40. Burn off the Dark
R ose wanted Adrian in her space, where she could keep some semblance of control for more than five minutes, so once they were inside the Keep, she took charge and led him up to her tower, where she shut and locked the door behind them. It was dark, but she could make out the shapes of the furniture. Picking up a candle, she focused on what was left of her magic and blew on the wick. It lit, and she felt a burst of pride.
Using her candle, she lit two near the bed. While she did, Ciel skittered down her arm to curl up on the pillows. Able to see, she set the candle on the table beside the washbasin and turned to her Prince. His arms were folded across his chest, his stance defensive, expression guarded.
“Handy trick.”
“I told you it’s coming back.”
Something unfathomable crossed his face, maybe fear, but it was gone an instant later. “You’re also making friends.”
“Am I not supposed to? I like the wolves. ”
“Obviously. You spent half the day gallivanting with the alpha.”
“Friends talk, Adrian. That’s what we did. With some effort, they could be your friends too.”
“I do not want friends , Rose. They are my subjects. They need to learn their damn place.”
Propping her fists on her hips, she said, “If you fell from that high horse, it would be such a long drop you’d break your damn neck.”
Adrian snorted. “I am an excellent rider.”
Rose laughed. And then she laughed more. She laughed so hard she was soon holding her stomach while tears rolled down her cheeks. When the last chuckles faded, she wiped her face, meeting Adrian’s glare.
“Are you quite done?”
“Maybe. Depends on if you keep being such an insufferably arrogant prick.” His eyes narrowed, her mirth fading. “You could be a great ruler if you met your people in the middle instead of forcing subjugation.”
“I am about to subjugate you.”
Rose pursed her lips to stop a giggle, understanding that he was trying to be threatening. It bubbled out anyway and he scowled.
“Do you honestly think this is funny?”
She shrugged. “Kind of.”
His scowl deepened. “You need reminding of your place. You seem to think you can poke fun and lecture me.” He took a step forward, slow and measured and predatory. He smiled as the mood finally hit her, her expression turning serious. “You seem to think you can make demands.” Another step that had her heart rate quickening. “And have no consequences.” He stopped before her, gathering her hair into a fist, and tugged until her head tipped back. “You need to remember who has control here. What happened the last time you disobeyed me? ”
The night of the spring ball when she’d been on her knees for him seemed a lifetime ago. She’d been a different person. It had certainly been different circumstances. She’d needed to submit to him.
Tonight, she needed to show him that submission was earned.
Leaning up, her hair pulling painfully, she said defiantly, “I made you come undone.”
Adrian chuckled darkly. “Oh, sweet Rose, always so mouthy. Should I gag you on my cock again like I did that night?”
“Only if you dare to risk losing it. I am in no mood to please or appease you.”
He leaned in so their mouths almost touched, his breath washing over her face, smelling faintly of liquor. “Liar. I could have you begging in seconds.”
She licked his bottom lip, fighting a smile when he gave a full-body shiver. “Bad boys get teased, princeling.” And she gave him a taunting smile as his teeth clenched, hearing the wolves’ insult from her. “I have a fatter cock I can choke on.”
He hissed between his teeth, eyes dark and dangerous. “You’ve seen his cock then, have you, love?”
“What if I have?”
“Oh, Rose.” He tsked . “You are a poor liar.”
“Perhaps. But I could easily leave your bed for his.”
He bared his fangs. “Never. You are mine , you hear me? Mine. You were made for me, meant for me as I was for you. Stop the fucking act and say it .”
“Give me what I need.”
Adrian suddenly pushed her away and stalked across the room. Rose watched him, folding her arms again, as he reached the opposite wall, ran both hands through his hair, and then stalked back .
“What? What is it you need? I’ve given you every concession I can. I saved you from pain, I freed you, I give you gifts of every sort, I pleasure you and adore when you do the same for me. I even brought you on this fucking trip because I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving you behind. I give you my protection and safety at the risk of my reputation and . . . What else do you fucking need godsdammit?”
If he expected an answer, she was not going to give it. Folding her arms, she waited.
Eventually, he turned away, scoffing. It stung, the dismissal, but she didn’t let it show.
“Always with the games.” He paced away. “Always with the chase. Always teasing.” He turned back. “Do you not understand what I risk?”
“Do you not understand what I risk?”
“I told you I would protect you.”
