The Death King (Death #1)

12. Calista

12

CALISTA

I didn’t realize what had happened until the damage was done.

I went down a path with Talon I’d vowed never to tread—and now I was stuck. I couldn’t undo what I did…and I couldn’t say I regretted it either. When he’d pressed his face between my legs, I didn’t know what to expect…but it was the best pleasure I’d ever had. His hot mouth, his aggressive tongue, the scruff from his jawline as it scratched my inner thighs.

It was indescribable.

He didn’t even expect anything in return.

General Titan had tried to shove his dick into my mouth only once—and he’d learned his fucking lesson.

But I did it for Talon because I wanted to. Because I wanted to show my gratitude? Because I felt indebted after what he did? Because I was just in the mood? I didn’t know. Maybe it was all those reasons.

The next time Talon entered my quarters, I knew what would happen.

He was my enemy, and I vowed I would destroy him the way he’d destroyed me…but I wouldn’t be able to stop it.

I didn’t want to stop it.

How the fuck did I get here?

A knock sounded on the door, and I nearly jumped from the couch. “Yes?”

One of the servants poked his head inside. “His Highness requests your company for dinner.”

The moment had arrived.

“And he’d like you to wear this.” He held out a hanger, and instead of containing a black dress, it was a bra and underwear, lacy and see-through, clothing that had no purpose at all—except to get fucked in.

He didn’t place it on the armchair, his eyes searching my face for wrath. “This was very intricate work for the seamstress, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t burn it.”

All I did was stare at him, wanting to burn it just on principle, but not having the heart to do it.

He crept into the room and placed it over the armchair before he walked back and shut the door.

Once I was alone again, I felt a flush through my body, both from excitement and utter terror. My eyes stared at the flames and ignored the book in my hands. I hadn’t been reading it anyway, just staring at the words on the page.

I knew where this night would lead, and there was no stopping it. Even if I didn’t show, he would come here, and it would happen anyway. I had the power to say no, to stop it, something I’d never had before. But I knew I wouldn’t use it.

It was inevitable.

I showered then did my makeup in the bathroom, something I hadn’t done since I’d arrived here. I’d never worn makeup as an adult because I’d never wanted to be pretty. General Titan asked me to wear it—so I made sure I never did. But now I put it on, outlined my eyes, covered them with dark powder, colored my lips with a red tint that somehow made them plumper. When I looked at my reflection, I almost didn’t recognize myself. My fair skin was unblemished, my eyes looked bigger, my lips fuller. I probably looked like the women he usually bedded rather than the dusty prisoner covered in rags.

I put on the lingerie set he’d asked me to wear and covered it with a long-sleeved dress I’d found in the closet. It was olive green and thick like a sweater, comfortable against my skin and warm. After a couple of minutes of deep thought, I left my chambers and ventured to his part of the castle.

The swarm of guards there stepped aside to let me pass like they knew I was coming.

I moved to his door and raised my fist to knock, but my closed hand hung in the air instead. I lowered it and let myself in since he was waiting for me, had probably been waiting for the last twenty minutes since I’d taken so long.

I turned to the dining room, expecting him to be sitting at the head of the table—but it was empty.

“Wine or scotch?” His deep voice filled the entire room even though he spoke quietly.

I turned the other direction, toward his bedroom, and found him sitting at a dining table that had been placed at the foot of his bed—just for the occasion. There was no head of the table because there were only two chairs. We would be so close together that our hands could touch on the surface.

He sat there, arms crossed over his bare chest, looking at me with those dark, confident eyes.

I swallowed, hating the flash of erotic memories that exploded across my mind. It made me hot and cold at the same time. I crossed the sitting room and entered his chambers, the four-poster bed in the center of the room with an additional sitting area around a fire. A door seemed to lead to his private bathroom.

His unblinking eyes were locked on my face, taking in my appearance with his ruthless stare. He didn’t rise to pull out my chair. Despite our passionate night together, he was just as cold as ever.

I took the seat across from him, feeling my heart drop at the same time as my ass.

