House of Secrets and Vows (Crown of Deceit #1)

37. A Flood of Desire

37

A FLOOD OF DESIRE

T he moment Nevan's teeth pierce my flesh, a rush of desire floods through me.

Through the fog of lust, I barely hear Mavet chuckle. “Ah, the pleasure and pain of a vampire's bite. It can be quite overwhelming for those with fae blood."

I tense as he speaks the truth he knows about me. I glance at Nevan to see his reaction, but he's so consumed by my blood, I don’t think he heard the Blood King.

Seconds or minutes later, I can’t tell, Nevan’s gaze meets mine for a moment before he closes his eyes again in ecstasy as another surge of desire courses through me.

I pull my thighs together as images of the prince flash through my head, a replay of the times before now when I wanted him in this way. Strolling through the palace grounds, drunk on fae wine. Dancing together at last night’s ball. Only moments ago, when I learned that he’d fed on a woman yesterday to save a prisoner’s life.

Despite my heavy limbs, I manage to lift myself up slightly and try to pull away from Nevan's grasp, but his grip on me only tightens.

A sly smile slides onto Mavet’s face. "Don't fight it, love. Enjoy the pleasure while you can."

The crowd cheers, signaling someone else has died, but all I can do is tip my head back and focus on my racing heart. As the ache between my legs subsides, numbness washes over me. My limbs turn to lead, and even if I wanted to try to escape, I couldn't.

Tatiyana taps Nevan's arm.

"That's enough, Prince." When he doesn't respond, she sinks her nails into his bicep. "You need to stop."

The world spins around me, the muted color of the stone ceiling above blurring into a haze.

If he doesn't release me soon, it will be too late.

"Nevan," I manage to get out in a whisper.

“You’ll kill her," Tatiyana says.

Time slows as I linger on the precipice of death. As the chill of icy fingers rakes across every inch of my body, I think of Aella.

I give one last plea as the world goes black. "Please."

"Please be all right," Nevan's voice is the first thing I hear as my consciousness returns.

Something smooth and gentle runs over my forehead and down my cheek.

My mouth is dry, and my body is cold. Every inch of muscle aches as I will my limbs to move.

When I open my eyes, I find Nevan staring at my face.

"Thank the gods," he says. "I'm so?—"

"Shhh." I cup his face in my hand. "It's all okay."

I sit up slowly, my body still weak from his venom and the loss of blood.

"You'll feel better in a couple of hours," Tatiyana says.

Another round of cheers reminds me of where we are.

When I stare into the room, only two competitors remain. One is the man Nevan saved. It takes me a moment, but I remember his name: Euris.

His opponent is the man who’d killed the women without flinching. He moves in a half-circle around a dead body on the ground, his attention never wavering from Euris. “I must admit I’m surprised you made it this long after you were so close to death yesterday.”

Euris ignores him, spinning so his back is never turned toward the man.

“Any final words for the crowd?” The man scans the balcony. “What about your woman? I can pass along a message. Even covered in filth, she’s quite the beauty.”

This is enough to slice through Euris’s calm demeanor. Raising his sword, he sprints at the man with a shriek that sounds more animalistic than human.

The man meets his strike with ease, the smug expression on his face not faltering as steel meets steel with each swing of Euris’s blade.

As Euris aims for the man’s throat, his opponent blocks the attack and pushes Euris back a few steps.

The man tosses his sword from one hand to the other and then back. “Perhaps Mavet will gift me your woman as a prize.”

Euris charges again, but the man is ready and spins just as Euris strikes.

Then with Euris’s back now facing him, the man spears the sword straight through his back.

Nevan winces as Euris falls to the ground.

The Blood King pats the prince’s knee. “And he was so close to gaining his freedom.”

Fucking monster. If I had any strength, I don't think I'd resist the urge to attack the bastard, even if I'd stand no chance.

But after losing so much blood, my body feels as delicate as a wilting rose, my muscles sluggish and sore.

Colesef returns to the room below and raises the hand of the victor. "Congratulations to our winner."

Whatever else he says, I ignore, as a wave of dizziness attacks me.

When I try to stand, my legs crumple beneath me, and I stagger to the side.

Nevan catches me and scoops me into his arms.

"I don’t—" I start to object, but when our gazes meet the pain in his stare keeps me from arguing.

I might not want to be carried, but my body is too drained to walk back to our room, and I sure as fuck don’t want to stay here.

"Thank you for your help," Nevan tells Tatiyana, but he doesn't acknowledge Mavet.

Instead, with me still in his arms, he stomps away from the Blood King.

Neither of us speaks on the way through the hallways, but as soon as we are alone in our room, he sets me on the bed and says, "I'm so fucking sorry, Zariah."

I hold my now-throbbing wrist to my chest. "You don't need to apologize."

"I fucking fed from you."

"If you hadn't, you would have dove into that pit, and Mavet would have killed you."

"That's not an excuse. I should have better control." He bends in front of me. "I swear I will never?—"

I grab his face between my hands. "Don't make a promise you might not be able to keep. If it's ever between you drinking my blood and dying, I'll choose drinking my blood every time."

He shakes his head. "I could have killed you."

"But you didn’t."

