Blood and Ruin (Blood and Ruin Series Book 1)

Tucking the vials of blood into my back pocket, I glance around the apartment once more. Apart from the service hall and suites, everything in King’s Tower had to look expensive and over the top.

That was no different in Leviathan’s suite. In fact, it was more ostentatious than the luxurious furnishing and fittings in the rest of the hotel.

The pure-blooded vampire liked to think he had an eye for interior design, but really it was just tacky. His nineties black fur rug, animal skin throws and carpets splashed through the suite like paint.

I cringe at the zebra and leopard print chair, making sure everything is how I left it. I had lucked out this morning when Leviathan and his guards were called out for something. Normally, he’d leave a few guards behind, but it seems like it was my lucky day.

One last glance around and I head for the door. Pulling it softly behind me, I turn to leave when a husky voice calls out.

“Hello, Siren .”

Fuck! Whipping around, I grab my chest, trying to calm my racing heart.

Rion leans against the wall, looking like he hasn’t a care in the world, while five vamps lay unconscious by his feet.

No wonder I had an easy run tonight.

Releasing a harsh breath, I focus on the seductive alpha.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Don’t be difficult.” Glancing around, I make sure we’re alone, only to turn back and find Rion walking towards me, a dark look in his eyes filled with hunger.

“I’ve never been accused of such a thing.”

I move back a few steps before the wall halts my retreat. Rion leans in, placing his hands on each side of me as he cages me in.

“I doubt the others will be happy to find you putting yourself in danger like this.” He runs a finger down my cheek and across my collar bone making me shiver. The heat in his eyes is like molten lava.

“I doubt I give a flying fuck what they—”

His thumb drags over my bottom lip, cutting off what I was about to say.

“What was so important that you needed to break into the sadistic vampire’s apartment for? By yourself, I might add?”

“So, you’ve heard of him?” I give him a smirk, but his flicker of irritation makes me drop my playful mood.

“Have you become so reckless since you left? That you care so little for your wellbeing.”

“I know how to take care of myself.”

“Really?” Rion raises a brow toward the unconscious guards. “Because those say otherwise.”

I wince, looking over at the vamps, knowing I wouldn’t have been able to take them on my own.

“What do you think the others would say if they found out?”

That I was suicidal. I’d have to be to pull a stunt like this. But Jazmyn needs the blood for a spell, and I never go back on my word.

“No matter what it was you needed, all you had to do was ask. We would’ve helped.”

I shake my head. “I work better alone.” Or more like I stopped asking when no one would listen to my pleas.

“Well, we’re here now.”

What was that supposed to mean? How long before they left? They had an entire city to run, after all. Mate or not, I wasn’t part of their lives anymore.

But none of that matters because I won’t be around long enough to think about it. Once we get Luna out, they can get away from here and back home. Me and Alana should be far away by then.

Rion lowers his head, his eyes drawn to my lips. “Ever since that kiss… You’re all I think about.” His voice turns husky.

“Rion…”

He leans in, his heady scent surrounding me. Dipping his head, he draws in a long breath, sending hot shivers straight to my core.

A glint of red catches my eye, distracting me from the pull of temptation.

The red insignia on Leviathan’s unconscious guard reminds me where we are and what would happen if they were to wake up and find us.

“The guards…”

“Won’t be going anywhere for a while, let alone waking.” Rion continues, the heat in eyes expanding as they try to lure me in and pull me under.

“Either way, we should really get out of here.” My voice sounds breathless as I try to get my overheated body under control.

I reach out, placing my hands on his chest to push him away, but he moves closer. The feel of his strong body under my fingertips distracts me for a moment.

Shaking the lust from my eyes, I try to focus. “What are you doing?”

Rion’s smile turns devilish. “I thought that was pretty obvious.” He dips his head again, but just as he closes in, I push against his chest, making him pause.

We can’t do this.

“Why are you here?”

He must see the stubborn look in my eyes as he backs up a bit, giving me space to think.

“I was keeping an eye on my stubborn mate.” I narrow my eyes, listening to what he’s really saying.

He was following me.

That snake.

I step aside, pulling away from him and his intoxicating scent. “You were checking up on me. Why?”

Rion reaches out, trying to pull me back, but I take another step away.

“Why, Rion?”

