He raises the glass to his lips lazily as his eyes look me up and down. The red dress outlines every curve I possess, marking each asset as his.
I could have been yours, Galen.‘Could have’ will be your final words.
I want to reach up and rub away the pain behind my ears. Even though the braids in my hair help cushion my crown, they still hurt like all fashionable things do.
Galen’s throat rolls as he swallows. There is something sexy about a man swallowing, but then repulsing, knowing he is a vampire, and it’s blood he’s drinking. The civilized act of drinking blood from a cup is just a show. I know Galen drinks from the veins of willing women whom he houses in luxury and most likely fucks, too.
He never mentions the others. I just assume he has others, as my father does. He’s king, so he’s pardoned for the crime of welcoming others into our marriage. I grew up with men like this, so it’s not shocking or news to me, and it wasn’t like I could feed himmyblood.
His brown eyes smile with each step I take. When he looks at me like this, it makes me want to smirk back, to push up on my toes and kiss him.
The way I sway my hips has him setting his goblet down. I might not have fangs, but I can be a viper, too. Snakes don’t just bite; they squeeze. Hard.Get ready, husband.
His relaxed posture grows firm. He stands, and every eye shifts towards him as he rounds the table.
He has a power that brings others, including me, to their knees. He’s charming. And that smile? It keeps people in a daze, too happy to realize how deceptive he is. He takes everything within his reach—women, men, a fork and knife, even a black rose—and turns it into a weapon.
Even me.
He forged me into a lethal one. His touch smelted me, his decisions were the hammer’s blows that shaped me, and hissilence to my pleas was the cold plunge that sealed his work, hardening the metal that replaced my heart.
Some weapons, when wielded improperly, inflict immeasurable pain, not just on their target, but on the one who holds them.
“My queen.” He opens his arms, which swing past the sword he always wears. He sleeps next to it like a child clinging to a stuffed animal.
We meet in the middle of the hall, where I bow to him; the tightness of the silk dress makes the action hard, and I know every male and female is looking at how the material tightly hugs my ass like a second skin.
Look, but don’t touch.That’s what this dress says.
I keep my eyes downcast, watching the chandeliers illuminate the polished marble.His finger tucks under my chin as he guides my eyes up.
He’s the captain and I the mere anchor. He commands me, lowers me when he wants me to stop, and dredges me up when it is time to set sail. He forgets that a ship needs an anchor or it can never make port, never be safely docked.
And this party? It has severed the rope, cutting the anchor free from the ship. There is no going back after this. My heart is forever under the pressure of the unrelenting water, and Galen’s mind will be like a shipwrecked sailor: all his hope of a treasured future lost.
His eyes grow with lust as he looks from my red-painted lips to the ruby necklace he gifted me. It’s so heavy around my neck that if I inhale too deeply, I worry it will choke me.
“Thank you for the gift,” I whisper. “It’s beautiful.”
He holds my chin, measuring the value of my words. Galen thinks jewels will win my heart. “One day, I will find something worthy of your beauty to wear.”
I know you are upset.That’s what he means.
“All I need is you, my king,” I reply, knowing everyone is listening, but only Galen knows the hidden meaning in my words.
Don’t do this!My eyes scream at him.
His steady glare says,I have no choice.
Lies; the king makes the choices.
He steps closer; his soft velvet suit rubs against my dress, creating a sensation that has my nipples surely showing through the fabric. He presses his lips to my ear, “You can have every inch of me, Selene,” he rasps. “Whenever you want.” He sucks my earlobe between his teeth. “Just ask.”
“Ask or beg?”I begged you not to honor the man who murdered my brother!
“The latter.” He playfully grins.
You honestly think I’d forgive you this easily!
