Page 56 of The Crimson Princess
His hand settles on my leg, as if it’s now acceptable with the blanket to shield me from the onslaught of his touch, when I don’t want to be shielded. Not even a little. “I ask you to judge me by my actions not the stories floating around but I’d prefer your observations stay between us. I strongly believe that fear prevents wars and when that fear fades, it has to be recreated and that means bloodshed.”
He’s just offered me a look into how he thinks, how he approaches war and his honesty and directness surprise me, and suggest trust I find myself wanting to deserve. He’s certainly shown me plenty of himself by bringing me here and saving my life. His approach is all about never repeating the wars and battles of the past.
I approve.
He is nothing like the vampire king my father has always declared him to be. “I will maintain your reputation at all cost, King Toren,” I vow.
He leans in, his hands on my face and says, “You scared me, Princess Satima, and I don’t scare easily. I don’t like it. Don’t do that again.” His voice is gravely affected, as if I matter to him, as if we’ve known each other for all his thousand years. His kiss follows,a long, sensual lick of his tongue, followed by another, until his lips have parted mine and I’m panting with the intensity of the moment.
“I’m going to stop now before I don’t, and you’re not ready for where that leads,” he says, one of his hands settling on my leg as he straightens and places just enough distance between us to ease the intimacy to bearable.
“I feel fine. I’m pretty sure I’m ready.”
“No. You’re not. You still have internal injuries that need a few more hours to mend. And you need to eat real food. Gales don’t live on blood alone.”
“Neither do vampires,” I point out.
“But wecan. What do you want? When we introduced food to Bloodstone we incorporated the best of every world. Everything you could want is right here.”
“Your favorites. I want to see what the vampire king eats.”
“You, every chance I get,” he gives me a wink and adds, “but outside of that recent addiction, my appetites are varied. I have a lot of making up to do in that area so believe me, I’ve gone all in. I’ll let you try my many favorites.”
“I think it’s safe to say if either of us is addicted to the taste of the other right now, that’s me of you,” I say, turning his playful, flirty moment into an emotional one. “I really thank you, Toren.”
“I assure you, I’m not complaining,” he says. “Are you up to sitting at a table?”
“Absolutely. I told you, I feel good, normal.”
“For now. You’ll need to rest sooner than you think. You’re to take it easy for another twelve hours. That’s our doctor’s orders. Demetrius will be here to check on you later today.”
“How long until I have to be home?”
“Three days.”
My lips part in stunned disbelief. “I was half dead forfour days?”
“You know you were in bad shape and since you’re not wholly vampire, Demetrius felt the process needed to go slower than it would otherwise.” He stands and offers me his hand but I’mthinking about how and why it took me four days to heal while fighting the self-loathing it’s creating.
Forcing down those defeating feelings, I toss aside the blankets and accept his hand, slinging my legs over the edge of the mattress suddenly all too aware of how little I’m wearing. “You chose a very skimpy gown for me to wear.”
In response, he obviously uses his magic, and covers me in a robe, before pulling me to my feet. “I didn’t want to leave you naked, and I needed to be able to get to your belly. I couldn’t risk anything irritating the wound.”
I assume that’s a reference to the lack of panties. The wound was low on my pelvis if I remember correctly and pretty much my entire side. “Did Demetrius—”
“No. When he came in, I covered you. I promise. And as much as I love your body, princess, all that was on my mind the past few days was the parts of you that were not whole.”
My hand settles on his chest, curling there. “I know. I’m sorry I even joked about it.”
“Don’t be sorry. You have a right to know what happened when you were unable to care for yourself.”
My brows dip with a flashback of a bathroom, and his arm around me, and I bury my face in his chest. He cups my face and tilts my gaze to his. “What’s happening?”
“You had to take me to the bathroom, didn’t you?”
“It was a short walk.”
I bury my face in my hands and then peek up at him. “I turned the king of vampires into my nursemaid. That’s embarrassing.”
