Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121008 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 605(@200wpm)___ 484(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
“She yelled at you?” I’m surprised my cousin would yell at a consort. Vampires are supposed to be as gentle with their consorts as the Fae are with bondmates.
“Yelled, screamed, threatened me with all manner of humiliation,” Colin explains with a smile on his face. “That woman of mine is a righteous bitch when she wants to be. It’s all right, though. I took my fair share out of her pretty ass later that night, if you know what I mean.”
I’m pretty sure I do. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Colin and Susan while working in the caves. Colin doesn’t seem to want the type of life I expected a consort to require. He seems to like to work, and he’s tough. His wife doesn’t treat him like he’ll break, but she still loves him. “You were rough with her?”
I try to ask the question with expectant curiosity rather than accusation.
“Vampires are rough, Your Highness,” Colin explains without a hint of self-consciousness. “Relationships here, at least sexual relationships, involve a dominant partner and a submissive partner.”
Now I sit up and pour himself another glass. Meg used those words. “Are you the dominant?”
“Yes, I am. Susan prefers to give up control in the bedroom. It was strange at first. You have to understand, Your Highness, I was raised in an isolated part of the country. I didn’t know I could bond until I came to the Vampire plane. I was a farmer. I’d been taught to treat females with great softness.”
“We’re bigger and stronger,” I say, parroting the words I heard from my father. “They need our protection, not our abuse.”
Colin’s dark brows rise questioningly, and there’s a distinct chill coming from him. “If you’re worried about me abusing your cousin, Your Highness…”
“Say what you need to say, Colin.” I encourage the slightly younger man. “Forget I’m the bloody king. I’m your cousin. Talk to me that way. The goddess knows I need someone who’ll be honest with me.”
“Fine,” Colin says, his eyes narrowing. “I’d tell you, cos, to get the stick out of your ass. My relationship with my wife isn’t open for your judgment. I’ve heard that gentry marriages were cold exchanges of protection and money for bloodlines and a proper bond. I don’t want that. I want a real marriage. Maybe it’s because I’m a commoner, but you can keep your perfect proper bondmate. I don’t want to be treated like a bit of fluff to be taken off a shelf and fucked when my mate thinks about it. I certainly don’t want to treat my wife like that. Life is hard, no matter your circumstances. You should have a partner, not a weight around your neck.”
I feel my stomach drop. What had I said to Meg? I told her she was a responsibility to be borne. She asked to be my partner, and I complained about having to feed and clothe her.
“I don’t think of her that way,” I say quietly. I don’t. However, I do think of her all the time. I can’t sleep without picturing her with me. Sometimes I hold a pillow close to my body at night and pretend it’s Meg against my chest. Goddess, I miss her.
Colin pours another round. “It’s hard in the beginning. Marriage ain’t easy. You have to find your way. It’s harder for you because there are three of you involved.”
“Ci doesn’t seem to be having a problem.” I take a drink, shooting the warm liquor into my belly. Cian has been plain in his correspondence. He’s pissed with the way I treated our wife up to this point.
Everyone is mad at me.
“Then maybe you should listen to Ci,” Colin says sagely. “He would listen to you when it came to killing gigantic bats.”
That thought amuses me and reminds me I do have a place where Cian doesn’t best me. “He wouldn’t have time to listen. He would be running the other way.” Cian has always been a baby when it comes to things with fangs trying to kill him. “I want to go home, Colin. Can you get me home tonight?”
The big Fae smiles. “That I can do, Your Highness. I suspect I could get someone to drive you straight through to your village, if you like. If you go back to the city, you’ll find yourself being debriefed for twelve hours.”
I groan at the thought of being stuck in another meeting. “Please, no more meetings.”
Colin graciously inclines his head. “Go take a shower while I get a driver set up for you. I have to prep this site for mining operations, or I’d take you myself. As it is, I suspect I’ll get in trouble with my boss. She’s expecting you to report back like a good employee.”
I grin. “Then she shouldn’t have paid me up front.”