Read Online Elusive Hero: Invitation to Eden (Vampire Queen Series Book 12) by Joey Hill - Free Book Online

are.”
    They emerged from the tunnel, Garron ducking to clear the overhang. They were outside the castle in an area of dense foliage and discreet pathways. A scattering of stone benches carved with Celtic designs circled a beautiful lagoon that had a rock wall built around it. The waterfall, tall as several levels of the castle, poured along an array of sleek rock in a jagged pattern that reminded her of the dock. A mist hovered over the water, containing a haze of colors from the moonlight. It appeared they had the place to themselves at this late hour.
    He drew her toward a stone bench. When she expected to sit on it, he shook his head, directed her to sit on the low-lying ledge around the pool, put her feet in the water. He took a seat on the bench behind her, sitting to her left she could see him in her peripheral vision. He braced his foot next to her hip, his arm stretched out on the back of the bench, all his attention on her where she sat on the ground below him.
    Fran often sat at Kaela’s feet during vampire events. If it was after the sexual entertainments, she was usually naked, her skin still dewed by orgasm, her head bowed. Kaela would idly stroke her, keeping tabs on her physical and mental state, because the haze that happened after a particularly demanding performance could be extreme. Subspace, they’d call it in the human world. Servants had it as well, that hypnotic trance state that was part euphoria, part numbing peace. She knew because she had seen dozens of servants experience it. She’d even experienced it a couple times as a human, though she hadn’t known to call it that. Jared had instinctively known to care for her with extra attention, realizing she needed help grounding again.
    Stop it. Stop thinking of him.
She was already off balance emotionally. Thinking of the man who’d been part of her life as a human would not help.
    Garron leaned forward, resting his forearms on his spread knees. He slid a fingertip along her shoulder, drawing her out of her thoughts. “You know,” he said quietly, “one of the best Doms I ever met is in a wheelchair. There's something in each of us that says who we are in the pecking order of things, who we can trust. Those are the ones to whom we'll surrender. Sometimes things have built up in our lives, debris, trash in the moat. Until we get rid of that, wade through it, it’s hard to figure out who we can trust to guard that fortress.”
    She looked down at the water, the way it swirled around her calves. There were little fish here as well as some larger ones. Trying to figure out what her legs were, they nibbled at her skin, a teasing contact. “Is this where you convince me physical power isn’t relevant to submission? To a vampire? Physical power is everything in my world.”
    “I’m not sure that’s true. I expect you’re not the most physically powerful in your territory. But you do a hell of a job either convincing them you are, or that they’re all better off with you in charge. You just have to have enough physical power to make them put aside pride in favor of the overall benefit.”
    She really did wonder how Theodosius Vardalos knew all this about her. And about vampires. She should also find out why Garron accepted she was a vampire so matter-of-factly. These were all things a responsible overlord should do, to protect the vampire world as a whole. Do a threat assessment. But that wasn’t why she was here. She didn’t want that to intrude upon this.
    “There’s a reason it’s called a power exchange, my lady,” Garron said gently when she remained silent. “There’s a reason a submissive can abhor the reality of rape, but long for the edge play of a forced seduction. In the room, you overpowered me physically. But what does your heart want, your mind want? Even if you’re Hercules, there's always someone stronger physically out there. Correct?”
    “Right.” But she didn’t lift her gaze to him.
    He sighed. “Choice is the