“What's the rush?” I asked as I clung to his shoulders.
“Need you,” Vax growled.
Oh, fuck. He's gone feral again. What's going on with him?
We passed many rooms, none of them up to his standards evidently. Vaxarion's shoulder hit a golden door. A spiral staircase waited on the other side. He swooped up it in seconds, taking me to the top. A vast, round room waited there, its vibrant furnishings and fabric popping against the glossy, black coral walls. An enormous round bed ruled the center of the room, branches of the same black coral forming a bower over it. Instead of plants, this bower supported lengths of red silk that wove through the branches like vines before spreading into a canopy and pooling on the floor. More of that red silk covered the bed and the wealth of pillows perched atop it. I had a glimpse of crimson and gold furniture set around the bed as Vaxarion laid me down. But then I had to focus on the Sea King.
Because he demanded attention.
How? By simply dropping his pants.
I licked my lips to find Vax hard and long. Ready once more to fill me with flesh and his magical Sea Dragon cum. I couldn't wait. But then my stomach growled.
Vax paused, hand reaching for me.
“Ignore that,” I said and yanked him to me.
He fell forward but braced himself on his forearms. Lines of strain formed around his eyes and lips. “No. You need to eat.” He pushed back, arms trembling.
“Vax,” I whispered and cupped his cheeks. “I don't know why you want me, but I'm not about to let a little thing like hunger ruin it for me. My belly can wait. The rest of me needs you just as badly as you need me.”
Vaxarion shuddered and closed his eyes. “Only until the food arrives.”
“All right.” I grinned and pulled him back down.
“Zix,” he groaned and gave in. “My beautiful Zixin.”
Chapter Fourteen
We spent a week locked in Vaxarion's bedroom. A fucking week. Literally. All we did was fuck, eat, sleep, and bathe. I'd never been with a man who could fuck so much. Or come so much. His recovery time was ridiculous. What was most amazing was my recovery time. Despite the hell I'd been through, I handled the Sea King's appetite with ease. Even met it with a hunger of my own. I couldn't get enough of him. But I knew it wouldn't last. How could it? He had a kingdom to run.
And I had a ship to return to. A ship full of people who thought I was dead.
One morning, I woke in Vaxarion's arms to find him staring at me strangely. It was a soft look, his lips turned up, and if I were another man, I'd swear I saw love in his eyes. But he couldn't love me. Not me. Not Zixin the pirate. The ex-slave. The broken man. A king would never love me. But I'd take that tenderness. I'd grab it and keep it in my heart—a treasure to never be sold.
“It's time, isn't it?” I whispered.
“Time?” Vax lifted his dark brows. “For breakfast? Yes. And then maybe we can leave this room. I think I'm finally sated enough to share you.”
“Share me?”
“With my court.” He kissed my forehead, sat up, and stretched. “Yes. I am satisfied.”
Satisfied? Share me? What the fuck?
Shaking with fury and fear, I climbed out of bed and then turned to face him, not bothering to clothe myself. “If you're satisfied, Your Majesty, I'll return to the surface. I'm not going to be one of your palace slaves, serving you and your courtiers when the whim strikes you.”
Vaxarion blinked. “Zix, that's not what I meant.”
“Then what did you mean?”
He got up and came around the bed, reaching for me.
I stepped back.
Vax dropped his hands with a frown. “I don't want you to serve my court. How could you think that after . . .” He waved at the bed.
“So, you don't expect me to fuck your courtiers?”
