Page 106 of Xantera
Overpower him,I tell myself weakly.
But I don’t mean it. So I stay.
Because I want this. I want him. And sadly, this is the only way I’ll ever have him.
And then a pressure falls between my legs, as if Lucan is actually circling my clit with his thumb. My own arms lay next to me like boulders.
A moan rips from my mouth, my back arching off the bed, my legs widening.
My mind’s suspended in a lucid dream, one where Lucan controls every aspect of this alternate reality in which I’ve submitted all control to him.
Lucan,I breathe when the pressure increases, the pace quickens, and then scream in frustration when it all comes to a crashing halt.
You want to come? he asks roughly.Then stay put. Don’t get out of this bed. Don’t walk out of this room. And I’ll pleasure you until you can’t fucking think straight.
Frustration winds around my ribcage, squeezing tightly. I’m facing death, and he’s withholding orgasms. But I can’t promise to be good. I never could. My mind is made up.
I let my body recover. Wait until my heartbeat slows. Cursing him the entire damn time.
No,Saskia,he begs out in agony when I throw back my blankets and march to the armoire.Please. I’m sorry I ever told you to do this. I take it back. I take it back.
There’s no other way, Lucan.My heart squeezes at his desperation, but I slip out of my pajamas and into a green silk dress I’ve been saving for the perfect occasion. The neckline rises higher than all the others, with an ideal collar that can tuck away the vial of my necklace. I slide it behind the lace, concealing it perfectly against the curve of my breast.I won’t leave you behind though. Every step of the way you can be with me… if you want.
I’m not going anywhere,he says, voice hardened.For the last time, I’m not leaving you.
So I pull back my hair into a bun and knock once with my knuckle against the servant door to alert Eleni.
Then I tell Lucan,Promise you won’t distract me,and throw open my bedroom door.
Probably for the last time.
I follow the hallway path Eleni mapped out for me exactly as I memorized. But nothing could have prepared me for actually laying my eyes on the entrance to the north wing.
The massive double doors, black and white marble etched in elaborate swirls of gold, stretch high above my head at least two stories up. In the middle of each door hangs a knocker, a heavy-looking circular bar that appears to be pure gold.
Two sentries flank the entranceway, their expressions almost happy as they mutter back and forth to each other.
Their swords hang casually from their belts, their uniforms much more extravagant than the sentries’ who roam the city.
They straighten when they notice me heading straight for them, a hand flying to the hilt of each of their weapons as if I pose a threat to them. As if I’m not just some human woman who can so easily bleed.
But my footsteps never waver. My limbs don’t ever go numb. In this moment, I feel as if I could take on a vampire—just as strong, just as powerful. As if my eyes leak their own venom. Each step feels invigorating.
“Is a Guardian expecting you?” one of the sentries demands as soon as I’m within twenty feet.
“I need to speak to the Third.”
The other sentry takes a step toward me. “That wasn’t an answer to his question.”
“I don’t answer to you.”
His eyes flare briefly before he huffs out a laugh. “You Chosen Ones think you’re all special. You don’t get in without an invitation.”
I eye the door, searching for a knob that doesn’t exist.
Ofcourse, there’s no doorknob. What do I have to do to make it open? Slice my palm and offer it my blood? Drop to my knees and pledge my allegiance to the Twelve? Sacrifice my body for their eternal pleasure?
Instead, I fling myself at the door before the sentries can react and pound my fist against the door with a heavy thud.