A servant came from nowhere and removed the silver domes that covered the plates, revealing the steaks, potatoes, and greens underneath. Steam immediately wafted to the ceiling, like they hadn’t brought the food until a moment ago.

The servant excused himself and left.

Talon hadn’t moved. He was carved from stone, his eyes contemptuous as always. “Wine or scotch?”

“Whatever you’re having.”

He reached for the amber bottle and poured two glasses. The wine was left untouched.

He took a drink, not a sip, and then returned the glass to the table.

“You didn’t have to do all this.”

He grabbed his utensils and cut a strip of his steak. “Would you rather I march into your chambers and bend you over?”

That would have made it easier. Less intimate. “Yes.”

Instead of starting his meal, he stared at me, his head slightly cocked, his eyes hungry—and not for food.

“I just want to get this over with.” I avoided his gaze, his stare too much.

“Didn’t seem that way last night.”

The fact that I sat there willingly, that I noticed how hard his chest was the second I walked in the door, that I felt a thrill down my spine when I remembered his kiss, was such a fucking betrayal. A betrayal to my father. To the people of Scorpion Valley. To everyone on this continent. I wanted to sleep with the enemy…a despicable act. I grabbed my fork and stabbed it into a piece of broccoli that I wouldn’t eat.

He continued to stare at me, arms still across his chest. “Tell me how I know you.”

My eyes were locked on the broccoli stem with all my might, refusing to flinch or give any cue that he was right.

He continued his focused stare. “Will you ever tell me?”

I put the broccoli in my mouth and forced it down.

Silence passed. Heavy silence accompanied by a burning stare.

After I chewed it, I looked at him again.

His stare was as intense as it always was. The man didn’t need to breathe or blink. Sometimes I wondered if he was truly alive because he didn’t have the same needs that I did. There was something different about him, something I couldn’t pinpoint.

He brought the glass to his lips and took a drink, finishing it off until there was nothing left behind but a single drop. When he returned the glass to the surface, it came down with a forceful thud. “I think your hatred is misplaced.”

I think it’s right on the fucking nose.

“There’s more to me than you realize.”

“Really?” I set my fork on the table and crossed my arms over my chest. “Then enlighten me.”

He stared, thick arms crossed over his muscular chest, eyes so black they were forever night.

I waited, counting the seconds as they ticked by.

His gaze remained hard.

“I’m giving you the opportunity to prove me wrong, and you have nothing to say?—”

“Because I don’t owe you my life story.”

“Then I don’t owe you the benefit of the doubt.” The hatred and resentment burned so deep, but I was still entranced by that hard jawline and even harder eyes. His raw handsomeness was easier to ignore when there was distance between us, but now that his lips had been on mine and his dick in my mouth, it was a lot more difficult to dismiss. It was impossible to pretend he wasn’t the most attractive man I’d ever seen in my life. Even when I was a young girl, I’d recognized it—and he hadn’t aged a day.

“I’ve given you freedom?—”

“After your regime made me a prisoner?—”

“I’ve given you the freedom of choice. I’ve never crossed a line you’ve drawn. Your requests have always been respected—even when I didn’t want to respect them. I have the ability to do anything I want, but I’ve never done that to you. Every moment of passion I’ve had with you has been earned, not taken. So yes, your hatred is greatly misplaced.”

I wanted to look away, but something about his gaze kept me locked in place.

His angry stare continued to bore into mine. Invisible smoke blew from his nostrils. “There are men like General Titan—and there are men like me. The difference is very clear.”

I found the strength to look away and sever the contact between our eyes. I shouldn’t be grateful that he respected my wishes, not when we should live in a world where every woman’s choices were respected, but that simply wasn’t reality. What had happened to me had happened to countless others—and it would continue to happen.

“I’m not sorry that I conquered your lands and your people, but I am sorry that it came at such great personal cost to you.”

I still wouldn’t look at him, not even when I heard the sincerity in his voice, heard it ring like a bell from a church.

