Page 54 of Claimed

His answering growl moves through my whole body as he surges up, one arm banding around my waist, his mouth striking my throat as I come.

Fangs pierce. Pleasure detonates. I cry out, nails scraping down his chest, mind going white around the unbearable intimacy of him inside my body and inside my head.

Tesoro, he rasps through the tether. Beautiful. Mine.

When he pulls away, he’s shaking. Which is… scary as fuck.

Valentin Moretti, ancient vampire king, ruler of New York, a creature who has brought monsters to their knees with a glance, is trembling beneath me.

‘Valentin?’

His eyes remain shut as the mark at his throat flares once, twice, then gutters like a flame losing air.

My afterglow dies instantly. ‘Valentin!’

His hand tightens on my hip, then falls.

‘No.’ I slap his chest. ‘No, no, no. You do not get to sex-coma your way out of answering medical questions.’

His eyes open halfway. Silver, black and red, all wrong.

The room shudders.

Somewhere beyond the doors, the Tower reacts again. I feel it through the thread before I hear the footsteps. The Twelve, moving fast.

‘Valentin, talk to me.’

His mouth curves faintly, which is rude, considering my heart is attempting to climb out of my throat. ‘Imperious even now,’ he murmurs. Then his eyes close again.

The doors burst open so hard they crack against the wall.

Malachi is first, blade drawn. The rest stop when they see me naked on top of their unconscious sire.

This is somehow not the most alarming part of the tableau.

‘Oh, for fuck’s sake,’ I snap, grabbing the nearest sheet and hauling it around myself. ‘Maybe knock?’

No one laughs.

Malachi’s face turns ashen beneath the fury.

Aaron moves towards the bed, completely ignoring me. ‘Sire?’

‘He passed out,’ I say, panic sharpening every word. ‘Again. After drinking. Not a lot. I don’t think. Maybe more than a little. Stop looking at me like that.’

Luca swears softly.

Gideon’s gaze goes to Valentin’s throat. ‘The mark? What happened to it?’

‘It flared,’ I say. ‘Then dimmed.’

Aaron’s expression tightens.

Through the opened bloodline, I catch a flash of thought that is not mine.

This is bullshit. We’re playing chicken with our sire’s life when there’s a witch who can tell us what the fuck’s going on with⁠—

Yeah, she’s been here for two days.