With a frustrated sigh, he frowns at me. “Why do you think?”

My heart gives a loud thump as it drops to my stomach, the truth staring me in the face.

They didn’t trust me.

And why would they? I was King’s stepdaughter. I lived with some of the worst supes you could find.

Six years is a long time for anyone to drift apart. I had told them they didn’t know me anymore, but I never thought they’d…

“You don’t trust me, I get it.”

Taking a large step toward me, he reaches out, pulling me into him. Tilting my chin up, he looks at me, his eyes holding a determined look. “This has nothing to do with trust, and everything to do with you .”

I frown, not understanding what he’s trying to say. “What?”

“We need you.” His expression softens, looking at me like I’m something precious, something fragile. His arms wrap around me, stopping me from inching away.

I swallow the hard lump in my throat, trying and failing to come up with something to say. The slow building warmth leaves me, my stomach twisting with unease. They can’t need me. Alana depends on me and look how well that’s working out.

“Rion… I…” I feel a flutter of panic take root in my chest. Dread drapes over me like a heavy weight.

The thought of anyone else relying on me fills me with panic. How could I be there for them when I couldn’t even look after myself? I was a train-wreck waiting to happen. When that train crashed, and it would, I didn’t want any of them among the casualties.

“Too soon,” Rion says. Seeing the panic written across my face, he smiles, giving me a knowing look. One that tells me he won’t push me on this, not yet at least.

Rion swiftly changes the subject, loosening the thick knots in my stomach.

“Do you make a habit of breaking into supes suites?” He frowns, looking down at the unconscious vamps.

“Maybe.” I give him a soft smile, thanking him for not digging further into my moment of panic.

Rion shakes his head. “You always were trouble. Always keeping us on our toes.”

His hand brushes back a stray piece of hair from my face making me shiver.

“And you all were nothing but sweet innocent little angels?” A small flutter releases the last of the knot, as a slow burning heat begins to unfurl inside me.

Rion’s smirk is full of wicked intent as he slides a hand up my side. “Sweet angels? No. More like… Devils… Sinful, savage creatures, who want nothing more than to devour you whole.” His grin grows roguish. The smooth tone to his voice makes me feel like I’m in a trance. One that is solely focused on Rion. On his amber flames as they draw me in and the delicious feel of his hands as they run up and down my sides teasing closer and closer to the side of my breast.

A slow burn builds, one that quickly ignites, sending sparks across my body. His smile turns seductive as he narrows his eyes on his prey.

“I think we should come to our own little… agreement…”

“What—”

“The others are worried. And considering what I just found you doing, they would be right.” His hands slowly slide up my back, sending heat straight to my core.

“If they were to find out, I doubt they’d let you go anywhere alone. With or without your permission.”

He’s right. Even as kids, they were overprotective assholes that would never listen to reason.

“Then you should keep it to yourself.” Without thinking, I arch into his heated touch. A dark look full of desire flashes across his eyes as his hands continue to roam my body.

He hums as if thinking on the idea. The deep tone vibrating through me makes me wet with need.

“We don’t like to keep secrets from one another.” His eyes narrow on me but I’m too focused on the soft brush of his hands, his chest against mine and his hard body as he eases me against the wall.

“Although… I could be persuaded to forget about this little… transgression .” His smile turns carnal.

“For a price…”

I narrow my eyes on the smooth-talking serpent. “What do you want?” My voice is nothing more than a breathy whisper.

“A kiss.”

Fuck.

“Rion—”

He moves in, his eyes blown wide with lust as he zeros in on my lips. “Just. One. Kiss.”

“It wasn’t a little anything the first time round,” I tell him while staring at his full lips as they curve into a wicked smile.

“How could I forget?” Smouldering eyes draw me in.

“How could we not be drawn in by you?” His husky voice makes me lose all sense of thought.

“Those eyes. That tantalising scent. You.” He dips his head closer, my body pressing into his.

“Everything about you is made to tempt. Every curve, every dip.” His eyes don’t leave my face as he slides a hand down my side, my waist, my thigh, before starting its slow torturous trail back up again, a blaze of flames left in its wake.

“You’re a Siren. Every delicious inch of you.”

He’s wrong. He’s the Siren here, dragging me under with his seductive scent and alluring voice. It wouldn’t be long before I was his willing captive of a whole other kind.

