Filed to story: Court of the Vampire Queen Novel???
I give him one last long suck, taking his entire length in, and then release him and climb up to straddle his hips. “Like this?”
“Yeah. Like that.”
I sink slowly onto his cock. It feels good enough that I nearly lose myself, but this isn’t about me. Not this time. It’s about him and what he needs. I work myself up and down his length, rolling my hips in a way that makes crimson overtake the blue of his eyes. “Let go, Wolf.” I cup his face with my hands. “I’ve got you.”
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer yet. I can’t move well like this, but it doesn’t matter because he’s taking over. He holds me tightly and pumps up into me. I moan. Gods, this feels too good. “Wolf, I—”
He bites me.
I come so hard, I see stars. I’m vaguely aware of him licking his way up my throat and taking my mouth as he follows me over the edge. Each near-violent thrust up into me makes my orgasm surge higher. I’m sobbing against his lips and he’s holding me closer yet. Just when it edges into being too much, he slumps back to the couch, taking me with him. I lay there with my ear against his chest and I can feel his tension easing. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. Is this what the men feel from me without my shields? It’s not mind-reading. Wolf’s thoughts are his own. But I can almost see his emotions. It’s strange, but not bad. Not bad at all.
I kiss his throat. “Better?”
“Yeah.” He huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Wolf squeezes me. “Take care of me anytime you want, love.”
I sense Rylan and Malachi coming closer. They certainly don’t make any sound to give away their presence. I turn my head enough to see them standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Rylan looks conflicted but Malachi’s face is an expressionless mask. “We have a plan.”
Wolf gives me one last squeeze and helps me off him, though he doesn’t let me get far. Instead, he pulls me back down onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. I tentatively send out a tendril of awareness through the bond, acting purely on instinct. He still feels calmer, but the inner turmoil beneath the calm surface is causing ripples. There’s not much I can do about that, not until we see ourselves through this mess.
He closes me out gently, pushing me away as he reinstates his shield. It’s not as impenetrable as a stone wall—I can still get a hint of what he’s feeling beyond it—but he closes me out all the same.
“Sorry,” I murmur. I didn’t mean to invade his privacy. No, that’s not accurate. I did reach out, but I still have hardly any idea of what I’m doing.
“I dropped my shields. It was practically an invitation.” Though there’s still a faint tremor in his tone, he sounds more like his old self.
Malachi and Rylan sink onto the couch across the coffee table from us. Malachi leans forward and sets my makeshift maps on the table. “We have a plan.” He points to the two buildings near the rear of the compound. I’ve labeled them as armory and gym. “We’ll set fire to both of these. We’ll do it during the day, so as to minimize casualties.”
Rylan takes over. “It should draw most of the guards in that direction, both to put out the fire and to search for who started it. I don’t think they’re poorly trained enough to leave their posts completely abandoned, but it should alleviate some of the extra personnel.” He pauses. “Then you come in through the front gate.”
I blink. “That’s bold.”
“It’s the weakest point. More, this conflict is as much about presentation as it is about killing your father. We need witnesses. The courtyard will have to be it.” Malachi drags a hand through his long hair. He points to one of the Xs he made near the front. “We’ll set up Lizzie here. Will she be able to see the courtyard from this location?”
I peer at the map, trying to hold it up to what Grace and I spoke of. I didn’t leave the compound when I lived there, but I spent enough time staring at the surrounding area to know roughly what spot she had indicated. “It’s a long shot.”
“That’s why we have Lizzie.”
It seems impossible, but these three men have already proved themselves to be capable of impossible things. “I think so. We’d have to get him into the right position.” I close my eyes and picture it. If she’s aiming for his throat, he’d have to be facing the gates, but at a slight angle leaning toward the shooter’s position. “That adds to the impossibility factor, because getting him there will give him more of a chance to compel one or all of us.”
Wolf tightens his grip around my waist. “Rylan has an idea, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” Rylan holds my gaze. “You’re going in alone.”
“What?”
“You’re right. Your father’s power is a threat while you get him into position. We can’t guarantee he won’t be able to use it, and if he does, we’re more of a liability than a help.” He nods at Malachi. “Mal will be setting fires. Wolf and I will go in to the east and west and do what damage to the forces we can. Maybe set a few fires ourselves if we can find a way to do it that won’t result in more deaths.” His dark eyes are sympathetic. “You were always going to be the one to kill Cornelius., Mina. It has to be you.”
My chest threatens to close, but I haven’t come this far to fold now. Which sounds great in theory, but the thought of having to face down my father alone makes me want to start running and never stop. I’m not so panicked that I don’t notice the way all three of them tense up in response to my emotions. I have to breathe, to think, to process this. “Just…give me a second.”
They sit silently as I battle through my instinctive denial. When we were initially talking about returning to that place and doing what was necessary to ensure our safety, at least I had the relative comfort of knowing my men would have my back. Walking through the front gates alone, even if the men won’t be too far, feels like too much. I am stronger than I used to be, but I’m nowhere near as strong as my father.
He could kill me.
He’ll certainly try.
I press my hand to my stomach. There’s only one way to make him pause, and it means giving him information I’d do anything to ensure he doesn’t have. It means trusting my men and the plan and myself in a way I don’t know if I’m capable of.
Finally, I drag in a breath. “I don’t know what will happen to his compulsion if he’s injured.” All evidence suggests he needs to concentrate to use his powers, the same as the other bloodline vampires. If his concentration is broken, say by a blood bullet to his throat, the compulsion should break.
Am I willing to put myself under my father’s control for even that long?
I open my eyes. I can’t see Wolf, but Rylan and Malachi look at me solemnly. They know what they’re asking, what we’re risking. If I die, there’s a decent chance it will hurt them, if not kill them. They’re asking a lot, but they’re putting so much faith in me that it staggers me. We’ll only get one shot at this.
We’ll either succeed or we’ll die trying.
“I’m scared.”