Page 30 of Cruel Vampire King

I was frozen in his arms. My thoughts wouldn’t form, and all I could do was feel them. The cold disappeared in an instant, a sweep of heat rushing through me. My heart seemed to stopentirely as I tilted my face up to his, pressing our mouths even more closely together. All the tension fled my body in an instant and my hands curled into his jacket.

He sighed into me, sweeping his tongue over the seam of my lips, encouraging me to open them.

My fingers went rigid, and I stiffened. What was I doing? I had to ask first. No. Not ask. Demand. I needed… I needed to save them. I released my hold on his jacket and pressed my palms flat against his chest. But I didn’t push him away, even though I should. I grew still but that was as far as I went.

He pulled back slightly, the amber glow of his eyes softening. “Something’s wrong.”

“You could say that,” I murmured, my voice hoarse in my throat.

“What is it?” His brows knitted together.

Now, I did push against him. At first, he didn’t move, but after a moment, he allowed me to put a few more inches between us.

“What’s wrong,” I repeated under my breath. “Everything is wrong! What the hell do you want from me?”

His hand dropped to my hip, tracing the flare of my curves. “Everything. I want to drink from you. To fuck you. To wake to you in my bed every morning. I want to possess you in every way that’s possible. I want you to belong to me.”

Sheer shock rippled through me. I gasped. But I couldn’t deny the rush of heat that pooled between my legs, the dampness that gathered on the thong.

Luken’s nostrils flared as the scent of my arousal lifted between us. A triumphant look came across his face, and hegrabbed a handful of my skirt and started to lift it up. My hand shot down, grabbing his wrist.

“Wait,” I blurted. “I need a moment to think.”

“You want me, too. What’s there to think about?” Luken demanded. His fist tightened in my skirt, like he wanted to rip the fabric off my body.

You killed my family!I pressed the words back. He probably would be confused that I was insisting on holding onto that. Otherwise, he’d know exactly why I was so hesitant. Unless that part was a hallucination. Maybe he saved me from the kelpie, and I’d fallen into a dream. Maybe he didn’t realize that I knew he killed my family.

I settled on the safest question. “If I say yes, what then?”

“Then you’ll experience pleasure like you’ve never known before,” he promised.

I believed him. And the desire that flowed through my blood made me feel more vulnerable than I’d felt before. Even lying helpless and hovering on the brink of death in that nunnery, in constant pain, I didn’t feel like this. It would be so very easy to give in to him. It was what he expected.

“That’s not what I mean. I know that part. I mean for the others. My team in Wickham Forest. The Blood Trials.” I started to inhale through my nose, but hisscent—an indescribable, manly scent that made my toes curl—messed with my head, so I breathed through my mouth instead. One hand remained on his chest, the other holding his wrist.

“I want you. You don’t have to go back to the forest.” His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Elara, I don’t think you understand how much power you have over me.”

Didn’t I? Well, it was time to put it to a test. “Will you pull out the rest of my team? Pardon Kael and Thessa for whatever crimes they committed? Give the Blood Trial a different ending, one where they all survive?”

His eyes widened as they moved back to my face. He dropped my skirt and stepped back. His departure made me feel cool, and I shivered. His jaw clenched.

“No.”

I ran a hand over my face, then moved to pull the pins out of my hair. It uncoiled, laying heavy on my shoulders.

“I still want my prize from winning, then. You need to grant me that one wish.” I could still save Darcie, right? Even though it made my stomach twist to turn my back on my team, my sister was still the most important thing in this world. I could sacrifice them if it meant saving her. My cheeks were flushed, my fingers cool. I tried to warm them against my skin, holding my face as I met Luken’s gaze. “Will you give that to me, if I say yes?”

He inched forward. “As my consort, you can have anything you want.”

“Then I want my team to be declared equal winners,” I answered swiftly. “And more. But there’s no point in asking you for more if you won’t give me that. I don’t want them to die in the colosseum.”

His shoulders slumped as he stepped back once more. “No.”

I stared at him, another offer on the tip of my tongue. Would he say yes to taking Darcie from the gods? In an instant, I knew he wouldn’t. He spoke pretty words about me having power, about getting everything I wanted. But the truth was, hewas only interested so long as I gave him the power right back to him.

“If no is your answer, it’s mine too,” I said quietly. There was no emotion to my voice.

Luken worked his jaw. “I don’t want you to agree just because you want something from me.”

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