On instinct, I start to pull back forgetting the wall, but even then, his grip tightens.

“Don’t. Don’t pull away from me. From us. You have nothing to fear.”

I don’t fear them, that’s not the problem. I fear the feelings they evoke in me. I want this, them. More than they know, and that’s what scares the hell out of me.

He runs his hands up and down my sides, starting a slow rhythm that eases the stiffness in my shoulders.

His slow sensual restraint drives me wild with distraction, making me crave it more. Once he knows he has me, he moves closer, my body shuddering with searing need.

His mouth touches mine, gently at first before teasing my lips apart, caressing my tongue in long, languid strokes.

I moan into his lips as I slide my hands up his chest. I feel his muscles contract beneath my fingers before I wrap them around his neck. My nipples pebble against his hard chest as I hold myself against him. Our kisses turn frantic with need.

He swirls his tongue around mine, savouring every stroke as if it’s his last. Urgent need flows through me as I let the wild, delicious feeling take over.

I arch into him, needing more when he pulls back, making me frown.

He drags his mouth from mine, his chest rising and falling with each rapid breath.

“I want to utterly devour every delicious inch of you until you’re all I see.” A soft kiss, a brush of his lips. “All I breathe.”

Slamming his lips back to mine, he moans low and deep. A sound so enticing it would wake me from a deep slumber just to bask in its presence.

It stokes the fire within me, craving more. As if reading my mind, he pushes me onto the wall, every inch of him draped on me. Threading his hands in mine, he raises them above us, his tight grip holding me in place.

Feeling the hard evidence of his arousal, he grinds against my heated core, lighting a throbbing need.

I can’t focus on anything but the sensation of his long, thick erection as it works against me. Every stroke provokes a cry of pleasure as I get closer to that shattering release.

A buzzing sound starts, breaking through the hazy fog of lust.

Rion ignores it, his grip tightening on my hands as he slows his grinding speed into my core, making every nerve feel like it’s about to explode.

I’m lost to my senses as he pushes into me, every nerve stretched taunt as his hips hit every delicate, delicious spot.

If he could manage to make me feel this good with clothes on, imagine what—

The annoying buzz starts again, this one louder, followed by ping after ping, making us pause.

He drags his mouth away, only to inch back in and softly bite my lower lip making me shiver. He leans his forehead against mine as we catch our ragged breaths.

After a moment he pulls back, staring at me with a look of unbridled desire and something more.

The buzzing starts again, removing more of the fog and knocking us back to reality.

“You better get that.” I clear my throat clenching my thighs against the empty feeling wanting to be filled.

Rion frowns, checking his phone. Seeing who it is, he releases a harsh sigh.

“It’s Kai. We found a way to sneak Luna out, once you get her. A contact is going to cause a distraction and cover for us.”

I clear my throat once more before taking another step back and away from the temptation in front of me.

Rion looks up from the phone giving me a sad look. “We can help you.”

“I’ve got it—

“Covered?” Rion frowns pocketing the phone. “You will call us if you need anything?”

He raises a brow, waiting for me to object. But I knew from the demanding look in his eyes he wasn’t going to budge on this. Instead, I nod, giving him a small smile.

His frown deepens as he releases a harsh breath.

“I should get going.” I turn around, ready to high-tail it out of there.

“Kiarra?” I stop but don’t turn around. Knowing if I do, I wouldn’t be leaving this hall anytime soon.

“Don’t… Don’t go too far.”

Even with King’s tag, I couldn’t if I wanted to. At least, not yet.

Still facing forward, I nod my head, knowing he wants to say more but is all too aware of how far I would run if he were to say anything else.

Hearing him sigh, I start moving, forcing one leg in front of the other. The further I get away from him, the more foolish I feel for letting his little agreement ever happen.

What was I thinking? Any involvement with them, especially physical, wasn’t going to end sweet or innocent.

I can feel them, not physically or even mentally but some deep part of them that goes beyond the soft looks they give or the physical connection that always feels intense. They’ve burrowed inside me.

Whether it’s the bond or our connection as kids, they’ve taken root, unwilling to let go.

Just like when we were kids, when they stole my heart, they’ve snuck back in to do it again.

Only this time, I don’t think I want them to give it back.