“Eve is not your damn plaything,” Aerén snapped, chest heaving in anger. “She is here for one purpose only—to help our realm!”
“You’ve said your piece, now get the fuck outta my way.” Reynner waited for him to take another shot, welcomed the all-out fight this would be.
“I am going,” Aerén growled. “And to think, I always looked up to you.”
Didn’t that just suck? A big friggin’ blow to his pride. Not.
But nothing, absolutely nothing, could stop the bile working its way up Reynner’s throat at what he’d done. The taste of Eve still on his tongue, the scent of her arousal wafting in the room coated his senses, and a yearning took hold. He squeezed his eyes tight.
Females, they could never be trusted!
She’s different.
No! He had to get the hell away. She was here for one purpose only, like his prince so helpfully pointed out. She was here to save their realm.
***
Eve sat in an armchair near the window and looked out into a sky studded with sparkling stars. The huge moon hung low, flooding the room with silvery light. Her skin took on a pearlescent sheen, like a marble statue. She rubbed her arm and wondered dully, if she stayed motionless, would she become one?
But nothing could take away the powerful emotions rioting within her. She scrubbed her burning eyes and let her gaze drift around the smaller room with its wraparound windows. Aerén had given her his room after he’d found her curled up in the living room. There wasn’t another bedroom, he explained.
Eve shifted on her seat, her fingers tightening on the comforter Aerén had draped around her shoulders. Her emotions were frayed raw, and she struggled to calm down. She didn’t know which was worse—the unfulfilled desire that hummed through her, or the images that now haunted her.
She drew her knees up, locked her hands around them, and buried her face in her arms as the vicious visions clamored back. The pain. The suffering...
Oh, God in Heaven!How did anyone bear that kind of torture? He’d been so viciously brutalized—violated. Why?
Who would do something so cruel to another person?
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered again. He’d been furious that she’d seen his memories, and in anger, he’d touched her. Except, she’d never experienced anything like it. He hadn’t been brutal, just determined to get a response from her. Her fleeting fear had vanished, giving way to raw need at the look in his burning blue eyes when he hunkered between her legs.
The mind-numbing pleasure he’d drawn out of her overwhelmed her and left her wanting more. Made her wonder at her own state of mind. Reynner had only reacted in anger. She wasn’t stupid, she understood that on an inherent level.
Resting her head against the backrest of the armchair, she stared into the night, trying to forget the bleakness in his torturous gaze.
A knock on the door hauled her back. The light from the passage silhouetted Aerén’s tall figure in the doorway.
“May I come in?”
She nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her actions in the darkened room.
“Yes.” The word hurt, her throat gone numb from tears she fought not to shed. “You can switch on the lights.”
Seconds later, a soft yellow glow flooded the room. Aerén crossed to her, his eyes dark with concern. “You okay?”
“I'm fine.” She forced a smile. No use worrying him because she’d misjudged the effects—the consequences—when she touched Reynner.
“I brought you a drink. It will help relax you.” Only then did she notice the tall glass he carried, filled with a pale amber liquid.
“Thank you.” Eve took the frosty crystal from him and sipped some of the juice.
Tart with a hint of sweetness, it slid down her throat and eased the tension of her body and her throbbing head.
She glanced at the liquid. It had the appearance of apple juice, but it tasted like no fruit she’d ever had. She couldn’t quite pin down the flavor. “What is this?”
“The nectar of the angels,” he said, his smile back.
“Right. But thank you. This helped, a lot.” She left the juice on the small table opposite the chair.
