Page 21 of A Kingdom of Broken Bonds

“We should stop,” he whispers reluctantly against my lips.

I press myself against him instead, lifting one of his hands until it rests on my breast, needing to feel his touch. Rolling my hips, I grind against him, trying to ease the ache between my thighs.

“Thea, no. Stop.”

His words feel like a bucket of cold water has been thrown over me, my arousal and need immediately vanishing.

“You don’t want me.” It’s not a question or an accusation, just a dejected realisation. He only offered to feed me, and here I am, grinding against him like a sex starved hooker. He specifically stated that there would be no sexual stuff, yet I allowed myself to get carried away. He’s one of my closest friends, and I might have torn that relationship apart.

It is just another rejection, and after the last few days I’ve had, I’m struggling to take it with dignity as is expected of me. Mortified, I slide off his lap and start to walk away from the bed, needing to put as much space between us as possible.

“I absolutely want you.” His arm flashes out as he grabs me, stopping me from escaping. I could pull away from him, I’m strong enough, but something about the tightness in his voice stops me from leaving. I turn to face him.

His eyes examine my face, taking in my emotions that I’m struggling to hide away. “I want to fuck you so badly that I’m hating myself for saying this, but you’ve had a shit night. Your betrothed embarrassed you, and the blood was making you horny.” He squeezes my arm to take the sting out of the reminder. “You know how much trouble you would be in if anyone found out we slept together. I’m not saying I don’t want to, I’m saying it’s complicated and we need to work things out.”

Stepping closer, he looks down at me with an intensity that causes my entire body to tingle. I can sense his barely contained lust, and it makes my heart beat faster.

“When we do have sex,” he continues, “it will be because you want me, not because you’ve been rejected and need comfort.”

He says it gently, but I still feel the burn of his words like an accusation.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly, realising what an idiot I’ve been. Everything he said is right, and I could have just screwed up our friendship. What in the underworld has gotten into me? I was on a blood high, and I was going to just use him for sex because my feelings were hurt. Feeling like a terrible friend, I squeeze my eyes shut and rub my temples to ease the pounding headache building there.

“Never be sorry.” Pulling me against his chest, he wraps his arms around me in an embrace and kisses the top of my head. “I’m always going to be here for you.”

Chapter Ten

Breakfast is tedious. I lean back in my chair, one arm propping up my chin and the other clutching a wine glass containing watered-down blood. I stay silent as the others chat.

Thanks to my hangover from drinking too much blood last night, I feel as though I’ve been run over by a carriage. Apparently too much time passed between feedings, and the stress of the evening gave me a pulsing headache. This has put me in a foul mood—not to mention that I’m still mortified over my behaviour in my room. I’ve not seen Felix since he left last night, and I’m not sure if that is a blessing or not.

Geoff has been giving me strange looks all morning, but I don’t have the energy to fight with him about any of this, especially when I’m surrounded by my fellow brides. Why I’m being forced to take part in the morning ritual with them when I don’t eat, I don’t know. Perhaps it’s a penance for everything that happened last night. While it wasn’t my fault, I am sure there will be some sort of consequence.

My breakfast invitation arrived at first light in the form of an envelope being slid through the bottom of the door. One of the guards found it and brought it straight to Geoff, who in turn came to me. He explained that I was to join the other brides in the glass room I’d been in the day everyone arrived. It was made clear that this wasn’t optional, and they expected to see me there at eight.

The sun is still rising in the sky, and thanks to the mountains that surround us, I have been shielded from its rays, but things are about to get uncomfortable.

None of the ladies ask me about what happened last night. In fact, they mostly avoid talking to me altogether. Bliss has been shooting concerned looks in my direction ever since I arrived, but because we don’t want to give away the closeness of our friendship, she says nothing, attempting to brush it off. The others aren’t stupid, however, so I am sure they are picking up on something between us.

Breakfast seems to go on forever. How long does it take for someone to eat a bowl of fruit? I contemplate if walking out would be worth the king’s wrath when a lull in the conversation seems to fall upon us.

“Lady Thea, it seems as though the prince can’t make up his mind about you.”

Glancing up, I find the bride from the beasts, Terra, watching me with a serpentine smile. She tilts her head to one side, mock sympathy pulling at her features. “I find that so strange when you were blessed with a mate bond, yet he still does not want you. That must be difficult for you.”

So they noticed. I suppose it would have been pretty hard to miss last night’s spectacle. I was hoping that the part about Havoc not wanting to mate wouldn’t have spread yet. I’m not just going to confirm it since I have a reputation to uphold. Plus, I don’t want to give her any more ammunition to use against me.

Forcing myself to relax in my seat, I take a sip from my glass and tilt my head in question. “What do you mean, Terra?”

The other brides sit in silence, watching us as we swap barbs across the table. I don’t know this new bride, but from what I’ve seen, she is as bullish as the horns growing from her skull. She looks annoyingly perky this morning, a healthy glow painting her cheeks whereas I feel two steps away from death.

“Was the little standoff in front of everyone last night not enough to tell you, Thea?” Shaking her head, she clucks her tongue with disappointment. “I heard you were more observant than that.”

I am not in the mood for this, and she is clearly trying to pick a fight and has chosen me as her target. Well, she chose the wrong day to mess with me. Anger flits through my body like a hot ember, igniting as it moves through my veins. Usually, I am better at controlling this part of myself, yet everything has just become too much.

“I think what she means,” Mallory intervenes, shifting in her seat, “is that we have all heard of your… teething problems with Prince Havoc, and his behaviour last night only confirmed it.”

I glance over at the witch, and she smiles at me sheepishly. It’s fleeting, yet it’s more emotion than she’s shown to me in our previous interactions. Why is she acting this way? Is it simply to stop an argument, or for another reason?

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