He got behind me and patted the horse's back. Our horse trotted several feet and sped into a steady gallop as we left the town I'd only known as home.

I'll have to figure out a way to still watch my girls grow and eventually I'll have to find a new place to call home.

"I'll help you see your daughters again and wherever this new place that you call home is, I'll also be there." Samuel kissed my shoulder. "It will be okay, Brie."

"You promise?" New tears streamed down my cheeks.

"Yes." His fangs' sharp points slid up against the curve of my neck. "In the meantime, have I ever shown you the many things I can do on a horse?"

Samuel's fangs pierced my neck. Crying with pleasure, my head fell back and rested on his shoulder.

"Show me now," I said between unsteady breaths as his right hand moved under my shirt and his left hand dove into my pants. He sank his fangs deeper into me and the area exploded with hunger as if I'd been starved for days.

"Thank you," I whispered as his fingers stroked the swollen bud between my thighs. I closed my eyes while that familiar drugged-out daze overtook me.

Thank you for what? he asked.

"I needed a distraction from my heart's pain." I gasped as his fingers entered me.

Epilogue.

Samuel Fear and fascination warred inside my chest. I couldn't stop grinning as I gazed at my queen. Brie lay on the fur blanket. That unusual auburn hair stuck to her damp face. I dabbed a cool, wet cloth on her skin, trying my best not to wake her. She'd collapsed after I brought her to her fourth o.r.g.a.s.m. A dust storm blew outside. The tent's leather walls wavered. Brie's lips parted as she remained in a deep slumber, unaware of me watching.

The irony. I helped her escape an oppressive king and averted a selfish husband, just to try and possess her myself. Would she flee if she knew the thoughts I kept in my mind? My hands went to her flat stomach. My fingers sank in the soft tan flesh around her waist. One day her belly would be full of my children and her mind would only be focused on me.

"Ethan," Brie whispered.

Even though she was dreaming, a tear leaked out from her closed eye. It had been two days since we left Zumaya, yet this ingrate's name was still on her tongue every time she fell asleep. If he didn't have Brie's daughters, I would have killed him. How long did it take Ethan to replace her? Not long at all. Brie had only been gone for two years. The woman's belly was full with his child and due to deliver any day now. What type of man watches his wife be carted off to breed for another and marries the next year?

"No, Ethan," Brie cried and turned on her stomach. I almost woke her and shoved my c.o.c.k inside her to show her Ethan was her past and I was her future.

But there was no need. My face danced in her thoughts constantly. She yearned for my fangs way more than she spent time reminiscing of the past.

But are the fangs enough? And how do I feel about her? Am I in love or simply whipped by that intoxicating blood and wet flesh between her thighs?

My brain yelled run, but every cell in my body screamed that she was my queen. I dedicated my whole life to stopping oppression. All those decades I shook my head at men-vampire and human, wondering why they would try to possess and control their women. Now it clicked. She was mine in every sense of the vile domineering word and even worse, I was hers in every way. I shuddered at the thought of what I would do for her if she asked-kill, steal, desecrate the holy G.o.d Ambi, destroy cities and ma.s.ses of people just at her command. It sickened me to know how my control waned.

And what would I do if she did try to leave? I doubt it would end well.

A low but wild growl escaped my lips. She belonged to me and no one else. Not The Quiet King nor Ethan or any other man considering suicide could court her. Is it my power ripening or the natural will of a man to want to control what he thinks is his? It didn't matter. Blood would paint the streets if another touched her. That was guaranteed.

I slung the cloth to the other side of the tent, lay down next to her, and closed my eyes. What am I even saying? Murder? Children? Queen? What is wrong with me? Mine? Is she property now?

I groaned. I've changed my whole outlook on life in just a few days with her. Trying to own a woman was never my plan. And yet my queen slept next to me with full lips, taunting pink nipples, and glistening flesh that begged me to pierce it with my c.o.c.k and fangs.

Maybe I should let her go? I don't like this fear. I'm disgusted with my thoughts.

I violently gripped the fur blanket.

This is madness. I'll drop her off in a town where she'll be safe, and then I'll race away from her taunting scent. Enough of this!

Movement sounded. I opened my eyes. Fully awake, she gazed back at me. And in that moment I wanted to surrender all that I had to her, just so she wouldn't look away. She needs her freedom, but I won't let her have it. Regret lodged in my throat.

"I had a nightmare," she confessed. "Is the sun down yet?"

"No. You've only been asleep for an hour."

"And when it's dusk, are you heading back to Capitol City?" she asked. I forced myself not to growl or snarl at her. She said you and not we. Instead, I formed my lips into a smile. She thinks she has options and choices to make.

"Why are you smiling and not answering my question?" Brie raised her auburn eyebrows. Her eyes shimmered, telling me she was annoyed. They also shimmered when I made her come. My c.o.c.k hardened at the thought. My fangs ached inside my gums.

"Yes, I'll go to Capitol City, but I'll see Leeta first and tell her I didn't get the Zumayan mushrooms." I dove my hands under the blanket to clasp on to my erection and calm it down. "Will you be coming with me?"

She considered my question. I read her mind, pondering all of the different possibilities that filled her head. I forced myself to relax and maintain a neutral mask-the predator never startles the prey unless absolutely necessary.

"Yes, I think I'll come with you, but not to Capitol City," she informed me. "I'll see if Leeta or someone has work in that town. I think I'll stay in Freemont and work for room and board until I know a good place to hide from the king."

I laughed, unable to hold it in. Her audacity tickled me.

She still thinks what we have between us can be forgotten or put aside.

"What's so funny?" She pouted and poked that luscious bottom lip out. I blurred to her and sucked on it, letting my tongue trace its outline.

You'll stay with me, my queen. I delivered the thought to her head.

"I won't. But we can spend time together every now and then," she said. Her heart thumped in her chest. Her blood sang to me. I swayed and almost drowned in that hypnotic tune.

We'll be doing more than spending time together, I mentally replied. She shuddered. I spread her legs apart and toyed with the plump bud between her thighs. My mouth watered as she moaned. I needed to circle her c.l.i.toris with my tongue and tenderly tug on it until she screamed my name.

"I'm already too sore," she whispered.

"Should I kiss your soreness away?"

The tent instantly filled with the scent of her arousal. I journeyed down to her thighs.

"Yes," she mumbled as her legs opened wider.

I stuck my tongue out and slowly explored her, enjoying the taste. She cried out in delight. Her body writhed under my mouth. I gripped the head of my c.o.c.k and imagined it was inside of her slick tunnel.

We'll spend time together every now and then, she said. Never! I want all of her time and nothing less.

My tongue flickered along her opening. She rocked into my mouth. "Samuel!"

"Who are you to me?" I thrust my two fingers into her.

"Your queen," she cried.

And you'll realize that soon enough.

*The End*

About the Author.

Continue Brie and Samuel's journey in Captured (Book 2 of the Vampire King Series).

www.KenyaWright.com.

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