Cas's eyes rolled back in his head. So . . . fucking . . . good.
The vampire snarled into his bite, lean body going tense.
Cas's eyes widened when wet heat spurted over their cocks. "Uhn! Feel your hot cum!" Out of his mind, he fucked Mirceo's tight, slippery grip. "I scent it!" Cas started to orgasm, his shaft jerking against Mirceo's. "Coming . . . COMING!"
The vampire released his bite just as Cas threw back his head and bellowed to the night sky. "Yes, yes, YES!" Pulsations seized him. Again and again, he thrust to milk every last ounce of pleasure.
Bliss and wonder made Cas float.
Only the vampire kept him from drifting away.
TWELVE
After-shudders racked the demon's powerful body.
Mirceo clutched him and experienced each one with him. Their breaths heaved in sync, their hearts pounding in rhythm.
His lids slid shut as he savored this closeness. These days, he wouldn't be happy unless every part of him was in contact with every part of this stubborn demon. He wanted their limbs entangled, blood and cum shared.
With a last dazed groan, Caspion nuzzled Mirceo's ear and neck, continuing to slowly thrust.
Mirceo's member was hypersensitive, so he loosened his grip a degree, but the demon's growl had him tightening his fingers again. With a grin, he murmured, "Shall I lick clean the mess I made down there, sweetheart?"
Tension stole over Caspion, the spell broken. Soon the demon would shove away from him, blasting accusations, denying the obvious.
Maybe Mirceo should make sure Caspion's addiction matched his. When the demon pried himself away, Mirceo swiped his cockhead for his own seed. Time to give the demon a taste of what he's missing. . . .
Hauling his pants up over his still-hard shaft, Caspion stumbled back against the wall, knees seeming to buckle.
Mirceo understood. When he'd been bloodtaking, his fangs must've been the only things holding him upright. Now he barely got his own pants in place.
Caspion slid down to sit, so Mirceo teleported over, straddling the demon's lap. "Look at me, beautiful." Mirceo curled a finger under his chin.
Resentment gleamed in Caspion's stormy-blue eyes. "You won this round. What more do you want?"
"For you to think about one thing. If no other being in all the worlds is to lay claim to me but you, then what does that make me . . . ?"
_______
Mine.
Sly vampire! Mirceo had opened the door to that kind of thinking, giving a voice to Cas's possessiveness.
Mine.
Mine.
Mine.
As if Cas had spoken aloud, Mirceo said, "Uh-huh. Yours. Fate connected us, demon. Surrender to the pull."
"Never."
"Then give me one final kiss." Mirceo leaned in and took Cas's lips in a lazy, wet kiss.
Too weak to resist him. Last night, unfamiliar pathways in Cas's brain and body had seemed to open for the first time. Tonight was no different. About to start the madness all over again, Cas tasted his own blood and something else, some delectable thread. . . .
He yanked his head away. "You prick!" He shoved Mirceo off him and traced to his feet. "You painted your lips with your cum, so I'd taste it?"
From his spot on the ground, Mirceo grinned, his eyes dancing. "Yes."
"You want to take me over, to seep into me."
Mirceo traced to stand. "As you've done to me."
If the vampire was in fact his mate and Cas refused to claim him, his demon instincts would become more explosive, growing apace with his surging aggression. Already he felt out of control. Dangerous.
How had things devolved so quickly? In this realm, it'd only been months since they'd been laughing and reveling together--since Mirceo had read to him in the still of the morning.
Cas had changed; Mirceo . . . hadn't.
The vampire had forced him into this situation. That prince had never experienced what it was like to have no choice, to be doomed to a single outcome.
To be helpless.
All of Cas's actions had been directed toward one goal: to wield control over his own destiny. He'd had no choices when orphaned. Just to eat, he'd been forced to do things no child should ever contemplate. He'd had no choices when others had scorned him for his poverty.
Now Mirceo was hemming him in once more. Either the vampire had no clue what his tricks were doing to him--or the selfish prince just didn't give a fuck.
Cas paced. "Tell me how to be rid of you."
