Chapter 49

The interior of the house was beautiful in its simplicity. Wooden beams carved with swirling designs held aloft the high ceiling. Warm rugs and heavy furniture with carved legs and arms, but muted, though good quality fabrics, filled the room. It was, in a lot of ways, the opposite of the palace. Instead of complicated designs dressed in golds and bright colors, the wealth here was understated, hidden beneath the simplicity of the room.

“Do you like it?” Xor’annan wanted to know.

She did. Her rooms at the palace were as fine as any place she had ever been, but she still hadn’t slept in her own bed, to Chelsey’s distress. It was like intruding on a museum or something. This...well, when she was through with what needed to be done for Eveera, this would be her goal.

The main floor was mostly consumed with one open room; a long table sat beside the fireplace and tall windows with hatched bars running through them lined the east and west walls. It allowed what would have been a gloomy dark space to feel bright and open. The floors were warmly polished wood scattered with rugs and some furs that Tianna didn’t look at too closely. She had no huge desire to think about hunting at the moment. The stairs led to an open balcony; the railings again carved beautifully. She could see more rooms beyond the open space.

Aside from the table, there were a few cozier spaces for sitting, with smaller chairs and tables. An empty door frame at the back of the room opened into what must be the kitchen. There were three other doors. A young man, human with hair shorn quite close, rushed from one with a bundle of bloody rags. That was where Thanlos was working.

Tianna started forward, but a warm hand on her arm stopped her.

“He has all the help he can manage at the moment.”

She looked up at him.

“The good doctor found himself much inundated with business when he arrived in the city. He asked for an apprentice but could not decide between a few of the applicants. Now he has two, and they are quite competitive to be the most useful.”

She frowned. Why did that feel like some sort of betrayal? It wasn’t as if she had been available these last months.

Xor’annan gestured to a wash basin near Thanlos’ door. She looked down at her hands. Right, she should wash off the blood. Xor’annan joined her, and the two of them scrubbing their hands next to one another felt oddly domestic. She had managed to clean the majority of her skin, but sadly it looked like the clothes themselves were ruined.

An older gray-haired woman peeked out of the kitchen.

Xor’annan waved Tianna toward the stairs.

“Tea please, Sarah, and sweetbread?...” he raised a brow at Tianna who nodded. Her stomach felt raw and angry...maybe carbs would help… “if we have any.”

“We do, Hadrian,” the woman responded and popped back into the room.

Xor’annan led her up the stairs and into the second door. Inside was an old-fashioned men’s study, complete with a beautiful solid wood desk and dark leather furniture. Books lined the shelves on the walls, but otherwise the space was free of decorations except the wooden carving that continued at the top of the walls.

Xor’annan closed the door behind them and smiled grimly.

“Alright. Let’s have it out.”

She turned to him. He leaned back against the door and crossed his arms over his chest. His long hair was a bit tangled and wild. A few strands had escaped the binding and fell in front of his horns instead of behind. Blood marred the front of his shirt from lifting and carrying the guide. He had a patient, but watchful look on his face, one that said he was going to let her voice all of her thoughts without interruption. She found that she only had one question.

“You said you didn’t tell me these things...all of this because back then I wouldn’t have believed your intentions…,” she swallowed and met his eyes. “What were they?”

There was no outside change that alerted her to his intentions, just a simple shifting of focus. Three words and she had *all* of his attention. She doubted he would have noticed if the house was burning down around them. He straightened and stalked forward.

Instinct screamed at her to retreat, to keep the space between them as wide as possible, because every step he took toward her she got closer to doing something stupid.

“From the day you stood in front of me in that village square bartering yourself into my life, my intentions have been focused on one thing. Would I have still removed the doctor from the hands of those who would do him harm? Of course, talent like his should not be wasted. It was an even more prudent move because of your attachment to him. That first day, I learned everything I needed to know about you, and every day since you have confirmed who you are. I saw your courage, and faithfulness...your beauty.”

He came to a stop before her, close enough that she could see his breathing had increased, as well. She studied his face, trying to catch any hint of what she was beginning to suspect...to hope.

“You protected him, even to what you thought was your own detriment, as you have since protected Eveera and everyone else you deem worthy. I want that, Tianna. I want that devotion and loyalty that you so eagerly withhold from me. I do not want you to be with me because I have offered you some kind of fair bargain or deal, so I have gone to great lengths to ensure you know that you need no one, not even me. But do not think that I do not want you,” he reached out, his fingers trembling slightly and cupped the back of her head. “I want it all,” he whispered, lowering his face toward hers, “I want everything you have to give, and I want to be worthy of it.”

He closed the space between them slowly, giving her every opportunity to pull away, to escape.

She was going to die before he kissed her.

