Hell's Consort

*********************

THE VAMPIRE KING

*********************

Bad enough that he pissed off one female, the first High Priestess who loved him, then cursed him when she didn't get what she wanted.

Now, if he didn't let the Blood Beast loose regularly, he will turn deadly again.

The Vampire King reclined one elbow against the mound of cushions behind him.

A casual observer would have sworn there wasn't an ounce of tension in his body.

The ruse was honed through thousands of years of both practice and experience.

Even as he gave one of the dancing girls a lazy smile, his eyes were warily scanning the room, noting every potential threat while also making every effort to tempt his vampire and non-vampire guest's palates with all of the exotic delicacies at his disposal.

After he fed the craving blood beast, he felt like himself again.

It felt good to be back.

He can control his full faculties without the blood lust ruling over him.

The Vampire King can finally touch someone without killing them.

He already fed that demanding beast inside of him with blood and the wretched souls to sustain himself in the Underworld.

The Vampire King hoped it was enough for now.

Exotic and tempting beauties shimmied and twirled to the flute's soaring song and the drums' throbbing beat.

'Women were considered little more than pretty playthings to be used then discarded when a man's attention wandered to a more enticing pleasure.' The Vampire King thought wryly as he took another sip of his wine.

None of the delicacies on display this evening were more exotic or tempting than the white-haired beauty with the silver eyes shimmying and twirling to the soaring song of the flute and the throbbing beat of the drums.

'This was the first time he had seen the female's face and form.' The Vampire King thought. 'Maybe she was a recruit. 'So mysterious and ethereal.'

The vampire king absently brought his goblets to his lips as he studied the sensual sway of her hips as if hypnotized by the suggestive motion.

She danced with her skirt---if one could call it that—was precariously balanced on the graceful flare of her hipbones, giving the wrong impression that one wrong move might send it shimmying to the floor.

A high slit in the fabric exposed a flash of long pale leg every time she twirled.

She wore a fitted bodice accented with glittering beads and flowing skirts in vivid shades of emerald and sapphire.

Her garments were far more modest than the snippets of silk the other ladies are wearing, yet somehow the illusion of uncharted territory only added to her mystique.

Her silver hair had been left loose to flow over her shoulders, its only adornment the thin circlet of beaten gold crowning her brow.

A teardrop of blood-red ruby nestled between her breasts as it dangled from a gold chain.

Her very skin seemed to glow as if it had been massaged by countless hands whose sole purpose was to enhance its radiance.

Fighting and sex were the two things that could send him to oblivion and give him a sense of control, but they didn't always do the trick.

Sometimes, it was not enough to satisfy the beast anymore.

Instead, he pacified it by being blood-drunk and sucking evil souls to maintain his life force so that he would not be taken over.

Two powerful beings inside one immortal body.

The Vampire King was tired of being stuck inside his body with the Blood Beast, managing its demands, trying not to fall into darkness.

He couldn't even remember who he was.

That was when he'd started to die on the inside, and now, over a hundred years later, he was mostly numb.

He had given up trying to pretend he was anything but a plague because no one was safe when he was around, and that was what killed him, even more than the things he had to go through when the curse came out of him.

He might not look the part, but as the Vampire King, he lived in fear of hurting his loyal subjects.

The Vampire King's thoughts were brought back to reality when the female accidentally danced closer to him, bringing herself within arm's reach.

His body hummed in a frenzy.

The Vampire King stretched, trying to buy himself some alleviate his prickling skin and twitching muscles. He wasn't surprised when it made no difference.

His curse was making itself known again, taking him into dangerous territory.

If he didn't get some kind of sexual release soon after all those bloodsucking and soul-snatching, he was going to have a severe problem.

The Vampire King spun around and yanked the female, grabbing it by the throat, forcing her body into his throne.

The slender neck under his palm was warm and soft.

The blood racing through the veins that came up from her heart made her pulses frantic.

He leaned down, covered her with his big body, and drew a breath through his nose.

Her throat undulated under his hand, as if she were swallowing, "Your Highness—"

The Vampire King shivered, warmth blooming out all over his skin.

The melodic lilt of her voice and the sound of her words spread through him, calming him, comforting him.

Chaining him sweetly.

He sank his lower body into her, trapping her with his thighs and hips.

She stiffened against him, but he got an ample feel of her breast as it hits his chest and her hips.

She smelled good.

Like flowers.

Clean. Fresh. Fruity scents.

She pushed against him, and he lowered his full weight into her.

Her breath came out in a rush, and her chest moved against him as she inhaled.

"Let go of me."

She fought against him again, creating delicious friction between their bodies.

He smelled her arousal, a lovely sweetening in the air.

That was when he knew that her anxiety and irritation turned to something hot.

He got hard as a diamond.

"Lie still." He commanded, needing to feel more of what she did to him.

"Get off, Your Highness." She seethed, the scent of her fear replaced by a sharp spice.

He moved his hips in a slow circle against her, increasing his ache and her heat.

At that moment, the tension eased out of her, softening her as he rubbed his erection on her belly.

Her hands flattened on his waist and slid around to the small of his back slowly as if unsure why she responded to him.

The Vampire King arched against her, showing his approval and encouraging her to touch more of him.

When her palms moved up his spine, he growled low in his throat and dropped his head down so his ear was closer to her mouth.

The effect she had on him was drug-like, a compelling combination of sexual need and contentment.

Like he was having an orgasm before falling into a peaceful sleep.

It was like nothing he'd ever felt before.