Love's Nudging Read online

  “That’s not your fault if you didn’t know,” I defended. “And those women made the choice. I feel horrible for them, but they still made the choice. They also chose not to tell you. It made you just as much a pawn in those coven leaders’ games.”

  “I never thought of it that way, but yes, it did,” he agreed quietly after a few moments. “Covens who had warriors born to them were given more attention, protected more. It was such a different time.” He let out a heavy sigh. “It was expected of us to spread our seed around, give the power and genes that lasted through the centuries. We were such idiots to listen.”

  “Weren’t you the one who just said too much pressure and hits make us spin out?” He didn’t reply, but I knew he understood my point. I let what he said settle a few moments before taking my turn. “I used to hope that the planes would break, that all of the planes of the royal family would just break and they couldn’t leave me again, had to spend time with me.”

  “And instead one broke and they died,” he murmured, kissing my hair. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks,” I rasped, burying my face against his chest. “It really was the weather too. Something broke that normally wasn’t a big deal, but because it was during that weather it just all went wrong. But I’d heard of vampires surviving car wrecks and plane crashes. I had hoped they did but it all had to be kept secret, but when the funeral happened and Grandmother was so—no one would ever fool her.”

  “Yes, they are truly gone,” he promised. “I made sure of it after I heard about their death.”

  I nodded, knowing it in my heart but grateful that I hadn’t made a mistake all those years. Some of my nightmares used to be they were living somewhere fun with my baby brother, punishing me for being such a jerk and letting me think they were gone. But I knew they never would have done that. They might have been neglectful or selfish, but they weren’t mean. They didn’t get it.

  That was very different than intentionally hurting people.

  “Don’t be so sad when I have you in my arms willingly,” he whispered as he tilted up my face so he could kiss me. “Want me as I want you, Markham. I will be good to you, I swear it.”

  “Why me?” I wondered again.

  “Because you had the balls to punch me when I stepped out of line,” he murmured as he pulled me on top of him. “Because of a lot of reasons, but believe me, they are there. Fall for me, and I will tell you all of them. I’m not brave enough to tell you when I’m terrified you will break my heart.”

  I mashed my mouth to his, not even realizing I planned to do that until we were kissing. I moved between his legs and ground my hips against his, loving the contact, wanting more of it as I used one hand to pull his lower half closer while my other hand fisted his hair so he stayed where I wanted him. A few minutes of that and I wanted more, much more.

  “Don’t move,” I growled as I pulled away from his mouth. I waited until he nodded and then reached over to the nightstand, finding the lube so I could get him ready.

  “As much as I’m enjoying your aggressive side, be warned that I will do the same.”

  “I’m fine with that,” I promised, understanding it was probably a bit unnerving given I wasn’t normally an aggressive person.

  “Good.” He rolled us and straddled my chest, holding out his dick for me. “Suck it while I stretch myself to ride you.”

  I immediately did, turned on by his aggressive side as well as long as it was a situation like this. Maybe we were both switches?

  I liked the idea and it got me hot, sucking on him harder until he groaned. It didn’t take him long to get ready since he could move so fast, but by then I was really into my treat, moving my hands to his thighs so he stayed there. He leaned over and thrust as he braced his hand on the wall, fucking my face in a way I really liked and hadn’t experienced before.

  He came with a deep moan, not even warning me, and I swallowed down all he gave me. I blinked, and he was lowering himself on my dick. I watched in awe as he took more and more of me in his body, our gazes locked as if we couldn’t even consider looking away.

  “You’re in such trouble,” he whispered, his eyelids fluttering closed as his ass touched my thighs. “Truly, you are, Markham.” He leaned over me and fisted my hair this time, keeping me still… As his fangs came out. “Thousands and thousands of years have I lived, and never have I had even a tingle from my fangs, but here I’m chasing after such a young man and our first time they come out.”

  I swallowed loudly, staring at them and the desire in his eyes. “Mine aren’t. I’m sorry.”

  He chuckled, licking them before retracting them. “You are young. I’ve watched you, gotten to know you, for a while now. If yours just popped out so fast, I think we would both wonder if it was because you were young.” He smirked at me when I nodded. “But you’re fucked because I will do everything to make you love me, make you mine.”

  I nodded, not sure what else to say or do. Yanking his lips to mine, I kissed him as I bucked my hips so he got the idea to move. And did he ever. He moved so fast, did so much that I couldn’t even get my bearings straight as he set my body on fire, much less figure out some way to help.

  My climax was so strong it hurt in a good way, but still, it hurt. He finished too, and we simply stared at each other, both of us panting.

  “I won’t ever be able to do that to you,” I blurted.

  He simply smirked at me. “And? If all we ever had was sex one way, it would be ridiculously boring. I prefer all the ways.”

  “Good point.” I sat up and flipped us, turning him under me and thrusting back into his body. I folded him under me in a way no one probably dared to do to Bricius and bit his shoulder as I fisted his dick while using every ounce of my strength to slam as deep as possible in him.