“I only speak my truth—never lies. I mean what I say, and you know I mean it.”

I turned back to him, the locked gates over my heart coming open and swinging forward.

His stare hadn’t changed, sharp and puncturing my skin. “Let me fix my wrongs. Let me fix you.”

“I can’t be fixed.” My words escaped as a painful whisper. The scars he saw were a mere fraction of the destruction. “I wouldn’t be here right now if I had just mustered up the courage to end it, but I was too much of a coward.” I’d had two different opportunities, opportunities that I squandered, opportunities that would never come again.

I stared at the table as I let the silence linger, as I remembered being submerged in the warm water, unable to see the surface because of the bubbles that floated on the top. I remembered the dagger General Titan had carelessly left behind. Instead of slitting my own throat, I’d chosen to lunge at his…unsuccessfully. The memories came and went, and as they passed, I felt a stare more intense than ever before.

My eyes lifted back to his.

His stare pierced my flesh so forcefully, he looked angry—not angry with me…but just angry. Eyes as dark as midnight suddenly became fathomless, their pain and sorrow visible like poetry on parchment. Seconds passed until a full minute had come and gone. His eyes never strayed from my face, my words provoking him in a way nothing else ever had.

The tension was so much I almost looked away, but the power in his gaze kept me still.

“You’re not alone.” His voice was soft in comparison to the harshness of his stare, smooth like the surface of the sharpest blade. “I understand your sorrow.” He didn’t wear the expression of a broken person, his eyes always so confident and demanding, but his words rang with sincerity.

“Do you?” I whispered, wanting to know his story the way he knew mine.

But he let the silence envelop us both. Let it linger like a festering wound. Let the tension seep into our bones.

The disappointment hit me like a boot to the stomach. I was desperate to know the man who had subjugated my people, figure out how he could teeter on the edge of good and evil without committing to either side. I shouldn’t care about his character, not when my only focus was to usurp this dictator, but I did care. I cared more than I wanted to admit.

His stare hardened once more, his sympathy slowly evaporating like water from a boiling pot. His hand moved to his glass, and he took another drink before he stared at the table, his hands resting on the surface. “You’re young. You’re beautiful. You deserve to know the pleasures of the flesh. A man shouldn’t take that away from you. You deserve to come so hard it hurts.”

A flush stole over my cheeks, and I wanted to look away, but I was enraptured by the way he spoke about delicate matters so confidently.

He raised his chin and looked at me, a man unafraid to make others uncomfortable. “Let me erase those memories. Let me teach you. Let me help you. You’ll love a man someday, and you’ll be able to fully experience that bliss because this part of you will be healed.”

“You sound so altruistic.”

“My desire for you is selfish. But my desire to make you feel good is not.”

“Why do you care?” For a man who didn’t care about anything, he sure cared about this.

He was quiet for a long time. “Because I do.”

I was the one on display. I was the one analyzed. But he gave nothing of himself—ever. There was no explanation. There was no revelation. I hardly knew him better now than I did when I tried to steal his dragon.

His dark eyes bored into mine. “Will you let me?”

The more he asked for my consent, the more I softened. For the last seven years, I’d had no rights, no voice, no opinions. I was at the mercy of the powerful men around me, and the more I tried to fight, the worse the outcome. But now I was in the presence of the Death King, a powerful necromancer fused with a mighty dragon, arguably the most powerful man who’d ever set foot on this continent, and I somehow had more power than I ever had—because he gave it to me. “Yes.”

I could feel my heart every time it beat. It was like a drum in my rib cage, the pace increasing as the tension burned like the fire in the hearth. He stood directly before me, a mountain over a valley, and his hand slowly moved to my throat, his fingers warm to my cold skin. His thumb slowly swiped up, brushing from the corner of my mouth over my cheek, his eyes taking in my appearance with a softness he’d never shown before. Now that he got the answer he wanted, there was no more fight in his stare. He was just calm…gentle.

I was anything but calm. My heart was about to give out.

