by Grey, T. A.
“Yes, your highness. She requested it.”
The hand around her arm disappeared and then Alrik had the servant by the throat, his feet dangling off the ground. The servant latched onto Alrik's wrist, his face turning red, and the veins at his temples protruding from stress.
“Did she request it scalding hot, servant?” he asked in a low voice. Arianna took a step back feeling real fear now. Not only for herself and Celine but for the servant in his grasp.
“N-no, your highness. It was an accident.”
Alrik squeezed tighter and the choking, wheezing sounds of the servant’s throat being closed off were too disturbing to hear.
“Alrik!” she called to him. His head jerked and then he looked at her. “Please let him down. Truly it was an accident.”
His lips twitched with a snarl, the grip around the servant's throat squeezing harder, and then he roared and threw the servant. The servant screamed as he flew back and landed with a bone-crushing whack against the castle.
Arianna screamed and started for him but Alrik caught her arm and pulled her to a stop. “You do not go to him, Arianna. You are mine.” Her skin crawled.
“You hurt him. I just want to make sure he's all right,” she said calmly. She slowly pulled on her arm until he released it then walked slowly to the prone servant.
Celine met her there. The servant bled from his mouth and nose; his breathing came in short, gasping bursts.
“He needs a healer now. I’ll get help.” Celine ran inside and Arianna stiffened as Alrik's hard steps came towards her. Her heart beat a frantic, wild rhythm. How could he make her feel so good one minute then so terrified the next?
He grabbed her hand. “Come with me.” Arianna followed because she didn't have a choice. He took her to his bedroom. The royal suite looked extravagant, rich with tapestries, lush bed spreads and intricately carved statues.
The door closed behind him and she felt completely shut off from the rest of the world. Completely alone with the beast. He took a seat in front of a roaring fireplace but aside from the light it casted the room was dark. Each step she took felt like she was walking to her own death, but she went and took a seat in the chair next to him.
“You care for me,” he said.
Her eyebrow flew up in surprise. “What?”
His eyes locked on her, pulled down low in anger. “I read your journal many times. You care for me.”
She couldn't even be sure how she felt about him, but after seeing him brutally attack a servant for something so miniscule her feelings lent more to fear now than 'caring'. She wouldn't tell him that. Who knew what he might do.
“I am not sure how I feel,” she said after a minute. She carefully chose her words to reveal some while hopefully not sending him into a rage that'd leave her broken and crying against the wall.
“Something is wrong.” He held out his hand, his fingers spread. He looked at his hand as if seeing it for the first time, studying it and turning it over to discover his black palm.
“What's wrong, Alrik?”
“I feel different.” His deep voice, almost hoarse, brought chills down her spine with his odd words.
“How so?” I want to help you, she wanted to say.
“I've never attacked anyone before like that. I've never felt so angry.”
She wanted to defend him because even with how messed up he was, she wanted to help him. “You were just coming to my defense. A bit too...strongly, though.” She waited to see if her words would sent him into a rage. But they didn't.
“I wanted to kill him. To crush his throat with my bare hands.” He studied his hands some more then turned to look at her. She was struck by the dark swirling energy in his eyes, so unnatural, yet beautiful in a strange way. “Now I want you.”
She stood so fast the chair rocked back on its legs and fell over. “What?” Her chest rose and fell in a rush.
He stood, too, his broad shoulders and tall form making her feel so small and insignificant in comparison. “I'm going to have your body now, Ari.” He started pulling off his overcoat and shirt, revealing dark, charcoal skin, silver hoops piercing his nipples, and the royal tattoo along his right side.
“Not now.” She backed away. Not after what she'd just seen. Not after her hopes of seeing him changed with the magic spell around him canceled vanquished. His body was gorgeous though. He looked the same as he did when he was younger, before he changed, yet so different. If she focused hard enough, she could still see his vibrant hair and eyes.
