14. Adrianna

14

ADRIANNA

E verything is a mess. My mind feels torn by the memory still playing on repeat, and I wouldn’t say I’m a coward, but when Raiden offered me an out, I took it.

Now, as he tugs me toward the exit, I can’t help but wonder what’s going on as the sense of urgency behind his powerful strides leaves me intrigued more than anything.

Am I being distracted from what matters? Yes.

As the queen of the kingdom, should I be focused on everything else instead? Also, yes.

But beneath it all, I’m still just a woman losing my footing and I need a minute to breathe.

When we step outside into the night air, I make a mental note to put more effort into being outside tomorrow since all I seem to see is darkness. It’s consuming me in every way possible, and it’s not helping my mentality. I want to feel a gentle breeze on my face, the sun on my skin, and the hope in the air that only some strong vitamin D can give me.

“Where are we going?” I finally ask, frowning as Raiden pulls me toward a carriage sitting idol by the steps.

“We’re going to do what I’ve been wanting to do for days. What I wanted to do when I started looking for you a while ago. What I still intend to do to you now,” he states, his voice firm with a mixture of frustration and exhaustion, but when his eyes meet mine, it’s only heat and need that shines back at me.

“Raiden?” I ask, confusion lacing my words, but he doesn’t respond, silently opening the carriage door and waving for me to get inside.

I peer over my shoulder toward the door we just departed, expecting someone to come barreling through any moment, but it seems his needs were heard in that room and it’s just the two of us. Turning back to my vampire, I’m startled to see patience radiating from him as he presses his lips together.

“After you, Troublemaker.”

My nickname on his lips fills me with reassurance that he’s okay, and with that, I climb in, watching as he follows before closing the door behind him, and we’re suddenly moving.

I look at him with raised brows but he simply shrugs, collapsing into the seat beside me as he throws his arm out around my shoulder and tugs me into his side.

I’m waiting for him to speak, to unload, anything, but the silence stretches between us as the carriage slowly moves down the path. It’s on the tip of my tongue to question him, but I think better of it as I lean into him and bask in the moment.

Time passes in a blur around us as we stay grounded in the carriage. Our breathing becomes one, the rhythm of our heartbeats fall in sync, and the two of us relax.

Relax.

I forgot what the word even meant, but the last place I expected to find it was tucked in the back of a carriage.

“Is the carriage going anywhere in particular?” I ask, and he shakes his head.

“It’s too dangerous to head off the grounds right now, so we’re just going around and around the castle perimeter,” he explains, making me scoff in disbelief.

“So we’re going in a loop with no destination?” I muse, a lightness settling in my chest as he hums in agreement.

“Oh, I have a destination,” he states, his eyelids fluttering closed as a soft smile forms over his lips.

“And where is that?”

He pries one eye open, smirking at me in a way that makes my thighs clench before he even speaks. “Your sweet pussy.”

My tongue sweeps over my bottom lip as I blink at him, watching as the all-out shudder transforms his face. There’s a dark heat in his eyes, a tic to his jaw, and an air of arrogance that surrounds him.

Classic Raiden. Classic vampire.

“In the back of this carriage?” I clarify, and he doesn’t even offer me a nod.

“I can’t take you off the castle grounds, and I run the risk of having to share you in there,” he grunts, the corner of his lip kicking up in a sneer. “Today has been a long fucking day, too long if you ask me, and I thought to myself, ‘What will make it better? How can I escape and find peace, even if only for a minute?’ And the answer, as it always fucking will be, is you.” He offers me his hand, palm up as he remains slouched against the seat.

“Are you fucking me as a distraction?” I ask, not turned off by the thought, more intrigued by where his head is at.

“Would it matter if I was?”

“Not even a little. I just want to know,” I answer honestly, and he eyes me for a moment before he offers me a response.

“Fucking you as a distraction wouldn’t have been as premeditated as this. I wouldn’t care about the carriage. I wouldn’t be sitting here waiting to a make a move because I’m worried you’re not okay after whatever the fuck that was down there. If this was a distraction, I would have fucked you over the dining table without a single thought for anyone else there.”

I grin. I love seeing this side of Raiden. It’s a rarity, but an addictive one.

His words aren’t evenly paced like a well-honed speech, his emotions cling to every word, and his heart races faster and faster—the sound of it something I never got to experience before my wolf senses. Despite all that, I can feel his body tugging at mine through our fated mates' bond.

