Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67437 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I won’t take your body because. . .now that you have healed my ears, I don’t want to hear your screams of agony. I want to hear your moans.
Her breathing quickened.
And now that you have healed my eyes, I do not want to see your tears from my assault. I want to see your face twist in passion.
Closing the tiny bit of space between us, I gently extended my hands up to her head, the cool pads of my fingertips skimmed her warm skin before I cradled her face.
You healed my heart. Please, take it.
Her sigh trembled in the air between us.
And if you take my heart and hold it close to yours, I will give you pleasure, protection, and all the riches of this world.
I traced the soft contour of her cheeks and watched as her eyes fluttered closed. Soon, she leaned into my touch as if my hands were her sanctuary.
As if scared to say the words out loud, she pushed her response into my mind. Do not hurt me.
Never.
And then, I claimed her lips.
The world seemed to hold its breath, the nocturnal chorus of the forest quieting in anticipation.
The feverish kiss was an exquisite, fiery melding of two souls.
Our mouths moved in perfect harmony.
Wild.
Tender.
Demanding.
My hands anchored her face, thumbs gently caressing her cheeks while our tongues intimately danced, twisting and tasting.
Her surrender was like the sweetest blood wine and as magical as a forbidden elixir, intoxicating me beyond control and filling me with an insatiable desire that I greedily drank from.
This kiss was even better than the one I stole last night.
Slowly, I released her lips and leaned away.
The depths of her eyes mirrored the intensity of my feelings for her.
I flicked my finger and the invisible strings of my power unraveled from her body.
Slowly, she lowered and her feet touched the ground.
A wicked smirk spread across my face.
You surrendered.
She blinked. “I did. . .for now.”
My smirk deepened.
Forever.
“O-okay, but I. . .have one request.”
I will give you anything, except the chance to escape.
She swallowed. “When you take my body. . .b-be gentle.”
At her request, joy spiraled through my heart.
Did she have any idea what she was doing to me?
“I’m scared to. . .have you inside of me.” She moved her gaze down to my bulging crotch, barely hiding my stiff erection. “It’s so big and you are so strong, I don’t want you to—”
Before she could finish, I crashed my lips onto hers in a kiss that was as fierce as it was tender.
She gasped against my mouth, yet as her initial shock subsided, she began to respond. Her arms wrapped around my neck, pulling me closer.
My fangs grazed her lower lip, drawing a whimper from her and bringing me tiny drops of her blood.
I groaned and pulled back. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing else to say.
It is time.
I gazed at the sky and no longer saw the two moons. Instead golden light seeped into the horizon, telling me that the sun would be here soon.
Fast, I gathered Seraphine in my arms.
She shrieked.
And in a blur of motion and speed, I took off, leaping into the night with Seraphine held securely in my hold. The wind whipped around us, tugging at my hair and clothes.
The forest passed by in a blur.
She nestled against me and rested her head on my shoulder.
Finally, she understands that she is my queen.
But then. . .as I continued forward in a blur of power. . .I slipped into my queen’s mind and discovered that she had blocked her thoughts from me again. That fact shoved me on edge. I couldn’t understand why she would do that.
She had already surrendered.
Paranoia crept into my mind, unraveling the joy in this moment.
Is she hiding something from me? Or is it just her habit of being protective? Should I be worried? Or not care? What do I do?
Doubt upon doubt poured into my head.
My queen was smart and powerful.
Had she truly surrendered?
Or was this gesture of surrender just a plan for me to lower my guard and give her the opportunity to escape?
Chapter 16
The Unraveling
Seraphine
Fast.
That was the only word that could describe the sensation as Nai scooped me up in his arms and shot us forward. His biceps flexed around my body. It was a steel band of strength that anchored me amidst the swift motion.
With Nai’s speed, the ground beneath us was a forgotten concept.
We soared through the air.
The world twisted around us. The forest landscape and rising sun shifted to a distorted canvas of indistinguishable shapes and garbled colors.
The wind whipped against my skin.
I clung to Nai.
Suddenly, an invisible pressure began to form at the forefront of my mind, subtle but persistent, like the steady push of a rising tide.
He’s trying to read my mind again.
It was not a forceful invasion. Perhaps, when he blurred so fast, it was harder for him to get in my head.