Page 32 of A Kiss of Flame
“She’s a good lass,” Barith said defensively. “Your brother’s happy.”
Deckland half-grinned. “I wish him felicitations,” he replied dryly. His eyes flickered between Levian and Barith. “So, what brings you here?” He pressed. “I know you two like indulgences, but this is a place for unique and dark delights. Or are you here to enjoy each other without whispers back home?”
Barith’s skin tightened, and Levian scoffed loudly. “Hardly,” she snapped. Her disgust was palpable, cutting through him like a sharp blade.
The vampire’s gaze lingered on Levian as he balanced his pipe between his teeth. “If you aren’t here to pleasure each other,” Deckland continued, “I’ve no doubt you’ll find ample willing partners up to the task.” Barith felt the insinuation shiver through his bones, his fists clenching at his sides.
Levian leaned in over the chair, her necklaces dangling. “A partner like you?” she asked outright, her tone shifting to one of curiosity. Barith’s mouth fell open.
Deckland didn’t flinch. He took a slow drag from his pipe, letting the smoke seep out between his lips. “You are a rather rare beauty,” he replied coolly. “And I cannot say I’m not interested, but I feel you might be attempting to provoke more than procure.”
At least the vampire was sharp enough to figure that out, Barith thought. He didn’t know what Levian was playing at.
The mage slid from behind her chair and sauntered over to Deckland, the vampire watching her without a shift in his expression. Levian took the empty space beside him on the leather couch and brushed her fingers lightly up the vamp’s thigh. Fire blinded Barith's vision, and it took every ounce of control not to snarl at her for her insanity. Playing games with Deckland was a bad idea. Playing games with any vamp was a bad idea.
The mage playfully plucked the pipe from Deckland’s hand. “You do know what they say about curiosity,” she teased, flashing a tempting smile before taking a puff of her own and blowing the smoke in his face.
Deckland didn’t react, but his eyes dropped to her mouth, then to her exposed throat.
Barith’s blood pounded in his ears, ready to intervene, but Levian raised her hand and waved him away the moment his muscles twitched to take action. “Why don’t you find a playmate of your own, Barith?” she suggested, still focused on Deckland. “I believe I’ll be occupied for a while.” She held the pipe for the vampire, who hesitated before taking a drag.
Barith’s eyes lingered on the spot where her hand rested on the vampire’s leg, and he tried his best to tamp down the rage boiling inside him. Levian could be infuriatingly stubborn, butthis was beyond what was reasonable. Barith was tempted to haul her crazy arse over his shoulder and drag her out, kicking and screaming, if it meant saving her from herself.
“She’ll be fine,” Deckland drawled in a pathetic attempt to assuage or mock him; Barith wasn’t sure which. His fists clenched harder as he glared the vamp down.
“Go on,” she said, shooing him away. “Go have fun.”
It stung. All of it. The dismissal. The touching. The vampire. The fact that she wouldn’t talk about their kiss. The fact that she seemed to have no sense of self-preservation. Barith was desperate for air, except he was fucking buried underground. So, in his encompassing frustration, he did exactly what she told him. He turned around, his fire festering, and locked eyes on the naked fae princess rolling around with her companions on the floor. Without a word, he stalked over to their giant pillow and knelt beside them.
“Hello,” he growled. The princess and her companions popped up, startled, then smiled and giggled as they took him in. “May I join you?” he asked, devoid of enthusiasm.
The fae princess was plump with pink-hued porcelain skin and large breasts. She rose to her knees, scooting up to him. Her rumpled lavender curls accentuated her rounded features. She fit much closer to the type of woman Levian had accused him of preferring. The princess slid her hands over his chest while her companions came up beside him to rub his arms.
The princess eyed his tail, which lay curled beside him. “A dragon,” she cooed. “My sisters will die with envy!” She giggled, and her companions followed suit as they pulled him into their pile. Before he knew it, his shirt was gone, and three pairs of hands roamed over him with abandon.
The touches, the attention—none of it mattered.
He felt nothing.
Nothing but the rage building in his belly, a desire to haul Levian as far away from Kamár as possible, and the urge to knock Deckland square in the jaw.
Levian caught Barith out of the corner of her eye, rolling around with the faerie tarts on the floor. She couldn’t determine what was happening in the dark periphery, but her imagination ran wild, her blood running hot as giggles ebbed and rose.
She hadn’t planned on this approach with Deckland, but once she’d gotten a hint of his interest, she felt she had to see at least where it led. It wasn’t as if she could have explained to Barith, right in front of the vampire:I’m going to fake seduce him and try to weasel information out of him about the Eldreth with magick.
Maybe she’d been a little rude shooing Barith away, but they had agreed to play their parts and spread out once they got into the inner chambers. That’s precisely what they were doing, and though it pained her to admit, Barith writhing about with a fae princess and her partners would probably please the Eldreth to no end. She could feel everyone’s attention shifting, making her skin prickle with irritation.
Deckland tilted his head as if sensing her rising temper. Levian tried to refocus on the reason she was doing this to start. She ran the back of her finger along his jaw. His skin was cold and off-putting. Touching him made her feel sick to her stomach. To her shame, Levian wondered how her dear friend Gwen managed to touch Sirus, let alonesleepwith him.
“I’m wondering if you’re not the one who was trying to provoke earlier,” she said, ignoring the urge to look over to seewhat had caused the latest giggle fit from the faeries. “Or are you afraid I’ll bite?”
Deckland had not touched her, which was a relief, but to weave her magick more effectively, it would help. It would also help if he loosened his guard a little.
Vampires were strange creatures—the dying who chose to be reborn through shadow magick. They weren’t entirely living or dead, making them challenging to charm with magick. It didn’t help that Kamár was dampened, already limiting the raw magick that normally flowed through the aether. It would be tricky to pull off, especially undetected, but not impossible.
Deckland’s shirt was unbuttoned, exposing a thin patch of dark hair against ivory skin. She intended to drop her fingers there in an attempt to entice him, but she shifted away instead, leaning back. The thought of touching the vampire in that way made her stomach turn, not just because of what he was, but because she had touched Barith like that not more than half an hour earlier.
When she pulled away, Deckland reached out and delicately ran a finger along the edge of her arm. Goosebumps broke out immediately, and she fought the instinct to shiver.