  “Never been fucked like this,” he admitted, probably knowing that had been my goal. I didn’t bite him with my fangs or drink from him—as that would mate us—but I kept biting as I drilled him. He liked it a lot from the noises he made, burying his face in my pillow as I kept him under me.

  He came twice before I finished deep in his body, something primal in me happy that I did. I nibbled on his ear as we panted while our hearts raced. I didn’t want to move off of him, leave him yet.

  “Why are you giving me a chance after all I’ve done wrong?” he asked quietly, his voice so soft I barely heard it. I assumed he did that so I could pretend I didn’t hear him if I didn’t want to answer.

  Or maybe so I didn’t hear him and he would never have to admit to wanting to know or asking.

  I smiled against his neck, glad he would be vulnerable with me. “If I tell you, will you suck me off again?”

  “Will I like the answer? If I do, I’ll suck you as much as you want.”

  “I think you will.” I couldn’t promise something like that. I pulled out of him and turned him under me so we were looking at each other. I brushed my lips over his, giving him a few soft kisses before answering. “You were here that day when the army of zakasacs came for us, and you haven’t once taken credit for the help. That’s someone who has a kind heart and doesn’t care about the fame.”

  He blinked at me in shock. “You are truly one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. How on earth did you figure that out?”

  I smiled at him. “Because you mentioned that playing with the airsoft sniper rifles was good training as obviously we’d had reason to before.”

  “It wasn’t a secret, how you fought back,” he muttered, studying me closely.

  “Yes, but you very specifically only named those of us who used the sniper rifles, as some of us were spotting or providing support. I doubt you combed over all our reports. You saw it.”

  “Yes,” he admitted after a moment. “But I was late. I only caught the very tail end where other Wyrok were already landing to provide aid.” He cleared his throat nervously. “They didn’t actually come upon you from one side.”

  My eyes went wide as I sat up, pulli
ng him up as well. “Holy fuck.”

  “Yes, you had another whole army of a few hundred coming from the other side.”

  “Why not tell anyone? It’s been almost a year since… Right, people would know you were awake and whatnot.”

  He shook his head. “You all were panicking and floundering. I wasn’t acclimated to this new decade that has jump so far ahead of previous ones I’ve known. Plus, I tend to terrify people even if they know I’m real as opposed to completely petrifying people who never knew I existed.”

  I didn’t like the sad tone in his voice as he said it. I leaned in and kissed him. I pushed him back to the bed, and the next thing I knew we were having sex again. When we finished, I blinked down at him. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t even ask. Is your body okay?”

  He smirked up at me. “Yes, you are very well endowed, but I promise you won’t break me.”

  “That sounds like a challenge,” I drawled before leaning over and biting his neck while stroking him roughly. It seemed to be the way to flip his switch fastest because it didn’t take long for him to come, his body twitching around my cock that was still inside him.

  Which was how we ended up having sex again. After that I was exhausted and starving. He came with me to the shower, and it wasn’t hot or passionate, but comfortable, tender, and it threw me that I could have both with one person. Wasn’t that what people looked for? Someone they could have the best of both with?

  8 ~ Bricius

  After Markham gave me a chance, I did the one thing I never did with people… Told him my secrets. The more I confided in him, the more he seemed to open up to me as well and be willing to consider having something real. The first day we spent together was magical, much better than watching him from a distance.

  Much better when I factored in the hot sex. Markham was the full package. He was kind, gentle, wounded like I was, smarter than any genius I’d met, attentive, tolerant, understanding, and so much more.

  And he also had a lot of admirers that seemed to multiply daily now that people had learned his true identity and word got out he was alive and where he was. The human press didn’t know yet, and everyone was considering what to do, as his presence could add validity to the subdivision but also bring too much attention. For the moment, they put a pin in it.

  I wanted to put about a bazillion pins in the woman currently fawning all over him. She’d flown out just for a mating interview, and her family hadn’t even cleared it with him, his family, or Henrik. But she was from a well-to-do family and insulting her would start trouble, so it was easier to go through the motions.

  However, a saint wouldn’t be able to keep their temper around the bitch.

  “But they’re commoners,” she whined. “How can you be friends with commoners with no money or notable families?”

  “Three are,” he corrected. “And I judge people on their character, not on their last names or family accounts.”

  I bit back a smirk at the dig. It was a nice way to also let her know that her name didn’t mean shit to him.

  “I’m truly sorry you flew out all this way for lunch, but—”

  “Oh, I’ll be staying longer than that,” she said easily. “Someone can just call a hotel and get me a suite.”

  “The nearest hotel is at least an hour away, and you don’t have security for that,” Mark told her, his eye twitching, which I’d realized was his tell that he was keeping his temper in check. “I understand you’re used to people accepting when you impose upon them and don’t adhere to customary politeness, but too much is going on here to accommodate you.”

  She blinked at him, finally understanding one of his insults. “Did you just call me rude?”

  He gave her a placating smile. “No, simply that you’re unaccustomed to a higher level of decorum. I’m sorry you weren’t taught as you should have been, but you have to understand that I could never entertain the idea of even courting someone who could embarrass my family.”

