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I opened my mouth to protest—but she moved up my body so she could slide into me on one long, luxurious stroke that made me gasp and roll my hips up against hers. My blood glistened wet and glossy on her black skin, catching fire between us like gasoline. Phoenix flames crackled around her. Inside me. Swelling to fill me, stretching me perfectly. Absorbing my cum and blood, the same as I was absorbing Mayte’s through my nails. Those flames spread through me, heating my groin and liquifying my bones, feeding me in a different way.

I slid my hand further down Leonie’s back so I could sink my nails into her buttock. Now I could taste them all at the same time. Burning cinnamon and smoldering herbs mixing with molasses, pops of fiery spices, jungle flowers, and sleek jaguar fur. My blood tied us together internally, while my hair physically bound them to me. Vivian’s flames burned higher, leaping from me to the other two queens as well, creating a wildfire hot enough to scorch our flesh from our bones if we weren’t impervious to her phoenix fire.

I worked my fingers deep in Mayte, cupping her pussy in my hand. My breast in Leonie’s mouth. And I let the flames wash over me. I didn’t hold back but threw myself headlong into those raging bonfires as climax roared through me. Us. My pleasure rippled through their bonds, bringing us all at the same time. Vivian ground against me, swore softly beneath her breath. “Not quite enough.”

Blinking, I forced my eyes open, squinting against the flames wreathed around her head. “What do you need?”

She pulled away instead of answering, though only to shift around, making room for her legs to slide up between me and the other queens. Knees bent, twisting me slightly on my side. So she could press her pussy against mine. Smoak still filled me, but now I could feel the heat of her flesh on me. Her thighs gripping me, her body riding mine. Leonie wriggled closer too, looping one of her thighs over my waist so she could rub against the small of my back. My ass. Riding me from behind while she bit the side of my neck. I pulled Mayte closer, shifting my fingers so I could get more inside her.

She ground her pelvis against the heel of my hand. “Please, Shara. Tighter.”

I coiled my hair around her throat. Tighter. Watching the way her eyelids fluttered. Her lips parted on a sigh of bliss. I inhaled her cry of release. Gave her mine. Again. Letting them drain me as I’d asked, even as my brain hazed.

Vivian bit my calf. Mayte my lip. Feeding on me even while we kissed. Pleasure blurred from one wave to the next, not really stopping. Waves rolling closer and receding but never ending. Heat coiling like my hair. Tangled limbs and hot flesh and eager mouths.

Until finally my mind went still.

All the dread of the day. The terrible grief. My anxiety it would only happen again and again. Afraid to love another Blood. Even though ultimately Warwick had saved us all. All the clamoring noise quieted.

I would do it all. Again. I would die again and again. I would roam the foggy gray crying for my Blood again.

As long as I could have this. Again. Every day.

I pulled back enough to sink my fangs into Mayte’s throat so I could taste her again. Drinking her long and deep, though not enough to weaken her.

This passion. This hope. This love. Forever.

40

DAIRE

Standing guard with so many other Blood in the nest was a fucking waste of time.

Not that I’d ever whisper a single word of complaint or disagreement to Rik.

But it really was laughable. Especially with Zaniyah’s Blood prowling around too. You couldn’t go anywhere without bumping into someone. Though standing here with my back to the low stone wall lining the garden, I had to admit this could be a place of entry to the grounds, though certainly the blood circle would keep anyone out.

Only servants and staff would ever be back here, so the grand, well-lit facade had been replaced with dark shrubs and narrow alleys. Not even humans passed between the mansions’ darkened gardens on this street at this late hour.

But I would stand here, keep my fucking mouth shut for once, and do my fucking job until my replacement came.

Though my courageous determination to do a good job despite the boredom quavered as soon as I smelled lion approaching. Not gryphon either. Sphinx.

Damn it, Rik. Though I carefully did not send that thought down the bond to him. He’d been careful not to station me on any kind of duty around Sekh. The general was usually too busy plotting the game board with Guillaume anyway to bother with basic guard duty. Again, not a complaint. I wasn’t built for that kind of strategy.

I’m just lucky to still be here.

I didn’t turn to look but I heard the faint scuffle of pads against the stone and breathed a short sigh of relief. Thank fucking goddess. It was the real sphinxes, not the stone general. So fucking big. I didn’t even have to bend over to rub the top of her head. Ini, I thought, but I couldn’t be sure. Then her sister came around the corner, even bigger.

Followed by my nemesis.

Ini butted her head against my flank, wanting more pets. I rubbed behind her ears and under her jaw as the others joined us.

“She likes you,” Sekh said with a hint of surprise in his voice. Or maybe that was just my insecurities reading too much into his tone.

“I like her too.” I kept my tone light, my gaze focused on her.

He let out a soft grunt, whether acknowledgment or sigh, I really wasn’t sure. I fought the urge to curl up in a ball in the darkest corner I could find and hide until he was gone. Jealous that her sister was getting attention, the other sphinx came over too, rubbing against my thigh, winding around me like a giant house cat. With a ram’s head, lion canines, and six-inch claws. “I bet you’d go apeshit for some catnip.”