Prologue Rhianelle #2
He lunges straight for my legs, taking a bite just above the cut.
A sharp gasp leaps out of my throat the moment his teeth sink into my flesh.
I thrash and kick from his grip, struggling to break free.
It’s as useless as fighting a wall. I force myself to take a deep breath to calm down.
If he was a scavenging goblin, I would have been dead by now.
The pain gradually ebbs away replaced by a delicious sensation.
I think this guy is tending to my injury… in his own weird way.
“Stay with me, little fawn.” His dark voice fills the night.
My long silver hair spills to the ground as he removes the stag helm of House Wiolant from my head. I watch the muscles of his throat shift as he stares down at me.
“Hi,” I greet him tenuously. The blood loss must be taking effect now. I feel so light-headed and foggy.
“Sorry, I had to give you a higher dose,” he says with a low chuckle.
An unbidden shiver goes through me when he gathers me into his arms, lifting me up. His scent is enticing and comforting. It’s like the woods and the ocean breeze back home. I melt into his warm embrace. He settles down under a desiccated oak tree, clutching me closer to his chest.
The Fae King is dead.
It’s not my victory but I am relieved. All around us the battle rages on. Eirik’s death doesn’t stop the flames from licking every inch of Aelfheim’s walls and buildings. There will be nothing left of my kingdom but ashes. Sorrow grips its claws in me, sending tremors to every bone.
The warrior hauls me closer to him to keep me from the wind. I dare a glance at the person who saved me. It’s an effort to reach his cheek with my injury so I plant a kiss on his jaw instead. The feathery kind princesses would bestow upon their champion.
“Thank you,” I whisper to his rippled chest.
His dark gaze falls on me for a long moment. What I gave him was barely a kiss and yet desire flares in his molten eyes. A strange ache settles in my chest over that look. His lips are so close to mine, so tempting and alluring. I try lifting my head for another shot at it.
“We shouldn’t,” he suddenly says, shaking his head. “You’re drunk.”
Drunk? No, I am enchanted.
I loop my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. The feeling the moment our lips collide is cosmic. He tastes warm and heady like crackling embers mixed with lightning. I don’t have a chance to savor more when he pulls back a little.
“Little fawn…” he mutters against my mouth.
The rejection startles me, and I shrink back slowly. His hand grapples my chin until I’m looking at him straight in the eyes. “Know that I want nothing more than to learn every inch of you with my tongue.”
Maybe it’s the deep baritone of his voice, maybe it’s what he said, but that odd sensation has now spread from my chest to my breast and between my legs. He kisses the top of my head and caresses my cheek. “But you’re not you right now. It’s the venom I gave you talking.”
“Of course, I am me,” I whine; the throaty sound doesn’t seem like my own. Maybe he’s right. I’m not myself at the moment. My mind feels airy after that bite and I don’t feel any pain in my leg anymore. I stroke my hands over his chest, feeling the hammering of his heart going as wild as mine.
“We can try this again when it’s cleared out of your blood,” he murmurs against my hair. He looks like he’s struggling to hold on to his last thread of self-control.
I move to kiss his collarbone, my teeth gently scraping over his skin. “But I want you now.”
I slide my hands lower down to his abdomen, admiring the sculpted muscle there. A violent tremor rocks through his body in response. Something in him finally snaps. He releases a deliciously dark laughter that sends chills down my spine. “Fuck it. You’re only a dream.”
I don’t have time to figure out his words before his heat invades my body as he reels me closer to him.
Our mouths fuse together and his tongue grazes mine.
Just like that, I forget how to breathe.
The ferocity of his kiss is unlike anything I’ve ever known before.
It’s ravenous and completely primal. Nothing has ever come remotely close to this.
His teeth catch my bottom lip, nipping it softly and the world tilts right under my feet.
“You’re too delicious to resist,” he hisses as we part.
“Then stop resisting,” I tell him breathlessly.
He captures my mouth with his again. The stranger is too intense, and I struggle to match his passion. Heavens above, I don’t even know his name. I gasp into his mouth when he tears off my armor and plates. His kisses travel down the column of my throat, leaving shivers in their wake.
Before I know it, he has me pinned to the ground. A soft mewling noise leaves me when his hand slides to my breast, squeezing the tip between his fingers. My body quivers beneath his touch, singing to life. It’s like I’ve been asleep in a long slumber and now every nerve ending in me is awakened.
“I bet you taste good, little fawn,” he rasps over my delicate ear.
His mouth latches on the spot where my neck meets my shoulder.
Fire ignites at the first stroke of his tongue on the sensitive skin there.
My hands fly to clutch the smooth sinew of his back desperately, wrapping my thighs around his waist. I can’t get enough of him.
He moves on top of me in a beautiful back-and-forth rhythm, licking and sucking on me.
The sensation of his hard body hitting every aching part of me is almost too much to bear.
A sharp gasp leaves me when he suddenly bites. The waves of pleasure hit me so hard my back arches, drowning the pain and everything else. He continues moving and feasting on me as my legs quiver and jerk, the aftershock of my release rippling through my body.
Gods have mercy, this is too much. He is killing me.
The stranger pulls away, crimson fluid smearing his lips. Yet the fear does not surface in my heart. I still crave for him, need him like I need the air to breathe. I drag his mouth for another kiss. The taste of my own blood on my tongue startles me awake.