Chapter 3: Blood and Thorns (R-18)

Lian never liked wandering the forest alone. Especially not as of late. Warlocks were out in full force, and vampires were always the highest on the bounty list. The more they were hunted, the more expensive they became. She didn’t care to die only to have her teeth become some asshole’s jewelry.

“Why are we out in the middle of nowhere in the broad daylight?” Drana whined. The small blue familiar perched on Lian’s shoulder and her tail flicked back and forth with anxiety.

“You know why we’re out here,” Lian hissed. “And could you shut up and try not to get us killed?”

“A thousand years on this planet, and you’re afraid of a few warlocks?” Drana giggled.

The sound grated on Lian’s nerves. “It’s been awful, Drana. You know that. And you know the vampires are fighting back. Hard. I’m worried.”

“You? Worried? That’s new.” Drana flittered to Lian’s head, resting just above her violet bangs. “Besides, you know I could take care of those hags if you can’t.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” Despite Lian’s frustration with her partner, a devious smile twitched at the corner of her mouth.

“Maybe,” Drana drew the word out, rolling from one side of Lian’s head to the other.

They arrived at their destination, and Lian knocked softly on the cottage door. The sound of shuffling feet drifted through the wood before it opened a mere crack. A petite young woman with bright blue eyes peered out at her visitor.

“Lian!” she squeaked in surprise.

“Thalia, may I come in?” Lian smiled easily. “Or do you already have a poor vampire in there?”

Thalia’s eyes narrowed, and she opened the door for Lian and Drana to enter. As soon as she closed and locked it, she turned to the Lian and ran to her tight embrace. “Lian, I’ve missed you.” She looked up and studied Lian’s face, eyes flickering to Drana’s form, then back. “Are you all right? Did anyone see you come here?”

“I certainly hope not,” Lian kissed the top of Thalia’s head, inhaling the delicious scent of roses that always surrounded her. “You’re the only warlock that I want looking at me right now.”

“They’ve been in full force lately. I don’t understand.” Thalia pulled away from Lian’s arms. “I…I think they believe another Calamity is coming.”

“Ah. Well, if we started the first one and plenty of warlocks are still here… Second time’s the charm, eh?” Lian snickered.

“I’m serious, Lian. I’ve had to…I…” Thalia trembled and wrapped her arms around her chest. “I’ve had to kill vampires and warlocks, Lian. They’ve come after me.”

Lian’s features softened. “Oh, sweetheart.”

“You know how I feel about the others. Why I live so far away. And still…they find me.” The ever-present vines that encircled Thalia’s pale skin rotated around her body, tightening into her skin. “I don’t want to kill. This power—my power—is meant to heal. What have I done?”

Lian closed the distance between them and drew Thalia into her arms. “I felt it, you know. Your frustrations, your fear, your sadness.”

“And then she dragged us out during the day to make sure you’re okay,” Drana added, rolling her tiny eyes.

“Lian, I’m scared,” Thalia admitted.

Lian took Thalia’s chin in her fingers and tipped it to meet her eyes. “I will never let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“Lian—”

Before Thalia could say another word, Lian’s lips met hers. Thalia tasted warm and lovely, and Lian’s hunger for her skin and the life essence beneath ran deep.

“Oh boy, here we go,” Drana sighed and sought a place to perch, finding a place next to Thalia’s extensive tea collection.

The tension in Thalia’s limbs dissolved with Lian’s kiss. She eagerly accepted Lian’s tongue and slid her hands around the vampire’s waist.

Lian’s mouth left Thalia’s lips, grazing the graceful line of her jaw, past the thorns at her throat, and to the bare skin of her shoulder. She entangled her fingers of one hand in Thalia’s long, strawberry locks and slipped the other to the small of Thalia’s back.

“May I?” Lian asked, her breath hot against Thalia’s shoulder.

“Yes,” Thalia breathed, her fingers digging into Lian’s skin.

Lian lapped at Thalia’s smooth skin, drawing a line from collarbone to shoulder. Thalia shivered beneath her grasp, and a moan escaped her lips. Lian tightened her grip in her lover’s hair, drawing her head back in a graceful arc, before expertly sinking her teeth into Thalia’s throat. The immediate tastes of blood and roses coated Lian’s tongue, and she groaned in satisfaction.

Thalia gasped, her hands moving to Lian’s hair. Serving as both Lian’s lover and lifeline was more intimate than any relationship she’d ever experienced. Every part of her was accessible for Lian’s pleasure, and she received reciprocation in kind.

The heat of Thalia’s blood and her body was intoxicating, and Lian wanted more. She released Thalia’s throat and licked her lips. The blood of a warlock did more than sate her—it gave her energy and spark unlike any mortal being could ever produce. Drinking from Thalia was like imbibing the very essence of magic itself.

“My turn,” Thalia murmured.

