Vampire Legacy (Book 4 of the Dragon Heat series) (15 page)

Petran nodded in agreement. “No, they wouldn’t.”

“So, why have they spared me?”

That was a really good question, which led Petran to form the first plausible explanation ever since this circus started. “Maybe they spared you because you are too valuable.”

“Valuable how?”

“Well, for starters, you rush to their
aid no matter the time of the day, or night.”

She frowned, and then her spine went as stiff as a rod when she understood what he was insinuating. “There’s no way Ivan is responsible for this! Why would he poison the very people he is trying to help?”

“To make them hate their lord and force them to join his cause,” Petran replied in a serious tone.

“No,” she uttered in defiance and pushed off the tree trunk. “You are wrong, Petran, Ivan is not behind this.”

“Why are you so damn quick to defend him?” Petran grunted, also standing up. “What has he done to deserve such unconditional devotion?” Petran hadn’t meant to sound rude or raise his voice but her blind adoration for Ivan had triggered something inside him, something which had been long dormant.

“I’m devoted to the cause, Petran, not to him,” she refuted.

“So you can look me in the eye and say you feel nothing for him?”

She lifted her chin up and stared at him, her large grey eyes were so penetrating that he swore she could see his inmã. “I feel nothing but friendship for Ivan Milek.”

Her answer made Petran feel more content than he should have.

“But I do feel very strongly about our cause. No one deserves to live in serfdom, like slaves in their own land. They don’t have anything to call their own, and their offspring will have no prospect of a better life either. Did you know that all other countries in the world have abolished serfdom, Petran?”

He liked the way she addressed him by his name, without the barriers imposed by titles. It felt like it brought them closer somehow.

“It’s not that simple, Natalia. Your father will go bankrupt if he has to pay for every serf’s services in his territory,” he replied. Even though his words called upon reason, his voice had dropped an octave and his brain was barely functioning.

She took a step closer. “But you did it, did you not?”

Yes, he had. He had abolished serfdom in his kingdom a century ago. “It’s different,” he mumbled. She was really close, he could smell her unique, sweet scent, the one threatening to drive him mad for not having pinpointed what it was. “We have a lot of humans working for us. After our lands were stricken by the Black Death and almost one third of the human population died, we had no choice but to offer better conditions for those who survived. Otherwise, they would have simply packed their bags and left.”

“But you had the option of simply using other races at the time, instead of humans, but you didn’t, you chose to reward them for their services and give them a future.” She slowly lifted her hand and touched his arm. “We need you, Petran,” she whispered.

Petran watched as her hand traveled up and down his bicep.

“We need your help to influence the other lords into changing their ways.” She gazed at him from under her long lashes.

Cheeky little wench.

“I mean, the other lords respect your advice.” Her voice came out like a sensual whisper. “They look up to you.”

“Lady Natalia?”

“Yes?”

He leaned forward and lowered his lips close to hers. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

Her large grey eyes shot up to meet his, like a school girl caught stealing candies.

“Maybe,” she replied as if she was incapable of lying. Her cheeks went completely red. How can she be so adorable and so infuriating at the same time? “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, stepping back. “I don’t know what I was—”

“Don’t.” He clasped her hand in his, making her halt mid-stride. “If you plan on meddling in with the grown-ups, you must learn how to play the game, my dear.”

Then he leaned forward, and whispered, “Let me introduce you to a few techniques.”

She gasped as he gently pulled her close, and placed her left hand on his stomach. “You must start by connecting with your target in a discrete manner, as if you were barely aware you were touching him.”

She blinked a few times, but did not pull away.

He guided her hand up his chest, slowly, taking his time. “Then, you show him you want it but are unsure if your feelings are reciprocated.” He interlaced his fingers through hers and brushed the back of them against the exposed skin on his neck.

A weak gasped escaped her delectable lips.

“After that, you give him the opportunity to openly show his affection, throwing some rope out before reeling the fish in.” He brushed her forefingers along his lips, then captured one of them into his mouth and gently, oh-so gently, sucked on it.

She trembled at his bold move.

Her hooded eyes stayed locked on his lips. Petran’s shaft jumped up, demanding attention. He was dying to ravish her right there and then but he needed to take it slow, otherwise the master would lose his apprentice. But by Apa Dobrý, it was becoming too painful to contain himself.

When he took a second finger into his mouth and licked the sensitive joint between them, Natalia gulped loudly while clutching at his shirt with her other hand.

“And after that, your majesty,” she whispered breathlessly. “What should I do?”

“You must invite him to explore other sensations, let him take his time doing so,” he drawled, guiding her moist fingers along her own chest and gently grazing the tops of her plump breasts. “Perhaps give him a taste of forbidden skin.”

At her heavy sigh, he grew bolder, and harder, rasping both their fingers underneath her flimsy scarf covering her cleavage.

Her peaks pebbled at his soft touch. Petran had to firm his embrace around her waist to keep Natalia up, it seemed her knees had turned to jelly.

And he liked that. He loved knowing he had this effect on her.

Her head dropped backward and a delicious moan escaped her lips.

Merciful Soartas, he had intended for their little lesson to be a jest, a fickle game without consequences, but the way she was giving herself to the sensations he stirred was much too enthralling for him to ignore.

Unable to contain himself, Petran ran his palm along the edge of her stomacher, making her lean even further back and open up to him completely. As a result, her bodice dropped lower, exposing a milky neckline. He could almost see her pink nipples.