He lifted my chin slightly, bringing my lips closer to his. Then he dipped his head and kissed me, a landing so soft it made our lips feel like pillows. He cupped my cheek as he let the sensation of our joined mouths travel down our spines to our toes. He remained there, savoring it, before he tilted his head slightly and kissed me again…and then again.

The nerves calmed. My heart finally eased. I felt his lips brush against mine, catching my bottom lip and gently sucking it into his mouth, and then my mind turned quiet. All the thoughts that made me pace in my room, that made me question everything and anything suddenly vanished.

My hand moved to the wrist of the hand that cupped my cheek, feeling the heat of his skin to my ice, seeing the cords that popped from his flesh. I traveled upward, feeling the mountains of his muscles, the valleys along the way to his shoulder. My fingers found a river and slowly trailed up, moving to his shoulder before my arm hooked around his neck.

His kiss deepened when he felt me touch him on my own. His arm circled my waist, and he pulled me into him tighter as his hand slid into my hair. Now I was hard against his chest, feeling the same slab of stone that had erected the castle walls that protected us.

His tongue came into my mouth next, meeting mine before they fell into a dance. His fingers dug deeper into my hair. His breaths became more intense. He tilted his head the other way and kissed me harder, the softness from our landing erased by the passion that filled the room. The fire crackled and burned in the hearth, the sound accompanying our loud breathing and hungry lips.

His hand moved down to my ass and squeezed one of the cheeks through my dress.

I breathed into his mouth at his touch because I’d never been grabbed like that before.

His hands slid farther down until he bunched the material in his hand. Then he started to pull it up, moving slowly and giving me a chance to stop it.

I didn’t.

Once he lifted the material to my torso, he drew it the rest of the way over my head, pulling my hair with it before he let the dress fall to the floor. He was just about to kiss me when he noticed I wore the lingerie his servant had provided. His eyes were looking over the thin material that barely left anything to the imagination.

If General Titan had gotten me the same outfit, I would have tried to hang myself with it. But with Talon, I put it on…and I felt beautiful wearing it.

He stared for several long seconds before his head dipped, and he kissed my shoulder. Then my collarbone. One of his arms slipped underneath my ass, and he lifted me, bringing me into his chest so we were nearly eye level.

He kissed me again, his hand moving into my hair as a single arm held my weight against him. “Lock your ankles.”

My legs hooked around his body, and my ankles came together, supporting me against him.

Both of his hands squeezed my ass, and he held me there, kissing me, my arms hooked around his shoulders, our heated embrace turning scorching once more. My fingers dug into his short hair as I kissed him, as I felt the distant burn between my legs, a burn that made me feel tight all over.

He carried me to the four-poster bed and rolled me to my back as he climbed on top in a single fluid motion. His head dipped to my chest as his hand forced its way underneath my back, causing me to arch my spine as he unclasped my bra. It was suddenly loose, and he bent his head into the material to push it up, his hot lips replacing the lace that had been there just a second ago. He kissed the valley between my breasts and dragged his tongue up before he gripped one of my tits and gave it a manly squeeze.

I lay there, both of my hands deep in his hair, experiencing caresses for the first time. My nipple slipped into his mouth and was sucked hard before the other one got the same treatment. His hard mouth did the gentlest things to my body, gave me the softest kisses. But then his mouth turned hungry and sucked me so hard, little marks were left behind.

He abruptly sat up, his hair a mess from the way I fisted it, and slid his thumbs into the lace over my hips. He hooked his thumbs and pulled, stopping when he got to the bottom of my ass. His eyes lifted to look at me, waiting for me to lift my hips so he could remove the bottoms.

But I was suddenly aware that I would be fully nude once he succeeded. Last time we were intimate together, my shirt had stayed on. Once this material was gone, it would just be my naked body underneath him.

“I want to see you.” He had the deepest voice, the sexiest voice I’d ever heard.

It coaxed me into submission, made me forget my reservations in light of the anxious pulse between my legs. I lifted my hips.

He slid the material the rest of the way.

Now I was completely naked on the bed, the draft from the cold suddenly noticeable over my bare skin.

