Chapter 39 #2
Before I can gather myself, she releases my hand and rolls onto her side, pressing her body against mine.
My breath catches at the sudden contact.
Her head settles on my chest, and my arm instinctively curls around her.
The sweet, honeyed scent of her shampoo hits me, and for some strange reason, my eyes suddenly burn with tears.
I grit my teeth and stare at the ceiling, body rigid with the effort not to break.
You’re going to hurt her, The Void purrs.
I squeeze my eyes shut, fists clenching as my breathing turns shallow, coming in soft, unsteady pants as I internally battle between wanting to hold her tighter, and wanting to run before I destroy the only good thing I have ever touched.
“Shit. Sorry, I didn’t think,” Daisy murmurs, panic threading her sleepy voice.
She starts to pull away so quickly, it’s as if she thinks distance will save me from myself. Without thinking, I tighten my arm around her waist and drag her back against me.
“Stay,” I whisper.
The word is so quiet I barely hear it myself.
It feels like a surrender, but one I’m glad to give to her.
For one awful second, I think she won’t have heard it.
But then she melts into me, settling her head back into the same place on my chest as though there is nowhere else she’d rather be.
And the simple acceptance of it nearly ruins me.
You’re going to end up killing her, The Void croons, delighted by how close she is. By how easy it would be to hurt her in this position.
But I would never. No force in this realm, or any other, could ever make me hurt a single hair on her head. I would tear the stars from the sky first. I would sacrifice myself to the gods before ever harming her.
“Korithax, you’re shaking,” Daisy murmurs.
She lifts her head, golden hair spilling over my chest, ocean-blue eyes searching my face with nothing but concern.
“I’m sorry,” I breathe, forcing out a long, uneven exhale. “It’s The Void.”
She doesn’t say anything, just continues watching me, waiting patiently for me to continue.
“It keeps telling me I’m going to hurt you. That I’m going to kill you.” I avert my gaze back to the ceiling, too afraid to see the judgement in her stare.
“Korithax, look at me,” she says with a firmness to her tone that I’m not used to. Steel where softness once lived. Queen where girl once stood.
But I don’t move. I can’t. Because I know she’s going to tell me I’m being stupid. Or worse… that she agrees with The Void.
The mattress shifts, and before I can understand what she’s doing, she climbs atop me, bracing herself above my body so her face hovers over mine, leaving me nowhere to hide.
Her hair falls like a curtain around us, shutting out the rest of the room.
I’m trapped with only her. And gods help me, I’ve never wanted to be trapped more.
She smiles softly, filled with warmth. Looking down at me the way she used to. As if I’m not broken at all. A small laugh escapes me before I can stop it.
“Stubborn thing,” I murmur, a reluctant smirk pulling at my mouth.
I hesitate for only a heartbeat before resting my hands gently on her hips, terrified of the tenderness in the gesture… and how natural it still feels to hold her there.
“I know you’d never hurt me,” she says calmly. “I trust you with my life, Korithax. Void or not, I don’t see you as a threat.”
The certainty in her voice hits harder than any plea could have. She places her warm palm against my cheek, and I instinctively lean into it. Her touch is soft, grounding, the kind of gentleness I still don’t know how to deserve.
“You fear me, Daisy,” I say quietly. “I saw it the other day when you were with Maelkar.”
“I did,” she admits without hesitating, her thumb brushing slowly over the stubble along my jaw. “But I don’t anymore.”
She meets my eyes, her gaze steady and unflinching. “You choosing to isolate yourself from everybody, from me, shows me you’re not a threat.” Those words settle somewhere deep in my chest. Because she sees the sacrifice in it, not the cowardice I accused myself of.
She leans across me, reaching into the bedside drawer and pulling something free. When she straightens again, still straddling me, the shift of her body sends heat straight through me. Her hips drag lightly over me, the soft curve of her body brushing where I’m already hardening beneath her.
A low groan slips from my throat, and her eyes brighten instantly. Mischief and triumph glittering in her gaze. My wicked little flower.
I narrow my eyes at her. “You did that on purpose.”
She giggles softly and the sound fills me with near euphoria. I didn’t realise how starved I’d been for it until now.
“Fuck,” I murmur, my voice rough. “I’ve missed that sound.”
“Do you want to know how much I trust you, Korithax?” she asks, her voice dropping lower, like velvet over flame.
My pulse kicks hard. I nod slowly, letting my gaze track down her body.
