Page 48 of The Depraved Prince
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I quip back, sharper than my fangs.
Don’t piss me off.
A slight pause lingers in the frigid night, and then Kingsguard Charles shuffles on his feet, clears his throat, and leaves us.
I shift in the bed and hold her. I immediately get lost in strawberries, the staple scent of her hair. Or maybe it’s just her. Her black strands stare back at me while the rays of crimson red shine on her angelic glowing face. She looks serene. It’s the firsttime I’ve seen her like this since I saved her in that vampire bar club. She’s relaxed…at ease, and peaceful. The way she breathes is different, and it sends a message.
The first time I killed for her I was acting on emotions instead of thinking. I went to work, not thinking twice about protecting her or saving her.
I did it because it was the law.That’s why, nothing else.
And yet, here we are—my hand over her waist, comforting a broken woman, with my chin on her shoulder, hearing her heartbeat like it’s my favorite song on repeat.
I’ve never been a rule follower. My actions resulted in the end of my arranged marriage to Eleanor, whom I’ve known for years.
The back of her is pressed up against me, and every single muscle of mine goes stiff.
She’s warm. I’m cold.
She’s a fighter, and I’m a breaker.
She’s soft, and I’m unmalleable.
This is more than just an opposite’s attract idealization. Our attraction must be based on more than just chemistry. It’s a spark that grows stronger with each moment that she breathes.
I’ve never stayed the night with a woman in the hundreds of years I’ve walked this earth…never mind holding one while she sleeps.
It’s new, and it’s uncomfortable. But it’s also warm…like smelling a fall candle when the leaves turn orange. Or like standing in the cold sand, watching black waves in a winter ocean under the moonlight. Like inhaling the first salty, airy breeze that hits you, reminding you that even in the darkness, there is optimism.
My hand snakes further until it’s tucked into her side, as the temptation to do more rattles inside my hand like thunder after lightning bolts have struck during a rain storm.
I’m fighting the temptation to sink my teeth and cock in her heavenly depths.
I decide to move. I sigh as my hand travels to her chest and stops at the scar Prince Davenport gave her. I grind my teeth and soothe it with my fingertips, up and down softly, over her shoulders. An unforgiving urge to rip every single Southern vampire apart again rages on with no end in sight.
I want to kiss her. A genuine one that makes my cold, unbeating heart go up in flames. The gentle kind.
I kiss her naked shoulder, wishing I could stay in this moment, just like this, longer than one night, because the reality is that a war has begun—a war over my little Valkyrie. And every single immortal’s world had been revolutionized when the battle of the Princes took place in Texas the night I found her in their club. Our eternal damnation on this Earth just got shaken, and a dance I’m ready to lead will explode.
But it won’t be a war of swords, guns, bites, or mutilation. It’ll be a game of chess. Dangerous discreet moves, and whoever can play the other better will win.
Thousands of footsteps thud amongst the cathedral walls, retreating to the shadows as the sun begins its path above the soil, and I know I’ll have to withdraw myself from her.
The moon will not allow me to sleep. I wish I could have such a simple yet very intimate moment with her, likesleep. It’s more intimate than sex.
But I can’t sleep until the sun rises.
My abilities will not allow me to. When the sun nears, it frightens our kind away, and my energy drains. I seek the darkness to refuel. It’s an inevitable trait.
Her lips twitch slightly as she hums sweetly.
I want to bite those, too, as I kiss her.
God, her lips.
She’s too captivating. It’s like I’m under her spell. All I want to do is fuck her in her sleep. I brush her hair over her ear, bidding my last farewell until I see her again in the next moon.
I look at the changed-out bedsheets from where Kallum bled all over her bed, and the reminder of her fleeing me comes back to haunt me.
