Page 82 of Break Her Heart
August’s head turned sharply toward me, eyes narrowing. “Heproposedto you?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
August didn’t so much as flinch, but his voice came low and unbothered from beside me. “If I had known that, I would’ve killed him sooner.”
I was starting to forget how much we used to keep from each other. I dropped my gaze before he could see me blush and fixed it on the untouched spread of desserts. Halston had gone all out tonight; weeks without nightly family dinners must have left him itching for something to orchestrate.
Chairs scraped against the stone floor as everyone began rising from the table, preparing to head to the great room. Lavina was already smoothing her skirts as she took Simon’s arm, Benedict trailing behind them without a word. I pushed my chair back, but before I could stand fully, August’s hand caught my wrist beneath the table.
“Not tonight,” he said under his breath, eyes never leaving mine.
I blinked at him. “Why not?”
His lips curved. “Because you have a promise to keep.”
* * *
The sheets were still tangled around our legs when I climbed back on top of him, both of us naked, sweat-slick and breathless. His hands slid up the backs of my thighs, thumbs digging into the soft skin as I sank down onto him again.
His head fell back against the pillows, lips parted, chest rising in sharp, shallow breaths. “Fuck, Winnie…”
I rolled my hips slowly, drawing a groan from deep in his chest. His hands tightened their grip, holding me still so he could thrust up into me with brutal precision.
“Ride me like you mean it,” he growled, eyes dark and shining.
“I always mean it,” I panted, bracing myself against his chest.
His hand came up to cup the side of my face, thumb brushing the corner of my mouth. “Look at you,” he murmured. “Fucking beautiful like this.”
It should have felt like a line. Maybe it was. But something twisted in my chest when he said it—something that made me move faster, made me lean into him more.
He sat up suddenly, our chests pressed together, his mouth dragging over my collarbone, then up to my jaw. “Don’t stop,” he whispered against my skin. “I need this.”
So did I.
He didn’t hesitate. His fangs sank into me with a sharp, aching bite that sent lightning through every nerve. The pain twisted with the pleasure until I couldn’t tell them apart, until I was crying out and clutching his shoulders, riding him harderjust to chase that edge. His body trembled beneath me, a deep, desperate growl rumbling in his chest as he drank. He always unraveled when he tasted me—when I let him lose control.
He pulled back before he took too much, lips slick with my blood, red eyes glazed. “You’ll be the death of me,” he rasped.
I smiled through ragged breaths. “Good.”
Dark veins throbbed beneath his eyes. I skimmed them with my fingertips, feeling them pulse like a second heartbeat. He shuddered and drove into me to the hilt. I drew my hand down, and with the pad of my thumb I painted his mouth with my blood then dragged it along the cut of his cheek, the red stark against his porcelain skin. He went very still, eyes burning, as I leaned in and licked it clean, tongue following the path I’d made, tasting heat and iron and him. He broke then, a ragged noise blooming in his chest, and I caught it with my mouth, kissing him open until he was breathless.
It wasn’t just about the sex anymore. Not really.
The moment shattered with the violent crash of the door slamming open.
My breath caught in my throat, the scream barely forming before August had already moved. In one fluid, instinctive motion, he threw me behind him, the blankets tangling around my legs as I hit the mattress.
He crouched low, every muscle coiled, his bare skin glowing in the low firelight, the predator beneath the king rising to the surface in an instant.
A young woman hit the stone floor, thrown into the room like garbage. Her body crumpled, tears streaking her face.
“I cannot get this one to calm down,” Simon said casually, stepping into the room with blood-red eyes. “Either fix her or I drain her.”
“Do not come into my room without permission,” August snapped.
Simon bowed with mocking flair. “Well, excuse me, Your Highness. But considering how few servants we have right now, I figured you’d want the chance to fix this one before I lost my patience.”
