STORY EXCERPT

There was a time when Fitzwilliam Steele would have said he would rather die than kiss the feet of some filthy vampire, but it was as though there was someone up there determined to make him eat as much shit as possible before Fitz was able to rest. The fucking irony of it was that Fitz wanted to do it. He, a warrior vampires pissed their pants over, couldn’t get to his knees fast enough to put his mouth on the expensive shoe of the vampire male standing above him.

Worse, the guy was shorter than Fitz, clearly no warrior, and yet he had Fitz by the balls in every way possible.

Just a month after Fitz told his clan leader of his wish to find himself a mate, he found one.

In the leader of a fucking vampire nest.

God clearly hated him for this.

* * * *

Nicholas was not the sort of vampire who became attached to things easily. He’d been raised that way. His mother abandoned him when he was eight, as was proper for all vampire females.

The females had an even bigger craving for blood than the males. Sometimes that craving was enough that they were known to feed from their young if there was not a proper separation.

After all, the females were known to drink from the males after coitus. It was required if they wanted a child to be conceived at all.

And sometimes the females drank so much from their partners that they killed them. Which was why Nikki did not have a father in his life.

He’d inherited this house at birth, and when his mother left him, humans settled the estates and worked the grounds, offering their blood for him to drink while tending to the yard and making sure everything looked proper for the humans who might be peering in. When the humans suspected there were vampires nearby, they got their ties in a twist and tended to run for the dragons to fix their roach problem.

Considering how young Nikki had been to be on his own in the care of servants, he’d been lucky that he hadn’t been discovered sooner.

Until his mother’s nest was ransacked and burned six months ago all because one little feeder had escaped.

Now, he had himself a pet. A vampire couldn’t have attachments. It was the way of the world. There was no love, no warmth, only the need to feed, and for his Christmas, Nikki would be feeding from a dragon. Better than all that, the dragon would let him.

The dragon pulled his mouth away from Nikki’s shoe. He looked up at Nikki with such hate in his eyes, but Nikki could only smile. “Do you want to kill me?”

The dragon growled. The lower tier vampires, the turned humans, and the ones so weak they were useless to his nest, stepped back in fear of that noise.

“I think it would do us both a favor to put you out of your misery. I might be able to sleep at night afterward.”

“Ah, but I am your mate. How would you sleep at night knowing you had killed your own mate?”

The dragon growled again. He didn’t look at Nikki after that. He seemed to be struggling with the predicament he’d found himself in.

Nikki pulled at the chain he had leashed to the man’s neck. “Tell me who else knows of our location.”

The dragon wouldn’t stop growling. “No one.”

Nikki frowned. “I don’t believe you.”

The dragon shook his head. “It’s the truth. I was flying overhead when I spotted one of your idiot minions feeding from that dog. I like dogs, by the way. You can’t get anything else to drink from without it being a poor dog?”

“You mean like a human?” Nikki asked. He was trying not to enjoy this too much, but he found it to be difficult. He didn’t want to give this dragon too much credit, he seemed simple enough, handsome, yet foolish to attempt an attack on his own.

This could be a trick. The entire point could be to bring himself inside and put himself at the mercy of Nikki and his nest.

But that would be a big risk. Who was to say Nikki didn’t see the man and immediately kill him? Revenge for what had happened to his mother’s nest?

Instead, he was enjoying watching the bastard squirm a little too much. It wasn’t often a vampire had a dragon by the throat like this.

“You’re not supposed to drink from humans, either.”

Nikki rolled his eyes. “Can’t drink from humans, can’t drink from dogs. What would you have us drink from?”

“How about a pig?”

Nikki took that for the insult that it was. He let his hand fly, slapping the dragon hard across the face. If he’d done that to a human, it would have taken their head off. Because he’d done it to a dragon, the man barely moved. He didn’t so much as flinch or turn his head under the force of the blow.

That didn’t stop Nikki from standing a little taller while his dragon mate was on his knees. He practically shook as he stared at the man. “You dare…”

“Yeah.” The dragon continued to stare hatefully up at him. “I do.”

Nikki needed to show strength. He needed to show that he was in command of this situation and not the dragon, otherwise his own nest would begin to look at him with a great deal of suspicion. They would turn against him, kill him in his sleep, and feed off his blood.

He was no child any longer, and the protection of his mother, even from another house, was no longer with him.

So, Nikki slapped the dragon again, and again, and again. He did it until he drew blood, very aware of the pain he felt with each stroke. And not merely in his hand.

There was something else here. Something that knifed him every time he raised a hand to the man.

The mating. Of course.

Nikki observed the blood droplet that slid from the dragon’s cheek. He reached a finger out, gently wiping it away before he brought his finger to his mouth. He inhaled deep, closing his eyes as he savored the taste.

And oh, God, that taste…

Unlike anything he’d ever experienced before. There was a spice on his tongue that Nikki had never tasted before, as well as a sweetness. He had never been under the impression that he could taste color before, but that was certainly what he was experiencing now. He wanted to keep drinking it. He wanted more.

ADULT EXCERPT

“You want me.”

Fitz growled at the man. “You’re my mate. Of course I want you.”

That eager look didn’t once dim from Nicholas’s eyes. “So then take me.”

Fitz jerked back. He stared at the man, and for a second, he wondered if Nicholas was speaking in some form of vampire code that Fitz didn’t know about.

Then he wondered if the man had lost his mind.

”You’re not serious.”

“I am,” Nicholas said. His hands lifted, touching Fitz’s chest, and God, somehow those cold fingers managed to be the hottest thing Fitz had ever felt in his life. Those fingers left a burning trail across his skin. His entire body reacted, goosebumps forming across his flesh, the hairs on the back of his arms and neck standing straight up.

