Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three #1)(16)
Author: Kristen Ashley

Although it was frowned upon, Severance was also never denied. It was not a good idea to force two vampires to live together. It was, they discovered centuries ago, deadly.

When he exited the shower Katrina had calmed down. He found her curled in a ball on her side in their bed, a bed, at the sight of his defeated and sulking mate, he made the instant decision he would never share with her again.

“You must know I deserve an explanation,” she whispered.

He didn’t answer mainly because he knew nothing of the sort.

“No one spends the night with their concubines,” she went on. “You’d lose your mind if I spent the night with Kyle.”

This wasn’t true. There was a good possibility he wouldn’t even notice.

Her voice dropped below a whisper when she asked, “What is it about her?”

Lucien had been dressing while she talked.

Finished, he turned to face her and answered simply, “She’s life.”

He watched her body jolt as if struck.

Then she came up on an arm, her face filling with disbelief and twisting with bitterness. “Your life? You barely know her.”

He crossed his arms on his chest and looked down at his mate. “Not my life, Rina. Life.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what that means.”

She wouldn’t.

Katrina didn’t know the difference between inexpensive champagne and the finest vintage and no amount of instruction or consumption would make her grasp that distinction.

He knew this because he’d tried for fifty years to teach her that exact lesson.

There was blood and there was Leah Buchanan’s blood. It was the difference between eating dust and allowing the finest Belgian chocolate to melt on your tongue.

Feeding from Leah was like drinking in heaven.

Doing it with his hand between her legs, her soft body pinned under the weight of his, enveloped in the smell that was all her mingled with the scent of her sex in a heightened state of arousal, was nirvana.

He was looking forward to Leah’s taming.

Regardless of how it happened, if the beauty of last night was any indication, feeding from her while they were physically joined and she gave herself wholly to him would be rapture.

“Lucien,” Katrina called.

Torn from his thoughts and not appreciating it, Lucien announced, “We’re finished talking.”

He watched her body go taut as his words penetrated.

“Now what does that mean?” Katrina asked on an irritated snap.

He didn’t answer. He left and put her out of his mind.

This was not difficult.

He met with Stephanie that day. And Avery.

There were plans to be made and he was making them. He had been making them since he received word from his informant that Leah had extricated herself from yet another of her hideously ill-suited boyfriends. The end of her mortal relationship opened her up for Selection. With vast and frustrating experience of riding the tempestuous waves Leah’s love life, he had not delayed in taking his chance and he, amongst others, had placed her name on his list to receive an invitation to The Selection.

Lucien knew The Council would not be blinded to what he was doing for long. They’d find out. Likely, once he filed for Severance, Katrina would tell them. Possibly Leah’s family would too although he knew they’d demanded to examine the contract and she’d not only gone to Study but the Buchanans dispatched her for Homing.

If not those, undoubtedly The Council would hear of his actions somehow.

And he was ready.

Stephanie had always been impatient with the Immortal and Mortal Agreement. She’d even been indecisive on which side she would fight before The Revolution.

She was a definite ally.

Avery was a surprise. He’d been working in his role for The Council of The Dominion for centuries. Lucien had only sensed his willingness to turn traitor.

And Lucien had been right.

Cosmo, on the other hand, he’d been avoiding since Leah’s Selection, something which he failed to do that day.

Late in the afternoon Cosmo had pressed into Lucien’s office, Lucien’s secretary, Sally hot on his heels.

Sally halted when Cosmo hissed, “Are you planning a revolt?”

Lucien nodded at Sally who withdrew.

Once she closed the door behind her, he leveled his eyes on his friend and answered, “No.”

“Then what’s this all about?” Cosmo clipped. “I was there, Lucien. Leah refused to blood your contract. The next thing I know, it had been signed, Avery had filed it, you’d Homed her and The Bloodletting was last night.”

Lucien didn’t speak.

Cosmo continued, “Katrina told Nestor who told Jordan who told Hamish who told me that you spent the night with her.”

Lucien knew his secret wouldn’t last long. “I did.”

“Have you gone mad?” Cosmo bellowed.

Lucien stood, shaking his head. “Cosmo, calm down.”

“The Council will hear of this,” Cosmo bit out.

“They probably already have. Katrina was in a state this morning. She’ll not be thinking before she acts.”

Not that she ever did, he thought.

“They’ll pull you in,” Cosmo warned.

“It’s likely.”

Cosmo straightened and took in Lucien’s composure before asking, “What happened? Did you fall asleep?”

“Yes, after the initiation, I fell asleep.”

This was true. After he nearly killed her, he stopped the blood, soothed the wound, waited, watching and impatient for long minutes as the healing began. Then he watched for long hours as the healing progressed. When he was satisfied all would be well, only then did he pull Leah in his arms and fall asleep.

However, he had every intention of spending the night with Leah even had he not lost control necessitating that he wait for the healing. And he had every intention of spending every night with Leah until he lost interest in her and released her.

Cosmo continued to study him before he remarked dubiously, “So, it was all innocent.”

“No,” Lucien replied honestly. “It was far from innocent.”

Cosmo closed his eyes.

In a low voice that held a vein of steel, Lucien declared, “I’ll not live like this for another day, Cosmo.”

Cosmo opened his eyes “You are planning a revolt.”

“It might not lead to that.”

“You know it will.”

Lucien shrugged. “Then it’s war.”

Cosmo pulled in breath through his nostrils at Lucien’s words but his face and eyes went blank, hiding his thoughts. Katrina could learn from Cosmo.