Page 143 of Dawn of Chaos and Fury
Axel huffed a laugh as he dropped a kiss to the top of her head, then he turned serious once more. “I hate this.”
“I know,” she replied, leaning into him. “But I refuse to stay in the background. I want him to know I did everything I could to ensure he was brought into a better world than what we know. Please don’t deny me that, Axel.”
He sighed again, pulling her close and wondering when she’d figure out he would never deny her anything.
28
EVIANA
“So obedient,” Mansel crooned as he cupped her chin, his thumb swiping across her lower lip. He glanced over the top of her head. “You trained this one well, my Lord.”
“That I did,” Valter said, and she didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know he was seated in his over-large leather chair, likely with an ankle on his knee and cigar in hand. “She’s beautiful, of course, but when she’s on her knees…”
“She’s exquisite,” Mansel finished, that thumb swiping along her bottom lip again as he reached for his zipper with his other hand.
She was prepared to do what she must. It wasn’t anything new, which is why she was surprised when Valter said, “Wait.”
“My Lord?” Mansel asked, hands stilling on his belt buckle.
“I have something to ask of you,” Valter said, and she heard him rise.
“Of course, my Lord. Name it.”
Everything in her went on alert, but she didn’t dare move as Valter approached. His hand smoothed down her hair before he began gathering it one hand, and if she didn’t know better, she’d believe his gentleness was out of affection.
“I would like to borrow her to you for a few days,” he started, and Eviana fought to keep her emotions in check. This wasn’t new either. She’d been given for a night here and there to seal deals, but Mansel wasn’t someone Valter needed to negotiate with. If Valter told the male to turn around and bend over, he’d do it without question. Which also meant whatever Valter was about to ask him to do was going to be something terrible.
“I struck a deal with Desiray,” Valter went on, still holding her hair in one hand. The fingers of his other hand were skating up and down the column of her neck. “I agreed to one of her experiments, provided I get to keep the outcome if favorable.”
Bile rose in her throat, and she fought to keep it down. She knew well enough what Desiray did at the Sirana Villas. She’d visited them several times with Valter, but she was still unsure of what this had to do with her.
“I want you to sire the product,” Valter said to Mansel.
“You want my child?” Mansel asked, a groove forming between his brows.
“You won’t know if things are successful or not,” Valter replied. “You will spend a week in the Villas, and after that, you will know nothing else of the matter.”
“When do I need to decide by?” the male asked, Eviana momentarily forgotten on her knees before him.
“The next hour,” Valter answered. “That’s when I will leave to deliver Eve there.”
She wasn’t thinking when she whipped her head around. Or she tried to. Valter still held her hair, gathered in a fist at the back of her head. He held it tight, keeping her facing forward, and she swallowed down the cry of pain.
My Lord?she asked down the bond.I do not understand.
It is not your place to understand,he snapped, a sharp yank of her hair accompanying the words.
“You want me to get your Source with child?” Mansel asked in surprise, but she didn’t miss the thread of excitement in his tone.
“That is exactly what I want,” Valter said. “Do you accept?”
That other hand was still on her neck, and now those fingers slipped along her jaw, forcing her head up. Mansel’s tongue darted out, running along his bottom lip, a hunger in his eyes.
“Give me an hour to make arrangements at the manor,” Mansel said, his eyes raking over her.
“Done,” Valter said, dismissing him.
The male was already lifting his phone to an ear as the study door closed behind him. Only then did Valter release her hair. But she didn’t rise from her knees. No, she wouldn’t do that until bidden, but she did risk speaking.
