Page 15 of Prince of Ruin

Throwing his head back, he groans. “Why must you ruin a perfect moment by bringing up that prick?” He lowers his chin, irritation flaring in his eyes. “I swear, I’ve never seen them in my life.”

“I’m sorry.” My chest tightens with regret for bringing Tarsus up. “Come here.” I pull his head down until our mouths meet again, desperate for that fire we shared moments ago. It doesn’t take long to get back in the mood. His kisses are slow and tender and deep. Without making the decision to do so, my hips roll into his, looking for that coveted friction I desperately need, and he moans against my lips. That must be both our undoing because things start moving fast from there.

He grabs the hem of my shirt and lifts it over my head before crashing his mouth against mine again. If he notices my twin scars, attesting to my top surgery, he says nothing about it. Props to him. My fingers are fumbling with his belt, but I finally manage to unbuckle it and tug his jeans down. He kicks his jeans the rest of the way off, and now he’s standing before me in his rumpled button-down shirt and pressed vest with no pants on, and he’s giving major hot-frat-boy-as-business-man.

I kiss him again.

“Anything else I should know?” I say between kissing, “Before I fuck you brainless?”

As if he would admit to being the king of the Spine Empire.Yeah, you should probably know I’m a king who sacrifices humans like you to the goddess every full moon. Hope you’re okay with that.

He combs his long fingers into my shaggy hair. “Well.”Kiss.“I’m a pretty chill dude.”Kiss.He pulls away and studies me closely, his breath now smelling of cinnamon from the fireball. The way he’s looking at me, like there’s something on his mind, makes my heart hammer in my chest.

“What?” I breathe. The knot in his throat bobs with a hard swallow, and he drops his hands from my hair.

“There is one other thing,” he says in a husky voice.

Fuck. My muscles begin to tighten as I brace myself for the reality of what he really is. Will this be the moment he tells me the truth, then drives his dagger through my heart? He drags his fingers through his pink hair.

“I…Um…” he stares at me, as though unsure of how to confess whatever is on his mind. “I’ve never done it…with a trans man.”

Are you for fucking real? A laugh bubbles out of me, because out of everything he could have said, that’s the least of my worries. His countenance lightens, but he searches my eyes as if to make sure he didn’t offend me. So. Fucking. Sweet.

“That’s fine,” I step closer and cup his length, which is bulging against his briefs. His eyes flutter shut, the soft groan escaping him making my insides shudder. “Just let me take the lead and remember that communication is everything.”

His shoulders sag in obvious relief and he nods. “That sounds perfect. What about you? Anything I should know?”

Here it goes. What I’m about to say will totally give me away, but he at least deserves the truth about me before we fuck. I have to know that he’s really changed before we become this intimate. I need to know that he’s okay withallof me.

“Besides dating a chaotically moody fae,” I say breathlessly, “I’m also sort of dating a vampire and a sorcerer.”

He jerks his head back and stares into my eyes. “What the fuck, Aden?” A hollow laugh escapes him.

“Is that…a deal breaker?” I ask, gauging his reaction. I wait for him to pull out his famous obsidian dagger and drive it through my heart. Instead, to my astonishment, he bursts out laughing. A hearty laugh that’s filled with so much pure joy that it legit makes everything feel right in the world. And I’m not sure how one of his smiles, how one laugh from him could have the power to put me at complete ease, but here we are.

“Holy shit, Aden,” he says, arching his brows. “You’re a fucking delight.”

I’m starting to think he truly doesn’t even remember his past. I’m starting to think that maybe he’s not taking me seriously when I tell him about vampires and sorcerers.

“You’ve got a kink, huh?” he says with a grin. “Do I need to become a cosplayer too, to turn you on?”

Nope. He definitely does not remember at thing. I almost open my mouth to tell him everything, but when he slides his fingers over my cheeks and presses his lips to mine again, his tongue slowly exploring my own, I can’t really get myself to confess.

I have kissed a lot of people—male, female, nonbinary, trans, vampire, werewolf, witch, fae—but I can’t say any of them kiss quite as well as Clav does. He’s in no hurry to get us undressed as he takes his time cupping my cheeks and getting to know my mouth. His hand slides down to my throat, his fingers adding just enough pressure to make me moan. It’s kind of thrilling knowing he could confess he’s the Prince of Ruin and then choke me, but I’ve always gotten turned on from playing with fire. I guess I kind of do have a kink. A monster kink.

He pulls away momentarily and studies my eyes, as if committing them to memory, then he leans in again, this time pressing his lips to my jaw, my throat, my—

“Clavicle.” His name slips from my lips in a soft whisper as warmth spills over my body from his sweet and tender caresses.

“Hmm?” He hums against the place where my neck meets my shoulder.

“You have to know that I came for you.”

“Mmm. Yeah. You will cum for me, won’t you baby?” Running his long fingers along my throat, he chuckles into my neck in a way that makes my skin come alive. “I’ll make you cum so hard.”

How am I supposed to fucking tell him the truth when he makes every thought evaporate from my mind with just a graze of his knuckles on my skin? Hetrails his fingers down my chest, over my stomach, and lower until he finds my cock that I’m packing.

“Yeah. There it is.” His eyes flare as he rubs my cock. “Show me what you want me to do, Aden.”

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