Page 40 of Summer's Seduction

Larkspur’s entire body went rigid, her pulse spiking as the scent of horror doused the air. I didn’t want pity or murmured apologies people often gave for something that wasn’t their fault. Not from her. “I learned to shield my mind soon after, knowing that I couldn’t stop them from feeding, but I could deprive them of my emotional experiences. The allure for forcing women onme soon faded after that, and then Father decided I was to be his errand boy.”

I felt Larkspur swallow and could practically taste her rage clouding in the air between us, but she let out a breath and laid her head back down. The gentle tracing of her fingers resumed a moment later, undoing the knot that had formed in my chest.

“Errand boy?” she asked, and I appreciated how her voice didn’t waver.

“An enforcer across The Darklands,” I clarified. “Despite my current, impeccable reputation as being a spoiled royal, I was seen as a merciless monster who loved pain at one point.”

“The village you destroyed in your memories,” Larkspur whispered. “Hypnos made you do that?”

Flashes of that night came flooding back. I’d been happy to execute the men who proclaimed themselves ruling lords over The Night Children of their village. They hadn’t shown up in the spring when it was time to profess their loyalties to Hypnos, and instead, they forced the others into swearing fealty to them. The men deserved to die, but the others… they didn’t have a choice.

Shaking off the cold shame solidifying in my gut, I avoided Larkspur’s glance. “He made me do a lot of things. It took me a while to find the perfect balance of beast, arrogant prince, and ineptitude. Still, I think the combination of drinking and appearing as if I were falling for a new person every night finally caused him to let me go. I’d proven unreliable, something my father couldn’t tolerate.”

“How long has it been since you’ve been free to make your own choices?”

A harsh sort of chuckle fell from my lips. “That is the greatest lie told. The notion that everyone has a choice, but when the cards are stacked and the game is rigged from the beginning, the outcome is already set.”

She was silent, quietly lending me strength as her palm rested over my chest. I focused on our breathing, on the humming of our hearts.

“Seven years,” I breathed. “I’m ashamed it took me that long, but I’d rather die than return to being The Dark Prince.”

“I didn’t understand before.” Larkspur shifted, her fingers gently turning my chin until her gaze locked with mine. “But you’d make a great king.”

I stared at her, my eyes dropping to her mouth. “The only time I haven’t hated my title was when it was spoken from your lips as my fingers were buried in your pussy.”

A flush heated her cheeks as I leaned down, my tongue parting her lips as I rolled to my side. My cock hardened against her stomach as I dragged the pad of my thumb over her nipple.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, propping myself up on my arm to see her better. I soaked in every second of this haven we’d made.

“I’m not sure,” she said. With a wicked smirk, Larkspur gave a half-shrug as she rolled onto her back. One of her hands teased her nipple, cupping her breast, as her other slid down the length of her stomach and sank beneath the sheets. “I was sore last night,” she pouted, and I watched as her knees bent, her body still half-hidden from view. “Maybe you should make sure I’ve healed.”

“My wicked little monster,” I breathed, settling over her as I took one of her nipples into my mouth, rolling my tongue over the tip. My knees pushed her thighs apart, and I gripped my cock, positioning the head at her entrance.

She moaned, bucking her hips as if to draw me in.

“So greedy,” I grinned, running the head of my cock through the slickness already dripping from her. “Look how wet you are for me. How desperate you are to have my cock buried inside ofyou.” She whimpered as I held back, her breath hitching as I slid my cock lower down her center.

“Tell me, Larkspur, would you let me fuck you here?” I purred, adding just enough pressure against her ass to hold her beneath me, trapped in her need for release and uncertainty.

I dragged my nose over the length of her neck, licking over the flickering pulse before capturing her mouth with mine in a hungry kiss. My other hand drifted down, teasing her clit before sinking into her. “Would you be a good girl and take every inch I gave you, your ass fucking my cock while my fingers filled your pussy?”

“Yes,” she whimpered, hips rolling. I held her gaze, being sure she meant it. There was need staring back at me, desire and the plea for release, but there was also a softness swirling in her gaze. An unspoken promise that what we’d shared last night, the hours of me feasting on her and us sharing blood, had been more than a physical experience for her, too.

I pulled back, cupping her pussy as I continued staring into her eyes. “If you feel the same way tonight, I’d be happy to worship every inch of your body.”

Her brows furrowed as I stood, tossing her a set of clothes a moment later. “But first, we have business to attend to.”

MORPHEUS

Pine needles crunched beneath our feet as we drew nearer to the ring of night children in the clearing ahead. The group looked exhausted. Judging by the large portion of people wearing the same clothes as last night and the tired rings beneath their eyes, I’d guess Camilla and Megara hadn’t allowed them to rest.

“So nice of you to join us, Morpheus.”

The sharp, feminine voice rang through the trees, causing my wings to reflexively extend behind Larkspur, ready to shield her immediately. Larkspur’s fingers brushed the edge of mine, not quite reaching for me but reassuring both of us that the other was here.

The group of dark ones parted, revealing the cluster of bleeding men at the center and the silver-haired goddess looming over them. Violet eyes stared down at me as she twirled a small dagger, her movements quick and concise.

“Camilla swore the rumors of you being a flippant boy obsessed with sex were false.” Her shrewd gaze cut to Larkspur at my side, a single brow lifting as Larkspur stiffened. “Perhaps she was mistaken.”

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