Read Online Diana's Hound: Bloodhounds, Book 4 by Moira Rogers - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Moira Rogers
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bloomed, this time a tender ache in her chest. So much more dangerous than the desire. So much more moving.
She broke the kiss, leaned her forehead against his cheek and dragged in a breath, redolent with the scent of him, of cloves and black powder. “See?”
A rusty chuckle rasped free of him. “No, love. I still have my eyes shut.”
“Funny.” One more quick kiss, and Diana pushed at his shoulders. “When do you want to leave in the morning?”
“We can leave for the air station as soon as you’re ready.” He moved back just enough to give her space to slip away. “Once we reach Eternity, we’ll have to be more careful about keeping me out of the sunlight.”
“Among other things,” she murmured, her cheeks heating.
“Among other things,” he agreed. He brushed a thumb over her lower lip, a reverent touch of unspeakable gentleness. “Sweet dreams, Diana.”
Sweet? Not likely. She was sure they’d be sweaty and naked—downright filthy, even—but nowhere near sweet.
And yet, they were.
Chapter Five
Eternity was unlike any place on Earth.
No, Nate reflected as their ship started its slow descent into the valley that housed the fantastical vampire city. Eternity was unlike any place that still existed. Anyone with a passing familiarity with art or history would feel the nagging familiarity as soon as he laid eyes upon it. One with more expansive knowledge would have no trouble recognizing a recreation of Venice at its zenith.
Why anyone would go to the trouble to divert a nearby river into man-made canals and line them with buildings torn from the pages of history defied explanation. In the hard months following his transformation, he’d often wondered if he was merely an echo of his former self, doomed to never think a new thought because the spark that birthed innovation belonged only to the living.
Looking upon Eternity, he wondered if any vampire was capable of original thought. Perhaps they all looked backwards instead of ahead, doomed to repeat that which had already happened.
Diana took it in with a wrinkle of her nose. “This place smells.”
Nate choked on a laugh. “You’d think they would have improved upon the original.”
“I suppose.” She stared at the scene below them, at the canals and the wide moat surrounding the city, with a shake of her head. “I wonder how much water they had to reroute to do this. It seems like a waste of resources. Venice has the water anyway, but this place doesn’t.”
“They’ve dried up at least one lake.” He pulled aside the sheer curtain that surrounded the passenger compartment and pointed to the distant ridge marking the other side of the valley. “You can’t see them from the city, but there are enough steam boilers past those hills to power New York City for a decade. And they make quite clever use of wind power, as well. It’s a pity so much innovation has been wasted on such a frivolous goal.”
“To say the least.” She tugged at the high, stiff collar on her white lace dress.
He couldn’t spend too much time looking at that dress. There was something obscene about the way it fit her, something heightened by how modest it should have been even as it fluttered in the breeze. He’d seen Diana in clothes that hugged every curve, but those had been honest and earthy. They’d been her .
The white lace was something else entirely. Clearing his throat, he let the curtain fall into place. “Are you ready for this?”
“I don’t know, Na—” She broke off with a glance back toward the helm—and the bored, oblivious pilot.
“We talked about this, love,” he said casually. “Oliver.” It was, after all, his middle name, and easy enough to remember.
“Perhaps I should call you master,” she mused. “ Sir has a nice, deferential ring to it.”
May the good Lord damn him for how hard his cock grew. Despite the sheer canopy above them, the confines of the airship were too constricting, as unlivable as his pants.
She broke the kiss, leaned her forehead against his cheek and dragged in a breath, redolent with the scent of him, of cloves and black powder. “See?”
A rusty chuckle rasped free of him. “No, love. I still have my eyes shut.”
“Funny.” One more quick kiss, and Diana pushed at his shoulders. “When do you want to leave in the morning?”
“We can leave for the air station as soon as you’re ready.” He moved back just enough to give her space to slip away. “Once we reach Eternity, we’ll have to be more careful about keeping me out of the sunlight.”
“Among other things,” she murmured, her cheeks heating.
“Among other things,” he agreed. He brushed a thumb over her lower lip, a reverent touch of unspeakable gentleness. “Sweet dreams, Diana.”
Sweet? Not likely. She was sure they’d be sweaty and naked—downright filthy, even—but nowhere near sweet.
And yet, they were.
Chapter Five
Eternity was unlike any place on Earth.
No, Nate reflected as their ship started its slow descent into the valley that housed the fantastical vampire city. Eternity was unlike any place that still existed. Anyone with a passing familiarity with art or history would feel the nagging familiarity as soon as he laid eyes upon it. One with more expansive knowledge would have no trouble recognizing a recreation of Venice at its zenith.
Why anyone would go to the trouble to divert a nearby river into man-made canals and line them with buildings torn from the pages of history defied explanation. In the hard months following his transformation, he’d often wondered if he was merely an echo of his former self, doomed to never think a new thought because the spark that birthed innovation belonged only to the living.
Looking upon Eternity, he wondered if any vampire was capable of original thought. Perhaps they all looked backwards instead of ahead, doomed to repeat that which had already happened.
Diana took it in with a wrinkle of her nose. “This place smells.”
Nate choked on a laugh. “You’d think they would have improved upon the original.”
“I suppose.” She stared at the scene below them, at the canals and the wide moat surrounding the city, with a shake of her head. “I wonder how much water they had to reroute to do this. It seems like a waste of resources. Venice has the water anyway, but this place doesn’t.”
“They’ve dried up at least one lake.” He pulled aside the sheer curtain that surrounded the passenger compartment and pointed to the distant ridge marking the other side of the valley. “You can’t see them from the city, but there are enough steam boilers past those hills to power New York City for a decade. And they make quite clever use of wind power, as well. It’s a pity so much innovation has been wasted on such a frivolous goal.”
“To say the least.” She tugged at the high, stiff collar on her white lace dress.
He couldn’t spend too much time looking at that dress. There was something obscene about the way it fit her, something heightened by how modest it should have been even as it fluttered in the breeze. He’d seen Diana in clothes that hugged every curve, but those had been honest and earthy. They’d been her .
The white lace was something else entirely. Clearing his throat, he let the curtain fall into place. “Are you ready for this?”
“I don’t know, Na—” She broke off with a glance back toward the helm—and the bored, oblivious pilot.
“We talked about this, love,” he said casually. “Oliver.” It was, after all, his middle name, and easy enough to remember.
“Perhaps I should call you master,” she mused. “ Sir has a nice, deferential ring to it.”
May the good Lord damn him for how hard his cock grew. Despite the sheer canopy above them, the confines of the airship were too constricting, as unlivable as his pants.
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