Page 21 of Cruel Vampire King

And glowing amber eyes were inches from my face.

All the air seemed to disappear from around me. Everything I’d just been reasoning with myself for why I wasn’t more attracted to Greyson was like smoke on the wind. Heat swept through me, originating at the place where his cool fingerswrapped around my wrists. I was in such a vulnerable position right now, his body too close to mine for me to fight back, my hands incapacitated.

The heat didn’t care.

He moved both my wrists to one hand and dropped his other to my hip, where his fingers dug in. It was just shy of painful and I found myself wanting him to dig those fingers in deeper. My chest heaved, pressing my breasts against him. He seemed unaffected by our closeness, that square jaw set firmly in disgust.

“What the hell is going on between you and that elf?” he snarled, his voice low with jealousy as his grip tightened possessively.

In response, liquid pooled between my legs. I pressed my thighs tightly together, trying to quell the feelings there. Frustration burned through me. Why did my body insist on reacting like this to him, of all people? Why couldn’t it be Greyson I found utterly irresistible?

I lifted my chin, glaring at him. I might not be able to control my body, but I could control my words. “Why do you care what I do with Greyson?”

Maybe if I provoked him enough, I’d finally get some answers!

A low growl answered me. All my senses seemed to grow sharper. I felt the rough bark of the pine behind me, smelled the crushed grass mingling with the scent of resin and Luken. The silvery moonlight mingled with the amber glow of his eyes, bathing his handsome face. The sharp lines of his cheekbones were thrown into sharp relief, his stern brow, his kissable mouth…

Luken pushed his body up closer to mine. A thrill washed through me as I felt the length of his erection against my belly.

“I have a vested interest in whose cock goes inside of you, Elara,” he rumbled.

“And if you’ve been watching, you’ll know I turned him down. The cameras, remember?” I twisted my hands free, and he let me. He even stepped back when I pushed both my hands against his chest. The space between us filled with the chill night air, making me shiver. “There’s no cocks going inside of me. Not his. Not yours.”

Luken’s lips twitched.

I shoved harder at him, forcing him back another step. My blood was on fire as I scrambled to regain my wits. What was the reason I’d said before? Oh, right. Cameras.

“Speaking of, what are you doing here?” I asked, drawing a knife from my belt. It was unlikely to do much damage to the vampire king, but I had to have something to keep him away. “Is this a weird PR stunt? Make people think that you care and have them feel sorry for you when I die?”

Luken smiled coldly at me. “Your channel is having some… technical difficulties. And there will continue to be more, so long as I require it.”

“And why do you require it?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

I should be afraid. I should be terrified of the bloodless killer who had murdered my whole family. But now that there was space between us and he showed no move to come at me again, I could only think of the tender way he’d cupped my face after the lake. The surprising softness of his mouth on mine as he breathed life back into me.

With nothing but moonlight between us, I felt something… intense pulling me toward him. It was as though I was a fish on a hook, being relentlessly drawn forward. Or maybe that was too violent an image. Perhaps I was the climber on a cliff, clinging desperately to a rope as the person at the top drew me closer to him, closer to safety.

Even though there was nothing safe about Luken.

I put the knife away. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. “If I tell you what’s going on between Greyson and me, will you answer my questions?”

“No.”

His flat refusal startled me. I pulled my braid over my shoulder. It was knotted, greasy, and dirty. I must look like a mess. Yet if the bulge in his pants was anything to go by…

“Was it real?” I asked, my voice low.

He lifted one heavy brow. “Was what real?”

“If it’s real, you know what I’m talking about.”

He stared at me, then a genuine smile crossed his lips. He chuckled lightly. “You mean, did I really pull you out of the lake? Did I really save you from the kelpie?”

A shiver ran down my spine. It was real. “Why?”

“Because I wanted to,” he answered with a careless shrug.

I waited, holding my breath. He was answering the question of why he saved me. Not the question I’d really asked. It was the same one I’d asked when he had pulled me out of the water. Why had he killed my family? He had to know that was still the question at the forefront of my mind. He had to know. If he had anything to say, anything to defend himself, now would be the time to say it.

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