Chapter 53: Chapter Fifty-Three

"She is no ones lunch." Damien snarled back, crouching down in front of me, ready to pounce.

Sam was suddenly downstairs, no doubt attracted by the commotion. When he saw the two vampires crouching, watching me, his eyes went red as he crouched just in front of Damien. "If you know what is best, you'll back away, and leave it be." He growled at the pair.

The pair stopped growling, and stood straight, but their eyes remained red as they continued to stare past Damien at me. "My king, why do you protect a human?" The woman asked.

"That human is the kings woman, Anastasia." Sam said as he followed suit and stood up as well. He looked back at Damien and me, before turning back to the pair. "The meeting was supposed to be tomorrow. Why are you here now?"

"The elders are in town today, we assumed it would be alright if we came today." The man responded, his eyes unwavering as he continued to watch me hungrily.

"Continue to look at my woman, I will rip your eyes from your skull." Damien growled, pulling me into his arms, and turning so the man couldn't see me anymore.

"Leave. Now." Sam said, taking a few threatening steps towards the couple.

"As you wish, my king." The woman said as she and the man took a few steps back, then turned and closed the door behind them.

"She said the elders are already here? Sam, go and greet them." Damien said as he led me upstairs, and to my bedroom.

Sam gave a quick nod of understanding before quickly leaving.

"I see why you said it's dangerous for me to be here." I said after Damien closed my bedroom door. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what would happen."

"Do not feel the need to apologize, my love. Anastasia and Cristóbal are the only ones of their kind. I will protect you from them. However, the elders may still have adverse reactions to you. If you are afraid, I can ask Divinity to take you some place safe?"

"What do you mean they are the only ones of their kind?" I asked as we went to the balcony, looking down. Cristóbal was in the meadow, looking out at the view, until he caught my scent. He tried to hide his reaction, but even from the balcony I could see his head tilting slightly, taking in my scent.

Damien took my hand and pulled me back into the room, closing the French doors with a slam. "You noticed their eye color?"

"Of course." I responded. Their eyes remained red, despite their temperament. Usually a vampires eyes would revert to their natural eye color, but the couples eyes retained their blood-red tint. I recalled Sinclair saying that newborn vampires eyes remained red until they gained control. "Are they newborns?"

Damien sat down on the bed, and pulled me next to him, before he spoke. "Not newborns, no. They choose to keep their eyes red. They are the type of vampire to hunt and kill for pleasure and sport, rather than necessity, like the rest of us. Their kind used to be more common, until vampires decided to live amongst humans."

"How many elders are there?" I asked, sitting on his lap and putting my arms around his shoulders.

"There are seven elders, but each elder has a lieutenant." He responded, resting his forehead against my chest, pulling me close.

"Why seven? And what do the elders do?"

"One elder to look over each continent. The elders duties are to make sure the human to vampire ratio remains a minimum of one vampire per fifty thousand humans. If a vampire kills or turns too many, it is the job of the elder to eliminate that threat. Or if there are extenuating circumstances, they bring it to my attention."

"So you are the protector of this continent, and the king?"

"No, just the king. I've enough to do, handling the duties of the king, I wouldn't have the time to take on the duty of an elder as well."

"You have that much to do, but you still manage to spend a lot of time with me." I said softly, running my hands through his hair, breathing in his sensual aroma. How could one man smell so amazing? I could never get tired of his musk.

"You take precedence over anything else, my love. That fact always has been, and always will be, the utmost truth." He muttered softly, taking my face between his hands, grazing my lips with his.

"I love you, so much. I'm sorry about earlier. I just..." I trailed off, not knowing how to put my thoughts into words.

"I love you more, my little kitten." He purred, laying down on the bed, pulling me down on top of him. "You don't need to apologize, I understand."

I smiled as I kissed him then sat up, kicking off my shoes before lifting his shirt, kissing a line from his chest, to the waistband of his pants. When I reached his waistband, he growled sensually, voicing his approval. I smiled as I released his belt, then pushed his pants down. I was greeted with his already stiff erection, standing on edge, begging to be touched. I took his tip in my mouth, sucking softly like he had on my nipples. He shuddered when I did this, and put his hand on my shoulder, gripping it softly.

"Kitten-" He started to say something, but was cut off by his own moan as I tried to take his full length, stopping only when it hit the back of my throat. I readjusted my position, trying to position myself, so he could fit down my throat. I was able to take most of him, but felt myself getting more and more upset that I couldn't take all of him. "Come here." He growled, pushing on my shoulder to make me stop.

He picked me up and set me in his lap, holding me up, so he was pressing against my folds. Before he could lower me down, his phone began ringing, pulling us both out of our desire fueled embrace.