Then she was against him, her palms spread across his chest, her lips pressed to his. He inhaled sharply, his arms crushing her to him, his mouth demanding. Their bodies aligned, the hard ridge of his arousal fitting perfectly against the v in her thighs. The touch of him there, even with clothes between them, sent a shudder of delight through her

His tongue pressed between her lips, demanding entrance, and she parted for him. He took full advantage, first nibbling and then suckling her lower lip before taking the kiss deeper again. She couldn’t get close enough to him. Sensing her need, he backed her up until they were pressed against the desk. His hands ran down her back, gliding softly over her waist until they cupped her ass and he lifted her so that she sat before him.

He moved to nudge her knees apart, but she was way ahead of him. God, his touch was like fire and she wanted him against her. She pulled his hips toward her.

He chuckled darkly against her lips.

“Like that, Hellcat?”

She pulled him closer...or she tried tilting her hips so that the bulge of his erection rubbed against her just so. An incomprehensible groan passed her lips and her head fell back, exposing her throat. Xor’annan took immediate advantage, trailing kisses along the column of her throat, one hand staying on her lower back, supporting her, the other trailing to her front and beginning to undo the buttons on the front of her riding coat. It slid off before she could really register what was happening and he went to work on the blouse.

“I like these breeches,” he muttered against her collarbone, the vibrations were nothing short of delicious. She arched her back a little, lifting her chest toward him. “Your backside was especially resplendent today.” He paused. “If Torgux ever looks at it again, I’m going to kill him.”

He sounded serious. Poor Torgux, he never had a chance.

Her shirt lay open now, the skin beneath exposed to the cool air. She had refused to wear the corset like apparatus Chelsey had tried to force on her, her breasts bound with a wide flat band of cloth, instead. Xor’annan pulled his head back far enough to look down at her. She took the opportunity to undo his own fastenings and slid his overcoat from his shoulders.

“You are so damned gorgeous,” he told her. “I cannot get enough…”

For once, his expression was unfettered, his dark eyes wide with wonder, his nostrils flaring. He had the look of a lost man and it did more for her than any aphrodisiac might have.

“Xor,” she whispered.

He blinked once, slowly.

“The first time you called me by my name, I think the world stopped for a moment,” he confessed.

“Xor,” she repeated. “Kiss me.”

Something broke in him and he was on her, no longer gentle and slow, but desperate and rough. She soaked it up and reveled in it, every sign of his desire, his longing, sending liquid heat straight to her groin. He ground himself against her, nipping playfully at her neck, crushing her against himself. Her nipples hardened and purled, aching with the friction of just a few layers of cloth between them, a responding pull ran through her core...shit, she was going to cum before they even started.

She wanted to say something, to warn him, but he was beyond hearing. She squirmed, twisting to escape the most delicious pressure. For a moment, Xor’annan fought her, holding her hips in place, a low growl against her throat.

“Xor,” she panted, “I want you in me.”

He paused and then straightened, putting space between them.

*Oh my god*. The way he looked at her. Fire and passion and longing, all there for her to see. She reached out a hand and touched his face. His eyes closed briefly, as if memorizing the moment, then he leaned over her, reaching for something on the desk. Something metal flashed at the corner of her awareness.

“Sadly, there is no saving these,” he brushed a finger along her thigh, his voice rough with passion. A wickedly sharp looking dagger appeared. He trailed the blade up her leg and along the curve of her waist.

Fuck.

The press of the cool metal against her skin had her nipples tightening more, until they were almost burning and painful. The blade traveled upward, over her ribs and under the curve of her left breast. He was taking his time, enjoying having her momentarily captive.

She held perfectly still. She had to, or risk cutting herself...and it was erotic as hell. She’d never been so turned on, her folds wet and aching.

In a quick jerk, Xor’annan cut the breast band. It popped open, freeing her to the open air. He stared for a long moment and then moved the blade downward, again sliding it over her ribs, then waist, and finally her hips. A very fine pressure announced he was working on the breeches, the blade tucked between them and her skin ripped the fine fabric easily. He moved with exact precision slicing the pant leg open all the way to her ankles. Controlled Xor’annan was back. He stepped away from her, making his way to her other side, his stare pinning her with as much force as the blade. This time, he started along her shoulder.

The knock at the door startled her, she flinched and then gasped as the blade bit into her skin, leaving a thin line of red.

“We are not ready for tea.” It was incredible how smooth and calm Xor’s voice sounded. They might have been sitting around discussing the weather. The difference between that and the lust blazing in his eyes was almost as hot as the man himself. “We will call down for it,” he finished.

“Alright, Hadrian,” Sarah’s voice acknowledged, her footsteps fading away.

Xor’annan’s focus switched to her shoulder and the thin line of blood welling there. He hesitated a long time, as if considering some grave matter. Then, quick enough to startle another gasp out of her, his head came down and he ran his tongue along the wound.

You know, she’d never had a thing for vampires, but she suddenly, unequivocally understood the appeal. Her head tilted back at the pleasure of his tongue lapping at her. That should have been enough warning, but she was completely taken by surprise when a quick and sharp pain joined the pleasure.

A confusing swirl of emotions echoed through her, and in her hyper aroused state, she couldn’t sort which ones were hers and which were not.

Xor’annan had bonded her.