Blood Magic (After Dark Book 7) by Sarah Bailey (ereader for android txt) 📗

He nodded once. He’d had a small taste of it the first time they’d fucked, but it wasn’t enough. If they did this, it would send a message to all other vampires she was his. They’d be able to feel she belonged to one of them.

“Dani, I can’t take it back if you let me do that. You do understand this puts us in danger from both our kinds.”

“I know it does.”

Her eyes told him everything. She was scared of losing him. Terrified even. Her hands shook in front of her. He strode towards her and held her face gently in both hands.

“You’re never going to lose me, Dani. Do you hear me? Never. I promise you that much.”

Her bottom lip trembled. He leant down, completely unable to resist her allure and sucked it into his mouth. Her eyes widened further. When his fangs slid out, he let them pierce her sensitive flesh.

One taste. That’s all I need. I can’t hold back any longer. I have to know.

Her hands curled around his forearms, nails digging into his blazer. He sucked at the pooling blood on her lip. She tasted like heaven. Her scent mingled in with her blood. Lavender and honeysuckle. He dared not bite harder or take more.

When he released her lip, he was sure of three things. Dani was the perfect woman. She tasted like magic. And he wanted more. Claiming her completely was the wrong thing to do, but he no longer cared about wrong or right when it came to her. All he could see and want was her.

“You are mine,” he growled.

“Yours,” she breathed.

Chapter Fourteen

Dani stood outside the little shop in Camden called Spellbound. The beautifully hand painted sign above the door was dark blue with white accents. She pushed the door open, the little bell above it ringing. Inside the shop, it had a smoky, almost spicy aroma. There were bookshelves everywhere, filled to the brim with various volumes. On one wall, each shelf contained glasses of varying sizes with herbs and other such things inside them. Sitting behind a long counter, with her head in a book was a girl with auburn hair. She looked up when Dani entered.

“Hello, welcome to Spellbound,” she said.

Dani nodded.

“Hello, I’m looking for Alistair,” Dani replied.

The girl’s brow furrowed slightly. She looked over Dani for a moment. When her eyes fell on Dani’s ears, they widened.

“Oh, you’re fae. Sorry, oh gods, that was rude of me.”

Dani shook her head, smiling. Other supernaturals could tell what she was immediately, but to humans, she kept a glamour up to hide her curved ears and somewhat inhuman appearance.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I’ll get him. He’s in the back.”

The girl hopped off the stool and went through a door behind her. Dani heard low voices for a moment before a dark haired man with striking blue eyes stepped out. He grinned at Dani when he spied her.

“Hello, I hear you were asking after me,” he said.

Dani took a step further into the shop, unsure of how to go about this. The auburn-haired girl didn’t reappear from the back room.

“Yes, I’m…” She paused, wondering if she should tell the witch who she really was.

Jamie told her to be honest when he’d given her Alistair’s address.

“Princess Dandelion Farlane, but please call me Dani.”

Alistair’s eyebrow arched up.

“You’re the king’s youngest daughter.”

“Yes.”

She wasn’t surprised he knew of her family. The shock of Gwilliana’s sudden death and King Mitah’s rise to the throne was common knowledge in the supernatural community.

Alistair waved a hand at the two sofas in the corner of the shop as he walked over to them.

“Please, have a seat.”

She walked over and sat down on the sofa opposite to the one he’d taken. A moment later, the red haired girl appeared again with a tray. She set it down and poured out some sweet smelling tea for both Alistair and Dani.

“Thank you,” Alistair said to the girl.

She leant down and kissed his cheek before disappearing again. Dani picked up one of the tea cups and took a sip. It was a brew she knew well. Fae in origin. It tasted a little like jasmine.

“So, Dani, what can I do for you?”

She shifted in her seat for a moment before placing the cup back down on the table between them.

“Two things. Both are of a delicate nature.”

He leant back against the sofa, his arm falling on the back of it. His eyebrows drew together.

“I always seem to get dragged into things that are none of my concern,” he muttered.

He looked away for a moment before levelling her with an intense gaze.

“Rest assured, you have my word whatever you say to me will not leave this room.”

Dani nodded, looking down at her hands.

Where do I even start?

“I was told you were close with Candace Highmore and might know how to get in touch with her in Hell.”

Both Alistair’s eyebrows shot up. His arm fell off the back of the sofa. Shifting slightly, he leant forward, resting both elbows on his knees.

“You want to speak to Candace?”

“Yes. I know she hates the fae, but with what’s happening… Let me speak plainly. There are those within the fae who believe she is the rightful heir to the throne even if she denounced her claim. I want to prevent a war amongst my people.”

He eyed her for a long moment before running a hand through his hair, sighing heavily.

“There is never a dull moment in this world. Okay, so say I do know how you can see Candace, that doesn’t mean I think you should. Why are you here and not your father?”

She should’ve