“Now.” His boots hit the floor then his pants. He wore nothing underneath and his cock sprang rigid and thick at her. She tensed and kept her eyes trained on his face.
“I'm not ready.” She didn't want it like this. Didn't want to experience sex for the first time with a man she wasn't sure was a man anymore.
But when he came towards her she didn't back away. She felt frozen in place, drawn between two places: one that wanted to run away from him forever and another that wanted to hold him, kiss him and fix everything for him.
“Don't do this,” she begged. It sounded weak, she knew, because she did want this with him, just not now. Not like this. Not with his brutal actions and strange eyes hovering over them like a thunderstorm.
“I must.” He pulled her into his body and turned her around. His hands slowly undid the buttons of her dress, the ties that cinched the dress in at her waist.
His hands gently teased her bare shoulders then slid down her arms as the dress fell to her breasts as it loosened, then dropped completely to the floor. She stood before him, trembling, naked, completely exposed.
“I have to have you at least once Arianna. Before...” his voice trailed off.
“Before what?” she whispered.
He didn't answer. His hands swept over the curves of her breasts and down her stomach in long strokes. Her body started to warm at his gentle touch, she found herself leaning back against his naked chest. His erection pressed hard against her bottom and she felt the urge to rub against it, so she did.
His hand had been passing over her breast when she did it, and he stopped, his hand cupping her harder. “Do not do that.” She apologized at once and stiffened. She felt him let out an uneasy breath. “You didn't do anything wrong. I'm battling not to take you how I want to, Ari.”
His hands took each of her breasts, working them until warmth spread throughout her body and she grew wet between her legs. When he finally touched her nipples it felt like being zapped with pleasure. Her head fell back against his shoulder and she panted, her whole body swaying in a subtle motion.
She tried to think of some way to reply but her mind slowly started to shut down. She wanted to just feel what he did to her and forget about everything else. Lips and teeth found her neck, biting and teasing. Her body started to burn hotter, her skin pulled tight with that sensation he'd given her before. She wanted him to touch her with his fingers like he did last time and make her feel that incredible climax.
One arm wrapped around her, the hand capturing her breasts and squeezing it while the other wrapped around her waist then trailed down to cup her sex. She moaned a high, needy sound and started writhing.
“Hold still,” he commanded in that deep voice. Then his teeth sank into her shoulder muscle. It felt as if all her muscles went paralyzed, just sitting in place for him with that bite. His fingers slid across her wet lips, circling her tight bundle of nerves, and all she could do was try to breathe in and out in a steady rhythm.
It didn't work. She panted. Her lips parted and cries left her as he thrust a finger inside her, not gently but in a powerful push. In and out he worked his finger until she felt his breathing grow loud and heavy against her shoulder where his teeth pinned her. Then he growled, the sound reverberating through her pores and down to her clitoris, and his fingers swirled fast and hard around her clitoris. In a flash everything tightened to an unbearable point inside her. A fire roared in her blood, through her veins and she screamed a hoarse,
raw sound as everything released in a hot, wet rush from inside her.
He came at her then. As if with her release done he could finally take her how he wanted. She was pushed to her hands and knees, had only a second to comprehend his cock nudging her unused entrance, and then his hands held her shoulders to keep her in place and he thrust in.
A cry left her, a mixture of shock, pain, and pleasure. He groaned harshly and started thrusting through her tight muscles, his hips slapping against her bottom with each dive. She felt stretched and so full; the sensation felt maddeningly wonderful. She panted, her mouth unable to stay closed. His hands went everywhere as if trying to touch her all at once. He cupped her breasts, plucked at her nipples, squeezed her bottom, and pressed kissed across her shoulders and down her spine as he worked his hard length in and out of her.
It felt too good. The initial sharp pain was fleeting and all she felt was a raw earthy passion inside her; it felt so right. He bumped repeatedly against something inside her that pulled her tighter, hotter, made her burn.
