Page 84 of The Depraved Prince
MILLIE
It’s nearingthree in the morning, and I just want to sleep. Hayden wouldn’t let me rest untilafterhe made sure to take care of my wounds after biting me several times and having rough, angry sex with me. I’m exhausted. Just like the first time he made love to me. Everything is sore, and he hasn’t let me sit alone and process everything. One minute, I tried to escape. The next, he killed his friend for trying to help me, and now… I’m engaged to a vampire. The guilt over Gerard is depleted when Hayden explains how horrific Gerard is known to be. He had a reputation himself. He was cruel to humans, and whoever he claimed as his blood supply for the week would endure pain and crimes. It turns out Hayden was already suspicious of him, so when he tried to help me, Hayden didn’t hesitate to end him.
I inspect every detail of the giant ruby glimmering ring on my ring finger through the bubbles. It’s an oval shape that takes up much of my finger and has natural diamonds on the rim.
I can see my drained reflection amongst it.
After he fucked me hard against the wall while floating, his eyes haven’t left my body. It’s like he’s afraid I’ll try and leave, but honestly, it’s justified.
But I meant it. I meant it this time. I’m not leaving him. At the cost of my family, I can’t do that to them. Plus…I don’t think I want to escape him anymore.
I either marry him, or he’ll kill my friends and family.
I’ve accepted him and everything that makes him depraved. He’s my monster. And I’m going to sleep in the bed he’s made for us.
We both brushed our teeth, and he made sure to grab me pajamas I could actually fit in for the night. When I hop into the warm water, I watch the water turn a lighter shade of red and swirl around me.
It’s my blood.
This time, he only took minimal blood from me so that I didn’t pass out or near my death. He controlled himself, and I’m sure that wasn’t easy for him to do.
We’re in his bathtub, and I sit in between his legs as he grabs a loofah and cleans off the countless bite marks on my body. The bite mark he left on my neck isn’t clotting as fast, and it keeps dripping.
He squeezes the loofah angrily until his knuckles turn white, and soap falls onto my shoulder and down the middle of my breasts.
“Are you upset?” I ask softly, dreading the answer. I don’t like it when he’s mad. Because when he’s angry, his depravity takes over him like a virus with no cure. It’s hard to snap him out of it.
I yawn softly, trying not to fall asleep. He pulls my head back until I’m resting on the left side of his chest. He pulls my neck to the side so that it’s exposed to him. I don’t fight him. I can feel the pulse in my neck pump hard, and he’s eyeing it closely.
“Yes. I’m mad, little Bambi. I’m mad at myself. I fucking bit you too hard here…” He leans forward and licks my neck. He drags his cold tongue like he’s savoring every drop. The blood continues to fall, but he’s trying to stop it. “I’m sorry, baby.”He apologizes with remorse in every single word. I can feel the sincerity in it. He licks my neck once more until, finally, no more blood runs down my neck.
“Everyone fears you, don’t they?” I don’t know why I said it, but an impulse struck me hard, and the words fell out of my mouth before I could stop them.
He scoffs and palms both of my breasts. He squeezes them gently as he kisses my shoulder.
“I suppose. But you don’t…do you?”
Shivers roll down my spine.
Yes. You scare me.
But I don’t tell him that, even though I know he senses my unease and how the rhythm of my heartbeat quickened.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me anymore. I won’t ever fucking hurt, hit, or kill you.” He grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him. His light blue eyes darken. “I’m not your parents. I won’t leave you no matter how much you push me away. Do you not get it? I won’t be okay if I don’t have you. I love you so much that it fucking hurts. I’m a man who’s been beaten down so much over centuries that I’m numb. I can’t feel pain…but you? The thought of you not being with me? I’m in fucking agony. I’m obsessed. You’re the only one that makes this life bearable. Like maybe I’m not eternally damned to hell after all…like maybe God does have a soft spot for me if he gave me you by crossing paths that one night in Texas.”
He concedes his feelings for me once more, holding my chin in the palm of his hand, tight. His eyebrows pinch together like he needs me to believe him. Why wouldn’t I? He’s never lied to me since I met him. He’s always followed through on his promises and threats.
I can see through him in this moment. It’s slapping me in the face. Hayden has never been shown or taught how to be gentle, patient, or loved in a normal and healthy way. We’re bothsearching for it, and I think we’ve found it in each other. He needs me just as much as I need him.
I reach over and pucker my lips to meet his. He doesn’t let me move a centimeter more when he realizes I’m reaching in for a kiss. His lips are on mine, moving against me fiercely. He forces me to open my mouth with his tongue, and as soon as I do, his tongue dances with mine, and I melt in his arms. Once again, I’m giving in to him fully.
I’m surrendering to someone who loves me so deeply that it fades all of my bad memories away…all the scars I wear on my skin and in my soul. It’s like it’s just us two in a cruel world. When he holds me, everyone around me, every single person or thing that has ever hurt me, disappears.
How can he be so dark all the time yet so gentle with me when he wants to be? It’s confusing me…but if this is my new life that’s being forced upon me, I will accept it slowly over time.
His hand moves from my breasts as we continue to kiss, down my stomach and onto my pussy. He slaps my clit with his hand gently, and I squirm in his arms, making the light red waves of bath water move around us in the black tub. My heart begins to hammer, and my clit starts to throb, craving to be stimulated.
“Why me? You could have anyone, Hayden. You’re beautiful, rich…”and you fuck like a God.
