Between the Marshal & the Vampire(34)

In front of them, Vellum idly ran a hand through his dark, lustrous hair. "I can expedite matters if necessary." He flashed them a grin full of fang.

Mariel knew she wasn't alone in experiencing a spike of lust. But she said, "Apparently it's not always needed."

She watched Clay give Vellum a speculative look, no doubt thinking about what they'd just done and how Vellum's pheromones hadn't driven their behavior. There was no hiding now. No pretending that unnatural lust had incited their actions.

"You're more like a man than you admit," he said at last.

Vellum smiled pleasantly. "I'm not an animal. I can experience carnal lust."

"I don't think you normally do, though," Clay pressed, which surprised Mariel. Did he realize what sort of answer he was pushing for?

"You're right, Marshal," Vellum said in a low voice. "Usually I don't. But this time…I do. Lust, that is."

A muscle jumped in Clay's jaw. "Glad to know where things stand."

~~~~~

Learning that Vellum could be attracted to him and Mariel without needing to bite them before or after sex changed the situation for Clay.

Now that he knew Vellum was almost human and by extension could be vulnerable like one, Clay's guard eased lower. A man—a vampire—who wanted something could be weakened by it. Clay didn't exactly have any intention of using Vellum's lust against him. But it was ammunition in a situation where Clay had felt mostly powerless.

"Now that we know that you want us," Clay drawled one night after setting up camp, "tell us what you think about."

Mariel's questioning look settled on him, but Clay had eyes only for the vampire standing on the other side of the fire. Vellum had eyes that swallowed the night. Not even the light from the flames could brighten them.

"Are you asking if I fantasize about you and Mariel?"

Clay shrugged, trying to appear only casually interested. "I'm curious now that I know you're like us but not like us. What kinds of fantasies cross the mind of a vampire? Blood baths? Killing fields?"

"Men and women who beg me."

Clay's mouth dried up. He'd been hoping for something more sentimental that might tip the scales of power in his favor. He should have expected the vampire to be deviant.

Beside him, Mariel squeaked. "Did you just say…beg?"

Vellum didn't smile, but the intensity on his face was driven by desire, not bloodlust. Not the killing kind, anyway.

"It's related to my desire for ultimate dominance," Vellum continued mildly, despite uttering words which stiffened not only Clay's spine, but his prick. "If you beg me, it's proof that I have complete control over your fate. And your pleasure."

Clay figured he should have guessed as much, but it was still a shock hearing Vellum admit it so boldly.

"Does that disturb you?" the vampire asked.

Instead of answering, Clay looked to Mariel. The firelight adored her. Clay found it impossible not to yearn for her.

"I wouldn't say it disturbs me," she began haltingly. Her cheeks bloomed a rosy pink and she brushed her fingers across her breasts, though Clay wasn't positive that she was consciously aware of doing it. "It's…it makes me think."

"About what?" Vellum asked, his voice falling away as though over the edge of a cliff.

Mariel leaned forward as if to follow it down. "About whether I would want to do that for you." She licked her lips. "Beg you, I mean."

"What if I told you that it would arouse me beyond measure?"

Clay told himself to breathe deeply and slowly as Vellum's midnight gaze coasted leisurely between him and Mariel, watching to see which of them would be first to break.

"What would you want us to beg you for?" Mariel whispered.

Clay cursed and pressed the heel of his hand to his groin, where his cock throbbed in time with his rapidly beating heart.

Vellum moved, a rippling of the night. One moment he was on the other side of the fire. The next, he towered over Mariel and Clay.

"Beg me for relief," he whispered.

Clay groaned beneath his breath.

Beside him, he heard Mariel lie back. Her voice floated through the air like dust motes. "Please, Vellum. Please help me with this ache."

Clay closed his eyes. He fisted his hands. He could feel Vellum staring at him.

"Go ahead," he finally croaked. "Help her."

The night swooped down.

~~~~~

As the days turned into weeks, Mariel was convinced that by the time they reached Everton Fort she'd be more experienced than any prostitute in the Empire.

She didn't think this in a self-demeaning way; rather, she was proud and happy with how often she, Clay, and Vellum made love either in pairs or with her as a focus. Nothing about what they did was ugly or humiliating. Mariel was convinced that it was beautiful, and she was sure her lovers felt the same.

At times, when it was only her and Vellum together, she thought she glimpsed something like love in his dark eyes. Certainly he was obsessed with them, and she was sure the feeling was returned. But she was certain the vampire felt more for them than that, and that the human inside him was trying to push past the creature he'd become to make himself known to them.

When she lay with Clay, she was absolutely certain of the Marshal's love. He made no secret of it, expressing it in words and in touch, making her blush and feel giddy in a way she'd always dreamed. His forthrightness sometimes inspired him and Vellum to compete against each other, as each male tried their hardest to make Mariel respond the most passionately. Being trapped between the two determined alpha males was both a pleasure and the most exquisite torture imaginable.