Balanced on his knees, he slipped his thumbs into his pants and pushed them down, taking the underwear at the same time so his cock could come free. Pulsing and enormous like last time, it had a defined vein that ran from top to bottom. It oozed like last time, a drop of liquid that belonged on my tongue.

He kicked his bottoms the rest of the way until he was as naked as I was. All muscle underneath tight skin, veins like rivers that spanned across his body. A thick vein ran up from the base of his cock to the area below his belly button. The area had been cleared by a razor, so the details were easy to see. He had a deep V in his pelvis, the muscles so distinct, the separation was unmistakable. His muscular arms bulged as he leaned over me and suspended his weight above mine, his knees moving to separate my thighs.

My heart started to race again, like a stampede of deer sprinting through a valley. I was open to him, and our naked bodies were closer together than they’d ever been before. His narrow hips squeezed between the flesh of my thighs, and his cock dropped to my stomach. He was fully over me now, his head above mine, the bulging muscles of his arms flexed from holding his own weight above me.

My heart beat so hard I was certain he could see it pop out of my chest.

He dipped his head and caught my lips with his, feeling my upper lip with his gentle caresses. He tilted his head and swiped his tongue against mine, gently bringing me back to the passion that had been subdued by my trepidation. His kisses deepened, his breath filled my lungs, and then he dug his hand into my hair as he conquered my mouth.

Then he grabbed his base and tilted his hips back to push his throbbing tip inside me, the thickness dwarfing my small size.

My hands planted against his chest, and I gave a gentle push. “Wait…”

He adjusted me underneath him, tilting my pelvis back as his arms hooked behind my knees. His fingers balled into his fists as they pressed against the mattress, and he held his sculpted physique over me, dark eyes possessively glued to mine.

My hands had moved down to his abs, still pushing with a small amount of force.

Potent arousal burned in his eyes, and I could see all he wanted was to shove that big dick inside me. “Tell me to stop, and I will. But I’m not doing this again.” His face was just above mine, his dark eyes marking me with his powerful stare. His beautiful face had the same red tint he’d worn when his dick was in my mouth, the kind of desire that burned him from the inside out. “Because next time, I won’t be able to listen.”

My hand shifted on his chest, moving under his left pec to feel the gentle thump of his heart. It was slow and easy, like he was sitting in a chair in front of the fire on a quiet night. It didn’t race like mine.

He dipped his head closer to me, his hand still deep in my hair, his eyes shifting back and forth between mine as he waited for the permission he desperately wanted. “Come on, baby.” The endearment rolled off his tongue so easily, as if he’d said it a hundred times.

The burn returned between my legs. Seeing how much he wanted me made me want him more. Gave me a jolt of courage to think about the present rather than the past. Words didn’t form on my tongue, so all I did was give a slight nod.

There was barely a breath before he pushed himself inside me, his swollen head hitting a wall because I was too narrow to take him easily. He rocked his hips and gave another push, forcing his head into the narrow slit that refused to take him. General Titan had thrust and thrust until he forced his way inside my depths, but Talon gently applied the pressure and started to sink as my body accepted him. He made it one inch and then another, slowly entering my channel.

I cringed in expectation of pain, but I felt no pain at all.

My wetness soaked him the second he was inside, moistening his head with the slickness my body produced from his kisses and touches. It coated him completely and made his entry smooth. It was a tight fit, but at least it was relatively easy.

He closed his eyes and groaned as he sank, appreciating my wetness and tightness. “There we go.” He slid until he ran out of room, some of his length still outside of my body. He was longer and thicker than General Titan, and the difference in fullness was immediately apparent. It should hurt infinitely more, but it actually felt…good.

He remained still, giving me a moment to adjust to the sensation, his dark eyes showing a deeper level of possession than before. The tint on his face deepened, and he clenched his jaw as a sexy growl escaped his throat.

He started to move, slowly pulling out before he slid inside me again, testing the way our bodies moved together, his breaths coming out shaky as he felt the lack of friction in the pool of desire between my legs. His eyes were on me all the while, his jaw clenching, his breaths deeper and more rugged.

