“You have no idea how sweet you smell. I can’t wait to taste you…” As Xavier spoke these words to me, I felt a thrill run down my spine. He leaned in, close enough that his cheek brushed against mine. “One day you’ll beg for me, Gwendolyn. I’m goingto taste your essence in various forms.Whateveryou give me, I’ll lick it off, for I have starved far too long for you.”
“Excuse me,” I said and yet a jolt of heat raced down my back.
“But let’s have breakfast first. Shall we?” Xavier didn’t seem to care about my outraged reaction. Instead, he took my hand and led me to a large balcony with an integrated stairway leading down to the garden. The warm sunlight caressed my face as he slowly began opening the large doors outside.
“I’ve had my servants prepare some food for us. I didn’t know what you like. If something is missing, tell me right away and Marielle will prepare it for you,” he said, moving my chair to sit on it. The tray was filled with all sorts of bakeries and pastries: rosewater macarons, candied violet cakes, glazed croissants and fresh bread.
His arms snaked around my waist, pulling me into a tight embrace from behind. My back was pressed against his stomach, as he buried his face into the crook of my neck, breathing me in.
“What are you doing?”
Xavier pulled his head back a little to glance at my face, a slight smirk forming at the edges of his lips.
“What do you think I’m doing?” He cupped my chin while his thumb gently grazed my lower lip. He looked pensive like something was troubling him, before he suddenly leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead, his lips still lingering on my skin as he spoke again, “I don’t ever intend on letting you go, Gwendolyn. You might not understand it now, but eventually you will give in to me, and then you will beg.”
“What?”
“You willpleadfor me… so desperately that anyone will hear you, even the ones that don’t have the ability to hear. Your screams will be imprinted into deeper spheres.”
Xavier’s hand on my waist dropped lower until it was resting around my pelvis, his other hand stroking my hip bone while hislips brushed against my ear, whispering, “Now that we are alone,my little demon. I’m going to show you what it’s going to look like if you’re mine. One day I want you not only in my bed, but on my throne.”
“A throne? I thought Carnivalland isn’t a kingdom, and that you don’t care about your title.”
Xavier almost seemed amused at my comment as his fingers trailed through my hair, twirling the ends of it. “That’s true. I don’t care about the crown or the title. But Idocare about giving you everything you deserve.I want all kingdoms, especially my father’s, to bow and kneel one day, not for the throne, but for you, my love.”
Chapter 9
After our little breakfast, I couldn’t let her out of my sight, not even for a minute. It was as if my eyes were magnetically drawn to her, every movement, every breath. The strands of her long copper hair, which shone a deep bronze gold during the daylight, showed a shimmer of russet-brown resembling my favorite kind of chocolate under the light of the moon. Whenever they fell in tendrils over her beautiful rounded bosom, I just wanted to pull her close and taste that pretty mouth of hers. I was also pretty sure her glossy lips of pearly light would look wonderful wrapped around my cock. Her doe eyes would look right at me when I would make thislittle demonmine. I had never wanted to hear a woman’s moans the way I wanted to hear hers. I wanted to own them, every emotion, every feeling. They were mine, only mine. My eyes were devouring all that skin that would soon bear my shadow lines. The thoughts that went through my head when it came to her were far from saintly. Not that I ever claimed to be a saint. I planned to do things to her that would make her scream and beg for more until she wouldcraveonly my touch.
Whenever she blushed at me, her cheeks darkened in a deep crimson red, and it only made me wonder what color sheblushed when I would make her come on my tongue. The more time I spent with her, the more intense these feelings became, and I could not wait any longer to finally have her trembling in my arms and allow me a taste.
She was in my realm for three days, and I was already utterly obsessed with every single bit of her. I wanted to break this little innocent shell of hers and release the little bird that stayed hidden. That she could fly high and down again, right into my bed.
Although I was never in the human realm, I could tell by her behavior and her movements that she was very cautious and anxious. I tried taking it slow, letting her adjust to her new situation, but whenever she mentioned her wish to go home, I just wanted to slap her ass, devour her sweet mouth and make her sing my name.
Unfortunately, she was not only stubborn, but also plagued by nightmares. Very bad ones.
She insisted she was okay, and told me lies about getting better. The raw fear and panic in her voice when she shared her nightmare with me for the first time made my entire body tremble. I couldn’t bear the thought of her being in such a dangerous and terrifying situation, completely at the mercy of the sirens. My heart clenched at what would have happened if she wasn’t saved byhim. The fear and distress I felt just thinking about it made me want to rip something apart, most preferably a siren’s face.
Sometimes the dreams would get so terrible that she would wake up breathing heavily like she was still drowning in that treacherous lake. It was like a dagger twisting in my gut. I despised my inability to help her, to be the one fighting these monsters in her stead.
My body lusted after her, my soul yearned for her, and my lungs screamed for the air only her kisses could grant me. Andthe shame burned just as fiercely.
The more I was near her, the more I wanted, I needed her skin on mine. The naturally possessive and protective instincts of my vampire side had intensified rapidly, and we haven’t even bonded yet. I wonder what my behavior would look like if we did. I already found myself constantly keeping her close, refusing to let her out of sight for too long. I was even getting jealous when she talked with Marielle, which was absolutely ridiculous as she had been like a mother-figure to me.
It wasn’t my aim to scare her away—my possessive nature, however, made it more than difficult for me to resist the fucking goddess in my bed. I originally insisted on getting her own bedroom, but I couldn’t live without her scent in my bed.
The more time passed without me bonding with her, the stronger the physical attraction would grow between us. And I could only pray that the darkness within me wouldn’t take a liking to her as well.
I peeked over the bed to check that she was still fast asleep under the silk sheets. Sheets that smelled like her, and hopefully soon likeus. I stood up and took a quick shower in my bathroom, unable to stop thinking about her. Her soft velvety skin, her hips that were curved to perfection. She was so sinfully beautiful. I needed all my willpower not to stroke my cock and jerk off in the shower. But I knew she was waiting for me back in the bedroom and nothing, not even this little pull of pleasure, could compare to seeing her again. Her hands… they were worth a thousand of mine, and I wanted my release only by her touch.
I leaned against the doorframe, catching her looking around like she was searching for me.
“Missing me already?” I asked her, amused by her permanent curiosity. I believed she had been curious all her life and had finally found the chance to ask. Maybe she needed reassurance for something after feeling unsafe in the world she accidentallywas brought into, but never truly belonged to.
As she gazed at me, her cheeks turned red. It was so cute that she blushed so easily, I hoped I could bring her to blush even more with all the things I had in mind. I threw my towel over the chair, revealing myself to her. My upper body was bare, inked lines dancing across my torso and ending around the length of my thighs. I got these markings due to my ability to form shadows and use them to kill or torture people. But for her, I could use them for completely different things.Naughty things.
“Are you going to keep staring, or will you start to touch me at some point?” I mocked her as she hadn’t really moved one bit since I came through the door.
