41. Echoes of Betrayal and Desire
41
ECHOES OF BETRAYAL AND DESIRE
N eed, deep and all-consuming, flows through me as Nevan feeds from my wrist.
Every nerve in my body buzzes like it's on fire as his teeth graze my skin, sending electric prickles down my arm. The heat of his breath warms my palm with every exhale.
As he drinks, my skin tingles with every pull of his lips and every movement of his tongue against me, sending shivers through my body.
With my free hand, I grip his hair, pulling him closer as if seeking more contact despite the pain. His strong arm wraps around my waist, his grip firm yet gentle.
I arch my back as heat ignites between my thighs.
With every gulp he takes, my craving for him deepens. As I'm struck by lightheadedness, I lean against the cold, unyielding stone wall behind me, its chill a brief respite from the fire burning within me.
But my desire, relentless and fervid, only grows stronger as Nevan drinks deeply from my wrist. The heat between us is like a spark igniting a wildfire, and with each swallow, my longing for him flares.
But the more of my blood he takes, the further away my mind begins to drift, my consciousness waning.
As his grasp on my forearm tightens, I touch his elbow and say, "That's enough."
He ignores me.
Will your blood to boil and he will stop , Blaise had said, as if it were that simple.
"You need to stop," I plead with Nevan, but he doesn't react to the command.
Fuck . I will my blood to heat, but nothing happens. Boil, damn it.
The outside of my vision wavers, and I know I don't have long before I pass out, and then any chance to stop him will be gone, and I'll be dead.
I imagine sticking my hand through flames, the deep pain of charred flesh, and urge my body to stop Nevan.
Still nothing.
As my grip on the world wavers, I think of Aella's face as she stood next to Maddox, daring to look sad.
I would have sacrificed everything to save her. Fuck, I already have. I'm going to die here in this cell, drained by a vampire because my closest friend betrayed me.
No. I won't let it happen.
I've spent the last six months wanting revenge, and that doesn't stop now.
My target has just changed.
I gather all the anger and hurt buried within me and, as I release a scream, I command my blood to boil.
My body heats from within, and Nevan pulls away from me with a shriek.
As my arm drops to my side, he grabs at his throat, blinking rapidly until his gaze settles on me.
In heavy, panic-stricken breaths he says, "I knew I wouldn't be able to stop."
"And I knew I'd be able to stop you." I stagger to the side. Before I fall over, I reach out to the wall to prop myself up.
He wipes the blood pooled at the sides of his mouth. "I couldn't live with myself if I killed you."
"Good thing you didn't." I force a smile onto my mouth, but it's too difficult to keep it there.
Drowsiness washes over me, and I yawn. "With a little practice, I'll be able to stop you sooner next time."
My eyelids grow too heavy to keep open, and as they shut, I succumb to sleep.
My sleep is so deep, it pulls me into a memory I want nothing more than to forget forever.
Aella set a bowl of hot soup in front of me then sat in the chair across the table. "Eat. You'll feel better."
Steam rose from the bowl, into my nostrils, and my belly grumbled.
It had been so long since I'd had a real meal. Stale bread and an occasional stolen piece of fruit when I had the courage to sneak into the market had kept me alive the past six months, but barely.
I peered up from the bowl to Aella, worried that my glamour would fail me and the priestess would see me for who I really was. But Aella only smiled. "I prefer when the cook makes potato soup, but this one isn't bad."
Finally, I picked up my spoon. "It smells delicious."
The first bite burned my tongue, but the salt and pepper broth was so flavorful, I didn't wait long enough before the second and burned it again.
Aella and I ate in silence. Occasionally, a priestess or two walked through the dining hall, but no one paid me much attention.
"Finish eating, and then I'll show you to your room," Aella said.
I slurped another bite. "You really think they'll let me stay here and be a priestess, too?"
"As long as the Goddess accepts your vow, but I don't see any reason she shouldn't." Aella pushed her half-eaten bowl away.
I ate every last bite, and for the first time since escaping Solendale, I felt true hope…
The memory fades as I awake with my head in Nevan's lap.
He brushes my hair with his fingers, his nails gently raking over my scalp in a soothing motion.
The gesture is calming, and so I remain where I am. "How long was I asleep?"
"My sense of time is all fucked up in this place and the bastards took my watch, but at least a few hours. How are you feeling?"
I stretch out my limbs and wiggle my fingers and toes. "Tired, but otherwise normal. What about you?"
His skin radiates life now, and the amber hue of his eyes is even brighter than normal, despite the darkness in the cell. "I've been searching my memory for the moment when Maddox's ambition swallowed any family loyalty he ever had. Was it before River's death? Or was losing our oldest brother the catalyst that lit the fire beneath this scheme?"
Thinking of Aella's part in this is a hurt I’ve only felt once in my life, but Maddox isn't just Nevan's best friend—he’s his brother. "I don't think this type of betrayal happens because of one thing."
Nevan nods. "No, probably not. I always knew he was jealous of River and me. Our father favored us both, though River was always the true favorite. Still, I never would have predicted this."
His finger sticks in a knot in my hair, which he gently pulls apart before brushing through it again.
Our gazes lock, and I’m met with the sorrow and anger I feel in his stare. I hate it all. Hate the way I want to scream and cry at the same time. Hate the way all my hope of saving my friend has been ripped away and replaced with fury.
And I hate how I see the same brewing in Nevan.
I don't know how to rid myself of the emotions, so instead, I will bury them and distract myself the only way I know how.
I stop Nevan's hand from brushing my hair and twine it with my own as I sit. Desire simmers within me from when he fed, and I allow it to flow through me as my mouth finds his.
