37. Violette
VIOLETTE
I’d never have guessed my soulbound would be such a docile beast. I’m not entirely sure what to make of it. His willingness and calm are more than a little disarming. Not to mention the kind, genuine words he’d spoken. The sort of sentiment I haven’t heard since… well… Azrael.
It triggered a myriad of emotions.
One moment, I’m a breath away from mounting him like a dog in heat; the next, I’m disgusted. Mere minutes after that, he nearly inspired me to weep tears of joy.
He made me feel seen.
If not thoroughly unsettled.
I’m far too vulnerable to this male’s behaviors.
I must steel myself against him. He must prove himself. Prove his worthiness before I give him a shred of affection.
I am not my mother.
With Levi now unconscious and prone on my bed, I realize my kidnapping him might have been a smidge impulsive.
Though I’m not entirely without a plan. Setting aside the fae-magic-powered soldering iron, my thumb caresses over the still-warm, enchanted runes lining the supple interior of the collar held in my hand.
Buttery soft black leather with delicate silver chains, spikes, jewels, and pearls decorate it.
I do so love pretty things.
I’d initially planned for something more masculine, but… my creative liberties ran away with me.
It will prohibit him from using violence against me, as Lucen did all those years ago, should I displease him. And should we feed from each other and he be gifted any powers, it will suppress those as well, thanks to the palladium.
I don’t plan on making him wear it forever, just until I can trust him.
Until he proves to me he’s not a monster.
As modest as my house may be compared to some, my land is not.
I wanted the protection of the woods and all its many creatures with whom I have built a rapport and aided over the years.
They seem to greatly appreciate my flueratheurgic skillset, and I enjoy using it.
I warned them of Levi’s arrival, lest they try to eat him or steal him for themselves.
Shutting off the lamp, I exit one of my workrooms as I will a crate full of medicines and elixirs to the front of my home for my woodland friends, and make my way back to my bedroom.
My heart flutters merely at the sight of Levi.
I’d put him under the covers, but he has since kicked them off.
His cock, even flaccid, is handsome—magnanimous in length and girth, with a tattooed shaft, silken skin, and a proud crown—it makes my clit tingle and my core clench.
Focus.
I close the distance between us and slip the collar around his neck, securing it with a hook-and-eye fastener at the back that’s enchanted so only I may remove it.
I can’t help but admire the way his dark lashes kiss his high cheekbones, the plushness of his cupid’s bow lips, the short scruff lining his strong jaw...
Or the way his brows gently knit together, followed by the slight downward turn of his mouth, as if he has to be tough even in sleep.
With hands reluctant to leave him, my fingers begin to study the many scars and tattoos decorating his heavily muscled flesh.
Eventually, my gaze returns to his face.
His expression softens further and further beneath the weight of slumber, where he’ll drift so deeply, thanks to my elixir, he’ll reach a realm few have entered.
One which is ruled by Somnus, God of Dreams and the Subconscious.
Without Thessaly or Horace, he is perhaps the only person I might almost call a friend. Even if we haven’t ever met in waking life.
I do wonder what he’ll think of Levi.