Chapter 66

66

Ella

The prince of the Bloodvale loomed before me, his arms braced on the marble wall, a rain of hot water pouring off his back. Clouds of steam billowed around us. His expression was as intense as I'd ever seen it, searching my face as a battle raged behind his stormy eyes.

I swallowed. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His gaze fell to my lips, his brow furrowing ever so slightly. "I'm searching for a reason not to give you what you want."

My pulse quickened. "And?"

"I can't seem to find one." Water droplets glistened on the corded muscles of his chest, each sculpted with precision and tapering down below his navel in a sharp V. He was hauntingly beautiful in a devastating, heart-crushing way.

I'd fallen head over heels for the man. An immortal. The prince of the realm. A male who was destined to be married in a matter of weeks. I didn't know where that would leave us tomorrow, but at this moment, tomorrow didn't matter—only tonight.

Hell, I hadn't expected to see the dawn, let alone break the curse or find myself naked and in his arms.

"I want to be a part of you," I whispered.

His breath caught, and his pupils dilated.

I reached up and took his arm, kissing the underside of his wrist as he'd done to mine earlier. "Let me taste you. Let me feel what it's like to have your blood coursing through me."

His eyes darkened, all his hard-fought restraint crumbling at the touch of my lips.

"Please, my prince. Heal me. Let me be a part of you."

For an eternal second, he hesitated. Then, in a swift motion, he lifted his wrist to his mouth and pierced it with his fangs. A trail of crimson glistened on his lip as he offered it to me, two red dots marring the perfect skin. "I'm yours to take."

My heart pounded as I took his offering, laving my tongue over the two wounds, hesitantly at first—and then I drank.

A rush of euphoria engulfed me, a million bonfires alighting in my body, awakening feelings— desires —I didn't know existed. Tingles erupted across my skin, the aches and pains that plagued me suddenly dulling and morphing into something close to pleasure.

Cassius pulled, but I clutched his arm with both hands, swallowing each pulse of life, unable to slake the thirst that he'd awoken in me. I wanted more.

He watched me as he submitted, his attention rapt with pleasure and something else— admiration ? He was enjoying this. Enjoying my hunger.

When he finally extracted his arm from my hungry clutches, my anger flashed briefly at the denial. He wiped a smear of blood from my chin, and his lips curved into a wicked grin. "You're gorgeous when you're ravenous. I like seeing you take what you want."

My chest rose and fell, my blood—and his blood—humming through my veins like bubbles. It was intoxicating and unnerving, and a deep, unyielding ache throbbed at my core. "I want you."

"How do you feel?" he asked, a ghost of concern in his voice.

I glanced down at my body. Where there had once been shades of purple and blue, there was now an unblemished canvas of nearly perfect flesh. My bruises were little more than pale memories. The wonder of it lifted my heart, but the wounds were nothing. I grasped him, meeting his appraising gaze. "I need more."

I pressed my thighs together, hoping to ease the ache inside of me that was becoming almost too much.

"Do you, now?" His rich, velvety voice skated over my heated skin.

My frustration flared. I was certain he'd known exactly what his blood would do to me, how it would amplify my desire to unbearable levels.

I suddenly understood the murals that adorned the great hall.

He palmed my breast, molding it beneath his touch, brushing my nipple with his fingers. My head tilted back against the marble, and I couldn't stifle the moan that escaped my throat. Suddenly, his lips were on my skin, heavy and hot, trailing kisses down my neck, capturing my other nipple and grazing it with his teeth. The sensations rippled through my overly sensitive body, awakening parts of me I'd never noticed, each demanding equal reverence.

"Yes, more," I whimpered. "I need more."

I opened my eyes to find his on me, smoldering like molten fire. He was close, close enough to feel the heat from his body, which branded me like an iron.

He grinned wider, a look of pure wicked sin on his gorgeous face as he slid down my torso, his hands skating my sides while his lips pressed soft kisses along my belly until he was kneeling before me. He slipped his hands between my thighs, parting my legs so that my most intimate parts were on display.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I tried to shield myself, but he wouldn't allow it.

"Don't hide yourself from me." He left a trail of soft kisses along my inner thigh, his gaze locked on me. "You are beautiful, and I want to feast on every inch of you."

"Please."

He lowered his mouth, this time finding the bud of my desire, the sensations extinguishing my doubts and turning my legs to jelly. In a quick movement, he braced me against the wall of the shower, wrapping my leg over his shoulder as he began doing devilishly wonderful things.

"Cassius," I moaned.

He answered with one long sweep of his tongue, parting my folds and slipping his fingers deep inside me.

My fingers tangled in his hair, guiding him as he feasted on me like a man starved. Each wicked arc of his tongue brought me closer to the edge, deeper into this blissful haze where it felt like time had stopped. My heart raced, my breath coming in shallow gasps as every sensation became acute.

I whimpered as the liquid tension that had spread through me coiled tighter, a thread pulled taut, ready to snap.

"Come for me, Ella," he growled.

I braced against the wall, my body arching as I shattered beneath him. Torrents of pleasure radiated from my core, engulfing me in a glow of energy.

When the waves of ecstasy slowed, Cassius released me and slid up my body, his eyes dark with need. "You're beautiful when you come."

I kissed him, deeply and slowly. "I want more."

His stiff desire pressed against my belly, and the rising warmth of pleasure built again. His tongue dipped into my mouth, gliding against mine, hungry and unsated. Water cascaded around his shoulders, the heat and steam filling the space and shutting away the troubles of the world outside.

He pulled his lips from mine. "I want to be inside you, Ella. To feel you come around me."

"Yes," I breathed, pulling him greedily toward me.

Gripping my behind, he lifted me like I weighed nothing, and I cried out in surprise. I wrapped my arms and legs around him as he guided the tip of his length between my folds…and then he slid inside. His body tensed, and I gasped as he slowly spread me and filled me until I didn't know if I could take anymore.

Concern and strain etched his face. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Just move," I breathed. "Don't stop."

Desire flashed in his eyes, but the concern was still there. He slowly eased out of me before gliding back in on a groan. The pain abated, and pleasure spread, and then I was following his movement, my hips meeting each thrust, chasing desire.

"Fuck," he cursed, bracing one arm on the wall as he took me deeper. "You're so perfect."

I shook, demanding more and more of him each time he pushed into me. I wanted it to last forever, but my muscles spasmed with pleasure as my climax neared. "I don't know how long I can hold on."

"I want you to come with me," he said, and claimed my mouth. He kissed me slowly and reverently, like I was a goddess to be worshipped. White-hot desire flared, begging to be released.

And then it shattered.

I flew over the abyss, safe in his arms as he sank into me, his body tensing as he roared my name, giving me everything I wanted and more. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, until I drifted down to reality. My body relaxed, consumed with a contentment I'd never experienced.

Was this what lovemaking did to people?

He lowered his forehead to mine. "You are everything I never knew I needed."

My heart swelled to near-breaking, and a tear slipped down my cheek. "I'm glad it was you. From the first moment we met, I think I knew."

He kissed me, capturing my lower lip between his teeth before releasing it. "I think I did, too."