“I’m not talking about my life, Adrian,” she said lowly, making him still. “Every day when I was a slave, I flirted with death. I am not worried about the political schemes of the capital, at least not so much as my heart .” She fisted her hand there, and he froze. “What happens when we go back? I will remain the pampered pet, hidden away in some manor to be visited only when it suits you. I will take a tea to prevent bastards that don’t threaten your chosen Queen’s babies. I will watch you publicly with another while being forced to accept scraps.”
“Rose—”
She held up a hand. “There is a reason I said I am only staying for a year. I cannot fully commit to someone who cannot do the same back. You will never be in a position to do so.”
“All or nothing,” he said with a nod. “That is what you want.”
“I cannot demand that of you. I know I could never get it.”
“I cannot offer you the throne, Rose. My people would never have it. ”
Looking away, she whispered, “I know.”
He strode across the room, taking her face in his hands. “I would give it to you if I could. I would give you anything. Everything. The entire fucking world.” His thumbs wiped away two falling tears. “My father will never allow it.”
“I know.” Bottom lip trembling, she circled his wrists with her hands. “But I cannot watch you with someone else. So, we have a year, or however long it takes for my heart to break—”
His kiss silenced her. Making a choked sound, she opened for him, wrapped around him as he wrapped around her, kissing him as fervently as he kissed her. It was wild and greedy, each taking, taking, taking.
“I don’t want to break your heart. I don’t want to choose another. I want you . You are who matters, Rose. Only you. Every other female can go jump off a fucking mountain.”
Rose sobbed a laugh. “We are in the plains, silly. There are no mountains here.”
“The Frostpeaks are a stone’s throw from Crimson City.”
Rose sobered at that. “It is an impossible situation we are in, my Prince.”
“I am your Prince. Only yours. Whatever my position dictates, it is only you in my heart.” He set her hand on his chest, where she could feel its beating. “This is yours. It beats for you and you alone. I love you, you damn infuriating female.”
A sob escaped as the last of her defenses fell. Cupping his face, she pulled him in to kiss more, desperate for connection.
“Goddess, I need you naked,” Adrian rasped, tearing her dress in his haste to undress her. Rose whimpered, ripping his shirt off and tossing it. And then her hands were on his skin, running over his chest as he tore off her undergarments. She stepped out of them and reached for his pants. He took them off so fast it was a blur, dropping them and then lifting her by her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist and let him take her to the bed, kissing along his neck as he did.
“I love you,” she said as he climbed onto the mattress and laid her down, covering her body with his. “Only the heavens know why.” She set a hand to his face as he pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “But I do. Adrian, I love you.”
Adrian’s heart soared with the words. “My Rose.” He caressed her tongue with his, taking his time, trying to seduce where before he’d been trying to dominate. All her life, Rose had been dominated, forced to obey without choice. More than anything, she wanted a voice, to be able to speak and be heard.
He heard her. He finally understood that her love could not be forced or bought. It was a choice she’d chosen to deny.
Up to now.
And in a moment of clarity, he understood the wolves better. They wanted the same things Rose did—a better station and someone to listen, someone to be on their side.
As his hands roamed his mate’s lovely body, he recalled how Rose had laughed and danced with the pack. They were friends, sharing the fun as they shared thoughts and opinions.
Because they valued each other.
If he leveled with the alpha, gave more than empty platitudes, he could gain a true ally. If he fought things in the capital, he could rock the kingdom, upend it, and settle it in a better place. With Rose beside him, he could be a leader of high regard, instilling pride instead of fear.
But that was just a dream, a secret whim she’d awoken in him that none could ever know. His father would throttle him for such treasonous thoughts.
That was a sobering realization, and he had a moment of identity crisis where he had to stop kissing Rose and simply breathe, face pressed to her neck as he inhaled her. She smelled not of the lavender he was used to, but of roses and sweat. It was not unpleasant, but it was not her .
Lifting his head to gaze down at her, he said, “Say it again.”
“I love you.” Running her fingers through his hair, she spread her legs more, shifting until his hardness pressed intimately between the folds of her feminine cleft. Her eyelids fluttered as she moaned, as he rocked his hips, rubbing along her wet heat.
“Sweet Goddess, Rose. I need you.” He pressed his forehead to hers again, rocking forward and back to drive them both wild. When she whimpered, gripping his shoulders, he knew he’d hit her just right. So, he stayed there, rocking, rubbing, thrusting, until she was panting, nails biting as she clutched him.