"If Tatiyana hadn’t been there, I would have."

"You don't know that."

His horror-stricken gaze meets mine. "I heard you pleading for me to stop. I even heard Tatiyana tell me aloud I would kill you if I didn’t, but my body wouldn’t let me quit until her voice spoke into my mind and commanded I release you."

My head spins from the lack of blood, or maybe it’s the wine. "You're here with me because I made you agree. I threatened your life. I knew the risk I was taking by coming to the Blood Den." I hadn't thought Nevan would be the one to suck me dry, though. "I don’t know what Mavet wanted to happen. Did he want you to kill me or was he hoping you’d be unable to resist interfering in his messed up little game?"

“Fuck if I know. He keeps claiming to want me as his ally, but outside of testing the limits of my bloodlust, he hasn't much tried to convince me that an alliance would benefit me in any way."

"Tomorrow is our last night here. Perhaps we’ll figure out what he’s actually after." I think of Aella. "If we can’t find Aella by then, we need to leave."

"But—"

I cover his mouth with my hand. "She wouldn’t want me to die trying to save her. And she wouldn’t want me to get the future king of Valazica killed when he’s someone who can actually make this kingdom a better place."

I’ve had my doubts, but the more I see Nevan's heart, the more convinced I am that when he is king, he can make real change, even if he’s a vampire. His desire for blood doesn't make him evil like I once thought.

His lips on my skin send a tingle to my clit.

Slowly, I remove my hand. "We should sleep. You take the bed this time."

"I’m not going to make you sleep in the chair."

"It isn’t making me if I offer."

"I already feel awful."

"Fine, how about we sleep on the bed together."

"You sure?"

"As long as you promise not to bite." The joke falls flat on my tongue.

But he gives a small smirk. "Deal."

The lingering effect of his venom remains as we both tuck ourselves underneath the covers, and I feel his body so close to mine. Even with our backs facing each other, I hear the inhales and exhales of his breath. I press my thighs together, urging the ache to disappear.

The next morning, Nevan inspects the bite mark now marring my skin.

His finger circles the wound. "Gods above, I fucking hate myself."

As his pinky grazes the bruise, I wince. "I've had worse."

"You should hate me. When we leave here, you should use that dagger to slit my throat like you'd planned."

I grab his hand and twine our fingers together.

"I'm not going to say you're blameless in this, because you aren't. You made a really fucking bad decision, but this"—I glance at the mark—"I offered this willingly. We're in this together now, Nevan."

"I never want to hurt you," he says. "Or anyone."

"We need to get through this final dinner. Do what you must to get us out of here, and from there we'll figure it out."

"I'll never be able to thank you enough." He moves his hand from my wound to my chin. "I know we're here because you want to save your friend, but you've shown more faith in me than anyone else ever has."

"I'm not perfect." I bite my lip. At last night's event, Mavet shared my secret as Nevan drank from me, but the prince hasn't said anything about it, and I can only assume he was too consumed in bloodlust to hear what the Blood King said. "Trust me. If you knew..."

Before I can say another word, the prince's mouth is on mine. His lips are soft and gentle as they press into my own. I return the kiss, the familiar tingle of desire returning deep within me.

His thumb slides from my chin to my jaw as our kiss deepens. He pulls back, and our gazes meet.

"I shouldn't have—" he starts, but this time I interrupt him by bringing our mouths back together.

My hands rest on his chest, my nails digging through the thin fabric of his tunic. He grips the back of my head and holds me close, and as I lean my body into his, I’m met with the scent of oakwood.

Our kiss deepens as our tongues twine. The longing I felt last night is back with a vengeance, and every inch of my body quivers as his free hand finds my ass, tugging me closer.

With our bodies so close, his firm length presses into me. I grind my body against it, earning a moan.

He pulls his mouth from mine only to move it to my neck where he kisses a trail to my collarbone as he reaches under the top of my nightie.

It's my turn to moan as his finger flicks my nipple.

He turns his attention to my other nipple, this time circling around it with a teasing grin.

I return the favor by brushing my fingers over his cock.

He smirks as if to say he understands my willingness to play the game and tears apart my nighty to reveal my breasts.

The cool air chills my bare skin, but the cold doesn't last long as his mouth covers one of my nipples as he cups my other breast.

As his tongue swirls slowly around my areola, my pleasure builds. Just when I think I might explode with desire, he slips a finger inside me.

I twist my hips on his touch and sneak my hand under his trousers.

He groans as my skin grazes the tip of his bare cock. I swirl the wetness dripping from him, and he shudders.

Just as I'm about to take his entire length in my hand, a knock on the door startles us both.

"I've brought you clothes for tonight's dinner," Colesef says from the other side of the door. "Mavet expects you in ten minutes."

I sigh, removing my hand from Nevan's pants. "That was?—"

"Risky." He frowns as he hands me my nighty from the ground.

We stare in silence at each other for nearly a minute.

Before he kissed me, I was going to tell him about who I am—about what I am. He deserves the truth.

But now, as my body yearns to press into his again, I can't bring myself to speak the words that have the power to change everything we've become to each other, whatever that might be.

Because there's no way he'll look at me the same after he learns my truth, and despite everything he's done, I don't want him to hate me.