Her core rasped against his leg and she wailed in surprise, almost driving him insane. He dipped his head low and ran his tongue over the top of her breasts, from the vale between them all the way under her earlobe.

“Oh,” she gasped.

He noticed how her control was slowly crumbling—her breathing had turned into a soft panting, and her lips parted in invitation. They were so close, so moist, so alluring, that Petran found it impossible not to taste them again.

He lowered his head down and closed the gap between them, fastening his mouth to hers.

But this time around, he took his time exploring her lusciousness.

His kiss was demanding, but not hurried. His mouth and tongue sheathed her lips in a slow and seductive waltz. She tasted like a forbidden fruit from Apa Sâmbetei, something one should relish at its full while one could. His shaft hardened to a level he didn’t think possible. It ached, it burned, it cried to have a taste of her sweet core.

After devouring her mouth, he continued his explorations down her delicious neck. He nibbled at her earlobe, and then slowly grazed his tongue along the sensitive path of her collarbone, along the edges of her deep cleavage, almost contouring her nipples, finishing on the vale between her breasts.

Then, he made his way back up. Taking. His. Time.

“Oh, Petran, your beard,” she moaned.

“What of it?”
Was he scratching her?
Did she not like it?

“I love it.”

He smiled at such an open revelation.

At each stroke, Natalia groaned and trembled in his arms. But he wanted more. He wanted her to lose control, and he knew exactly how to do it. He lowered his hold on her back and clutched her buttocks, pulling her hips firmly against him, forcing her to explore her own sensations between her legs. And by Apa Dobrý, she complied.

She ground herself against him in time with the strokes of his tongue on her neck. He didn’t know if she was aware of what she was doing, or better yet, if she was aware of what she was doing to him. His cock wept in response. It throbbed at every surprised little breath she took. If she rubbed herself against him one more time, he would lose control for sure.

She did.

And so did he.

With a growl resembling one of a feral animal, he reached around and expertly unhooked her bodice. The material gave easily as he pulled the top part down to her elbows, releasing her breasts from captivity.

Mighty Soartas, they were so firm, so plump, so luscious.

Without asking for permission, Petran cupped the left mound with his hand, massaging it slowly but fully, ensuring he hadn’t overlooked the already pebbled nipple.

Natalia rewarded him in kind. She closed her eyes and arched her back for him, crushing to little pieces his determination to go slow. No, it wasn’t enough to feel her. He had to taste her.

While supporting her in his arm, and fondling her left breast with one hand, he lowered his lips to the other and licked the pink peak.

“Oh, dear,” she cried out loud pulling his head up by the hair. “What did you do?” she breathed.

“I licked you,” he replied, and realized he too was panting. “Do you not like it?”

Talia blinked repeatedly, as if deciding if the spike in sensations was good or bad.

“Here, let me do it again to help you decide.” He lowered his lips down to her nipple once again, and sucked it languidly.

“Oh, Petran!” Talia yelped.

“Do you want me to stop?” he whispered against her tight peak.

“Do not dare!” She replied clutching on his hair, trembling profusely in his arms.

He complied, delighting himself in her eagerness. But when the delectable scent of female arousal reached his nose, and he lost it.

His fangs elongated of their own accord, piercing her soft skin just above the pebbled tip. The delicious metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth as he sucked her nipple hard, and drank of her at the same time.

Her moans got huskier, and louder. Never letting her go, he reached underneath her skirts and pulled her up, wrapping her legs around his hips. Her wet core met his engorged cock, with just a thin layer of undergarment separating them. He groaned in ecstasy. The fabric was no match for the fire emanating from him. The harder he sucked her nipple, the gaudier her whimpers became, the more franticly they rocked against each other. He wanted to penetrate her, he needed to enter her, to feel his length squeezed by her inner walls.

Mighty Soartas, he was ready to explode.

By the way she was crying out and the scent she exuded, Natalia was also on the brink.

“Natalia, I can’t stop,” he breathed against her skin, then resumed lapping at her nipple, rocking her core against his cock, and fondling her breast. It was addictive. She was addictive.

“Don’t. Please, don’t stop,” she choked out between yelps of pleasure.

By the gates of Hiad, she was asking him to take her right there and then.

No, it wasn’t possible. She didn’t know what she was asking for. She was still a virgin and knew not of the act of making love. And if he were to be her first, he wanted it to be right—on a proper bed, where her skin wouldn’t be marred by twigs and dirty grass.

How ironic was that? A few weeks ago, he had started this journey relishing his plan to deflower her as soon as possible, and now, when the opportunity finally presented itself, his consciousness was too heavy to go ahead with it. The Soartas were definitely playing a prank on him.

He pulled away from her breast and kissed her hard. “Natalia,” he mumbled against her lips. “We must stop.”

“Yes, we must,” she exclaimed panting, but her hands were still clutching at his hair, pulling him to her.

“We can be discovered at any moment,” he breathed. His rational mind was screaming for him to let go of her, instead, he kissed her again.

With a herculean effort, he unclutched her from him then lifted her gown back up and over her lean shoulders. All the while, he couldn’t bring himself to unlock his lips from hers. She tasted simply delicious.

“Milady?” The faint call coming from a few feet away made them both freeze. “Talia?”

The owner of the voice was coming in their direction.

Natalia let out a short squeal then covered her mouth with her hand. Her grey eyes were wide in fright.

“Turn around, quickly,” Petran whispered.

She complied and he hooked her gown back up as fast as he could, but there were so many bloody buttons. How in Hiad had he managed to undo them so easily and now it seemed to take forever to do them back up?