Chapter 8
RAVENA
Ronan hasn’t been around today, and perhaps that's for the best. He has been visiting me all week, tidying up the place to make it feel more like home, which was very thoughtful of him. He helped me with tasks that I struggled with due to my arm, which thankfully has healed. This included assisting me into the bath; ever the gentleman, he didn’t look.
Not that I was self-conscious, but it made me feel comfortable allowing him in a little more.
Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t show his face. He’s too handsome for his own good, too charming, and worst of all, he makes me forget that I don’t trust people—that I can’t trust people. Letting anyone in is dangerous for them.
I also can’t afford to have another weakness, but God, I hated being alone.
Malrik has been gone for a while now, and I actually miss his weird, crazy ways.
Blood mages don’t really belong anywhere; a lot of them travel in the shadows to different realms. He has been sending me messages, letters that would appear beside my bed, each accompanied by a souvenir from the vampires he has killed.
He was sweet in his own messed-up kind of way, but maybe I’m just as bad because he doesn’t scare me.
All my cuts and bruises were healed, but I still wore the sling, even if it’s not broken, it’s still tender. I felt significantly better thanks to whatever concoction Ronan has been slipping in my soup.
Outside, a blizzard raged, transforming the world into a winter wonderland.
The snow blanketed everything, sparkling like a sea of diamonds under the pale light, and the skies were clear, casting a soft glow over the landscape.
Xarothar was curled up in his den, blissfully asleep, oblivious to the chaos outside.
He’s been doing that a lot lately, telling me it’s needed to become a true dragon.
Whatever that means.
I managed to expand his den for him to fit and keep him protected from the storms we would be having.
I still have no idea how I am supposed to keep him a secret.
We can’t go anywhere else because he would have to fly, and he would be spotted immediately.
This was such a mess; everything was a mess, and just thinking about it all gave me a headache.
Having a normal life is just a dream for me; just surviving had been hard enough, but now I needed to figure out how to save us both.
I wish my mother were here.
Taking a breath, I sank deeper into my bath, which was full of bubbles that smelt like vanilla and coconut, thanks to my elemental magic, and for the moment, I allowed myself to relax and forget about the chaos that was my whole life.
I had just finished reading one of my favourite stories, which had left me a little flustered, my thoughts immediately wandering to both Malrik and Ronan.
I was seriously sexually frustrated, and all I had were my fingers when all I truly wanted were them.
Tossing my book to the floor with a huff, I stood up slowly.
“Well, aren’t you a vision?” A sultry voice came from the doorway, making me jump up, surprised I didn’t fall, and my magic released a gust of wind from me.
“Raven, are you okay?”
I looked at the doorway to find Malrik standing there with that irritating sexy arse smirk on his face.
His shoulder-length, deep black hair shimmered with hints of blue; it was that dark, and tousled just enough to give him that effortless, rugged look.
His red eyes roamed over me, lingering on every inch of my exposed skin.
“Fuck, little witch, you look delicious,” he purred as he stepped into the room.
At that moment, I remembered that I was completely naked apart from some of the bubbles that clung to my body and the sling. The scars across my chest and the bite mark on my shoulder were on full display.
“I’m okay. Go back to sleep.”
Malrik sauntered in till he stood beside the bathtub, never blinking as his eyes drank me in. I have never been naked in front of anybody before, and it felt both exhilarating and powerful the way he was looking at me.
He looked at my arm in the sling, and I could see his eyebrow quirk up with curiosity, but the fury simmering beneath his red eyes made me swallow hard.
“What happened?” His finger trailed down my arm, sending shivers racing through my body.”
“Had a bit of trouble whilst you were gone, nothing I couldn’t handle,” I replied, trying to sound casual while my heart hammered.
The magnetic pull between us was undeniable, a tension that crackled in the air. Everything inside me screamed at me to kiss him, to close the distance and give in to the heat between us.
Malriks' expression darkened. “I’m sure you did, now tell me, did someone help you, and who?”
I bent down to pull the plug and stepped out, hoping he wouldn’t ask me again because I feel like he is the possessive type, not that he has any right to be.