“You are mine, Ari.” Now his deep voice sent pleasure blooming in her belly. Or maybe it was just his words, she didn't know. “Take me,” he growled.
He pushed her shoulders down to the floor. She went, so low her hard nipples scraped back and forth across the rug with each pounding thrust he gave her. It felt completely wicked, so unladylike, but incredible. She wanted to do this every day for the rest of her life so long as it felt like this.
One hand clasped her hair in his hand and kept her down so her bottom was raised for him. His free hand curled around her waist, squeezing tighter and tighter as his thrusts landed harder...faster.
The deep ball of need in her belly unfurled, unraveled, flew apart. She screamed as her entire body shattered into a million pieces. This sensation felt so different from the releases he gave her before. She could feel the difference. Could feel her sex squeezing around him, wetting him with a fresh gush of cream. He growled, the hand in her hair tightening, and then he pumped in one last time and a wet, hot sensation burst inside her. He gave her his release. She found her hips writhing against his, wanting to take in all of it.
He pulled out as soon as he finished and it took all of her strength to turn around, her limbs falling loosely all around her, to look at him. He didn't meet her gaze. A chill went through her heated body.
“What's wrong?”
A slight jerk of his head and he stood, pulling on his clothes in hard jabs. She felt as though a bucket of ice water had been dropped on her. Her chest pulled incredibly tight like a cord being wound. The urge to cry crept up on her.
“What's wrong, Alrik?”
“Look at me!” His shout made her jerk hard.
“I-I am.”
He looked at his hand then curled it into a fist and punched the bedpost. The frame cracked and fell to the floor with a loud groan.
His lips fell into a flat line, his expression one of defeat, then he looked her in the eyes. “Tell me what they look like?”
“Does what look like, Alrik?”
“My eyes!” he shouted.
She flinched, her lips trembling. “B-black. They're black.” Tears escaped seemingly out of nowhere, but she had so many emotions running inside her, they had to get away somehow.
He slowly shook his head then finished pulling n his boots. Some awful, panicked feeling filled her. It felt so unlike anything she'd felt before. As if she were about to lose something precious that she wasn't ready to let go of.
“Please let me help you.” The tears ran fast down her face.
He shook his head at her, the rawness in his troubled eyes piercing her. “You can't. No one can.” He left, leaving her huddled and crying.
CHAPTER 35
The next day came and Lily started to feel claustrophobic in the cabin. Telal had taken his knife and managed to kill a squirrel and rabbit. He'd cooked it, but her stomach had seized up at the smell of the meat and she'd refused any food though he tried to make her eat.
Her arms wouldn't stop itching. The skin started to turn pink from her nails dragging up and down it. Even her scalp itched and she couldn't stop scratching it. She couldn't stop pacing, but after a few minutes, she'd grow weary of that, and have to sit down only to repeat the whole process all over again.
Telal came out of the shower, fresh and wearing some clothes he'd kept in his dresser. They looked good on him but different. She wasn't used to seeing him anything other than a suit—or maybe naked. He wore a black t-shirt fitted across his strong chest and pair of loose black pants, not the expensive looking kind either. He almost looked normal—except for his gold skin and blue hair.
She smiled at him and continued pacing, scratching her arms. “What's wrong?” he asked.
She pretended to be surprised. “Nothing, just sick of being holed up here.”
“It's only been a day.”
She shrugged, let him think what he will. He inhaled deeply then his arms stiffened. “The new moon is soon.” She shrugged again. That hadn't even been a thought in her mind. Not when she wanted to rip her hair out, run back to the hotel, and make her juice. God, she needed it.
“Is your magic back yet? Is it safe to leave?”
“For the twentieth time, no. My powers won't come for some time. Maybe even a week. That poison was strong and I got hit twice.” His eyes flicked over her then he grabbed her arm. She yanked it away but he cut her a warning look before he grabbed it again and studied it. “Why are you scratching yourself?”
“I need to get back to the hotel.” She knew she was whining but desperation held her in its grasp.
