Page 117 of Vow of the Undead
I searched his eyes to be sure. There was nothing but softness in his gaze as it ticked down to my mouth. The softness grew harder as he brushed his fingers under my chin, beckoning me into him. I unfolded my legs and propped them oneither side of him, slowly climbing into his lap to straddle his legs while keeping my eyes on him.
His hands snaked around to my back as he gently pushed me closer and tipped his lips to mine.
All at once, he consumed me, first my mouth then all of me as his hands slid down to my lower back and his lips parted to invite my tongue inside.
He only pulled back to carefully bite at my bottom lip and then trail hot kisses along my jaw and down the sensitive curve of my neck. His blunt fangs, having protruded, were hard against my skin. I arched into him, slowly rocking my hips forward and then backward to feel the hard length in his pants against me too.
When he released a groan, my pulse quickened and I repeated the motion to elicit another response from him. It wasn’t until his hands slipped beneath my skirts that I recognized the sound of myself moaning as I pressed my core against his solid length.
His palm ran over my bare thigh and then over my waist until it was stopped by the tight corset laced around my torso. Desire pricked the tips of my breasts until they were unbearably sensitive against the tight fabric. I made quick work of unlacing the ribbon that kept it caged to my ribs.
“Lux,” he breathed. I paused to look up at him. “Are you sure you want this? You’ve been through a lot. I will not take advantage of that.”
His words warmed me from the inside out. Even in the dim room with nothing but silence and the icy air, I didn’t shiver, didn’t shy away from the desire to unlace the ribbons at the back of my dress so that I might feel his hand on my stomach. My breathing slowed and suddenly the tight ribbons didn’t feel so restrictive without my chest heaving.
But the truth of what I’d done with the king on his throne cracked through the pleasure, twisting my gut. I suddenly hadto put distance between us before the shame pricked my skin. I quickly unfolded my legs and slipped off of the bed.
Standing, I faced him with tears stinging my eyes. “We shouldn’t do this. I just gave King Drakkar parts of me.”
Kayn only tilted his head, listening intently. No judgment or anger flared in his eyes. They remained a rich brown not flashing with the crimson of vampire fury.
“I traded touching and kissing and…” I swallowed. “More. But I wanted it too. He was supposed to be my husband and, I don’t know, I just wanted pleasure to help me forget everything.”
And I’d wanted him. But I never should have. The darkness in me needed to stay locked away, not broken open to find solace in his darkness.
He stood and reached for my hand, brushing his thumb once over the back of it. “You owe me no explanation.”
“I feel like I should tell you that I’m sorry.”
He caught a tendril of loose hair that’d escaped my braids and tucked it back. “There is no need.”
“Tomorrow I’m going to walk into this wedding and try to destroy the king. And then I intend to run to find a weapon.”
“I will bring you one.”
I nodded. “But all of the council will be there. The courtiers too. I don’t know if I’ll survive. I have to do this, at least try to do this, for my sister.”
“Let’s leave, tonight.”
“Not without Silver. If I don’t show up to the wedding, King Drakkar will kill her. He’s threatened to end both our lives by first light if I’m not there.”
“Then you have to go to the wedding,” he said, understanding what I needed.
I nodded. “I have to go.” I met his gaze, holding it without blinking. His eyes flickered to my mouth.
The tension of our argument and from the life or deathdiscussion shifted. We were together again, possibly for the last time.
Together.That one word had stuck in my brain since he offered to help me. We didn’t have to do everything alone. We bared our secrets, our shame to one another, and we shared the weight of it. I couldn’t hold his shame, but I could hold him.
“But I don’t have to leave yet.” The words slipped out and the tension thickened as understanding flashed over his face.
His eyelids dipped and lips parted. “We have tonight.”
The wanting in his eyes stalled my breath.
“This could be our last moment together,” I whispered my thoughts aloud because it was suddenly all I could think of.
I could die tomorrow at dawn. So what did tonight matter? King Drakkar couldn’t be the last person I connected with before my death.
