” I said before he knocked.

The door opened, revealing the familiar face of my nephew. Severin wore a silk bottle-green jacket detailed with intricate gold embroidery shaped like waves. His shoulder-length black hair had been tied back at the nape, bringing attention to the weariness under his eyes.

The second he’d returned from The Drowned Goose, I’d tasked him with intelligence collection. I wanted the neighboring shopkeepers questioned and any patrons who’d been there that evening found. Someone might have seen Lou leave, or recognized one of the people who’d left with him. I’d also ordered Severin to circulate Lou’s description among the guards at the city gates and the harbormaster’s office.

I wanted anyone who could tell me where they’d gone brought to me.

Lou and his coven were hiding in the belly of the city, and I was going to find them. I waited, hoping he already had good news. That I was closer to capturing the people who’d tried to harm her.

My nephew closed the door behind him, then clasped his hands behind his back. “I noticed there’s a woman in the nanny’s apartments,” he said.

I didn’t like his tone, but for the sake of our relationship, I kept my temper at bay. “Yes. Adrien has a new blood nanny. She starts work tomorrow. You will need to brief her on his schedule.”