  Anger filled her eyes. “How dare you—”

  “You just went on for ten minutes insulting my friends in public while lecturing me about my station and remembering myself. Do you ever think that appropriate behavior to say such things in front of people?” he cut in, giving her a condescending look. “To fly somewhere without contacting them could start an international incident if you were mated into the royal family. I’m sorry, this was never going to happen.”

  “I-I thought—people said that—”

  He raised an eyebrow. “I’m just a dumb warrior so I’ll be easy to manipulate, and given I’ve been out of the public eye for so long, I must be ill-mannered and acting like a human commoner? Yes, well, you know what they say when you listen to gossip.”

  “No, what?” she whispered, giving him a curious look.

  “All you know then is gossip,” I said as I finally joined them, unable to take any more. “I apologize for interrupting, Prince Markham, but there is a meeting soon on the proposal to build a subdivision in Denmark.” In truth, we’d already had it and I’d made the gold to see it done when I’d realized how worried Mark was about his people.

  “Thank you.” Mark nodded as he pushed to stand. “Have a safe flight home, and give my best to your family.”

  “Wait, we haven’t even—”

  “I understand you believed you were flying out here to easily snag yourself a mate that could raise your station while looking down your nose at me, but you are not princess material, much less the queen I would ever allow for Denmark after my grandmother,” Mark said firmly, landing the final blow.

  She stood, dipping her head to him as tears filled her eyes. I didn’t feel sorry for her at all. She was a bitch and a horrid person, and obviously someone should have spoken to her like that sooner so she got a reality check.

  I went for extra food to go, knowing he’d barely picked at his dinner, while he dropped off his tray. I met him at the door and followed after him, shocked when he went straight for the gym.

  “One of the perks of having a partner is you don’t have to take your upsets out on a punching bag,” I teased him.

  He shot me a surprised look. “I could never hit you, Bricius.”

  I blinked at him and smirked. “Well, you have, but no, that’s not what I meant. You’re angrier than you’re showing if you didn’t get my flirting.”

  His eyes filled with heat, and a second later he was on me. He pushed me up against the wall and attacked my mouth, making one of the first real moves on his own. His hands undid my belt and jeans before he fisted my dick in his large hand. He stroked me hard as he bit my neck, harder than he should have to not break the skin, but mine was extra durable so it was fine.

  “I was supposed to give you relief,” I chuckled after I orgasmed, giving him a quick kiss.

  “I wanted to give you fun,” he muttered, his anger gone and sounding like he was pouting. “I wanted to be an ass and brag that she should choke on her bullshit and ego and I had someone like the Bricius wanting me and she was treating me like some dumb warrior she could walk all over. My ego doesn’t come out often, but it’s nasty when it does, and I felt bad for wanting to throw you in her face.”

  “Please do,” I purred. I understood the confused look because I hated when people dragged me into things. “It means you would acknowledge I’m courting you and we’re a thing.”

  “I want to,” he admitted, nuzzling his face against my neck. “I want to. I want to be with you for real.”

  “Wow, it only took two weeks to catch you in my trap,” I teased him. “It’s the sex, right? You’re addicted to it.”

  “Yes. Can we have some now since I admitted that?”

  “Can I get a bit possessive after having to watch you sit with that bitch trying to get her hooks into you?”

  He shivered. “I can suffer through that.”

  “Good.” I fixed my clothes and grabbed the food before taking his hand and dragging him to his room. Not two minutes later we were naked and I was st
retching him while eating out his ass in a way he clearly enjoyed. After his fifth orgasm I slicked up my cock and thrust into his willing body. I plowed him with everything I had, loving that my huge, gorgeous, young warrior let me take him like that.

  I finished inside of him with a snarl, using the energy flowing through me that wanted to rip off that woman’s head and instead pleasing the man I wanted to make my mate. Markham murmured something about always choosing me and thanking me before he passed out. I chuckled, completely enamored with him and never disappointed by his reactions.

  Cleaning him up was also something I enjoyed, as it gave me the chance to stare at him in a way that would normally make him uncomfortable. I took my time to check out every inch of him, finding once again he was perfection in every way a man could ever be.

  “I’m so in love with you,” I whispered as I pushed his hair off his forehead. My ears perked up when I heard my name, tucking Mark in before heading out to find Danek. “What is wrong?”

  “We’ve located a nest just outside Nero’s range,” he informed me.

  I went to answer but caught a glimpse of something I couldn’t believe. I didn’t hesitate, dashing back to the new dorm’s entrance and grabbing the man by his arm.

  Only to look at Markham’s father.

  “Can I help you?” he asked, giving me a bored look. But he wasn’t, he was shaking, except none of my gifts were registering anything as off.

  “You’re a reflector too, it runs in your family,” I whispered as I studied him. “Ancestor, you have to be an ancestor. His father is dead and knows me.”

  His eyes flashed shock, but he tried to recover. “I apologize if I’ve forgotten you. What was your name again?”

  “Bricius,” I purred.