Page 29 of Queen of the Wicked
Eryx, the big, sarcastic doof he usually was, rose from his chair with pure authority. The general had come out full force, and the relaxed and carefree Eryx was gone. He gripped Catalina’s arm without further prompting, but when his eyes strayed to Alessia’s…they widened.
She pleaded with that voice to leave her head—theone that took over whenever this power boiled and stirred.
Kill her.
Kill her.
Kill her.
It begged her. It itched and crawled to get out of her throat, to wrap its hands around Catalina’s delicate little throat and cut off any source of air supply. She could do it within thirty seconds. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she could kill that woman with a flick of her wrist.
His hands on her body wouldn’t leave her mind.
Erebos inside of her,kissingher…
Alessia shook with pure, lethal rage. The blood roared in her ears, drowning out any sound from Erebos. He tried to say something to her, but she couldn’t hear it. She didn’t wantto listen to it.
And then Erebos grabbed her hand, and a swoosh of breath exhaled out of her. The breath carried her over to him, entirely outside of her body, and then she was penetrating his mind. His mental shields were down, and the images…
Alessia was sprawled out naked beneath him on a luxurious red comforter, and his head was between her thighs. He wasfeastingon her while his hands kneaded her bare breasts. Alessia threw her head back in pleasure, her fingers twisted in his hair.
Lust raced through her, burning into her veins and feeding that emptiness she felt she’d been looking for her entire life.
The image suddenly switched. Now Erebos had hishand wrapped around her throat, buried into her from behind. His skin pounded against hers, and while these were just images, while she couldn’tfeelhim, this mental picture was enough. It was like a cold bucket of ice water crashing against the fire in her throat.
All fucking yours,Erebos muttered into her ear as he took her deeply.
When that ice water settled… When all that remained of Alessia’s fire was steam, she shot back into her body with a loud gasp, a hand flying to her racing heart.
Erebos stared at her intently, his hand still covering her free one, not a trace of what he might be thinking. His mental shields were back up.
“I…” Alessia tried to think of something to say, but she couldn’t. “I am so sorry. I…I don’t know what came over me.” She couldn’t tell him she was jealous. It would sound absurd. They hardly knew each other. And now that they were alone in the dining hall, she felt ridiculous.
“No apologies necessary,” Erebos replied sharply, avoiding her gaze. “I shouldn’t have allowed her in. It was my mistake.”
“I don’t understand…” Alessia said. “It shouldn’t matter that she was in here. I don’t… I mean, we aren’t…”
“You don’t need to explain yourself.” He pushed his chair back, set his napkin on his plate, and gave her a tight smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”
Right. Erebos needed to catch up withCatalinaand see what was so important. That fire temptedto spark again, but the memory of Erebos mutteringyoursas he drilled into her put that flame right out.
“Wait,” she said. Erebos froze halfway to the doors, facing away from her. “Those images… Were theyyours?”
His fists clenched and then unclenched at his sides. “I showed you what you needed to calm down,” he replied. “Have a good night, Alessia.”
Chapter 14
Erebos
Erebos needed to clear his head.
From Alessia's reaction at dinner to the images of them he had sent her… It was an effort not to haul her to him and take her right on top of the dining room table.
He got away from her as fast as he could and returned to his chambers to find Catalina waiting on his bedspread. Ambroz had more than likely given her permission; it wasn’t like Erebos had ever said no to her before until recently, but now… Now she wasn’t what he wanted, what heneeded.If he slept with her, it still wouldn’t be enough. He’d be left feeling unsatisfied.
“Everything okay?” she asked, running her fingers down the tiny silk nightgown draped across her body. She relaxed back on her elbows, cocking her head to the side. Thankfully, Catalina had left before she saw Alessia’s eyes turn crimson. It was a tell of immense power, and if Catalina suspected Alessia had stolen his,he didn’t fully trust her to keep the information to herself.
“I’m fine. What was the pressing issue you had to speak to me about?” He leaned against the doorway, urging his cock to calm the fuck down already, but it had no intentions of doing so. He’d been hard since he left the dining room, unable to stop replaying Alessia’s alluring little gasp when she caught a glimpse of what he had envisioned doing to her from the moment he saw her.
