Page 18 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

The asphyxiation thrust me into a new realm of pleasure, carried on the last vestiges of my orgasm. I felt like a meteor catching fire as I came slamming back down into the arms of the Feral King.

Sleep rushed to take me. My knees gave out and before I hit the concrete, Vincent swept me up in his embrace. Trapped against the blistering heat of his chest, the flames that had always burned between us felt different now.Ifelt different.

Just a couple of weeks ago I’d cursed that mysterious passion that blazed hot and bright between us. Now, I never wanted it to burn out.

Ever.

Chapter seven

A Semi-Enticing Villain

“Timeforrest,Ru.”My dark knight’s voice ribboned around my ear, his grating baritone more tender than I’d probably ever get used to. And the new nickname burrowed itself into my heart, making my chest swell with the most singular satisfaction.

He crouched beside the cheap coffin our jailers had provided and carefully set me inside.

“I like you when you’re like this,” I said in a sleepy whisper, peering at him through my mess of red hair.

His gaze simmered, his mottled red and green eyes terrifyingly gorgeous. “Like what?”

“When you take a break from being king of the douchebags.”

My heart pulsated when he stroked the edge of my jaw with the back of his knuckle. Even now, after what his fingers had done to my insides, this chaste touch still sent a charge of electricity through me.

The pleasing purse of his lips made a delicious heat pool in my stomach as hot as lava. “I told you. I gave up being any kind of king. I have my sights on a prize that’s better than any throne.”

“My womb?” The memory of my promise in the van filled me with a tingling warmth.

“Not just that. You.Allof you. Now go to bed.”

“Aren’t you going to sleep next to me?”

“Not tonight.” His tone turned sharp, with an edge of finality that told me he wouldn’t be changing his mind.

Too tired to hide the disappointment from my face, I frowned. “You’re not going to sleep, are you?”

“Someone’s got to stand watch.” He jerked his head in Eros’ direction, who was already curled up in his cell’s coffin, fast asleep. “Can’t ask him to do it. Your blood helped speed up the regeneration process, but it’s no substitute for a full day’s sleep.”

“Thank you,” I whispered as my head lolled back against the coffin’s padding.

His brows knit together. “For what?”

“For making peace with him. I know you did it for me.”

Vincent paused, a barbed silence spiking the air before he shattered the tension with a sigh. “I did it for all of us, Ruby. Now go to sleep.”

“Goodnight.” A heavy sensation settled in my stomach as I watched the vampire place the coffin lid over me, darkness closing in.

Whenever Vincent allowed himself to be soft with me, I feared the moment he’d inevitably fall back into his old, standoffish, asshat self. Once we had our filthy little indulgence, I expected the tension to go back to how it had been between us.

It didn’t.

By pulling Eros into the moment with us, that precious bubble of time where we could be vulnerable and honest with one another had somehow seemed to expand, even if it was just by a little.

A lot more healing needed to happen in order for Vincent and me to become true partners. The Feral King may have let his barriers down tonight, but he was still keeping me at arm’s length. As infuriating as it was, I got where he was coming from. He didn’t trust himself with me completely. I needed to get it through his thick skull that my heartbeat didn’t make me weak. But on some level Vincent still saw me as a fragile mortal. Something to be handled with care.

We both knew the monster inside him wasn’t interested in being gentle.

Once we became a mated couple, he would see just how suited we were for one another. I knew deep in my bones that the monster within me was every bit as capable of taming his beast as he was capable of taming mine.

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