Queens and Monsters: A Vampire Shifter Romance (The Blood Falls Book 1)

I woke just before dawn feeling more lonely than I could ever remember. The ache hurt. It seemed endless. I wished I was somewhere happier and then very suddenly…

I was.

One minute I sat in my bed thinking of the lovely mornings at the House of Wren, of Dray, of Dray’s view of the valley, and then bam I was there. On Dray’s porch, looking out at the first flickers of light in the sky.

Holy shit. This wasn’t real, was it? But the wood of the railing felt real. Cool. Damp. And the smell was unmistakable. Forest and dew. Plus, I was pretty damn cold for someone imagining things.

Then the door behind me swung open. “What the fuck happened?” Dray stood there in just a pair of boxers, a faint light from inside casting him in shadows.

It all seemed pretty real. “I have no idea.”

He moved fast, his hand in my hair tilting my lips up to his, kissing me deep. Apparently questions and answers would come later and I couldn’t find it in me to be upset about that. I kissed him back, his warmth and intensity helping me understand that this was indeed very real. There was no way my mind could imagine all the ways Dray found to kiss me. It was always deeper, softer, there were more scents and tastes. My dreams simply couldn’t compete with the real thing.

He pressed his forehead to mine and held me close. “Something’s wrong or else you wouldn’t have shifted to the exact spot I told you to come to when you needed peace.”

Oh.

Oh… “I shifted?”

“Did you get here by any other means?” Now he pressed his cheek against mine, his hand still in my hair.

“No.”

“Then tell me what’s wrong.” He kissed my lips tenderly.

“Nothing really. I was just lonely, wishing I was here. And then I was here.”

He pulled back. “That’s incredible. You just started shifting.”

I nodded. “And only from place to place on the property.”

“You never tried to go further?”

I shook my head. His eyes roamed my face. “I told you. You’re powerful.”

I shivered as the temperature dropped right before dawn. And maybe a little because of the way he said that. Like I was wonderful and amazing. “Can you shift that far?”

“Yes. But I’ve been doing it for years.” He rubbed my arms when I shivered again. “Let’s get some coffee and maybe a sweater to watch the sunrise.”

It was my first time inside Dray’s treehouse and it did not disappoint. It wasn’t large, but it was all him. On the right was a very nice kitchen with a counter and barstools. To the left were walls lined with bookcases. Some shelves held books; many held an enormous library of vinyl records. Under one window sat a turntable and giant speakers. There was another gorgeous stone fireplace and then a full liquor bar that appeared to mostly contain a collection of local whiskey and bourbon. It was cozy.

“How did you know I was here?”

He looked up from pouring two mugs of coffee. “I know exactly where you are at all times, Rhysa.”

Another shiver—and this time it wasn’t because I was cold.

He handed me a steaming mug, then draped one of his big mountain man fuzzy flannel jackets over my shoulders. “I’ll meet you at the rocking chairs.”

I had just settled into my seat when Dray joined me in a matching jacket and fuzzy pajama pants. He pushed a pair of slippers my way. He already had on his boots. “No talking. Relax.”

He really didn’t say a single word as we watched the sky transform, lighting the sky, the mountain, and the valley below. Every color seemed more vivid than it should be, the sky clearer. As the birds woke, their chirps were the only sounds in the world.

I felt my muscles slowly relax even as the caffeine flooded my system. Muscles I didn’t even know I’d been tensing. Especially my jaw. My mind wandered aimlessly for the first time in days.

“How long can you stay?”

I realized Seema would be in with breakfast in a little over an hour. Would I be able to get back? “My breakfast is brought at eight.”

“Fancy. We have time then.”

I shivered again at the possibility. “Time for what?”

“To feed you.” His eyes glimmered. “Or whatever else you need. Do you want to talk? Ask questions? I can hold you.”

Yes, I would take all of it. “My first question is…how do I get back?”

He smiled. “The same way you came here. You can do it.”

“Will they know?”

“That you left?” He shrugged. “Unlikely. Unless someone is constantly monitoring you.”

I didn’t think anyone was watching me that closely. Except maybe Rhymus or Presymus.

“What are you thinking? It’s not good.”

I already forgot how perceptive these Wren’s were at reading emotions. It was so completely different from the emotionless Axl’s. It’s part of what made me so loose lipped with Dray and Gigi. Information just poured out of me. “My cousin and uncle aren’t pleased with my Awakening. They haven’t explicitly threatened me, but they’re pushing buttons.”

Dray nodded slowly. “Are you safe?”

I wanted to keep my suspicions to myself, but the truth dripped out anyway. “I don’t know. They seem to be waiting and learning for now, but I suspect they have an agenda.”

His jaw tensed. “Anyone else?”

“Not that I know of.” This time I did manage to keep my mouth shut before I told him all about the Dregs and the neighborhood. It was too soon to share half information. “You really think I can shift right back into my bedroom?”

