Page 29 of The Crimson Princess
“Why?” I dare. “Without me, you might well overtake Ravengale.”
“With you on the throne, Satima, I don’t need or want to overtake Ravengale.” The wind gusts around us, hotter than the night, as if the sun has scorched the light within, and collapsed into night. He dares stroke my dark hair from my face and no matter how I try to remain unaffected, I melt ever so slightly against him. He notices. I know he notices. I can feel that in him, just as I can feel the roar of his lust, his magic, and it’s more powerful than anything I’ve ever known in any one living being.
He is not my father’s equal. He is superior many times over and should King Toren challenge King Killian, my father will not win that war.
Toren most certainly knows this, but still has chosen not to attack Ravengale and I’m thankful for this knowledge that will guide my future decisions. Risking all to find Toren this night was the right decision.
As if reading my mind he says. “You came to find me for a reason. Let me take you somewhere where we will have privacy. And let’s do it before the battlefield overtakes us.”
I’m not sure what this is between me and Toren, but there is something that smolders with demand when we are together. Something I have never known. I warn myself it may well be some magical power to seduce he possesses. The stories of his conquests, I remind myself for the hundredth time, are many, and being alone with him is dangerous in far too many ways.
I could end up captive to the vampire king.
And yet, I don’t believe that’s his intent and I say, “I can’t be seen with you or you with me. So yes, let’s go someplace safe and quiet.”
His expression is unchanged, I can almost feel his satisfaction. “I know just the place.” I blink, or rather he blinks, and we’re standing in front of his cottage.
Chapter fifteen
Torensetsmeawayfrom him, but not too far, with just a lift of his hand or mine between us, as if he doesn’t want me to forget what it’s like to be next to him.
“I could have taken you inside,” he points out softly. “But I wanted you to have the choice.”
Inside, where we will be alone when I can still feel his hands on my waist, still feel his long, hard body pressed to mine.
Voices lift from the nearby sidewalk and any logic that might have prevailed where Toren is concerned is thrown to the wind. “I can’t be seen here or with you. We need to go inside,” I say. “Now.”
Toren’s response is to catch me to him and in a blink we’re inside the cottage. It’s not my first time in one of the cottages, having toured them with my mother years before. And just as I remembered, they’re all quite elegant with high-end furnishings, marble floors, intricately designed sconces, and expensive art. At present, we’re in the foyer, an elaborate chandelier above us, but I’m aware of little else besides Toren. He is a pillar of masculinity before me, every inch of him hard muscle, the scent of him addictive, almost amber like, and I wonder if it’s a drug, a part of his vampire seduction.
“This isn’t why I came here,” I say, but I sound breathless and feel it, too, and I do nothing to shove him away.
“No?” he challenges.
“No,” I say firmly, even though a part of me knows that’s not wholly true. Despite telling myself otherwise, there’s a deep craving inside me for Toren that refuses to be ignored.
“The minute you tell me to step back, I step back.”
“I find it hard to believe anything with you is that easy,KingToren.”
“I never said it would be easy, not for me, and I suspect not for you, either.”
He’s right and I don’t tell him to step back. I want him, I do, but I’m not sure how much caution I have left in me with him as it is, and what little remains will surely disappear with my clothing. “There are stories about you.” My voice is laced with accusation.
“So you’ve told me. Tall tales lead to death and despair. Believe what you know, not what you hear.”
His fingers tangle into my hair, tilting my gaze to his, and the passion I find in his stare steals my breath. “Do you know how badly I’ve wanted to kiss you from the moment I met you?”
“I know nothing of what you want with me or why.”
“I want you to know everything.”
“Doubtful.”
His answer is to lean in, close, oh so close, his breath warm with the promise of passion, tempting me into the sweet oblivion I have no doubt he can deliver. My pulse is erratic, all over the place, but somehow, I press my hand to his chest, stunned to find his heart thundering beneath my palm. Is it possible that the king of vampires is as wildly in this moment as I am?
Impossible, I think. He’s an ancient king. I barely know how to control my own powers, let alone protect myself from a king such as him. “Tell me this isn’t about power,” I demand.
He eases back slightly, a hint of a curve to his lips. “Do you think I need your help to take what I want?”