“What if it’s a distraction for me?” I breathe, the words laced with truth as I nervously sink my teeth into my lip.

A grin spreads across his face, like the fact might excite him. “Adrianna, I’m never going to turn down an excuse to slip inside you, but we both know this isn’t a distraction.” His hand still remains in the air, palm waiting for mine.

The air grows thicker, the tension rising, and before I even realize it, my fingers splay across his.

I’m in his lap before I can take my next breath.

“Lose the clothes, Adrianna,” he rumbles, gripping my thighs as my knees settle on either side of his hips.

My breath stutters in my chest at his command, and I reach for the zipper of my fitted jacket, the noise echoing in the carriage as I peel it down my arms and toss it aside. My t-shirt goes next, and he eyes the black lace covering my breasts like a gift.

His left hand rises, tracing over the swell of my chest, along the edge of the material, and I can’t stop the goosebumps from rising in his wake.

Fuck.

A ghost of a smile lingers on his face as his finger trails down my stomach, swirling around my belly button before teasing at the waistband of my pants.

“Ready?” he asks, amusement thick in his voice, but he doesn’t give me a chance to answer before I’m lifted up a few inches, the speed bewildering to me, even now, before I fall back into his lap in nothing but my bra and matching lace panties.

“Are you going to lose your clothes too?” I ask, cocking a brow at him, and he snickers.

“This is my fantasy, remember?”

Tingles ripple through my body as I gape at him, my muscles tightening with anticipation as he continues to caress me with his sultry eyes.

“Play it out for me then,” I encourage, eager to feel him everywhere.

Finally sitting up in his seat, we fall chest to chest and I reach up to run my thumb over his lips.

“Just the carriage fantasy?”

“You have more than one?” I ask, my heart echoing in my ears as he nods, his nose bumping against mine with the movement.

“When it comes to you, the list is endless.” My nipples pebble, growing taut at his husky words. “Most of them involve fucking you with my teeth buried in your throat, but I don’t want to scare you away,” he admits, and it feels like my skin is on fire with the desire coursing through me.

Flashes of the night in Brody’s room when he drank from my wrist as…

Fuck.

“Why would it scare me away?” I breathe, the tremble of need thick in my voice, and his eyes darken as he assesses me.

“Because you’re the unbelievable fae I’ve spent my entire life missing, and I’m the big, bad vampire who doesn’t want to break you.”

Double fuck.

His hand slips to my throat while the other tightens around my waist, locking me in place.

“I’m not made of glass. You’ve never treated me like I am, so don’t start now,” I rasp, grinding down on his cock, which is beyond evident beneath his pants.

“You’re made of diamond, Adrianna. Rare, stunning, and indestructible, but I fucking love you and the thought of harming a single cell in your body burns my fucking soul.”

I can’t breathe. I can barely see. All I can do is hear his words and feel the callouses of his fingertips along my skin.

Consuming.

Breathtaking.

Mine.

I crush my lips to his, the heat intensifying as my fingers curl into his hair, desperate to give him everything, just like he gives to me, and I’m falling, over and over, into him, with him, for him.

It’s too much and not enough.

His lips on mine are devouring and demanding, but I want more, I need more.

Clawing at his t-shirt, I don’t know whether I want to tear it from his body or use it to hold on for my life.

Both.

The rumbling of the carriage moving is gone, my entire surroundings dissolving into nothing as I cling to him, desperate and wanting. Until he’s gone.

My entire body thrums with the rattling of my pulse as I search for him with wide eyes. He’s no longer beneath me. He’s on the other side of the carriage, chest heaving as harshly as mine as he stares at me with wild eyes.

They’re black. Blacker than black. Deeper than deep. Scorching into my flesh, even with the small distance now between us.

“Fuck, Adrianna.” His words are nothing more than a hiss on his tongue as his canines elongate. “You make me unhinged.”

I shake my head, delirious in every sense of the word. “No. You’ve always been unhinged, I love you for it,” I retort, my skin itching for me to remove the lingerie that remains on my body. Even the flimsy fabric suffocates my skin and sends my body temperature through the roof.

Or is that all him?

Possibly.

Probably.

He drops to his knees with a thud, the carriage unwavering beneath us as his fingers ghost over my thighs.

Definitely.

I groan, basking in his touch that I’m so desperate for, but he’s gone again before I can truly make the most of it.

