33. WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
Chapter thirty-three
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
The kiss was slow, exploring. His lips moved against hers, and Aekeira sighed, her eyes slipping shut. She parted her lips, and his tongue thrust in, sending tingles down her spine.
Every nerve ending sparked to life. Lord Vladya deepened the kiss, growing more demanding, he rose until he hovered over her. One hand splayed across her neck, caressing, brushing the sensitive skin there, while the other found her nipple and tweaked it.
Aekeira jerked. He pinched and tugged, sending sharp pulses of pleasure through her. Fire ignited in her veins, liquid heat pooling deep in her feminine core. As he played with her breasts and kissed her thoroughly, Aekeira’s body came fully alive.
By the time he pulled back, every part of her hummed with need . Eyes dark with lust, pupils blown wide, her breathing loud, lips slick and swollen.
"Little witch." Desire was clear in his eyes. He slammed his lips against hers once more, kissing her hungrily as if he couldn’t get enough. When he pulled back, his voice dropped an octave. "Sexy little witch."
An urge filled Aekeira. Familiar and strong, like the night in the woods. Rising to her knees, with a moan of surrender, she flipped over, parted her thighs and gripped her butt cheeks. Utterly exposed.
She heard a low snarl, followed by a sound so soft, Aekeira still had a hard time believing it came from her grand lord. A drawn-out purr.
Aekeira soaked it in. She would never get tired of hearing it.
"My beast loves this. Your submission," Lord Vladya said huskily. "It does things to us.”
The rustle of clothes caught her attention. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw his erection, hard and ready, a drop of precum at the tip.
Lord Vladya grabbed her hips, pulling her to the edge of the bed until her body hung on the cusp while he stood behind her, his manhood aimed at her entrance.
Aekeira swallowed, her nerves tingling with want and anxiety. The latter didn’t stop her from parting her thighs wider .
But instead of the rough penetration she'd always come to expect, Lord Vladya leaned in, his lips brushing the skin of her back in soft, lingering kisses.
Her heart fluttered . Aekeira stared ahead, watching the curtains dance slowly in the breeze. Each kiss trailed lower, creating shivers and warmth in her.
Lord Vladya entered her with two fingers.
Aekeira cried out, pleasure slithering through her like lightning. His strong hand pressed into her lower back, holding her in a perfect arc as his fingers thrust in and out of her wet channel.
Oh...! Heat engulfed her, burning her alive from the inside out, yet instead of pain, there was bliss. Pleasure in its purest form. Untainted.
Moans filled the air. Small cries and desperate whimpers, all hers, as he drove her higher and higher . He paused, his breath hot against her skin, sliding a third finger inside.
The burn of the stretch tore a gasp from her lips. “Too much.”
“Not enough, little bird.” Lord Vladya groaned, flexing them. “Not nearly enough.”
Aekeira moaned. His kisses did not stop, trailing down her collarbone and along her spine, leaving goosebumps in their wake.
By the time his fingers withdrew, Aekeira was shaking, teetering on the edge. She gripped the sheets, bracing herself as his hardness nudged her folds.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the hard slam, but he entered her slowly.
Aekeira cried out as he opened her up. Inch by inch. Stretching her, filling her.
Yet, he kept gliding in. How much more of him could there possibly be?
"Hell, you feel..." Lord Vladya broke off in a stuttered breath. "You feel so good wrapped around my dick." With a final thrust, he filled her to the hilt.
Aekeira buried her face in the mattress, panting. Overwhelmed. It felt... good.
How could something that always hurt, like swords forged in Tartarus, be this pleasurable? As sweet as the nectars of the gods.
Lord Vladya leaned over her, covering her with his body. “Okay?”
She would have scoffed if she was capable of it at that moment. Since when did he need her permission to move?
"Y-yes," she gasped, her cheeks heating up. But she wanted . Aekeira pressed her hips back against him desperately.
“Someone needs it badly,” he drawled, then straightened. He withdrew, and plunged back in. Again. And again. And again.
Aekeira couldn’t control the moans spilling from her throat. She was full, almost to the point of discomfort. Yet, her pleasure mounted with every stroke.
