Chapter 79
Belle
I stared at the man before me, seeing him for the first time.
His cheekbones were more sculpted than I expected, his eyes framed by thick lashes and strong brows. He was striking and lethal, and yet so much of the tyrant was gone, replaced by features of a dreamer. A man with a vision.
So much was different, yet I knew him. His haunted expression. How the corners of his mouth lifted in that infuriatingly assured way, a mask for his pain and disappointment.
The king pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry for everything. I should have faced the truth long ago—I need you, Belle. My heart belongs to you, if you’ll have it. If you’ll trust me one last time.”
He was facing the loss of his soul, and he was standing here, putting his faith in me.
The part of me that had been hurt too many times wanted to push him away, to deny him and my feelings. To build new walls.
I couldn’t.
Despite everything that he’d done, despite every wall I’d built, I believed him. I’d fallen for him. And I couldn’t deny it any longer.
Pushing onto my toes, I brushed my lips against his, his energy tingling over them like sparks of flame.
The rest of the world slipped away, the crushing weight of what lay ahead gone.
All I could think of was the man before me, our hearts close, his blood singing inside, pulling as if our fates were bound.
His mouth responded, joining mine, begging me to give in to everything I wanted.
I dragged my hands over his chest, over his shoulders, pulling him closer, trying to close the shallow distance between us that felt like a chasm.
Whatever lies I’d told myself, he was what I needed, too.
I kissed him, his words echoing with each touch of our lips.
You are all that I want, and all that I believe in.
It was like taking off his mask had torn away the last barrier between us.
A low growl built in his chest as he fisted my hair, angling my head so that he could kiss me deeper, his tongue making promises of wicked things to come. And gods, I wanted them to come. I ached for him. I needed him more than anything ever in my life.
My belly clenched as liquid heat spread between my thighs. Sensing my need, his kisses grew more hungry, more feral, like his dragon was just below the surface.
He lifted me to his hips in a fluid motion, his hands gripping my waist as if he feared I might slip away. “I need you.”
“And I need you,” I echoed breathlessly.
Suddenly, we were moving fast. I clutched his shoulders as dizziness muddled my head for a second, and then my back crashed into something hard. Books toppled off the shelf behind me, thudding against the floor, causing dust eddies to swirl around us.
I pulled back, needing to fill my oxygen-deprived lungs. I met his molten gaze. How long did we have together? How long before the curse consumed him? I couldn’t waste any more time. I grasped his shirt, pulling him closer. “I need more.”
“Tell me to stop now, princess,” he rumbled, his eyes now a rich shade of honey. “Because in five seconds I’m going to be inside you.”
Hazel. Gold. Honey. The colors weren’t just a trick of the light. They shifted with his moods, and I knew exactly what this color meant: he wanted me.
“Don’t you dare stop,” I said breathlessly, a smile on my lips.
“Finally, a command I’m happy to oblige,” he said, voice thick. “My immortal blood means that I’m clean, but if you’d like me to wear protection, I will.”
“No,” I said quickly. “I’ll take a tonic afterward.”
I’d never been with a man without protection before, but I trusted Valen, and in that moment I didn’t want anything between us.
A low rumble built in his chest, and in a quick fluid motion, his hands dived beneath the skirts of my dress, shoving them up my thighs before making quick work of my undergarment. The sound of silk tearing and the flush of cool air made me gasp.
“So fucking wet,” he said, his voice husky as I unfastened his pants and freed his length.
My mouth opened as uncertainty fell over me. Gods.
Reading my expression, he grinned and dipped his mouth to my neck. “Don’t worry, princess, it’ll fit.”
I wasn’t entirely sure about that, but when his teeth grazed my skin at the same time as his finger began rubbing that delicate bundle of nerves between my thighs, all doubt left me, my body loosening with want.
“So damned soft,” he growled as his fingers dipped inside me.
Yes. I wanted this. I wanted him.
A shiver spread through my core, and I moaned, the sound echoing through the silence. He had me panting and grinding against his hand in seconds, chasing that throbbing pull at my center like life depended on it.
I’d never felt this before, never let my inhibitions come crashing down so easily—but with him, I couldn’t help it. He could make me come undone just as easily as he could make me want to murder him. He saw me. He knew me. Better than anyone.
“That’s it, princess. I want to feel you clench around me and shatter,” Valen purred, voice aching with restraint.
His words sent me over the edge. My vision exploded with bursts of light as my core tensed, my muscles shuddering with waves of ecstasy that kept coming. When the warmth subsided, it wasn’t enough. I wanted more. I wanted all of him.
Valen kissed me softly, hunger and need burning in his eyes. “You ready for me?”
“Gods, yes.” My thighs were slick with my desire, and that ache in my center had returned. I rolled my hips against him, needing him inside me.
He closed his eyes and silently cursed. “I’m trying to take this slow, but if you keep doing that, I won’t answer for what happens next.”
I leaned forward and caught his lower lip between my teeth. “It’s a good thing you have centuries of practice under your belt when it comes to restraint.”
He gripped my backside and lifted me, spreading my flesh as he gently positioned himself at my entrance. “Has anybody ever told you that you’re a wicked little vixen?”
“Never,” I said on a gasp as he eased into me slowly.
He paused at the precipice, savoring the way my body welcomed him. “Are you alright?” he rasped, his iron control clearly being tested.
“Mm-hmm,” was all I could manage because of the way he was stretching and filling me. Could I take all of him? It didn’t matter. I didn’t want him to stop for anything in the world.
I dropped my forehead to his and whimpered gratefully as he eased further into me, slowly and deliberately, letting me adjust before sinking deeper.
Valen hadn’t been kidding when he’d said he’d ruin all other men for me. There was only him. There would only be him.
At first, the pressure and the fullness felt more than I could handle, but my muscles soon relaxed, and heat bloomed in me.
He sank all the way into me, and I moaned, feeling my core clenching around him with anticipation.
“Yes,” I breathed.
His body trembled with carefully coiled tension, and I wanted to give him the release he craved as much as I did.
I moved against him, pure delight racing through me. “Take me, Valen. Don’t hold back.”
The dragon king slowly pulled out, then buried himself inside me again and again, any pretense of restraint gone.