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I snicker, amused by her attempt to quell her thirst for me. “I love how you refer to me formally when your arousal is at its peak. You hope it will snap you out of your blind lust. Except we both know that nothing is going to soothe that ache between your legs but me.”

She whimpers, her cheeks flushing. “What do you want from me?”

Oh, darling. I want everything. “I want you to taste my blood.”

Her eyes widen. “I will not.”

I press her blade to my neck while her hand still holds the hilt. “Every time I anger you, spill my blood. But then you must taste it. You must receive the gifts of your violence. It will be our ritual, Arkana. A bond between a man and his wife.”

Her fingers tremble. She looks to my throat, then back to my gaze. “Isn’t that… madness?”

The iron chair groans as I pull her closer. I caress her cheek with the back of my hand, wishing I could bottle this energy between us so that I may inhale it whenever I am in her absence. “It is in our vows, Arkana. Your blood is mine as mine is yours.”

“What does it taste like?” She shudders against me as I pull her into my lap.

I gather her skirts and fish out the other three blades she has stashed. I set them on the arm of the chair for her to access if she chooses. “Like… aeternum.”

Her eyelashes flutter. “Forever?”

I pull her hips forward until she straddles me. “In aeternum et in aeternum…” Forever and ever.

“But I still don’t know you… or trust you.” She reaffirms her grip on the hilt, pressing the flat of the blade into the base of my throat.

I cannot help my hands. There is no reality in which I will not touch her. The crush of her thighs against mine, her trembling limbs, the way she fights every urge to touch me back… I cup her ass and roll her forward. “Then accept my offering. Perhaps you will find your answer in my blood.”

She whimpers as my cock throbs against her through my pants.

“Take what you crave, Arkana.”

She hangs her head and sighs. “You are going to be my ruin.”

The feeling is mutual. But right now, I don’t care. I lift her hair and tug her sleeve down, then plant a soft kiss on her shoulder. Her skin smells even more divine the closer I get. “Forget about trust for now… Tonight, let’s satiate our hunger. Surrender to it.”

Her entire body heaves as she shudders. She smooths her hands over the front of my pants, hesitating briefly before unbuttoning them. “Will it hurt again?”

I shake my head as I gently pull her panties to the side. Her inner thighs are already hot and trembling with need. “Only if you want it to,” I whisper against her neck. I can be as gentle or as violent as she incites.

Her delicate hand trembles around my cock. She strokes it up and down, fingering every ridge in exploration. I bite back a moan when I feel the soft pad of her thumb roll over my tip. A dribble of my cum oozes out in response. “Arkana… guide me in.”

Her breath quickens as she seats herself on me and slowly inches down. “Oh gods,” she cries out.

Like liquid fire. Fuck, I want to drown in it. Every inch of me is almost at peak, my orgasm building from just the tightness of her cunt choking my cock. I squeeze her hips but do not rush her. I let her go at her own pace, allowing her to feel the stretch and length of me.

I kiss her shoulder again. “That’s it, beloved. Bloom for me. Take what you need.”

She lets out a raspy moan when I’m fully buried deep inside her. “I am close, my lord.”

The second either of us moves, we’re both exploding. This tension is the true madness. It is consuming us with each breath. I run my hands up and down her thighs. “Accept my offer first. Honor our vows and complete the true ritual.”

She shifts her gaze to the blade at my throat, suddenly remembering that she’s the one holding it. “But what kind of people will we become?”

I take a deep breath as my cock pulses against her clenched cunt. “Only one way to find out.”

Her hesitation wanes. She’s been aching to taste me since the moment I offered it. She twists the vines on my necklace. I don’t know why I let her. No one but me has ever touched it before. “You never take this off… What does it mean to you?”

The difference between lying and omitting is the intention. I have rehearsed this response for so long, it suffers as neither. “Nothing. I’ve had it since I was a baby and no one knows why. Please, let us leave it at that. Please, Arkana.”

Her eyes fill with wonder; she bites her lip, conflicted between pushing my boundaries and respecting them. “Fuck.” She rolls her hips, and we both gasp.