"You are not a Syren," he rasped, pulling out and plunging back in. "You weren’t made for this." His words were punctuated by another slow, deliberate thrust. "Your body wasn’t made to take my dick, to wrap around me so tight, and squeeze me like a snake," he growled, fucking harder with maddening control. "You weren't made for me."
Leaning in closer, the grand lord gripped her hair, pulling the loosened knot. "So, why." He ground his hips blatantly, his hardness pressing deep, and Aekeira whined. "Tell me why." He brushed his lips against her ear. "Do you feel so goddamn good ?"
Aekeira cried out, fighting battles words couldn't explain. Pleasure attacked every nerve she possessed. His words took time hitting home, but when they did, they lit her up from the inside. He enjoyed her body that much...?
His thrusts quickened. The rhythm became faster, more insistent, sending shockwaves of sensation through her. Aekeira was in ecstatic heaven.
Never, ever, had she ever thought it could be like this. Feel like this.
Lord Vladya leaned over her again, his chest pressing against her back. One hand gripped her hip with bruising force while the other braced firmly on the sheet above her head. He moved even harder, faster. More demanding.
Aekeira’s mind went blank, pleasure surging through her like wildfire. It consumed her, coursing through every nerve in her body.
Deep in her belly, a tension began to coil, tightening with every stroke. Pushing her closer to the edge...
"I wish you were a Syren, Aekiera," he whispered against her skin. “I would unleash on you. I would fuck you so hard, no one else would ever compare. I would ruin you for any other male."
"Lord Vladya," she whimpered, her toes curling. Unbelievable swarms of sensations caused a riot in her. Aekeira's vision blurred, body quaking.
"Ukrae." His pace faltered. "I need to ravage you from the inside. Fill every hole you possess with my seed until it leaks from those gaping holes."
The gods... His mouth! Aekeira held the sheets in a death grip, hiding her flushed face against the sheet as fresh liquid leaked from her.
"I need to be inside your womb. So badly, it almost hurts to fight it."
She froze. The cloud of lust and pleasure lifted a bit. Memories rushed back, vivid and sharp, of the last time he’d had that instinct with her. It had hurt so much.
Panic surged. I have to get away…
"No. Don’t." The grand lord's hold on her hip tightened, stilling her struggle. The kiss he pressed to the top of her head was soft. "I will fight it. I can fight it."
Picking up the pace again, he slammed into Aekeira so hard she yelped.
"You will not get away from me," he gritted out, driving into her with another brutal thrust. And another. Each one harder than the last.
Ecstasy tore through her, unrelenting , flooding her senses as if the pleasure had never ceased. Until thoughts disappeared again, and all she could feel was him. Everywhere .
"Oh gods, oh god, ahhh," she let out a song of unintelligible words, wrecked on his fat dick.
He took her like an animal. The sound of skin slapping against skin was loud, and harsh.
Oh, she was definitely going to feel him for days after this.
That coiled tension deep in her belly wound tighter and tighter, until it finally… snapped .
Aekeira screamed as she shattered, convulsing. The force of her release so powerful it felt as though she were tumbling through the air, weightless and lost in bliss.
But Lord Vladya didn’t slow. His moves became primal, each thrust almost feral. She heard him groan loudly, but it sounded distant.
Her orgasm stretched on, impossibly long, her body quaking beneath him as wave after wave of sensation fried her brains to a puddle. Gods. Gods.
Lost in the ocean of sensations, everything she felt was amplified. Devilish gods. Holy souls of the spirits.
Aekeira had no idea how long she floated, but by the time she regained her senses, his weight was pressing her down into the mattress, pinning her flat on her stomach. His chest heaved against hers, his breath ragged and uneven.
She hadn’t noticed him coming, hadn’t felt the familiar burn of his semen as it coated her insides. But now, she felt it. Thick, not-so-warm, dripping out of her in slow streams.
Absolutely filthy . But that was okay, Aekeira liked being filthy for him.
As she fell asleep, her love shone radiantly in her heart.
I love you, Lord Vladya.
I might never be brave enough to say it aloud, but just as the ocean never dries up, what I feel for you, will probably exist... forever.
Emeriel woke slowly, disoriented.
Her head throbbed with a dull ache, and her mouth felt parched.
She groaned softly, only to flinch at the discomfort lancing through her shoulders and back. Something rigid pressed against her spine. A pole.