“Adrian, oh Gods, please.”
“I love it when you beg.” It would be so easy to notch himself at her entrance and slide inside her, and he shuddered with the want of it. “Look at me.” Slowing his hips, he waited until those luminous pink eyes opened. “There you are. So beautiful, my love.”
She whimpered again, arching up into him. “Please, please, please.”
“What do you need?” Another teasing rock, another harder grind, and then he switched it up by rotating his hips just to watch her frustration. Huffing, she grabbed his ass, squeezing as she shifted, until he was exactly where she wanted, and then she spread her legs wider, arching more as she rubbed against him.
“Holy Moon. Gods fuck, Rose.” Fisting her hair, he ripped her head to the side and bit deep into the side of her neck. She screamed, back bowing, hips stilling, as he drank deep, filling his mouth with her sweet life-giving sustenance. Dizzy from the flavor, drunk on the magic, he waited for her orgasm to fade.
No one had ever come from his bite. It was as addicting as her taste and something he’d endeavor to achieve frequently.
“More,” she panted. The hand on his ass dug in as her other gripped his hair and pressed his face deeper into her neck. Who was he to deny her? Biting deeper, he gave another long, deep pull. Her rapture bled into him. “Oh, y es. ”
And then her magic was reaching out. No longer contained inside her, she wrapped it around him, winding through him where they were connected. He trembled at the power, at the majesty she commanded with a thought. She could shatter him in so many ways if she so chose. Instead, she cocooned him in her heart’s warmth.
“Inside. Adrian, I need you inside me. Please. Take me. Be one with me.”
Goddess Divine, he wanted more than anything to give in.
But she didn’t realize what she asked. If they mated, there would be no going back.
Ever.
“Please, Adrian. Come inside me and make me whole.”
He could not deny her. He could no longer deny himself.
Positioning his dick at her entrance, he slid a hand under her ass to cup her as he slowly entered her. The sound she made, a low, keening whine of desire and acceptance, begged for more. Squeezing his eyes shut at how fucking tight she was, he gave a little suck on her neck to distract from any discomfort.
Good Goddess, she was perfection—hot and wet, sheathing him so well. It was heaven enveloping him as she clenched. He gave another little suck, rubbing her cheek with his thumb until she relaxed. He backed out slightly, rotating his hips to stretch her, before pushing deeper.
The intimate squeeze and connection were exquisite.
“More, more, more.”
With a jerk of her hips, he seated fully inside. His fangs bit deeper as he tried to keep still, but she wiggled, wanting friction, and his control snapped. Pulling partway out, he thrust back in hard. Rose met him, rocking her hips in a way that drove him crazy.
As they moved together, he sipped from her vein, needing that secondary connection. Every thrust, every draw from his mouth, had the heat rising, had the spiral in him tightening like a coil, readying to snap. Her sounds—the whimpers, mewls, and cries—drove him to frenzy, frantic with lust, wild with passion, overflowing with love and adoration.
Here was everything he needed; her. She was all around him, surrounding him, steeping him in her heart. She was so warm, so soft, her body fitting his so perfectly that every thrust was ecstasy.
He didn’t want to stop, didn’t ever want to part.
She gripped him so tight, spurning him on as her cries grew shrill and high. Her hips stuttered against his as her spirit mingled in her magic seeped so deep inside him it filled his very soul. There they merged, tangling, joining, becoming one as their bodies were one.
And then it all splintered as she came, as her body bowed and her legs locked around him as her cunt milked his cock in rhythmic waves, sending him over the edge. Driving deep and going still, he released his seed into her, sucking greedily on her neck as the magic took the shattered remains of their selves and melded them together, forging them stronger than they’d ever been apart.
Light filled the room, the strength in Rose’s magic unable to be contained as Adrian’s essence completed it. He filled her as she filled him, and it burst forth in golden glow, lingering for long seconds. The fading pleasure pulsed contentment, leaving them replete and satisfied.
“Did you feel that?” Rose asked in a drowsy whisper, running light fingers over his back.
“Mmm.” Adrian pulled his fangs from her, licking to seal the deep punctures, and then kissed the site already black with bruising. He kissed her nose, kissed her lips, and stroked her cheek as she glowed beneath him. “It is our bond completed.” Her glow intensified as she pulled him down for another kiss, her tongue softly caressing his.
“I love you, my Prince.”
Forehead pressed to hers, he replied, “I love you, too, my prickly Rose.”