In the Service of the King (Vampire Warrior Kings 1)

He inhaled deeply and chuckled, ran his hand through his hair. “I like the way you think, Shayla, but perhaps we should talk first?”

For a split second, his words confounded her, but then he took another slow, deep breath in through his nose and licked his lips. Could he…? Oh, jeez. He could! He could smell her. She crossed her legs where they were extended in front of her.

Kael frowned and gently encouraged her ankles to part. “Never apologize for needing me,” he said, echoing her earlier words in a low, serious voice that amped up her desire further.

Shayla shook her head, blushing and smiling at the expression she swore could only be described as adoring. She drew her legs up to her chest and embraced them, rested her head on her knees so she could see him.

“Okay, well, about this mating…” She admired the design on her hand. Realized the ache she’d earlier felt was gone. Interesting.

“Yes. It pleases me. Greatly. I want you to know that. I hope it pleases you, too.” He tucked his right hand into her grip, once again joining their marked hands.

She thought of all she’d hoped for from this night. “It does, Kael, more than you know.” She squeezed his hand. “But what does it mean? How does it work?”

He tilted his head. “More than I know? Tell me what it is I don’t know, then. Please?”

She nodded. “I will. I promise. But please explain all this first. I need to understand.”

He stretched forward and kissed her cheek. “Of course. In my world, Shayla, blood is magical, powerful, the source of all life. Some blood, when joined together, is especially strong, especially right. For a vampire, that rightness can manifest in a bond that identifies mates who would be a good match, who would bear strong offspring. And it is a rare, special thing.”

Shayla studied her hand, his words opening up new worlds in front of her, worlds she’d only dreamed of and never once thought would truly exist for her. “So, we’re mated now?” A cacophony of reactions flooded her mind.

Kael’s eyes flared. “No. Not yet. The mating mark lasts for three days. If the mating ritual isn’t completed within that time, the mark will disappear along with the chance to ever be together. If you agree, on the other hand, there will be a ritual ceremony to affirm the bonding and celebrate the start of our life together, with you as my queen, sharing my world, my blood, my immortality.”

She frowned and struggled to make sense of her thoughts. Queen? Immortal? So, getting what she’d always wanted came along with some things she hadn’t imagined. Did that really matter? “I see,” she said as her mind worked, compiling pro and con and to-do lists, weighing options, and imagining alternate paths. She knew she couldn’t accept the mating without some sacrifice on her part. She was twenty years old with a world of opportunity and possibility in front of her.

But then she looked at Kael and realized that everything that had ever motivated and interested her, everything she’d ever imagined would make life worth living, was sitting right next to her on the bed.

She could have eternity to ask him her questions about his life and times.

She could have justice for Dana. Vengeance against the Soul Eaters.

She had to tell him. “Before, when I said there were things you didn’t know?” He nodded. “When I was fourteen, my older sister was murdered by vampires.”

Kael gasped and moved closer, one arm threading around her shoulders. That preternatural light flared in his eyes, but it was darker somehow, more menacing. “Soul Eaters,” he growled.

“Yes. Before they drained every drop of blood from her body, they raped her. Then, when she was dead, they slit her open and ripped out her heart. That was how she was found. Those are the images my parents have to carry around in their heads.” Shayla held her breath and refused to surrender to tears and grief.

“Were you close with her?”

She smiled and released her breath. “Yeah. I mean, you know, we drove each other crazy like siblings do. But she was my hero. She’d just graduated high school…” She shrugged. “What happened to her, well, I have to play a role in bringing justice to the animals that did that. I’ve never known what that role would be, exactly, just that I had to do something. What do you think of that?”

He studied her for a long moment, then leaned forward and dragged his nose along the skin of her arm. Pressed a kiss there. “Many years ago, I was mated, and she conceived a child.”

“Yes,” Shayla whispered, reaching out and trailing her fingers through his hair. She’d learned Kael’s history, of course, it was part of why she imagined he might understand what drove her, but hearing it from the man himself was something else all together.