All The Queen's Horses {Myrnin, Morganville Vampires}

You Belong to Me

"Myrnin, I know the dress is a little provocative," I started, trying to calm his frayed nerves. His eyebrows shot up at my reference that the dress was only a 'little' revealing. I continued quickly before he could argue and reasoned, "however, no more of my legs, would be visible, than if I were wearing a miniskirt."

"And the back?!" he asked tightly.

I released a breath. "Admittedly, the positions of the cutouts and deep-cut back are a bit..." I trailed off, trying to find the right word. He didn't reply, only raised his eyebrows, letting me know that my inability to come up with a suitable adjective was proof of his point.

Myrnin pulled his phone out of his pocket. I suspected he was calling Amelie, so I wandered to the bathroom, eager for the feel of the hot water against my skin in the shower. The room was full of steam by the time Myrnin joined me. He turned me gently and began to soothe the tension in my body as he worked shampoo into my hair with his fingertips.

"What did you find out?" I murmured.

"Apparently, it is going to be a large gathering. From the feedback Amelie has received, several hundred people received invitations."

"Any additional dresses? Please tell me that Gwion sent a dress to every female," I asked hopefully, but already knew what his response would be. He didn't answer; instead I felt the muscles in his chest constrict, telling me everything I needed to know. "How did Amelie react when you told her that I received a dress as well?"

He was unexpectedly quiet for a moment. I turned in his arms to face him, and looked up curiously. He finally responded, "I think she was a little...hurt."

"What?" I breathed; my brain spinning that Amelie would be affected in any way, whether or not Gwion wanted to sleep with me. "Does she actually care for him?!" I whispered. The concept seemed so bizarre to me that I never contemplated it as a possibility before.

His eyebrows knitted together. I knew he did not like to see her in pain. "No... I do not suspect that she has feelings for him. However, she is without her normal defenses...I think she feels that loss much stronger than she is letting on. She still has all of the strength and speed of a vampire, but she is as close to human in her emotions, as she has ever been."

My heart constricted and I murmured, "We need to get her power back to her as soon as possible."

He nodded in agreement.

"Myrnin, tell me again... How does the extraction process work?" I remembered our earlier conversation when we discussed removing his power. "You said it must be done slowly and requires a bite?"

"Yes... That is pretty much the extent of it. Given the vast amount of power that was transferred to you, it could take more than an hour for Amelie to gently ease her all of it out of your body," he explained.

"An hour?" I breathed in surprise. "What happens if it is removed too quickly?"

Myrnin's eyes were tight as he replied, "Your mind and body would struggle with the split... There would be potential for permanent damage or even death."

"Oh," I whispered in understanding. He had mentioned before that it could be dangerous, but I didn't realize that death was an option. Another thought occurred to me. "Will you remove your power at the same time?" As I asked the question, I was surprised by the fierce anxiety that flowed through me, at the thought of being without his power.

"That thought stresses you, doesn't it?" he murmured softly, feeling my emotions.

"Yes," I whispered, trying to work it out in my mind. "I don't know if it is because I have become dependent on those skills... Or if I just want to keep that part of you inside of me," I admitted shyly and looked down.

He drew my chin back up. The intensity of his gaze took my breath away as he disclosed, "Cariad, I never intended to draw them back out. I have since wondered if my intention for permanency during the transfer was what caused my abilities to be so deeply rooted in your psyche, that you are able to use the skills aggressively, not just in defense."

I smiled, happiness and contentment swirling through me. I laid my head against his chest and breathed him in. It felt like time stopped and the world around us ceased to exist, as he held me in his arms.

He interrupted my little slice of heaven as he contemplated, "It will be interesting to see what your natural gifts are. It is impossible to tell now because Amelie's powers are so prevalent, but once they are gone, I strongly suspect you will have skills well beyond the ones I have given you."

I was stunned and searched his eyes for understanding. He recognized my confusion and reminded me, "Consider your sire line: Gwion and myself."

"Oh... Is that why you turned so few people?" My eyes were wide as I began to understand the significance of having him, in particular, change me.

He nodded.

Excitement bubbled up inside of me. I had no idea what to expect once Amelie's skills were removed, but I was eager to find out. "Hmmm... so, you are not going to have control over me now, are you? And with my 'temperament', that could be dangerous..." I purred mischievously.

His mouth formed a wicked grin at my challenge. "Not so fast, Cariad. You forget... I have bitten you." His fingers traveled down my belly and between my legs, resting on the white scars on my inner thigh. He teased my flesh, drawing light circles around his bite marks. "Would you like to know why you can still see remnants of this bite, when all of the others healed completely?" he whispered silkily.

His tone and touch caused heat to explode inside of me. I inhaled sharply, not realizing there was any difference between bites. But I had wondered why those scars remained...

His head came down, his tongue darting along the artery in my neck as he revealed huskily, "I marked you." His lips found their way along my collarbone and up the other side of my neck. "I made you mine."

I trembled, electricity sparking up and down my spine. My chest heaved as I remembered that night.

"You know I would never force anything on you, but make no mistake..." he spoke hypnotically as he lifted me. "You belong to me!" he thrust into me as he growled the last sentence, to be sure I completely understood.

My body was on fire as I screamed out in agreement, "Yess! Yessss! Yesss!"

In the back of my mind, I wondered exactly what control he held over me. I planned to ask him to explain in more detail, but that conversation was going to have to wait, because right now his body demanded my complete and utter attention...