“You're not telling me the truth, Lily. Why are you acting like a strung out junky?”
She stiffened then jerked her arm out of his grasp. “Fuck you, I'm not a junky.” She marched away from him before she did something that'd get her in trouble—like punch him. She ended up sitting on the bed kicking her feet out up and down.
He came in a minute later, a dark look on his face. “I didn't call you a junky. I was making a reference. Why did you get so defensive?”
Shit. She hadn't even realized she'd messed up. Panicking, she kept her eyes trained on the floor and pretended she didn’t' hear him. This became hard to do when he stepped in front of her and she had to stop kicking her legs else start pelting him with her feet.
“What are you on, Lily? And do not lie to me.”
Lily wrapped her arms around herself and rocked back and forth. A part of her wanted to tell him, she did. To finally let someone know about her guilty secret, the one that had been eating away at her for almost a year. But what would he think of her then? A pathetic fool who had to resort to a homemade drug just to get on with life? No, thank you.
“I'm not on anything.” Technically true since her goods were currently in her apartment at Telal's.
Telal squatted down in front of her cupping her face in his strong hands. A part of her faltered, her defenses cracking at his sincere expression. The warmth of his eyes almost warmed her skin.
“Please tell me, Lily.” Her eyes teared up and before she knew it she launched herself into his arms sobbing, clinging to him for dear life. “God, Lily. What is it?” The concern in his voice almost did her in. Almost sent her into a level of sadness that would require at least two boxes of tissues to fix.
“I don't want to tell you,” she said in a small voice. She hadn't told a soul. Not even Rosa.
His arms tightened around her making her feel warm and safe. “You can tell me, Lily. After all we've been through together how bad can it be?”
She laughed a little. When compared to seeing her mother in that demon prison and barely escaping death at his office he had a point. In a small voice she told him about the special “juice”.
“You make it yourself?” he asked.
She nodded against his shoulder. “It makes me feel...good, free, and happy. Like nothing can go wrong, nothing can stop me.”
“How long have you
been taking it?”
She shook her head. She didn't want to spill the details. His arms tightened around her. “It's okay, you can tell me. Maybe I can help.”
She took a deep breath. “A year. Since Papa died.”
“Why did you start taking it?”
This was the question she didn't want to answer. The one she dreaded the most. “I don't want to talk about it, Telal.”
He pulled back and kissed her hard on the mouth. His eyes bore into hers. “Tell me.” His voice left no room for argument she soon found the words falling from her lips.
“I was so sad. With the will, with worry over summoning that demon that was all my fault. Papa had just died. I couldn't stand it. So I made it and it helped me to get out of bed and feel strong again. I'm so sorry.” She buried her face in her hands and wept. Her words felt so inadequate at explaining what she'd felt. How miserable and sad she'd been. How some days she really did just stay in bed and stare out the window. She could have died then and been the better for it.
Telal pulled her against his chest and stroked smoothing circles across her back. “You have nothing to be sorry for. But if I'm going to be your Protector then I must lay down the law. No more of this, Lily.”
She jerked back, eyes wide. “What?”
“You heard me. I want to be around you as you're meant to be not how some herbs make you feel. I like being around you,” he said gruffly a faint blush creeping up on his cheeks.
“No, I meant what did you mean about being my Protector.” Her hands latched onto his shoulders, squeezing tight.
A corner of his mouth lifted. “Well I am, aren't I? Besides, I don't think I could let you go.” He sounded as if he'd just made this realization and didn't know how to feel about it.
A big smile split across her face. “Really?”
His eyes darkened with heat. “Really. I crave you, lilit.” She might have swooned but instead his lips crossed hers and gave her the kiss of a life time. All swirling tongues, meshing lips, and ragged breaths sawing together. She pulled him closer between the vee of her legs and his cock, hard and thick, pressed against her pussy. She moaned and tore at his pants with frantic hands.