He pauses, but then he moves so fast, I don’t see him move. One second, I was wrapped around my knees. The next, he’s above me, pinning me to the mattress, his large body pressing down into mine. “Why would I kill you when … I could just kiss you?” he asks, his pretty gaze slipping down to my lips.
There’s a war in his eyes and I feel it in my chest with each second that ticks by.
Then his lips crash down onto mine, claiming me. My heart rate skyrockets as I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him back as if I’m trying to steal his soul. His lips move over mine, gentle and rough at the same time, and it’s difficult to match his energy when I’m so lacking in strength. Already, my arms begin to burn. Already, I feel as if I’m going to collapse at any moment. At least I’m lying on the bed.
His hand trails down the bodice of the dress, over my hip where he jerks the skirts up around me to reveal my core. Nothing separates my flesh from his and I moan against his tongue the moment his hand cups my sex. When his finger dips through my folds and he feels my wetness, he growls hungrily against my mouth, his fangs almost pricking my lip.
He leans back, his bright eyes on my face as he strokes his fingers through my wetness before raising them to his lips. My breath stutters as he slides them between, as he sucks at the taste of me. His eyes close and he growls once more in pleasure.
I throb at the sound of his rumbling appreciation and clench my thighs ever so slightly together to ease the sensation building there.
“I’m going to consume every inch of you,” he snarls, but as he goes to lean down to my neck, the bedroom door flies open.
Both of us freeze, my head turning to get a good look at Christian highlighted in the doorway. With the lighting coming in from the hallway, it makes him look like he’s on fire, like he’s the devil come to collect. It feels like that when I get a good look at his perfect face and the deadly glare he holds there.
“We have five minutes to hide her marks,” he announces, barely sparing Rorrick a look where he covers me. “The King expects his future Promise to be paraded around the court tonight.”
Rorrick growls. “Why?”
“So everyone knows what he’s to be gifted tomorrow,” he replies. His eyes settle on mine as Seven appears. “They won’t heal in five minutes.”
Seven holds a small jar in his hand and I sigh, already knowing what it’s for.
“Then why bother trying to heal them?” I ask.
“Just so we can stall while they actually do heal,” Rorrick answers for Christian. He gets off the bed, and I feel the loss of his warmth like a baseball bat to the head.
“He won’t see them with my dress--” I peer down at the very obvious bite mark kissing my upper breast that I don’t remember being there last night…
“You likely won’t be wearing it,” Seven answers, the only one with the guts to tell me. Though he doesn’t say it, I can see the guilt on his face, the sadness at knowing he can’t save me.
Delilah’s words about Christain telling his father I wasn’t yet a Promise doesn’t seem to have lasted long. Christian can’t protect me.
No one can.
I tip up my chin and Seven steps forward with the salve already on his fingertips. “That’s okay. I’ll do what’s necessary. I’m safe for tonight, right?”
Christian’s eyes meet mine.
“For tonight.” Those words sound hollow against the prince’s tongue but they seep into me with a weight that lays leaden in the pit of my stomach.
I nod, hearing the words he doesn’t say. Only tonight. Tomorrow…
I die.
NINETEEN
Crymson
Fatigue wearson my body as I walk beside Christian. Rorrick and Seven flank us, their eyes burning holes in my back. My green dress seemed like a great idea when I’d asked for it, but now that I’m to be paraded around in front of the King, I suddenly worry it wasn’t smart. Provoking him before tomorrow. . .what was I thinking? Despite that worry, I walk with my chin tilted up and my shoulders back. If I’m going to die, let them see me strong until the bitter end.
Fear curls low in my stomach the closer we get to the court. I can hear the boisterous shouts of those attending having a good time. No doubt, the King will have another Promise draped across his lap, one who never stood a chance. What would it take to stop him? What would it take to drive a stake through his evil fucking heart? Am I even capable of it?
I’m human. I’ve always felt human. But now that I know there’s magic inside me, I can’t help but wish for it now. I resent whatever it is in my blood, only because it never showed up in my world when I needed it. How many times could it have savedme if it would have only reared its ugly head? Could it save me now?
“Try not to look so angry when you walk in there,” Christian commands on quiet words. “He’s figurativelydyingto make a lesson out of you.”
I immediately school my features, not even realizing my face had been scrunching up the closer we got. I purposely make my expression blank. I’ve gotten good at a poker face, only because I had to with Van. If he knew how I was really feeling, I was punished. In that, this world is no different than the last.
