Page 33 of A Bond of Fire and Roses

“This time I won’t miss,” I snap. “I’ll make sure it works.”

He sighs. “When will you learn,” he says, adjusting his hips, forcing me to slide between his legs, “that you can’t kill a dragon rider unless you kill their dragon. We are immortal. I’ll never die and that’s good because I want to haunt you forever. I’ll snap that pretty neck of yours before you ever get the chance.”

He squeezes his thighs and I let out a gasp as the muscles in his legs crush me. Not only that, but his member presses against me, and he’s hard. The realisation on my face twists into horror.

Erax chuckles. “Alright. I’ll give you another shot under one condition.”

I glare at him, trying to pull my hand down to hold the knife at his throat. I can’t move.

I hiss at him, “What condition?”

“You kiss me,” he replies coolly, his eyes intent on me, “and I mean really fucking kiss me, Wife, like you just can’t breathe without me. Think you can do that?”

The gleam in his eyes makes me shiver. He can’t be serious. He’s giving me the chance to kill him again if I kiss him like I mean to? He must still be drunk because he might as well be asking me to pluck the moon from the sky itself. I can’t give him a kiss like that. It means I will have given in and surrendered to him. And yet, I let his hands pull me down, forcing our lips to meet, and I know at that moment I’m a goner. He’s won. He’s completely won.

My knife clatters to the floor as our kiss deepens. He wraps an arm around my waist and holds my throat with his other hand, blocking out any chances of escape. Horrifyingly, I no longer seek a way out. I let my body take over, and I practically melt in his arms, surrendering myself to him not just physically but mentally too. And I hate myself for it.

I hate him for making me this way.

I drag my nails down his bare chest, clawing at his flesh in resentment, and bite his upper lip until his blood dances over my tongue. He groans into my mouth as he assails me with his own tongue, drawing unbidden moans from the depths of my throat. Gods above, I hate him.

I’ve hated Erax with every ounce of my being since day one.

But I don’t kiss him like I hate him. I kiss Erax like he’s the air to my lungs without which I would die. I kiss him just like he told me to. And he kisses me back just as eagerly, except there’s something different about it.

Something dark, and hungry.

I dig my fingers into his shoulders as he lifts my hips and settles me over his groin. His erection presses against me, and I let out a moan against his lips. Erax devours it, covering my mouth with his own, and I can feel him grower bigger against me. Hungrier. My body shivers and tears leak from the corner of my eyes. I close them and dig my nails deeper into his skin.

“Look at me,” Erax whispers.

I shake my head. I’m too afraid to look at him. Afraid I’ll give in.

He rests his forehead against mine, his warm breath fanning my flushed cheeks. “As your king, I am commanding my beautiful, stubborn wife to look at me.”

I open my eyes, not because he told me to, but because my heart begs me to. Erax searches my gaze and slowly tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. His hand lingers on my cheek, the tip of his thumb catching a tear.

“What do you want from me, Mist?”

“I want to keep hating you,” I breathe out, my words trembling.

For a moment he says nothing. He caresses me and looks intensely into my eyes, flicking between them. It’s like he’s searching for something only I can give him. I hold my breath and the fleeting ray of moonlight that catches his eyes makes them shimmer like emerald glass. They are so beautiful.

“Then hate me,” he says, “just don’t fucking run from me again, or I’ll be the one holding a knife to your throat. Got it?”

He kisses me again, his touch deep and possessive. His words should frighten me; the severity behind them is clear. Yet they only awaken a part of me I had no awareness of until this moment. It’s like a deep, primal need that now urges me to surrender my body to him, and to explore his, staking my claim over it. It’s this need that frightens me most of all. It frightens me more than anything.

I let the fear pull me away from him. However, Erax is quick to grab hold of my hair and he yanks me down with a quick, painful tug.

“No,” he warns.

“Erax…” His name is breathless on my lips, a plea. “Let me go.”

He tightens his grip on my hair. “I’m not letting go of my queen for anyone.”

“Not even for the gods?” I gasp as he tugs again, snapping my head back.

“Especially not for them. It’s you for me.”

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