I could feel his obsession with me wrap around me like a warm blanket, comforting yet dangerous, and I was torn between pushing him away or pulling him closer.
He gripped my chin and made me look at him, the cold air brushing against my skin, heightening the tension. “Tell me.”
“Does it matter? I’m alive, the vampires are dead.” I shrugged, his fingers digging into my chin lightly.
His hand slid down my neck before wrapping around and pulling me closer until our noses almost touched, my chest against his torso.
“You either tell me who helped you, or I will put you over my knee and make your ass red raw before I fuck your throat, without any relief for yourself.” He tightened his hold. “That’s what you want, isn’t it? Do you crave my touch? I've read your books, little witch.”
I gulped as much as I could, heat spreading through me even if the room was cold. It ignited a deep need I had buried, something I thought I could never have, and silently wished for since meeting him, even if it has been a short amount of time for me.
Licking my lips, feeling a rush of anticipation as I whispered, “No.”
A smirk curled on his lips, and before I could process what was happening, he closed the distance between us and pulled me in for a kiss.
Finally.
It was fierce and all-consuming, his lips soft yet demanding against mine. A wave of warmth flooded my chest, igniting every nerve in my body. It was my first kiss, and it felt as if the world around us melted away.
As our tongues entwined, the heat intensified, sending sparks coursing through my veins. My hands instinctively wrapped around his wrist, anchoring me as he deepened the kiss, his presence enveloping me. I could feel his passion, his want and hunger for me because I felt the same.
With a sudden, teasing bite on my lip, he pulled back just enough for me to taste the metallic tang of blood on my tongue. The flavour was intoxicating, a wild rush that made my heart race even faster.
“You taste delectable,” he uttered quietly, and I couldn’t help but grin.
There’s something seriously wrong with me.
He kissed me lightly again, and only for a second, before I felt him stroke up and down my arms, then he slowly cupped my face.
“I’m going to ask you once and once only because I may be a little psychotic, but I respect you, and if you say yes, then you're mine, Ravena.”
His finger twirled around a wet strand of hair, goosebumps spread across my skin, the word mine felt possessive, and honestly, if it were anybody else, I would knee them in the balls, but Malrik wasn't just anyone.
“Go on.”
His free hand undid my sling with ease, letting it fall to the floor like it didn’t matter—because nothing mattered but us. His eyes burned into mine.
“I want to taste every inch of you until you're trembling and wrecked. I want to make you come so many times you forget your own name and only remember mine. I want to drag your filthy little fantasies out of those books you read and make them real—make you beg for more.”
He leaned in closer, a manic sort of softness in his smile. “Say yes, and that’s it. You’re mine. Morning to night, I’ll take what I want. And I swear—on every twisted part of me—I’ll spend the rest of my life giving you everything you never knew you needed. Even if it kills me.”
Did I want that? I really did. I know he will never leave; he will never give me up, and he’s crazy, but he doesn’t scare me.
He could have killed me, but he didn’t, and he’s been protecting me for God knows how long.
I want to live a little instead of being that sad, lonely girl with secrets and a past that nobody would want to have.
I want him, I want this.
I nodded, the room blurred around me, then I found myself in my bedroom and pushed forward onto my bed.
The soft bedding contrasted sharply with the firm grip of his hand at the back of my neck, holding me in place so I couldn’t escape.
A thrill ran through me, a mixture of excitement and vulnerability as I felt the weight of his presence above me.
His lips brushed my ear, warm and maddeningly slow, his breath a heated whisper that curled down my spine.
“Count to ten for me,” he rasped, voice dark and commanding—no room for questions, only obedience.
Before I could respond, his palm cracked against my arse with a sharp slap. I gasped, the sting blooming into a delicious burn as he pressed me down, holding me exactly where he wanted me—trembling, breathless, and utterly his.
“One,” I responded shakily.
Another slap just as hard came next, “Two,” I continued, my voice louder now.
The thrill of the game only intensified my desire. Each number felt like a challenge, a dance of power and submission that left me breathless.