Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Where am I?
Panic sparks inside me, quick and bright…but then the memories slam into me all at once.
I remember the Carnal Bazaar with its endless velvet shadows and twisting alleys, the air thick with perfume and sweat and sorcery…getting lost while I tried to keep my head down and my heart from pounding out of my chest. Then I recall Kael’s smile—handsome and cruel. The way his demons’ eyes tracked me like I was a prize and the way he tortured me with his lust magic.
Then I remember Lucian coming for me and the deal he made to get me back. The moment Kael demanded payment and Lucian…actually gave it to him. A vial of Lucian’s blood, gleaming darkly in the strange light, handed over as if it cost him nothing—even though I could see the fury in his face and the tension in his frame.
And then—oh God—the Lust Gates and what we had to do to get out of the Carnal Bazaar.
My skin prickles as the memory comes over me all at once. Lucian putting me down on my feet…right there in the open. The carved black iron gate towering over us, pulsing with that terrible, hungry magic…my stomach twisting when he said every gate demanded a sacrifice.
And when I realized what this one wanted.
The way he kissed me—hot and cinnamon-sweet and too good, like a dangerous candy you know you shouldn’t eat but you do anyway. The way my tongue caught on his fang and I cut myself, and instead of stopping, he told me, “No, let me taste you.” Like my blood and my mouth were his to take.
Like I was his to take.
The way his hand slid up the slit of my gown and cupped me so casually, so possessively, as if he didn’t care that people were watching us. The humiliating thrill of it, him touching me in front of everyone and the shock of realizing my body was already wet for him.
The way he made me come in public.
Because we had to, because the gate demanded lust and we needed it to open, I remind myself. But still…I can’t quite get over the shame of what we did—of what I let him do. Am I some kind of closet exhibitionist?
But my memories don’t stop at the gate. I can’t help thinking of how it was afterward… the way he held me and carried me back to Crimson Spires. He treated me like I was something precious…like he didn’t want to put me down.
And then he took me to bed and did it all again—making me come even harder the second time. He asked nothing for himself—didn’t demand that I give him a quick fuck or a blowjob, the way a lot of men would. No, he only wanted my pleasure.
I don’t know if I’ve ever been with a man like that before—one who was such a giving and talented lover. Then again, I’ve never been with a vampire before. Maybe they’re all like Lucian. But somehow, I doubt that. There’s something about him—something special.
No, wait—what am I thinking? He kidnapped me and brought me here and told me my old life was over! Just because he saved me from the creature in the dungeon and came to rescue me from the Carnal Bazaar, doesn’t make him some kind of hero. And just because he gave me the first orgasms I’ve had that weren’t by my own hand—because why is it that human men can’t find your clit with two hands and a map?—doesn’t make him a good guy.
My body doesn’t seem to think that, though.
You fell asleep in his arms, whispers an accusing little voice in the back of my head. Naked.
The thought brings me fully awake.
My eyes fly open wider and I sit up so fast the crimson sheets slide down my chest. I clutch them automatically, as if modesty matters now—as if anyone is here to see me.
“Lucian?” My voice comes out raspier than I expect. I clear my throat and try again. “Lucian? Are you here?” Maybe he’s in the bathroom. But wait—do vampires have bodily functions like humans? I have no idea and no inclination to find out.
But my calls are met with silence. I guess he’s not here or in the bathroom after all.
I glance around, my heart thudding.
The bedroom is huge—cavernous and intimate at the same time. The heavy, dark, four-poster bed with its crimson sheets and the thick carpets and curtains seem to swallow sound. The chandelier hung with ruby crystals casts a warm red glow over everything. The massive fireplace on the far wall sheds more illumination, the flames low but steady, flickering gold and red and pushing back the chill that seeps in from the stone the walls are made of.
But Lucian is nowhere to be seen.