"I did. Claim my body, and if you still don't want me, I vow to the Lore I'll never bother you again."
"That won't happen," Cas said, even as he wondered if he should simply take what Mirceo offered and lose his seal. Then he could find a female to have younglings with.
Could he fuck another male? The mere idea of sinking inside Mirceo made his body vibrate. If Cas went into one of those mindless rampages, he would be inside the prince within a heartbeat's time. He'd wrench moans out of that vampire, dominating him.
Putting the arrogant prince on his hands and knees. Such a vulnerable position. Cas rubbed the heel of his palm over his shaft.
His only physical issue with taking Mirceo? Cas feared he'd come prematurely. "I just want you gone."
"And what if you change your mind? How would you ever be able to find me?"
Though a demon could teleport to places he'd previously been, some kind of esoteric Dacian magic dimmed memories of the kingdom's location. Even a tracker like Cas could never reach Dacia again. Not that he'd ever wanted to remember how to return to that cursed place!
"Caspion, you would be mired in regret."
"I'll show as much regret as you did when your uncle set off to assassinate me. Thanks for the warning!"
Gray eyes narrowed. "I warned you before you left, sweetheart. And before you even journeyed to Dacia! But the threat of death didn't slow you down, did it? Because what happened between us was so powerful that you had to flee what you felt."
Cas couldn't argue with that. "Say that's true. You could've requested leniency for your friend."
"Ah, my friend? The one who betrayed the laws of my people? In any case, I did ask for leniency. I pleaded for it. But I was granted none. So I acted resigned, even as I plotted to do whatever it took to protect you."
If true--and natural-born vampires couldn't lie--then this news appeased at least some of the rage he felt toward Mirceo. All these years, Cas had carried that burden.
As it dissipated, numbness took its place.
"When Trehan came for you that night, I was already in Abaddon, ready to defend you," Mirceo said. "You remained in a godsdamned brothel till morning."
C
as's lips parted. He had been there. Mirceo had planned to challenge the great Prince of Shadow? Which meant Mirceo had intended to risk his very life. For me.
"But my uncle never made it to you because he sensed Bettina and was distracted. Then he entered the tournament." For her, Trehan had left his mist in front of thousands, turning his back on his kingdom. "I couldn't interfere with anything after that point."
"Do not remind me." Those tournament rules had governed all of their behavior inside and out of the ring. "Did you see Trehan fight me?" Say no . . .
"No, I didn't. My other uncles and I were chasing our new king all over the Lore, trying to protect him and Queen Elizabeth, his mate." Rubbing his nape, Mirceo added, "But I heard about it."
Cas's face heated. "The Abaddonae will never view me the same way. Trehan denied me an honorable death." Since his self-exile, Cas still wasn't ready to face the people of his kingdom.
Though I miss Bettina. He hadn't seen her in centuries.
"Honorable death?" Mirceo scoffed. "You can't enjoy honor when you're dead."
Cas didn't bother arguing with him; a spoiled prince like Mirceo would never understand. "Did you tell Trehan that I'm your mate?"
"I did."
Cas's worst enemy now knew his greatest weakness. "And how did you reveal that? Did you refer to me as your Bride? Is that how you would introduce me?"
"I see the blood rise in your cheeks." Mirceo exhaled with impatience. "Our species has always been inclusive, and now we are updating the terminology. Male or female, a mate is a mate," he said. "Besides, as a prince of Dacia--which you already are, just by virtue of our fated connection--you won't be introduced to others. They will be presented to you, because you are now a royal of the House of Castellan, the heart of our kingdom."
"Me? A prince?"
Mirceo nodded. "Mina and I are all that's left of our house. We need you, Caspion--"
"Shut up." Awareness lifted the fine hairs on Cas's nape. The rolling hills surrounding the brothel were too still. Insects and night creatures had fallen silent. He surveyed the terrain. One by one vampires materialized in the distance.
"No need to be rude, you lout." Mirceo sighed. "But if I must, I'll polish your manners along with your knob."
Cas rolled his eyes. "Vampires close in on us." They emanated menace. Excellent. He needed to vent some frustration.