My hands slid farther up his stomach to his chest. My breathing matched his with quiet moans escaping my lips at the most unexpected times. It was nice and slow for a long time, my body feeling his thickness every time he was inside me.

Then he started to thrust, hitting me deeper and harder, rolling his hips once he was fully sheathed and applying pressure straight to my clit. His core tightened before he rocked his hips, the muscles flexing and releasing in a sexy dance.

I just lay there and took it, feeling the indescribable pleasure build between my legs. My wrists weren’t restrained, and my hands explored the hard muscles of his core, feeling his rock-hard stomach and his chest, the searing heat of his skin. Every time he thrust inside me, I felt the heat pool deeper in my stomach, felt the tightness that seized every muscle in my body. He felt good, but he looked so good too, leaning over me, his perfectly chiseled body working to thrust inside me over and over.

It went on for minutes, and I could feel that pool of pleasure grow bigger, just the way it did when his mouth was pressed against my aching clit. It was a slow creep, but I wanted it to be that way because the buildup was as good as the explosion.

His right arm left its spot under my knee before he removed the other. My legs were free, but he directed them around his torso.

I locked my ankles together automatically, my heels resting right at the top of his ass.

Now his chest was closer to mine, his hand deep in my hair, his face directly over mine. He thrust and ground against me, pushing my clit harder than he had before as his cock filled me with the thickest fullness I’d ever felt. His face was just inches from mine, and he watched the desire dance across my face. “I can’t wait to feel you come on my dick.”

A shiver of pleasure glided up my spine and made everything tingle for a few seconds. My hands slid up his back and felt the muscles under the skin, the warmth at my fingertips.

“You’re almost there,” he said between his breaths. “Pussy’s getting tighter…” He dipped his mouth to mine and kissed me as he continued to rock into me, as he gave me his dick and his pressure. The kisses were heated at first, but then they became shaky, both of us losing our focus as the pleasure burned white-hot.

The fire became an inferno. It started at my navel and crept down, intensifying as it struck its target. My lips couldn’t kiss his any longer. All I could do was breathe and gasp, feel myself choke on my moans as tears sprang to my eyes. It was nothing like the climax he’d given me before, as good as it was. This was one far more intense, like his hand squeezed my entire body and forced the pleasure into every vein and every nerve. He had full control of my body and made me feel exactly what he wanted me to feel.

My nails sliced into his skin like tiny daggers and slowly dragged over his shoulders, down his back, and all the way to the top of his ass. My hips started to buck toward the ceiling at their own insistence, and tears burned my eyes and blurred my vision.

“Fuck yes,” he said against my lips. “Come on that dick, baby.”

My eyes closed, and I felt my forehead against his, his body still thrusting into me, making the last vestiges of satisfaction last a little longer. The intensity diminished, and the pleasure started to wane, pooling underneath my body and disappearing into the mattress. The heat between my legs faded, and then I was aware of how hot and sweaty I was, the sweat that clung to his skin, the conflagration that engulfed us both.

His thrusts turned elongated, slowed down but went deeper, his body grinding into mine, his breaths shaky. The color of his skin started to tint further, blotched marks of red down his arms and on his chest. He pushed himself entirely within me, making me wince in pain from the fullness. But he didn’t stop because I didn’t ask him to.

I wanted him to feel good, as good as he made me feel.

His face dipped to my cheek, his hands digging into my hair. “Fuck.”

My nails dug deeper and deeper, feeling his length harden just a little more before release. I knew what was coming based on my experience with General Titan, but instead of wanting it to end as quickly as possible, I enjoyed every second of it, embraced every moment of the build, savored the heat.

His final pumps were accompanied by a deep moan, his pace quickened for a short period of time, and then his body jerked in pleasure. His breaths were loud against my ear as his fingers tugged on my hair harder. His head lifted over mine as he slowly ground into me, his eyes heavy with the pleasure that just scorched his body.

