He poured the whiskey before scooting back against the headboard which was attached to the wall for decoration. Following him carefully while trying not to soak the mattress in whiskey, I sat on my knees beside him. I brought the glass up to my nose as my eyes caught him observing me. The liquor smelled woodsy, with a hint of citrus. I sipped it, swirling it around in my mouth before swallowing.
“I don’t see the point of doing that,” I admitted.
“It enhances the flavor, warming your pallet up to the ingredients.”
I frowned, doing it again to end up with the same results. Rhys mimicked what I’d done, drinking it slowly. I snorted, tipping the glass up to down the contents before I reached over him, placing the glass on the nightstand. Gazing down into his lap, I brought my hand back. His cock was hard, ready to do some serious damage considering the sheer size of the appendage. I drew back away from him, shaking my head.
I’d been with men before, but none of them had looked like that down there. It was thicker, longer, and I was pretty certain it had known I was looking at it. Sucking my bottom lip between my teeth, I smiled nervously. His attention shifted to my mouth as if he wanted to taste me, and at the moment, I wanted him to. I was in so much trouble right now. My hand balled into a fist as the need to learn the silkiness of his flesh entered my mind.
“Goodnight, Rhys,” I whispered huskily, turning away from him, pulling the covers up, and slipping beneath them while he helped untuck them, forcing my body to fit against his.
“Goodnight, Remington.”
Chapter Nine
I was running over foreign soil. I wasn’t sure how I knew it was unfamiliar, but everything around me screamed I wasn’t within the United States. Dirt covered my white nightgown, and my palms ached, forcing me to lift them, peering down at the rocks embedded within my flesh. I turned, watching shadows move as I took in my surroundings.
Stars glittered against the velvet sky as the wind kicked up, sending my hair whipping against my face painfully. I pushed it away as the scene around me vanished, and a large mansion replaced the meadows. My heart raced as flames licked over the home, peeling wood with the intensity of the blaze. Windows shattered, and I jumped back, shaking my head as the sounds of people screaming within it echoed through the night.
My feet moved over the ice-cold earth as I closed the distance to the house. An explosion sent my body backward, tumbling through the air to land on the ground. Sitting up, I stared at the face of a woman who peered out of the house, her silver-blonde hair glowing against the fiery backdrop of the inferno now raging through the home.
Turning, I recognized Rhys and Cole, who watched the woman with regret marring their expressions. Rhys had tears running down his face, and his hands balled into tight fists as if he wanted to run to her aid and undo what he’d done. Others stood behind them, watching, unaffected by the scene unfolding before them. Cole turned, staring at Rhys as if he wanted to speak, but whatever he wanted to say remained unsaid. More Van Helsings joined the grisly scene, some gasping as the beauty caught fire, and dropped to the floor.
Rhys moved, but Acyn grabbed his arm, saying something I couldn’t hear. Silver shot from the house at the men who erected a wall as the silver pelted their shields, embedding but not piercing them. My eyes slid over the craftsmanship of their shield wall and winced, realizing it was Silversmith silver, which other metal couldn’t penetrate. Not even Silversmith silver found a way through it. The sounds of children crying drew my eyes to the second story of the home, where children no older than in their teens, begged for help to no avail.
Cole stared up at them, his eyes flooding with tears. He screamed, turning to the men as he pointed toward the children, and yet the others shook their heads at his words. One man with a cold sneer slapped Cole, shouting back with hatred burning in his vehemently horrid tone. It was malevolence, fueled with poisonous loathing, which knocked the wind out of me from the intensity.
Standing, I stepped back from the chaos of the scene unfolding around me. Rhys still hadn’t looked away from where the woman had fallen, as if he could will her out of the inferno with his mind. Men pushed swords into their leather sheaths, continuing to stand silently as the angry man snarled at Cole, who was forcefully dragged away from the scene. Another explosion sounded, and men jumped while Rhys silently watched the spot, still, causing my heart to clench with the pain burning in his eyes.
I closed my eyes and opened them, finding myself back in the meadow, bathed in moonlight. Turning, I watched a half-naked Rhys entering the field with a cocky smile on his lips. His gaze lowered to my bare legs, and I narrowed mine on him. As he got closer, I stepped back, his eyes no longer the turbulent blue of the clear summer day sky, but black. It was as if obsidian had swallowed the whites of his eyes, changing his face’s chiseled angles into something sharper, more defined.
I turned away from him, rushing through the meadows. My feet slapped against the earth, followed by those of the predator chasing me. I had no doubt that he was all demon and no man.
Entering the forest, I continued blindly moving through the woods until a house came into view. Moving deftly up the stairs of the entrance, I rushed inside without closing the door. I spun in a wide circle, watching women dance around in old-fashioned dresses, while men wore breeches and long coats.
Rushing toward the grand staircase, I paused as power erupted into the room. Rhys smiled coldly, watching me from the doorway, cocking his head to the side. The people inside the room continued dancing, unaware of what was happening. He stepped forward, and power slithered over my legs, causing heat to clench in my belly. Spinning, I rushed away from him.
I ran up the stairs urgently, only to discover an entire hallway filled with closed doors. I turned knob after knob, finding nothing but locked doors as Rhys’s power slid against my flesh. I swallowed the fear wrapping around my throat, forcing the scream to remain in my chest. One of the doors at the end of the hallway opened, revealing light. I ran blindly toward it, turning to close it, but hands grabbed mine, shoving me into the room. Rhys followed me in, closing the door and locking it without speaking.
“What do you want?” I whispered as my chest rose and fell with fear.
He turned, staring at me through his endless obsidian depths. I continued walking backward until my ass hit something hard. Turning, I stared at the large oak desk in the middle of the room. I started to turn back to Rhys, but his hand grabbed and captured mine, pinning them to the small of my back as he shoved my head against the desk.
Rhys pinned me to the desk, his mouth lowering to nip against my naked shoulder, stealing a yelp of surprise from my lungs. His foot kicked my legs apart, the hand on my head trailing down my spine before pushing against my naked flesh. I whimpered as he pressed his fingers into my body, slowly exploring my core. Moaning loudly, I trembled from the absolute pleasure and heat his touch delivered. When he withdrew, I groaned and rocked my hips with an invitation to explore further. He chuckled darkly, turning me around, lifting and placing me on the large wooden desk.
Rhys’s mouth crushed against mine, but unlike the urgency he normally had when kissing me, he slowly devoured me. A growl rose from deep in his chest, causing my body to clench, tightening with a need that excited and terrified me. He gripped my hips, pressing my body against his, showing me his pulsing need. I lowered my hands to his waist, freeing him from his pants, continuing to kiss him as if he were the air that filled my lungs. Power slithered over my flesh, achingly addictive power that fueled the inferno raging within me.