He’d learned in the past few hours that she liked him inside her and missed him when she lost him, and she didn’t hide either.
All of which he relished.
“Hurry,” he whispered.
She nodded and slid off him, but when she got to the end of the bed, she hesitated, curling the end of the sheet around her breasts.
More of what he relished. He could make her abandon all thought with what he was doing to her when he was pleasuring her, but now, she became Aurora. A hint uncertain and definitely shy, both utterly charming.
“My shirt,” he said, and she looked his way. “Use my shirt, button.”
“Right,” she murmured, then slid from between the sheets and hurried to his shirt.
She shrugged it on and threw him a timid grin as she left the room.
He watched her doing this, deciding he was going to keep her. As soon as he could, he would release his concubine so it was only Aurora.
How long he’d keep her, he had no idea.
However, he knew it would take some time to lose his taste for her.
Perhaps eternity.
This was not a thought Yuri had ever had. He’d never been tied to a vampire or human. His longest relationship had lasted eleven years, and at his age, that was not very long.
But he remembered his father’s agony when, in order to save her life when The Dominion outlawed vampire/human partners in a way they meant it, and if defied, they killed both, Gregor had denounced his human mate.
Thus, he was the sole vampire in recent history (that being five hundred years) who broke a vow.
But he did it for the best reason there was.
Love.
His father had not shown his torment to anyone but his son. And his suffering held Gregor in such a grip that Yuri worried he’d end his own immortality. It didn’t help that Gregor kept tabs on the mate he’d saved from the noose. Even watched her himself on occasion.
And thus, he saw her marry another human, give him children, and find her brand of happiness.
But Yuri also watched her. He’d liked her. He’d liked that she’d made his father happy. But in the life she built without him, she had not been truly happy. Not as she was with Gregor. Not the happiness of a woman who knew she was with the precise being on this earth who the fates had destined for her.
Yuri rarely thought of it as it brought back unpleasant memories, but he knew then, as he knew now, that his father had found his lifemate—the one being who would exist throughout eternity who was meant for him.
She died at ninety-two years of age, a long life for that time; however, Gregor had been giving her his saliva for decades so he’d given her one last gift: an elongated life. A gift Yuri had no doubt she didn’t want, living those extra years without Gregor.
Experiencing this through his father, living under the edicts that vampires were not allowed to take human lovers unless at a Feast, he’d not thought of eternity. Not with vampire. Not with wolf. Definitely not with human.
He found it freeing to be able to do so now.
And thinking of it at the same time thinking of Aurora, it was not only freeing, it was pleasant.
His phone rang, and considering all that was happening, Yuri didn’t have the luxury of ignoring it. Therefore, he moved to the end of the bed and reached out an arm to his slacks. He got his phone, looked at the screen, and saw it was his father calling.
He gritted his teeth but took the call.
“Father,” he greeted.
“I’ve sent you an email,” his father said as reply. “In it is a video that’s gone viral on social media. A video that shows Myrna Buchanan being raped by a vampire while he drained her…completely.”
Yuri knifed to sitting and bit out, “Pardon?”
“We’ve received reports,” Gregor carried on. “Currently, the number stands at two hundred and seventeen concubines, either currently in service or retired, who have been taken.”
“Fuck,” Yuri growled, throwing the covers off, angling out of bed, and bending to gather his clothes.
“You’re needed back here.”
He dumped his clothes on the bed as he reminded Gregor, “Five witches survived the slaughter last night, Father. The rest of the witch world gets wind of that, they might be in danger.”
“We’ll leave a detail for them.”
“No,” he clipped.
“Yuri, after this is sorted, you can go back to play with your new toy.”
Fire burned through him and it took effort not to throw his phone across the room with his natural strength, which would reduce it to dust.
“I’ll say this once, knowing you’ll understand me and I’ll not have to repeat. That was the last time you speak of Aurora in that manner. Now, she comes with me. As do her witch sisters.”
Gregor’s tone was conciliatory even when he said, “We have enough on our plate up here.”
“And when we get there, you’ll have more.”
“We can’t host five hostile witches,” Gregor’s voice nearly snapped.
“What you mean is you don’t want to. But you can.”
Gregor was silent but only for a moment.
“I’m hiring a private jet. Bring them, but don’t delay. I’ll text you the location of the airstrip. You have two hours.”
“We’ll be there.”
Gregor hung up and Yuri didn’t turn to his clothes.
He called his concubine.
Once he ascertained she was still safely in the compound where he’d left her, he called his friend Jordan and arranged for him to see to her. That being, see she was safe but not in the compound where he would soon be taking Aurora.