“I know you can.”

I bit my lip trying to hold in my next thought but it was pointless. It came out anyway. “So I could come visit every day?”

His smile dropped. “You need to be careful. If anyone begins to suspect you’re coming and going as you please, you will have more attention on you all the time.”

“Good point. Can you come visit? For real?”

He shook his head. “Antyne meant it when he said I couldn’t enter his house alive.”

Damn it. I didn’t like that answer at all, but I did enjoy this new sense of freedom I felt. For the first time since the Awakening I felt in control of something. The sun continued to climb in the sky as we sat in silence, the delicate balance we lived weighing on both of us. The moment I took my last sip of coffee and set the mug on the rail, Dray scooped me into his lap.

I snuggled into the soft flannel, his strong arms making me feel safe. This was everything I wanted: to be safe and loved in this most beautiful spot above the world.

“I feel so useless,” Dray confessed. “I want to be by your side. I want to do something.”

I’d feel a hell of a lot better if I didn’t have to do so much on my own. I burrowed deeper. “Any progress with my mother?” I felt him hold his breath for a moment.

He picked up a strand of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers. “Yes, actually. Now that you’ve officially been named the heir it’s safer. They mentioned neutral territory.”

I looked up, studied the stubble on his chin, the angle of his jaw…the beating pulse against his throat. “Where is neutral?”

“I was thinking Blood Falls. I’m not sure if it would just be a meet with the House or if your mother would be able to come, but the Falls have always been seen as a safe place for everyone.” He threaded my hair around his finger.

I nodded, liking the idea. Any step forward I’d take. “See? You’re doing a lot.”

He grimaced. “It’s not the same and you know it.”

My big, bad protector wanted to be in charge of everything. Maybe it would help to remind him there were many things he wasn’t in control of—and that was a good thing. I moved in his arms, completely repositioning to straddle him in the rocking chair. “I know that you can’t control this.” I pressed a kiss to his throat, tasted him, scratched his skin with my sharp fang.

He sucked in a breath, his hands tightening on my hips. “No…no I cannot.”

“When it comes to me,” I murmured against his skin, “you have no control at all.”

“None at all.” He began to harden and I’d barely done anything.

I realized one of the reasons I craved this so intensely was that it was the only other thread of control I had at my disposal. Now I could go where and when I pleased, and I could also make this powerful man forget everything but me.

These were not small powers and the rush I felt was heady, indeed. I licked out again, his groan vibrating against my mouth. “Please?” he begged. “Don’t tease me.” He strained beneath me, desperate for my bite.

I moved my hands over the rigid muscles of his biceps, shoulders, chest. He was strung taught, waiting for me. So I finally sank my teeth into his skin and sucked. I sighed with relief to taste his sweet, powerful blood on my tongue. The energy surged into my veins, heating me, drugging me.

“Damn, Rhysa,” he moaned. “You’re so thirsty.”

I pulled another draught, and then another. My hips rocked along his length, my nipples tingling for attention. Dray was on the same page, his hands moving inside the flannel to push the straps of my gown down my shoulders. The fabric sagged away, replaced by Dray’s large hands.

“Have you not drunk since you left?”

I pulled again, then sat up. “I have but there’s something wrong. It’s like poison to me. Gigi’s doing research.”

Dray’s brows pulled down in worry. “Poison?”

I’d drunk from four different samhain, all highly placed family members, and the results were always the same. “It tastes horrible, but I also feel so sick afterward.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” His eyes caressed my body lovingly. “Maybe you should visit every few days.”

I hated being nauseous but I liked that it gave me an excuse to see Dray. “Hopefully Gigi learns something useful.”

“In the meantime, we should make the most of this time together.” His hand moved to my hair and tugged my head backward. “My turn.”

The moment his fangs pierced my skin my inner muscles squeezed, my bared breasts ached. With each suck my lust grew exponentially, especially when his fingers pinched me lightly.

“Dray!”

He licked away. “Take me.”

I lifted up, digging into his pants, wrapping my fist around his hard cock, pumping twice to feel the hardness of his shaft. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed against the wood of the chair.

Mine. Totally and completely mine.

So I made a fist at his base, positioning his head at my entrance. With my delicate panties pushed to the side I was able to sink down onto him without having to remove a single piece of clothing. The chair rocked gently beneath us, the sun climbing in the sky behind me, warming the air.

“Hot.”

He nodded, helping me remove the flannel jacket, my breasts on full display. Something Dray couldn’t resist. As I took him deeper with each rock of my hips, he feasted. Every time he flicked my nipple my inner muscles clenched around his cock. It drove us both wild, but I used the rocking chair as an excuse to keep things slow and surprisingly gentle.

For us.