This was the moment he was supposed to pull away, but instead, he looked me dead in the eye for several long seconds. His dark eyes wore a constant menace, a shadow that seemed to lurk in the corners like ominous clouds, but right in the center and deep below the surface, I saw a hint of gold. It was impossible to discern if we weren’t close like this, if we weren’t still connected after the intimate throes of passion. “I told you it would be different.”

After he left to take a shower, I crawled under the sheets and fell asleep. I knew I was knocked out because the dreams were constant and vivid, shifting from images of Talon to General Titan.

Then I heard a voice. “A watched pot never boils—I’m sure you’re familiar with the phrase.” It was quiet, almost a whisper, but the depth of Talon’s voice was easily recognizable because it’d just been in my dreams.

My eyes opened, and slowly, the scene came into view.

Talon sat in the armchair by the fire, wearing only his black boxers, and he looked at the other armchair as if someone occupied it. His stare was hard and cold, obviously displeased as his dark eyebrows were furrowed on his forehead. His curled fingers rested against his jawline, the veins taut and about to pop.

His eyes instantly shifted to me, even though all I’d done was open my eyes, but the reaction was so sudden and intense it was as if he’d heard a noise, a lamp crashing off the nightstand or something more abrupt. He still looked displeased, even more so.

I sat up and felt the sheet slip away. “Were you talking to yourself?” My voice came out hoarse and raspy, and I glanced out the window covered with curtains to discern the time even though it couldn’t be determined by the stark black that came through the opening in the middle.

He continued his irritated stare.

I waited for an answer even though he never answered my questions. “Come to bed.” I saw that the fire had burned low beside him, hungry for another log.

He remained, his elbow propped and his other arm down along the armrest. “I bed my lovers. I don’t sleep with them.”

“So you’re just going to sit there all night?”

“No—just until you leave.”

I looked around the room, seeing my clothing sprinkled around the bed where they’d fallen. “You could have told me that.”

“I expected you to be gone when I got out of the shower, but you were asleep. Thought it would be rude to wake you.”

“I think it’s ruder to sit in that armchair like a statue instead of sleeping beside the woman you just fucked after pursuing her relentlessly for weeks.” I kicked the sheets back and left the bed, turning my back to him as I gathered the dress from the floor. I left the bra and panties because I wouldn’t wear them again. I pulled the dress over my head and looked at the dinner we hadn’t eaten.

His expression didn’t change. “I assumed you wouldn’t want to sleep with me either.”

“You think I’ll fuck you but not lie unconscious beside you?” I asked in disbelief. “Yes, that makes a lot of sense.”

“You’re taking it far too personally.”

“No, you’re just an asshole.” I smoothed out my dress and slipped on the boots I’d worn earlier. Instead of leaving the dinner to go to waste, I grabbed the plate and the utensils to take back to my room.

“At least the precedent is set, and we never need to discuss it again.”

“Precedent?” I asked. “You think this is going to happen again?”

“Judging by the way you’re so offended, you assumed the same thing.”

Not anymore. “Goodnight.” With my plate in hand, I walked to the door.

His footsteps were behind me. “You can stay and eat your dinner.”

“And interrupt your statue time? I’m good.” I moved to the door and turned the knob.

His hand planted against the wood above my head.

After an irritated sigh, I turned back to him. “You wanted me gone, didn’t you?”

He looked down at me with darkness in his eyes and crowded me until my back hit the door. “Like I said, don’t take it personally .” His hand remained against the wood as he looked down at me. “My preference for solitude has nothing to do with you.”

I looked into the same eyes I’d already stared at so deeply—and the fleck of gold was missing. They were all darkness and shadows, all endless abyss. “Were you talking to someone?” My eyes flicked back and forth between his, seeing a different man than I saw a few hours ago.

His eyes mirrored mine, regarding me with the same scrutiny. He grabbed the doorknob and started to open the door, forcing me to move out of the way. “Goodnight, Calista.” He gestured to the quiet hallway outside his chambers. “Sleep well.”