“He… he told you? That conniving busybody! That… that obnoxious tattletale!” I take another few steps back, and he matches my retreat with steady strides.
“Well, what did you expect, little umbra? That you’ll attempt to seduce my second-in-command, and I won’t find out?” he snorts in disdain. “I know everything that happens in my domain. And more so, everything pertaining to subjects of my utmost interest.” A lone shadowy tendril creeps out from under his open shirt and caresses softly the outside of my right arm. The gesture is so tender, so intimate, that I shudder in response. “You… you’re not mad?” I feel like a kid caught with his hands in the cookie jar, expecting a punishment that never comes.
“A bit stunned, sure. But not mad, no. Nothing really happened, did it? And my best guess is, it was your way of copingwith whatever this is between us.” I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, chewing anxiously. The lone tendril moves upwards, gently tugging my lip free.
“Do you know why I call you umbra?”
I shake my head no. I’ve imagined it’s some sort of meaningless endearment in the old vampire language.
“Umbrameans shadow in our long-lost tongue.”
“But I have no shadows. No powers,” I mumble, confused.
“You have no outward magical shadows, yes. But I see your inner ones, Aimee. Every time I glance into your golden eyes, I see the shadows staining your soul. Maybe one day you will let me in enough to share what caused them with me. Although I suspect that’s not a tale you disclose to anyone.” His sorrowful smile touches a part of my brokenness that it has absolutely no business affecting. Why does he have to be so considerate, on top of being drop-dead gorgeous? Can’t a horny girl get a break around here?
“Besides, my ego is not so inflated that I couldn’t comprehend you finding Blaise attractive. At least you chose my second-in-command, and not the cook. That would have been rather embarrassing for me.”
I burst out laughing—a full-on, deep belly laugh I haven’t experienced in ages. “You’re definitely not what I was raised to expect.”
His shadows skim the outline of my jaw tenderly.
“You’re quite unforeseen too, little menace.”
The yearning in his eyes threatens to melt away all of my last-standing bastions of good sense. I fake cough, taking a side step away from him. “Yes, right. It’s getting late; I believe I will turn in for the night.”
His gaze hardens abruptly, and his shadows halt my retreat. “You can’t evade this forever, Aimee.”
“There’s nothing to evade.” I lift my chin up defiantly, but it’s the wrong move, as he leans impossibly close, his stubble prickling my skin as he whispers in my ear.
“You can lie to yourself all you want, little umbra, but your body can tell no lies. Not when I can hear the hummingbird beats of your heart. Not when I can sense the thrumming speed with which your blood courses in your veins in my presence. And definitely not when I can smell your maddening arousal, gathering between those biteable thighs of yours.”
“It’s called fear,” I say in a meek tone. My voice sounds unconvincing even to my own ears.
“It’s craving, and you know it damn well. Don’t insult me!”
More shadows are coming off him now, enveloping both of us in bloody darkness and scorching heat. I pray he doesn’t lose control because I’m precariously on edge, and this is about to get ugly in the best possible way.
“You long for my body just as devastatingly as I ache for yours. There is no denying this attraction between us,” he all but moans, pushing his hips against my core. He’s painfully hard, and I feel my resolve slipping away.
“I do,” I murmur, turning my face towards him, our breaths intermingled. With each inhale, I take a lungful of his smoky, spicy scent. He smells of leather and blood, like danger and vice. With each exhale, I push my scent into him, his nostrils flaring, taking me in. His lips close the gap between us, and I snap my eyes shut, unwilling to witness how I lose this battle. I’m ready to surrender to the most intense insanity I will probably ever get to experience in my brief life. Because Aurora will most definitely murder me for it.
“Your Highness!” The doors burst open, and several guards came running inside the chamber, effectively shattering the tension between us. Thank goodness! I was about to get fucked, both literally and figuratively.
“What?” His tone is icy, stopping the guards in their tracks. He doesn’t even make a move to untangle himself from me, just turns his head to the side, revealing his impatience and displeasure. I wince on behalf of the sentries. This better be good, or someone’s going to lose a head. And as much as I appreciate the interruption, I don’t want to have anyone’s death on my conscience.
“One of the prisoners brought in earlier escaped, my liege,” a guard says. “Blaise is already hunting him down with his best warriors. He sent us to inform you about this development.”
This gets his attention completely, and he leaves me to bark orders at the guards, heading to the doorway. “He cannot escape. We must apprehend him at all costs. Alive for interrogation, preferably. You all come with me.”
Before he steps out, he turns and gives me one last lingering look.
“This conversation is not over, my umbra. Stay inside, and lock the doors. You’re safe on this floor, but don’t wander about tonight. I’ll come back when it’s done.”
And then he’s gone, disappearing in an outburst of shadows.
CHAPTER 15
Aimee