His hair wasn’t the only thing that stood up, either. His stupid dick reacted.

His mate was touching him. Fitz needed his mate to touch him. He needed his mate to stroke him, suck his cock, get onto his hands and knees and let Fitz fuck him good and hard.

“You want me to put my scent all over you?” Fitz felt himself angered by this, because there was no way this wasn’t a trick. “You expect me to believe that you want the other vampires you control to smell a dragon’s cum on you?”

“What makes you think you’re going to be the one to take charge here?”

That was something Fitz had to smile about. “Right. As if you think you’re the one who’s going to be bending me over. If anyone is going to be topping, it’s going to be me.”

And he meant it, too.

From the little shiver Nicholas released, and the fact that he still smiled that mischievous little smile, Fitz was pretty sure Nicholas wanted that more than Fitz did.

“You want me to fuck you.” Fitz stepped forward again, closing the space he’d put between them a moment ago. Nicholas watched him, those eyes as eager as ever, and Fitz could smell the lust on him. “You want me to fuck you. That’s what you’re into. Holy shit.” Fitz actually laughed. “My mate is a vampire, but you’re also a total bottom, aren’t you? You like the idea of being dominated.”

The smile wavered from Nicholas’s face just a touch. “I like…I would like you to take control, yes, but that’s not entirely the same as enjoying being dominated.”

“I disagree.”

“Disagree all you want. Domination has a certain ring to it that has nothing to do with the enjoyment of being fucked. I don’t want you to dominate me. I would like for you to fuck me and make it feel good.”

“Oh, well, if his majesty would want that, then sure thing. Why wouldn’t I just give you the night of your life when you’ve got me in chains?”

“I happen to think you look fetching in chains.”

Shit. That was not something Fitz needed to hear. Now he found himself fantasizing all about the ways he could make himself look better for Nicholas, and a lot of that involved going out, buying a shit ton of bling, and making sure he wore it whenever Nicholas was around. As if there was a possibility of having anything close to a real relationship after they got out of here.

Yeah. It wasn’t going to happen.

Fitz kicked his foot against Nicholas’s feet, encouraging the man to spread his legs just a little.

Nicholas did.

It was amazing how the other man was the one in charge here, the one fully dressed, the one who commanded the vampires who lived on and around the property, and yet he was acting as though it was Fitz who really held all the power and command.

Maybe he did. The man wanted to be dominated, did he?

Fine. If he wanted a taste of what it would feel like to have someone not kiss his ass for a change, then Fitz would gladly give it to him and make sure they both liked it.

Fitz was going to have to kill his own mate one day. He would make sure there was no pain involved. That was the least he could do, but if he had to live the rest of his life without a mate in his life, then he at least wanted a memory he could keep to himself. Something he could hold close for the times when he had to look back on his life and realize how alone he was.

All right. Fitz was about to get laid here. Vampire or no, he didn’t want to be thinking these depressing thoughts while he was trying to get off.

He reached down, cupping Nicholas’s cock hard, feeling the heat through the man’s pants, and Fitz could clearly hear the sound of his heart pounding.

It was insane.

“You smell good. You smell like oranges.”

That wasn’t important to the task of getting off, so Fitz wasn’t sure why he said it.

Even Nicholas seemed uncertain as he blinked through the haze of lust. “Uh, thanks?”

Right. Fitz wasn’t sure why he’d said that. Maybe it was a habit? It didn’t feel right to grope a man, or woman, to try to fuck someone without offering some form of compliment. Even a vampire had some good qualities. His smell, for one thing. And the perfect shape of his lips, for another.

Nicholas was wearing way too many clothes. Fitz grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, pulling hard and fast on the material and sending buttons everywhere as he ripped the silk shirt.

Of course, Nicholas hardly blinked over the destruction of an expensive bit of cloth. He probably spilled blood on shirts like these every other day. “You going to rip everything else off?”

“You want me to?”

That eager look returned to Nicholas’s eyes. He nodded quickly. “Yeah. Do it.”

Well, Fitz aimed to please.

It was difficult to bring out his claws or his scales because of the silver in the chains he wore. Werewolves weren’t the only ones allergic to silver. Even a dragon shifter could be affected, and the way he was affected was by the stunting of his ability to bring forth his dragon shape. He could still get the claws and scales out if he really wanted to, if he really focused and tried, but it took a minute or two longer than he would have liked.

And when his cock was hard and he had a willing partner right here, one or two minutes was an eternity.

Fitz used his claws to slice at the leather belt holding Nicholas’s pants up. When he easily cut through the leather, he heard another hitch in Nicholas’s breath and the skip to his heartbeat.

Fitz couldn’t help but smile. “Are you scared?”

Nicholas glared at him, composing himself. “You wish I was scared.”

“Good.” With the belt destroyed, Fitz had no problem tearing off Nicholas’s pants. The men yelped a little, but then he was standing there in nothing except the few rags that were left of his clothing and his shoes.

It was kind of funny, seeing a vampire lord looking so out of place.

There had to something more human inside him. Pure blooded vampires didn’t emote the way this guy did. Even when they tried to fake having their emotions, it never seemed to work out that way.

With his dick exposed, Fitz took it in hand.

He was pleasantly surprised by Nicholas’s girth. For some reason, he’d expected the man to not only be smaller than Fitz was, but also a little thinner.

“This belongs to me now. Do you understand me?”

He pumped Nicholas’s prick, enjoying the way the man groaned and thrust into his hand. Which made it a little extra ridiculous, because then Nicholas suddenly seemed to wake up from the haze he’d been put under as he growled at Fitz.