Spellbound

Alinar Publishing
www.alinarpublishing.com

Copyright ©2007 by Felicity Heaton

First published in 2007, 2007

Prophecy rolled onto her side and threw her arm over Valentine’s cool hard chest. She sighed contentedly as she registered the feeling of his skin against hers and hazily remembered last night. Moving closer to him, she hooked her leg over his and rubbed her cheek against his chest.

She smiled when he tilted his head and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Satisfaction hummed through every inch of her. She’d never felt so sated before. She couldn’t even remember what they’d done.

A small moan escaped her when a firm hand gripped her hip, fingertips grazing sensitive flesh and sending a shiver of desire through her.

Her eyes widened when the bed behind her depressed and someone brushed up against her back.

The hand on her waist drew her closer, pulling her backside against his crotch, and she realised the hand didn’t belong to Valentine. Valentine rolled over and murmured something in his sleep, nuzzling her throat, his body flush against hers.

She froze, wedged between two hard, masculine bodies.

Her eyes widened further, showing the white all around her irises when the person behind her kissed her neck and purred softly into her ear.

She frowned, struggling to remember exactly what had happened.

Then it hit her.

She stared at her right hand and the now fading stone of her amulet.

This wasn’t good.

Prophecy propped her head up on her upturned palm and flicked another page in her mother’s book of spells. She was getting bored. It was over an hour since Valentine had told her to sneak away from her Death Day party and wait for him in her room. She wondered what was keeping him. It was probably business about his bloodline. It had been weighing on his mind recently, stealing his passion and leaving her feeling as though they were drifting apart. They weren’t, but she couldn’t stop herself from feeling that way. She turned another page. A love spell. She smiled at her mother’s youthful enthusiasm for magic. If she didn’t already have Valentine, by now she would probably be using love spells on him to make him hers. She flicked past it and raised her brows. A lust spell.

She remembered that her mother had already been with her father before she had developed the ability to use magic. Her eyes scanned the symbols and words on the page. Had they used this? She really hoped she hadn’t been the product of a good old-fashioned lust spell.

Another two pages passed her by without her paying them much attention and then she stopped. Love slave?

Her playful smile became a grin.

It would be fun to have a love slave. After all, it was her Death Day. She glanced at the door, now thankful that Valentine was taking his time. He was probably talking to Venturi. When she’d left, she’d seen the Tenebrae approach him. They looked good side by side, her two loves. Valentine was growing used to the fact that while she loved him, a part of her also loved Venturi.

She was still a little surprised by Valentine’s actions at the ball. When Venturi had arrived with some of his high guard, including Piotr, Valentine had encouraged her to greet them. She had. She’d walked up to Venturi, held him close to her, and breathed him in. It had been too long since she’d seen him. He’d been fighting battle after bloody battle with demons in his area, all of them determined to reopen the gate to Hell. She’d even kissed his cheek and whispered how much she’d missed him.

When she’d released him, Valentine was standing right beside her and he had greeted the Tenebrae warmly, far more friendlier than he used to be towards him. She’d got the impression that Valentine had expected her to do more than just hug Venturi. It had been written in his eyes when she’d looked at him. Had he thought she would kiss him? They’d never kissed before. If Valentine was alright with it, then she would happily kiss Venturi. It wasn’t unknown for vampires to have more than one lover, but she’d never thought she’d be one of those vampires, not when Valentine had so clearly shown his jealous and protective side when it came to her and Venturi.

She idly twirled her long red hair around her finger and shifted so her corset wasn’t digging into her stomach as much. Her eyes focused on the page again and she frowned at the sense of longing and need inside of her. Her thoughts had stirred desire and it burned through her.

A love slave.

Her glance shifted to the door and she made her decision. Standing, she took the book with her and clearly spoke the words. The stone in her amulet glowed brightly, fine purple threads of magic winding themselves around her fingers and symbols surfacing in the depths. She pressed her palm against the door, so the stone was touching it, and closed her eyes before saying the final word.

She reopened them when magic shot through her and watched it spread over the doorway like a barrier. The symbols appeared on the light green translucent wall of magic and then the whole thing faded until she could no longer see it.

Going back to the desk, she placed the book down and waited. As soon as Valentine walked through the door, and the invisible barrier, the spell would be cast on him. She straightened out her appearance and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

Anticipation and excitement bubbled up in her stomach and she couldn’t help smiling. She knew that when the spell eventually wore off, he would be having serious words with her about abusing her power, but she didn’t care. She wanted to see if it worked and if she’d be able to command him to do anything.

The first command she was going to give him was to relax. He’d been so tense over the past few weeks. If the spell took his mind off his work for a night, then she was willing to face his anger.

There was a step in the hall, swift and confident. Valentine.

