"Come now, little Prince. You couldn't have expected me to keep my hands off something so—special." Diavelo smirked.
The shadows inside me awoke from their slumber. "Never. Never touch her again." The prince was a fool to be speaking to the demon this way. He lacked the power the demon had but still stood his ground, the prince was too angry to care.
Diavelo simply observed him and leaned casually up against a tree. The demon looked beautiful—otherworldly, just by a simple act. That type of beauty was a danger I was willing to avoid.
"Warrior, we have business to discuss." His crimson eyes seemed to burn fire in my skin as he then took in my dress and my appearance. I clenched my jaw and nodded, slightly relieved to be away from the demon and slightly worried about the potential scolding the prince was to give for cosying up with his enemy, even if it had not been on purpose.
It had felt like I was doing the devil's tango but not with one devil.
Two.
The demon. And the prince.
Chapter 34
Tempting
Ifelt the attention of everyone in the vicinity of the gardens while the prince’s hot hands wrapped around my arms, dragging me off to goddess knows where.
He led me to a quiet nook where the red hedges in the gardens turned into a maze of sorts. I steadied my already pounding heart when he pushed me up against a hedge far from the inquisitive eyes that followed, where it was slightly more peaceful and still. Where the music and chatter were of a distant echo. Crickets chirped and remained hidden just like us. The cold leaves kissed my exposed skin, it nearly felt wet to the touch.
"Tell me, warrior, do you enjoy making me miserable?" His eyes were wild, almost as if he had lost his mind. I held my chin up high. I was not going to play his games anymore.
"Do you love making my blood boil, causing me intense ire? Do you want me to lose my breath and take my sanity—you are beginning to become the very bane of my thoughts. Haunting me day and night. All my dreams include you. Good. bad. Haunted—lustful." He panted and I could feel the very warmth of his breath on me. So many shivers I now struggled to control. "Don't you get tired, warrior? From running through my thoughts all day. Do you know how exhausted I get from trying my best to stay away from you?” His voice was deep and desperate. My eyes softened more and more all while listening to him. "Torture, Morana. That's what you do to me. You torture me. With your eyes." His warm fingers caressed under my cheek. "Your jaw." I tremble as he brushes my jaw with feather light touches and dragged it down my throat. "The very breath you draw from your chest," he whispers against my lips and presses his thumb slightly firmer above my breast." I was the one panting now, my chest heaving up and down. The movement made his palm move with it. His eyes looked as if he was in pain and his white locks kissed my forehead. He was so close, his scent—embers and sweet richness were all around me—all that surrounded me. "I find you with my enemy," the prince spoke harder now. "And all I want to do is be him. Be him touching you, making you blush... making you pant... making you aroused just as he did."
He was envious. Jealous of the demon.
I was pushed deeper into the hedge, the thorns and stems digging deliciously into my back. It made me arch more into him. There were not many lanterns around, but the moonlight made perfect work of shining upon us as if we were two lovers hiding away in secret. "I've always wanted and wanted. But you make me need. Need the taste of you. Makemeneed to beyour air. Make me needyouto be my salvation. Make me need your heart to be wrapped around my own tightly with twisted poisonous vines so that I can make you need me as much as I need you." His lips now brushed against mine. "Tell me that I have lost my wits and my morals, warrior. Tell me to stop, to let you go, and to never look at you again like I always do. Please..." His voice nearly broke and his hand was back at my throat. Making me look into his blood red eyes. Any words I would have had died in my throat. "Tell me to let you go. To stop. That I have made a mistake. That I. Am. Wrong. That this is wrong," he was begging me. His hold on me was desperate and tight. I was going to fall if he let go, my body shivered and ached as he pulled me against him. I clutched onto his embroidered tunic. "Tell me..." he whispered against my lips.
I shook my head.