“Raiden,” I bite, a croak of a plea as he reaches for the button of his pants, exposing his cock with a groan, as if it was hurting him to keep it trapped beneath the fabric.

“You’re going to come on my cock,” he states, his voice so dark it’s lethal as his endless pools meet mine. “Then, and only then, am I going to taste you, really taste you. You’re going to love it, you’re going to beg for more, and that tight little cunt of yours is going to spasm so snug around my cock that you’ll come again, making me follow you. Understand?”

It’s not a question, not really. It’s not even a promise. Every word of that is laced with a command, and I’m more than willing to follow his orders.

I don’t answer with words. They’re not necessary. Instead, I slip my fingers beneath the lace of my panties and tug, the material scattering to the floor as I spread my thighs, revealing my core to him.

His eyes manage to darken. How? I’ll never know, but the flick of his tongue in the next breath startles me, making my back arch up off the seat as a husky moan parts my lips.

“The bra too, Troublemaker,” he grunts, snapping the band between my breasts and leaving it to drape at my sides.

Fuck.

He runs his thumb over the taut flesh of my nipples as they plead for his attention while his tongue goes back to lapping at my clit. His teeth are still long, grazing over my flesh, and I find myself on the brink of pain that quickly melts to pleasure with every swipe of his tongue.

I feel like I’m ready to detonate. All he has to do is hit the switch and I’ll cease to exist.

As if sensing my impending demise, he sucks on my clit, pressing his sharp teeth into my folds, and I cry out with need. I’m ready to burst into flames and he’s prolonging the sensation my body is desperately chasing in its bid to fall apart.

“Raiden, please. Fuck, please ,” I beg, unabashed and needy for him as he looks up at me through his long lashes, amusement dancing in his eyes. I’m ready to kick him back and finish myself off, a fact he must sense in my stiffening muscles because he doesn’t waste another second, using his vampire speed to yank me farther down in my seat and align his cock with my entrance.

He pauses, the tip of his length nestled against my opening, eyes latched on mine.

My fingers curl around the edge of the seat, my muscles bracing for impact as he slowly teases deeper into my core. Every inch steals my breath, my lungs ready to give out when he slams into me.

The cry that burns from my lungs is euphoric, almost demonic, and he loves it.

Tears prick the corners of my eyes.

The fullness.

The satisfaction.

The relief.

Words fail me as I try to make him move, shifting my hips with the little space I have, but my needy desires only make his lips curl.

“You’re not ready, Adrianna,” he breathes, running his tongue over his teeth, and I shiver, nodding profusely. “Let’s see about that, shall we?” he adds. I brace myself, but nothing, not a single thing in the entire world can prepare me for the force with which he slams into me.

Not just any force.

Vampire force.

Retracting, he plunges deep into me with his vampire speed, the strength behind him too, and I melt into the cushioned seat.

I can’t chant for harder or faster. It’s not possible.

He gives and he takes in his unrelenting thrusts, commanding me, and all I can do is feel.

The tingles start in my toes, coiling up my legs and spasming down my arms. Every cell in my body is alive, dancing to his pace until he flicks the switch inside of me and triggers my free fall, sending me spiraling uncontrollably as ecstasy claims me.

Wave after wave of euphoria ripples through my bones, eliciting the most blissful orgasm from my limbs.

It can’t get any better.

I can’t feel anything more exhilarating.

Until he proves me wrong.

Pain bursts at my throat, sharp, piercing pain that makes my eyes widen as I gasp, my breath lodged in my chest. The darkness that engulfs my vision quickly blasts with fireworks, colors of every variety burning in my sight as the pain turns into pleasure.

My body tightens, the waves of my orgasm ricocheting back to life as I clench around him, just as he promised.

I feel light headed.

Delirious.

Exposed.

Vulnerable.

His .

The sensation at my throat eases, the swirl of his tongue over my throat a moment later wiping the blood from my flesh before his lips claim mine.

He stills inside of me, his thrusts finally relenting as I feel his cock pulse in the grip of my pussy, wringing another round of ripples from my body as my never ending orgasm echoes off the quickly approaching edges of my sanity.

My fingers curl into his hair, clinging to him as I try to catch my breath, and he tucks his face into my neck.

Heartbeats echo in my ears. Not just my own. His too. And he presses a soft kiss against my shoulder before meeting my gaze.

“Are you okay?” he rasps, and I shake my head, still panting for breath as I grin at him.

“No. I’m just as unhinged as you.”