She was standing naked, her chest bindings were gone, her wrists stretched above her head, the coarse bite of rope cutting into her flesh.
As she shifted, her ankles screamed with a similar pain, bound tightly to keep her rooted in place. Tethered in a way that left her in a painful, awkward stance.
Panic rose within her. Where am I? What’s happening?
Her eyes darted around. A cave, and it was dark. Only the faint glow of torches casting shadows on the walls saved her from being completely blind.
"Look who finally decided to join us," a voice sneered behind her.
She twisted her head toward the sound, but her neck protested. In the end, she gave up. "Who are you? What do you want with me?"
A figure stepped in front of her, their face obscured by the hood of a cloak. The person held a flaming torch aloft. "She's awake!"
A brittle, crackling sound reached her ears, drawing her gaze downward.
Firewood. Large bundles of it were heaped around her feet, encircling her legs like a prison.
The torches... they aren’t for light. They’re going to burn me alive.
Terror seized her. "Please, let me go!" she begged, her voice rising in pitch. "You have the wrong person, let me go! I didn't do anything!"
"Oh, but I don’t think we do." Another masked figure entered the cave, his voice colder than the first.
The scuff of boots against stone accompanied the sound as another figure stepped forward, followed by several more. Their bulky silhouettes and deep voices left no doubt, they were men. Urekai men. Five, so far.
"I swear, I’ve done nothing wrong!" Emeriel's mind was racing. Who are they?
Could this be the work of Mistress Sinai? She’d always threatened to kill Emeriel. Could she be behind this?
"Your existence alone is a problem," one male sneered. "A nuisance. Just the thought of you being our grand queen disgusts me. Your kind is a disease that should be eradicated. We don’t need someone like you."
Emeriel’s heart slammed against her ribs as his words sank in. They know.
They knew her secret.
They know everything.
Panic clawed at Emeriel like a vise. She yanked at the ropes like a wild animal desperate to escape its cage, ignoring the searing pain as they bit deeper into her wrists.
"What makes you think you're good enough for our grand king?" Another masked men spat. "You actually spent your heat with him, which is why you stink of him, like he pissed all over you. How dare you!? You're not worth a strand of his hair!"
"Enough talk," another said impatiently. "Light the fire and let's be done with this."
"No," a different one growled, his arms crossed over his broad chest. "I think we should have some fun first before killing her. To waste her like that, without a single ounce of pleasure, seems like such a shame. Don’t you think?"
"G’s right," another chimed in. "She’s his Soulbond . Specifically created to belong to the grand king . I mean, aren’t you even a little curious to… explore her?"
"Exactly," the one referred to as G agreed, his gaze sweeping over her. "She might be human, but she's far from ugly. Just look at those breasts… still swollen from her heat. There's no rush to kill her; we can take our time."
Emeriel was panting. They were going to kill her. Strip her from existence as if she had never been.
No one knows where she is. No one can save her. No one—
A small whisper cut through the chaos in her mind. Someone can. Your beloved.
Emeriel stilled.
Her first instinct was to reach for the only one who could help her, to call to him through their bond. But then she hesitated.
If I do... my secrets will be exposed.
There would be no hiding she was a female. That Emeriel was Galilea. That she was his Soulbond .
Could she do it? Could she summon the courage to reveal everything—to risk everything?
Wouldn't it be better to just die?
Death would mean silence.
No rejection, no humiliation, no disgraceful execution.
If she died now, no one would ever have to know how she lived, her secrets and lies.
It was tempting, so tempting…
But if she died, she would never see him again. Never feel his arms around her.
If I'm found out, I will lose him anyway. Emeriel squeezed her eyes shut, tears slipping down her cheeks. I can't call him. I can't!
"Our orders were to kill her, you fool," the angriest of the group snapped. "Keep it in your pants. The kingdom is overflowing with female holes you can stick that in. Find one of those!”
"Enough!" a commanding voice boomed from the back, silencing the others stepping closer. "We have wasted enough time. Why are we arguing? No one's touching her. G, control yourself. The orders from R were to kill her, not have fun. Now light the damn fire!"
A sob escaped Emeriel's lips. Resting her head against the rough wood, she closed her eyes, resigned.
Deep within her soul, she reached out, calling with all her heart silently through the bond:
"My Beloved, I need your help. My Beloved... please, help me."