The prince stilled. I was treading dangerously. And I should have told him he was wrong. That this was wrong. We were wrong for each other. That if he had known my past, he'd have thrown me aside. That he was cruel just like his father. That he had a betrothed, an arranged marriage. To tell him I was dangerous and that he was a danger to my heart that I could not admit. All I did was shake my head in denial. Not giving him what he wanted. For him to stop. Not wanting that at all.
"Do not fall in love with me, warrior, for I will break your heart and damage it long before I even realise you have already broken mine."
“It already is damaged,” I wanted to say but couldn't because his hot lips crashed into mine and I gasped into his mouth in shock at the sudden feeling. He caught my gasp roughly and took all of my air like he said he needed. I gripped the material of his tunic tighter and brought his body closer to mine. Embracing his heat. This was not just kissing. Not like the kiss he had given in front of Ezra, it wasn't possessive or claiming.No. It was hungerand greed. It was grabbing—pulling, tugging and biting. And he tasted the way he smelled. It made me shiver against him and he felt it. He was so very aware of it all. His hands slowly went down to my waist and squeezed me there, a tortured grunt escaping him. He clenched the material of my dress and bunched it up to my thighs. His tongue entered my mouth and it felt like molten lava. I wanted more of it, more pain. My hands had found his hair and pulled. His hair smooth and silky in my fingers.
"God's, how I have been wanting to do this since theinn." Adrion all but growled, kissing me harder and drinking me in as though he'd been parched for too long and worried I'd slip from his fingers any second.
There was fire raging in my ears, the panting, the loud heartbeats. Teeth clashing and the stems of the hedges snapping. It was impossible to hear or notice anyone approaching, until someone cleared their throat loudly. I did not open my eyes. Afraid that if I did, it would make everything all the more real. The prince did not pull away from me hastily, instead he just panted, still embracing me tightly in his arms. "Yes, Inanov?" the prince asked aloud.
"Your presence is required, Your Highness. Ensure yourself and your...bodyguardare there." Inanov's voice was steel and firm. No doubt furious his prince had not stayed away or taken heed of his warning.
"We'll be there," he answered firmly, still not moving away. I heard Inanov's boots trail off, I could sense his distaste for what he had just witnessed. I could only imagine what we must have looked like in front of him. I opened my eyes, feeling the heat of my cheeks multiply a tenfold when I found those ruby eyes staring into mine. He gently smoothed my dress down, drew me away from the large hedge and dusted a few fallen red leaves from my hair. I just stood there, allowing him to make his assessments and inspect me. His hair was dishevelled, andthe collar of his tunic was crooked, his cheeks stained from the red rouge I wore. I reached a weary hand to his hair, and he caught it. “No, leave it as is." He looked exactly like his actions, indulging in the lustful sins of the night. He reached for my hand, and I let him take it. Willingly. Trusting.
We were back in the publicity of the gardens, Inanov's eyes narrowed at me in scrutiny and the green eyes of the demon blazed at me. His cadre stood behind him, along with a she-demon with bright hazel eyes. One that I had not noticed before.
"Ah, Your Highness. We wanted you here while we bid our friendly guests goodbye." The Lord of Abdera expressed with a guided hand towards the demons.They were leaving.
Something inside me pushed and pulled. There was something about them leaving that made the shadows inside me go into a frenzy.
"That's excellent news." The prince smiled dryly and looked to the demons.
Diavelo simply chuckled at the prince.
The large wolf-man put his fingers in his mouth and sent out a piercing whistle. The birds in the red trees above dispersed at the sharp sound. But it wasn't until enormous blue-black horses, nearly two times the size of a normal horse, stepped out into the clearing, I realised that the birds had left for an entirely different reason. My eyes widened at the creatures, they had looked much more threatening than normal horses. With each step they took, it echoed across the surrounding, their hollowed dark eyes were soulless. Sharp fangs elongated from their mouths. These were a specific kind of dark creatures—said to have gone extinct a long time ago.
The prince folded his arms, his jaw was tight, not impressed by the slightest.