Before Lian could react, a length of thorn-covered vines bound her wrists. “Not fair,” she replied.

“Hmm, I think it is.” Thalia walked toward her bedroom, and Lian had no choice but to follow.

Drana flew from her perch to the top of a bookcase in Thalia’s room—she would never let Lian out of her sight.

While the vines held the vampire’s hands above her head, Thalia peeled away Lian’s shirt and bra before removing her skirt and panties.

“You’re still clothed,” Lian noted.

“And you’re still bound,” Thalia giggled.

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The vine dragged her down to the bed, thorns biting into Lian’s wrists. She had no choice but to comply, lying back on Thalia’s plush pink quilt.

“And now what will you do, my lady?” Lian smiled, her sharp teeth glittering in the dim lamplight.

“Drink from you, as you did me,” Thalia replied, crawling between Lian’s thighs.

Fingers pressing into Lian’s inner thighs, Thalia traced her navel with the tip of her tongue, drawing a sensual line to her hips, her pelvis…

“But, you’re not—” Lian began.

Thalia dipped her tongue between Lian’s yielding folds, searching out the point of her pleasure.

“A-ah…ahh…” Lian moaned her understanding.

“Mmhmm,” Thalia hummed against her.

She grazed Lian’s skin with her fingertips, following the line down toward her sex. She slipped two fingers inside of her with ease, drinking in her pleasure with every stroke of her tongue. The vines were as connected to Thalia in the same way as her limbs, and Lian’s hands writhed against their hold. Thalia summoned another length of vine, using it to encircle Lian’s breast and tease at her hardened nipple.

“Gods…Thalia…” Lian whispered, her breathing rasped. The combinations of Thalia’s hot tongue, her explorative fingers, the sharp thorns against her wrists and teasing her breast like the edge of a knife…Lian could hardly think straight. “I’m really close.”

“Then come,” Thalia urged, pushing her fingers deeper.

Lian’s lips went numb with release, her body convulsing against Thalia’s tongue and fingers. The delicious pain in her wrists prolonged her apex, and she squirmed against the thorns.

Thalia drank her in, as she’d promised, delighting in her taste. The carnal pleas that tore from Lian’s throat were music to her ears.

The racing of Lian’s heart slowed at last, and she gulped for air. “Let…” she paused, swallowing hard and trying again. “Let me touch you…please,” she managed.

Thalia drew away from her for the span of a few heartbeats to remove her clothing. As she herself was just as entangled in the vines as Lian, she had to free her lover of the binds to strip away the fabric.

If nothing else, Lian was an opportunist. With lightning speed, she had Thalia’s nude form pinned beneath her on the bed. The vines lay on either side of her body, dangling onto the floor, a sign of her dropped guard. She grinned with Thalia’s surprise.

“Power play, if you will,” Lian quipped.

“Now who isn’t fair?” Thalia blushed, feeling more vulnerable than she had in months. Her clothes were gone, her vines removed; she was entirely bare.

Lian leaned in, her mouth an inch from Thalia’s ear. “Me, my love.” She nibbled her earlobe, relishing in Thalia’s squeals.

Lian repositioned herself, one hand pinning Thalia’s wrists as she had done to her, the other penetrating her dripping slit.

Thalia cried out in pleasure, her face flushed, body quivering beneath Lian’s hold.

“Look at me,” Lian instructed.

Thalia did as she was asked, lips parted as she fought for air.

A vampire’s hypnosis, even after a thousand years, was extraordinarily understated. And this was a specialty she reserved only for Thalia. Lian searched the very depths of her eyes, piercing into Thalia’s darkest desires. “You like feeling me inside of you?”

“Yes,” Thalia whispered, unable to look away.

Lian gripped her thoughts as if they were tangible. One by one, she took the sensations Thalia craved and imparted them into her. Warm tongues tasting every inch of her body. A myriad of hands exploring her breasts and curves. They would be as real to Thalia as if they were physically occurring.

Thalia whimpered, Lian’s emerald eyes reshaping her reality.

Lian thrust in and out of Thalia with a tantalizing rhythm, adding more of the sensations Thalia craved: fingers in her hair, the sting of Lian’s bite, the caressing of her face.

Thalia broke their gaze when she climaxed, hips rocking hard against Lian’s palm. Lian let her wrists go and found herself immediately embraced; her lips parted by Thalia’s tongue.

Thalia held fast to Lian; afraid she’d lose herself to complete ecstasy if she didn’t have her lover as an anchor.

With their passionate kiss, Lian released Thalia from each of the sensations in turn, then drew her fingers away when the pulses of pleasure slowed.

They held fast to one another, their heartbeats aligned and breathing slowed.

Lian drew away from their kiss and smiled. “So, round two?”

Thalia laughed, the sound like music, and clung to Lian until she fell asleep.

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