Page 18 of Anorthic Anarchy

The child seems enraptured by me, a dazed glaze hovering over her broad eyes as we repeat phrases of eternal devotion. Her voice is like a lullaby, spoken so softly that it almost vanishes with the fall breeze as soon as it leaves her lips. Perhaps her intrigue is mirroring my own.

I don’t like children. And she is much too young for me, but the thought of corrupting her into the weapon I need her to be causes a stir in my loins until I’m sure she can feel it against her stomach.

But she never departs her eyes from mine.

With every word spoken, something utterly strange happens in my chest. I mean the oaths I promise.

Love? No, not that one.

Fidelity? No.

Until death do us part…yes. That one.

She won’t depart from me for one moment until the end.

“You may kiss your bride.”

I pull her closer and tilt her face up to mine once again. She’s so small that I have to lean over to brush my lips to hers. As I do, she quickly inhales and flushes with embarrassment. The heat from her skin could sear mine.

So, not only a virgin, but completely untouched…

An absolutely uncontaminated specimen. I haven’t met one of these in a long time.

Gently, I soothe her concern with a tap of my mouth against hers before sliding my tongue carefully inside. She tastes like candy and drools more than she can contain. Gathering itwith my lips, I instruct her silently with my vast experience of handling women. Her body melts into mine and molds into the motions. An utter willingness to please me emanates from her soul, which sends my cock surging through my pants like a sharp sword searching for its sheath.

It has been too long since a kiss alone aroused me.

Breathing carefully across her face, I shake her chin slightly to help her focus. She stumbles back dizzily, but I catch her, holding her tight to me. “Was that your first kiss, angel?”

Nodding, her long lashes lift as she says, “Yes, sir.”

Releasing her completely, she drops her arms, then clutches them to her chest. With a smirk, I tell her, “Better get used to disappointment, then.”

Her big eyes widen as my comment stuns her into a frozen state. But her blush lips are bruised with the fervor of my kiss, so much so, an urge to do it again almost overwhelms me. I hate it.

I shove my hands in my pockets so I don’t touch her any more, then waltz toward the conservatory and motion with my head toward Dilan. “She can go back to the tower for now.”

My fingers grip the linings of my pockets as my self-control wanes. And that is not a good thing. If my fingers could latch around the girl’s neck and break it, I would. But I must put my seed in her womb.

It’s my life’s duty and will be my greatest accomplishment.

Strolling into the large glass building with my hands clasped behind my back, I take a deep inhale of the humid air, ripe with the scent of roses and a bitter undertone of deadly nightshade.

Sev enters with a shuffle behind me and clears his throat.

“Yes?”

“Sir, this part of the grounds is awfully close to the west woods. I’d feel more comfortable if you’d come back to the house.”

Spinning on my heel, I face him and spread my arms wide. “Isn’t the perimeter set with explosives?”

His eyes shift to the stone floor. “It is, sir.”

“And weren’t you the one telling me to get out more?”

With a deep inhale, he relaxes. “Yes, I did. You’re right.” He saunters alongside me, as anyone who could be called a friend of mine would. “I’ll be making a supply run with the men today. Meats and cheeses. The cooks have plenty of breads and cakes with their flour stocks. We’re doing pretty well. Unless…” Dark eyes scramble up the side of my face. “Unless you take more in.”

“I don’t think that will be possible anymore. They know my trafficking pattern and where the girls are entering from.” With a wave of my hand in the air, I show him how little it now means to me. “I got as many out over the years as I could. Even the Donovan girl. But Franklin Von Dovish was insistent on keeping her for himself. Well, he and the Johns were. Another of my failed bridal attempts.”

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