She stood, her stomach hot with expectation. The footsteps ceased, but more joined them. She frowned when the door opened and Valentine walked in. The green barrier shimmered into being for a moment as he passed through it and the smile that had been about to grace her lips when he looked stunned was replaced by her own look of shock.

Venturi had followed him.

She bolted to the door as he cleared the barrier and her eyes widened when she saw more people in the hall. She caught a glimpse of Hyperion’s face before she slammed the door and pressed her forehead against it. Her fingers flicked the lock and her heavy breathing cut the dreadful silence.

There were muffled voices in the hall.

“Sorry … magical backfire,” she said.

A knock.

“Yes?” Her voice sounded weak and she furrowed her brows, her forehead still pressing hard against the wooden door. She couldn’t believe what she’d done. She didn’t want to turn around, didn’t want to face the two men whose eyes she could feel boring into her.

An amused laugh rang through the door.

“Oh, shut up, Hyperion.” She almost growled the words.

“We shall leave you with your two loves … sweet Prophecy … although you could have let me through. We would have had fun, without the need for a spell.” His tone reflected the same amusement that had been in his laugh.

“I don’t think I’m ready for you,” she said with a smile of her own, remembering how seductive the lord of Validus could be with little effort on his part. After three thousand years on this earth, it seemed to come naturally to him. For her, love and everything that came with it was all so new. “Call on me in a hundred years or so.”

He laughed again. “As you wish.”

She listened to him saying they should leave the three to be alone and then focused on the retreating footsteps. When they’d disappeared, she fought to find the courage to face Valentine and Venturi.

She turned slowly and gave them a lopsided smile, her brows still furrowed. What had she done?

They both looked at her with eyes full of fire. There was so much hunger in Valentine’s green eyes, and so much need in Venturi’s blue ones.

She held her hands up by her side when Venturi went to approach her. Valentine snarled at him, baring his teeth, effectively stopping the Tenebrae in his tracks.

“I think there’s a counter-spell,” she said and began to hurry to the desk to find it.

She didn’t make it two steps before she was in Valentine’s arms and was being kissed with so much force it blinded her. She completely forgot about the spell and the world disappeared with it. The whole of her focus was on the way his mouth slid against hers, lips brushing and his teeth scraping her. A faint metallic tang of blood stirred her senses and she moaned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and threaded her fingers into his hair. His fingers tightened against her back, possessively holding her and igniting the fire inside of her.

When he eventually released her, her head was foggy and her lips were numb. She smiled dazedly and leaned against the desk as Valentine resumed his position next to Venturi. She wondered if they wanted her to choose between them. She looked at them both. How could she ever choose?

Valentine looked as dashing as always in his ball attire. The long black coat was decorated with silver embroidery around the cuffs and the stand up collar. It highlighted how pale his skin was and the blackness of his hair. His eyes were vivid green again, back to their natural state. She’d never grow tired of looking at him. He had such a regal air, his fine sculptured face and perfectly straight nose lending to his appearance, making him look proud. The beauty of him made everything pale in comparison.

He stood a little taller than his companion, his build lighter but by no means weaker.

Venturi brushed a long tendril of dirty blond hair from his face and she was glad of it. She always liked to see it clearly. His features weren’t as noble as Valentine’s, but he was handsome and they showed his Italian blood. His blue eyes were shining brightly at her, full of unspoken feelings and desire. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, to soft lips she had wanted to kiss for so long now.

The two men looked at each other and she was surprised when they didn’t growl. Instead, they stared into each other’s eyes and then turned their gazes on her. The intensity of them was overwhelming. Whatever silent communication had passed between them, it had clearly been about her and whether they were happy to play her slave together.

The idea of having both of them in her bed at the same time made her legs tremble. Her knees threatened to buckle beneath her. She held onto the desk for support and to stop herself from melting into a puddle as she waited to see what they would do.

They both smiled and their look was identical. It spoke of seduction and want, of hunger and need, and she got the startling impression that she was about to become a slave to them rather than their master.

“Valentine?” she whispered, giving him a concerned look.

His brow rose, an expression of curiosity flitting across his face.

“Are you sure about this … because there’s definitely a counter—” She was cut off as his mouth descended on hers again, so swift that she hadn’t even seen him move.

Her eyes rolled closed and she moaned quietly when Venturi slid up beside her, his fingers ghosting over her bare shoulders. He shifted her so she was away from the desk and moved behind her. She furrowed her brows and then frowned when his lips coursed down her neck and Valentine continued to kiss her. Her senses screamed with the overload of pleasure and her heart said to take what they were willing to give her. It was her Death Day after all.

She couldn’t have wished for a more perfect present.

When Valentine’s lips left hers and he began kissing down the opposite side of her neck to Venturi, she couldn’t stop herself from asking again. She had to be sure that he was fine with this, that everything between them would be the same when they came out from under the spell.