She’s wearing a short black silk nightgown with thin straps, the fabric clinging to every curve of her hips and soft belly.
The low lace-trimmed neckline reveals the swell of her breasts, the faint outline of her peaked nipples visible beneath the silk.
My mouth waters at the thought of licking and sucking on her sensitive flesh.
Even after death, after darkness, after everything I became—she can still bring me to ruination with barely touching me at all.
My attention is drawn away from her breasts by a glinting in her hand. My eyes widen. “Daisy,” I growl. “What are you doing?”
She lifts her other hand and presses the tip of the dagger to her palm, hissing softly as she slowly drags it across her skin. Beads of blood bloom instantly, the bright red crimson a stark contrast to her ivory skin.
The Void surges awake with a scream that makes my body ache. I grit my teeth, ignoring the way my pulse stutters—whether from The Void or the sight of her blood, I don’t know.
“Blood play, remember?” she purrs.
I watch, utterly transfixed, as she places her palm at her throat and drags it slowly down her chest. Blood smears across her skin as her nightgown slips from her shoulders to expose her to me, the bright crimson looking exquisite against her pale flesh.
Her head falls back, a soft moan escaping her lips as she coats her nipples in red.
My cock throbs painfully beneath her, trapped by my trousers. “Fuck, Daisy,” I growl. “You’re killing me.”
She looks down at me, heat blazing in her eyes, and takes my hand, placing the dagger into my palm.
Stab her. Kill her. Bathe in her blood, The Void screams.
I drop the blade instantly and shake my head. “No.”
Her brows pinch in confusion for a brief second, before she leans down, resting her forehead against mine, her warm hand on my chest, the other placed lovingly on my cheek. “You won’t hurt me, Korithax. I trust you.”
She rolls her hips slowly, her lips hovering just above mine as our breaths mingle. I grip the sheets, my entire body trembling as The Void claws at my control.
“You won’t hurt me,” she repeats on a breathy moan, her movements quickening.
Her nails dig into my chest, dragging a growl from my throat as she grinds her pussy against my rigid cock. Even through fabric, I can feel how soaked she is. She moves her hand from my face to tangle her fingers in my hair, brushing over my horns in a touch so intimate I shudder.
That’s when I snap.
I grip the back of her neck and crack my mouth onto hers, her fingers curling around the base of my horn as my tongue sweeps into her mouth, swallowing the soft moans that spill from her lips while she keeps rocking against me.
She tastes faintly of mint and something sweeter—something that is entirely Daisy.
“Fuck, Korithax,” she whimpers, her rhythm turning broken and desperate, every movement of her hips telling me she’s teetering on the edge.
My free hand grips her hip tightly, certain I’m bruising her. “Come for me, princess.” I groan against her skin. “Make a mess while you grind on my cock.”
I lean forwards and drag my tongue across the blood-slicked skin, the coppery taste igniting my senses. The Void purrs, but I shut it out the best I can. This is mine. This is hers. This is us.
I take her breast into my mouth, sucking hard before grazing my fangs over her sensitive peak. She jerks above me with a sharp cry, fingers tightening painfully in my hair as I mouth at her relentlessly—biting, soothing, then biting again until her whole body trembles.
“That’s it,” I rasp, feeling her come apart piece by piece. “Give it to me.”
Moments later, she shatters. Her cry rips through the room as pleasure crashes over her, her body convulsing above mine, thighs shaking, hips stuttering helplessly against me as wave after wave tears through her.
“Gods,” she breathes, collapsing against my chest in a boneless heap.
She nuzzles her face into my neck as her breathing evens out, and I trace slow circles along her lower back.
Wouldn’t she sound so pretty begging for her life as you strangled her, The Void whispers.
My fingers twitch instinctively before horror crashes through me. Violent images slam into my mind without warning—Daisy beneath me, limp and lifeless, my hands locked around her throat. Her skin drained pale, lips turning blue, eyes bloodshot and glassy as they stare at nothing.
“No.” The word tears from me on a raw, broken plea.
Terror detonates in my chest as I shove her away from me, lurching out of bed so fast, the room spins. My heart is pounding hard enough it feels ready to burst through my ribs.
“Korithax?” she gasps, barely catching herself before she falls from the mattress.
Confusion flashes across her face, followed instantly by hurt. I can’t look at her. If I look at her, I’ll see those images again. I drag my boots on with shaking hands, every breath ragged, every move frantic. My skin feels too tight, like The Void is clawing beneath it trying to get out.