As we share a long, deep kiss, I wrap my arm around him and dig my nails into his shoulder blade.
He leans away from me, and as his eyes take me in, I fear he might pull away.
His gaze shifts into an unreadable expression, but his attention settles back onto my mouth, and a moment later, his lips again claim mine.
The yearning within me sizzles as he holds my face between his hands and slides his tongue over my lower lip. My mouth tingles, and I reciprocate by running the tip of my finger from his chest down his abdomen, tracing the curves of hard muscle beneath his tunic.
When I stop at the bottom of his torso, he groans.
"There's no reason to rush, Prince," I purr into his ear. "If this is my last time getting to fuck someone, I'm damn sure going to make it good."
The impending death that should terrify me only ignites my desire for Nevan. I don't want to think about any of it. The looming demise. The betrayal.
No, I crave to get lost in the lust I've felt for the prince since the moment I found him in the confessional.
He grips the back of my head and tugs on my hair.
My head tips back with the gesture, and I meet his hungry gaze with a smirk. "I'm all yours, Prince."
He answers by bringing his mouth to my neck.
I tense, wondering if he is about to bite into my vein. But his lips and tongue are gentle as they devour the sensitive spot just below my ear.
My moaning encourages him, and his mouth feverishly sucks and licks a path from my ear to my collarbone before lifting my chin with his thumb and ravishing my mouth again.
I guide his tunic over his head and then slip my fingertips beneath his pants and move them side to side slowly just below his waistband until finally gripping his hard cock. I swirl my finger around the moisture pooling around its tip, grip his length, and slowly tug it up and down.
As I continue to play with his cock, he slides the top of my dress over my breasts and circles his finger around my nipples until they harden into points.
A tingle skitters through my center.
Nevan lowers me to the ground with a long, deep kiss. When he pulls away from my mouth, he nibbles on my earlobe then draws a trail of kisses and licks down my neck and between my breasts. He slows to a torturous pace as he kisses down my stomach, peering up at me with a wicked smile saying he knows just how much his laggard pace is driving me mad.
Desperate, I reach for my clit, but he weaves his hand with mine. "Not yet, Priestess."
Goddess above, as he grins at me, I think I might die right here.
He licks from my lower stomach, straight to my nub, then rips off my panties in a swoop.
As his tongue swirls around my most sensitive part, I squeeze his hand with a moan. He alternates between swirling around my bud and probing my slit with his tongue. With every flick and suckle, I’m pushed deeper into pleasure, and when he slips two fingers inside me, I’m thrown over the edge as a wave of bliss overcomes me.
He nibbles on me a little more, and I tremble. When he kisses me again, I can taste myself on his mouth.
I fuse my lips to his. "My turn."
As I slip his pants over his hips, my gaze locks onto his as I kiss my own trail down his body. Unlike him, my teasing doesn't begin until my mouth is on his flesh.
I take my time, savoring each twirl and lick of my tongue. As I take him whole, his cock engulfs my mouth, and he groans.
As I savor him slowly, my hands cup his balls, earning another groan of pleasure.
He grips my hair, tilting my head back to meet his stare again.
After I flick my tongue over his tip, he pulls me to him and brushes his mouth to mine.
Our lips meet in a fierce kiss, his hands grasping my waist, pulling me against him. I feel the hardness of his erection pressing against me, demanding more.
Breaking the kiss, he whispers in my ear, his tone as sultry as the sea, "I want to feel you around me, Priestess."
His thumb slides across my lower lip.
My brow lifts as I tug his shaft. "What are you waiting for?"
I smile, my cheeks flaming with desire as I straddle him, as he reaches between us and guides his cock to my entrance. Slowly, I lower myself onto him, feeling his thickness fill me. A moan escapes my lips as I drop onto his length, glorious pressure building inside me.
He reaches under my ass and lifts me only to lower me back onto his erection over and over, each thrust upward meeting my descent, our bodies connecting in perfect harmony.
I rock my hips, setting a rhythm that drives us both wild.
I take in every detail of his beautiful face as he plunges into me again and again. Not long ago, my desperation for revenge made me hate him. I’d ignored the gravity pulling me toward his warmth, overshadowed by my yearning for vengeance.
Now, though, a new feeling flutters beneath my desire.
Need settles in his gaze as he slides in and out of my wet slit. I watch his expression, his usually bright amber eyes now dark with need. His strong jaw clenches with each thrust as my own yearning burns brighter and brighter until it erupts within me, another orgasm shattering through me.
As I come, my body tightens around him.
The desperate thirst in his eyes mirrors my own as I claw his bare chest, urging him on. Each thrust, each slap of our bodies, drives my lust higher and higher.
As soon as I've reached my pleasure once more, Nevan lifts me off his cock with one arm and roars, as, with the other hand, he finds his release, spilling his seed onto my thigh.
After, he tears a piece of fabric from his tunic and cleans me off with it, then we lay entwined as our breathing steadies, our hearts beating in sync as something within our souls seems to fuse.
I glance at my torn panties. "Guess I'm stuck going bare to the wind now."
Nevan shrugs, sweat pooling across his forehead. "They should have known better than to be in the way."
As I chuckle, I unroll my dress over my hips and fix its top. "You definitely showed them."
After we both are dressed, we settle back onto the uncomfortable ground to at least try to get some sleep.
I don't mention the echoing quakes of betrayal that resurface as the lingering desire wears off. Neither does Nevan.
Instead, I fall asleep in the crook of his arm, with no idea if we will leave the Blood Den alive.