Page 103 of Vow of the Undead
“You asked for them?—”
He slammed his mouth against mine, silencing me with his lips. When he pulled back, it was just enough that when he moved his mouth, his lips nearly brushed mine. His forehead gently pressed against my brow. “I asked foryou. Because I really don’t want to have to kill you.”
My breath stalled. He lifted his free hand and dragged his thumb over my bottom lip, parting my lips so that he could kiss me openly again.
He finally allowed me to breathe when he spoke again, his voice ragged, full of craving, and drenched in desperation. “How else am I to convince you to marry me?”
I drew in a breath, gathering courage with the fresh air in my lungs. “You’re so arrogant that you think your mouth will make me forget that you murder innocent people?”
He only chuckled and his hand fell to my hip again. He dragged it down, down the back of my thigh. “I suppose you’re right, this is a weak excuse to have you.” When he tilted his head again, his eyes narrowed. “And Lux, Iwillhave you. But I know you admire honesty, so allow me to confess that I do hope that this helps change your mind.”
“I’ve already kissed you.”
“And now I must have more.”
I stooped to reach for the stake at my thigh, but somethingstupid crawled at the edges of my mind and stopped me halfway. He looked down at my hand and smirked.
Why did I want him to touch me again? Only a day ago I’d been in Kayn’s arms, only giving my lips to him and by choice, but now I couldn’t even think of Kayn without gritting my teeth.
The king of monstersdidn’t deserve me, not after he’d kept the real reason he wanted my help from me. A sudden ache flared in my chest. I thought I could trust him, but he’d only wanted to use me. To wipe away thoughts of Kayn and ease the ache, I parted my lips and tilted them to the king’s mouth.
“There’s more,” I said when I broke the kiss. He only laughed and shook his head, a wicked smile bent across his face.
Slowly, he gathered my skirts in his fist, pulling it up higher and higher until my thigh was exposed. His hand slipped under the fabric and closed over the stake bound to my leg. Another chuckle rumbled in his chest as he gripped the stake. “Clever girl.” His arm flexed as he pulled at the stake, yanking the silver chain that’d held it in place. “I will take what I am owed, and that was in the way.”
For one horrible second the chain link dug so deeply in the soft flesh at the back of my thigh that I had to swallow a scream. Finally, the chain snapped and he threw the stake on the ground behind him. It rolled across the rug and clattered on the stone by the far wall. The back of my thigh stung where the chain had ripped along my skin.
He seemed to sense this because his cool hand quickly found its way to my thigh again. He cupped the raw flesh, his fingers a relief against the burn. I sucked in a few quick breaths as shame wriggled in my gut for relishing his touch after he was the one who’d caused the pain.
Tilting his face to me, he closed his mouth over mine as if quieting my rapid breaths. He gripped the side of my thigh and squeezed so hard a yelp escapedme. “Good,” he whispered. “I wanted you to forget the feel of the weapon and instead remember my hand on you. Remember who you belong to, my wife.”
I jutted out my chin. “Funny, I don’t remember our wedding.”
“So you’re not a seer, but perhaps you can sense what’s coming next.” His hand brushed over the top of my thigh to the inside of my leg. He turned it over and dragged two fingers along my core, eliciting another gasp from me.
Before I knew what was happening, he dropped to his knees in front of me and shoved my skirts up. Breath caught in my throat and my entire body stiffened as his tongue followed the same path his fingers had just trailed. He licked along the sensitive center between my thighs. I breathed faster and faster, my heart pounding, my entire body flush with goosebumps.
Desperate to hold onto anything, my fingers plunged into his hair, pulling it loose from its knot. His tongue swirled over me from a new angle each time and it left me feeling intoxicated as the sensitivity built and built. I gripped the bundle of his hair tighter and tighter in my fist until my fingers ached.
His two fingers found my core again where they split me and dipped inside. I sucked in a breath and threw my head back, forgetting the stone wall behind me. I hardly registered knocking the back of my skull against stone, too entranced by the feeling building within me. Tension climbed up inside me, begging to be released. I whimpered, involuntarily giving voice to this begging.
His fingers slipped out and he pulled back for what I thought was a breath. Instead, he stood and he lifted his fingers that’d been inside me only moments ago. They glistened wet against the flickering light of the torch. He dipped them inside his mouth while he watched for my reaction.
My chest heaved as I imagined his fingers not between hislips, but deep inside me again. He slowly pulled his fingers out and his mouth curved into a grin.
His eyes lingered on my heaving chest until he tilted his head and whispered into my ear. “Don’t look so surprised, Lux. A kiss is a kiss.” He pulled back, his eyes consuming me. “And now you know what it feels like to be teased.”
I’d traded myself for a glimpse of the lost history, but shame didn’t crawl its icy fingers up my neck as I’d expected. Instead, desire for more left me breathless and slick.
As King Drakkar stepped back, allowing me to fully breathe again, I lifted my chin.
“Have I changed your mind?” he asked, his icy eyes glimmering. “You marry me and all this is yours, Lux. And a lifetime of this.” He brushed thumb over my core, eliciting a gasp from me as every nerve ignited.
Despite the need burning between my thighs, I frowned and chewed at my bottom lip.
Giving in to the intoxication King Drakkar offered patched the hole left by Kayn, at least temporarily, but marrying a murderer wasn’t an option.
Even if the lost history was right in front of me. The history I’d dreamed of. Everything my mother spent years offering sacrifices to the Gods to recover bits and pieces of. These were the stories of our ancestors, the stories that created the world we live in. I could lie and perhaps he’d allowme to see more of the library, but even the thought of lying left my tongue bitter.