I was still caught off guard by how much more sensitive I was, how each lick or touch drove my lust wilder. A human might have been horrified by the orgy I watched last night, but with Dray deep inside me, with my mind gone to anything but sex, I understood it perfectly. The call for more, for it to never end. His thumb massaged the side of my throat and behind my ear—sensitive spots before—but now it heated me even further, I could feel each stroke in my breasts, in my core. As if every erogenous zone on my body were connected by strings and pulling on one pulled them all.

“I like it slow,” Dray murmured, leaning me back further so he could tease my nipple with his fangs. “I can really feel all of you surrounding my dick. So hot and wet for me, Rhysa, squeezing me so tight.” He licked away the pain and sucked me into his mouth.

I rose up and down, loving the feel of his cock stretching me over and over. His hand stroked my spine, skating lower with each rock of my hips, until it dipped into my underwear. He massaged with his fingers down each vertebra until I gasped in pleasure. It was a sensation I knew, but had never felt there before.

“What are you doing?”

He smiled against my skin. “A human clitoris is half the size of a samhain clitoris.”

It went all the way back there? He massaged again and I realized the pleasure I felt was identical to the sensations of Dray massaging the tip of my clit—or what I’d always thought of as the only tip.

“Sit up. I’ll show you.” I rose up so there was some space between our bodies but his cock was still inside me. “This you know.” With the base of his palm he pressed into the tip of my clit, his fingers massaging down my folds. I sighed as a wave of pleasure washed through me. “But it doesn’t stop here.”

His fingers moved around my entrance to where his other fingers moved in the opposite direction, the amazing pleasure continuing as they moved up to the base of my spine. When he pressed into both tips at once I gasped. “Oh fuck.” My core clenched harder than ever.

“Told you there was so much more to do. Sink down onto me.”

Once he filled me completely he began to massage, his lips on my nipple sucking. The pleasure was so complete that electricity raced up my spine and what seemed like a mental orgasm accompanied my physical one.

Dray smiled. “Let’s do it again.” He stood straight up from the chair with me on his cock and placed my backside on the railing. “But this time it’s my turn. Hold on.”

I wrapped my fingers around the edge of the wood, ignoring the fact that there was nothing but mountain beneath me.

“God, yes. My fucking dream come true. Bare to me in your nightclothes on my deck, the perfect view behind you.” He drove into me once, deep and hard. I cried out, my voice echoing off the trees around us. “Even better.” He reared back and stroked again. “But I want your tits in my mouth.” He wrapped a strong arm around my waist. I naturally arched backward until his lips were on me, flicking, sucking, making my inner muscles stroke his cock inside me. “I’m never going to forget fucking you with the morning light on your skin, in my favorite place, my dick buried so deep inside your pussy you can’t see straight, the only words on your lips my name.”

“Dray,” I moaned, taking his cock over and over.

“That’s right.” He captured my other nipple and swirled his talented tongue around it before flicking the tip over and over. “I’m being selfish.” He withdrew from me completely and stood me up. The sudden change making me dizzy as Dray stripped us both naked, then spun me around. “You should get to enjoy the view, too.”

He stroked back inside me as I bent forward, using the railing as a brace. From this angle the stretch was different and I found it hard to breathe for at least five strokes before I became used to his new invasion.

That’s when his fingers began traveling down my spine again…until he found the spot that made me gasp with pleasure. He teased my clit as he slammed into me, my breasts swung as his strokes sped up. I spun higher and higher as he pounded me from behind, his massaging fingers driving me closer and closer to orgasm.

“I’m close,” he gritted out.

“So am I,” I gasped as he drove so deep inside me I saw stars.

“Good.” He bent forward, sinking his teeth into the joint between my shoulder and neck, while giving me his wrist. I bit down just as his orgasm hit. I felt the surge of power in his blood a split second before the jerk of his cock and the heat of his orgasm inside me. It triggered my own, sending my body spasming, squeezing his entire length and holding it captive inside me.

When my inner muscles finally released him, he stroked several times before pulling his teeth and his cock out. “Fucking brilliant, Rhysa.”

I sagged against the railing feeling both exhausted and high. “I need to go.”

He groaned. “No. Let me make you breakfast first.”

I wanted nothing more but I could feel the time and needed to be back in my bed. I reached blindly for my gown and slipped it on. “Thanks for the coffee.”

He collapsed, buck naked into the rocking chair, his fading erection now laying against his thigh. “Just the coffee?”

“And everything else.”

“You forgot your panties.” He pointed at the lace near my feet.

“I think taking them with me would do more harm than good.” How would I explain my soaked and torn panties to Seema? “Keep them.”

Dray grinned. “Oh, I will. My trophy to go along with my memory.”

I brushed my hair back into place and took a deep breath.

“You can go back just as easily as you got here. Don’t fight it.” He stood back up and came to me, kissing me deep, then pressing his forehead to mine. “My Rhysa.”

I sank into that moment, that safety and care only Dray provided, then pictured my bed. A moment later that’s where I was. Warm instead of chilled. Alone instead of with Dray.