31. Raiden

31

RAIDEN

I want her.

I need her.

I have to have her.

Her lips are soft yet firm against mine as I slam my own against them, and something settles in my soul as we fuse together.

Easing my grip on her chin, I cup her face with both hands, tilting her head back to the perfect angle to part her lips and taste her sweetness on my tongue.

"Raiden," she rasps against my lips, a moan etched with concern, and it's enough to tear me from her mouth to see what's wrong. "Your neck," she gasps, instinctively reaching out for the open wound as blood trickles down my collar.

"It's fine, Adrianna," I murmur, declining to mention the wooziness that is slightly dimming my vision and leaving my head a little light.

"It definitely doesn't look fine," she grumbles with a pointed look, and I grin. I would bleed out right now if it meant I got to kiss her again. "We need to get this seen to. Where's Brody?" she asks, her fingers curling tighter around my neck as she tries to apply pressure while her gaze flits to the opening of the alley in hopes the mage will magically appear.

If he does, I'll kill him.

"Troublemaker…Troublemaker…" Two breaths of her nickname and a squeeze at her chin again so she's finally looking back at me. Certain I have her full attention, I lean closer. "I'll heal on my own…eventually. Until it passes, it's just me and you." My tone drops deeper, darker, and needier as I peer into her eyes.

Her tongue sweeps out over her bottom lip and her gaze drops to my lips.

"When? It looks bad," she whispers, taking a slight peek at where her hand presses against my throat. I don't need to look to know her fingers are going to be coated in blood. My blood. That only turns me on more.

"It's fine. It'll be even better if you kiss me again."

She shakes her head at me in disbelief, but I'm deadly serious. I need her more than my next breath. The tremble that vibrates through my veins has nothing to do with the wound at my neck and everything to do with her proximity.

"Raiden, now isn't the time to?—"

I slam my mouth against hers, raking my teeth over her bottom lip as she groans, but I swallow each little cry for myself. Her protests are wasted on me, but her moans…they're exactly what I'm living for.

Releasing her again, her head slumps back against the stone wall behind her as she tries to catch her breath. Her fingers don't move from my neck, warming my icy veins as I stare at her in wonder.

"Do you realize how fucking phenomenal you are?" I breathe, catching her eyebrows pinching in confusion, leaving me to be the one to shake my head in disbelief this time.

"Raiden, I?—"

I press my thumb against her lips, cutting off her next words. "The next time my name leaves your lips, it's going to be with a moan. Ideally, with your cum dripping down my fingers or, preferably, my cock. Understood?"

Even under the moonlit night, I can see her pupils dilate, the rhythm of her heartbeat kicking up a notch as she stares at me in a mixture of desire and confusion. To save her any more bewilderment, I spell it out to her.

"Adrianna, there are never going to be enough apologies that leave my lips to make up for ever doubting you. Tonight, you left me awestruck. Your fearlessness, resilience, and brilliance—I want all of it. And if I tell you a little secret, you can't tell a soul, do you hear me?" She nods, eyes wide as she hangs on my every word. I want to see her reaction to my words, but keeping them as quiet as possible is more important. Her hearing them surpasses anything else, which is why I lean in, pressing my lips to the shell of her ear as I offer her my secret. "I walked through the doors of the academy with one thing in mind: become the next leader, the new heir, the royal I know I can be." My chest tightens, aware that I'm no longer the same man who walked through those doors such a short time ago, and it's all because of her. "But if it comes down to it, if it was just me and you at the end of the race…I'd fall and stumble to watch you rise, to see you shine, to be in the presence of your greatness as you reclaim who you were always meant to be."

Leaning back, the first thing I notice is how blown her pupils are, the crimson stains of blood laced across her face drying with every passing moment.

"I would never ask you to do that," she manages, her voice nothing more than a croak, and I shake my head with a smirk.

"You wouldn't have to."

She tugs at my neck, eliminating the distance between us as she takes the reins, crushing our lips together.

All sentiments are gone, every word disappearing along with them as our bodies do the talking.

I blindly reach for the waistband of her pants, slipping beneath the material to find no further barriers.

Fuck.

Has she been like this all day?

Or just since she spent some time with Cassian today?

Fuck.

Slipping my fingers through her core, I'm met with overwhelming heat, and as I tease my pads at her entrance, her desire coats my skin.

I rest my forehead against hers, watching as her eyes roll back at my touch. Her pussy clamps down around my fingers as I fuck her slowly. Every move is punctuated, deliberate, as her back arches off the wall.

Using my free hand, I slip my palm under the hem of her t-shirt, but the weight of the fabric throws me off.

"I'm drenched in blood, Raiden," she rasps, her breath whispering against my lips, and I grin.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It is."

"I think you're forgetting what I fucking am, Troublemaker."

Her breath hitches and I wrap my fingers around her wrist, tugging her hold away from my throat. It takes a second for her to trust me, but a moment later, she realizes what I already know.

"It stopped."

I nod, aware that the reminder of the wound still coats my skin and hers. Unbuttoning my pants, I tug them open just enough to relieve my cock from the tension of being imprisoned behind the fabric.

With her hand in mine, I wrap her bloodied fingers around my length, groaning at the contact as she gasps. "Paint my dick red, Adrianna."

She blinks at me, testing the weight of my cock in her grasp as I release her hand. I want to feel her, touch her, have her. I slip back into her pants, finding her core once again, and I waste no time making it mine.

The first thrust of my fingers has her hand tightening around my dick, making me gasp, and she must like to tease me because she does it again and again with every thrust of my fingers.

Our breaths mingle between us as we stare down at where we're connected, but the sight of my cock painted in my blood does something to me, especially with her fingers locked on me.

"I'm going to come, Troublemaker, and I want to do that inside you," I rasp, continuing to fuck her with my fingers as I use my other hand to pull a condom from my pocket.

"Please," she whispers, her eyes pleading just as strongly.

Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I lean into my abilities, and before she can blink again, my cock is sheathed in protection, her pants are dangling from one leg, and her back is against the wall, suspended in the air with my dick lined up, ready to slide home.

"Please," she repeats, breathless, as our gazes settle on one another.

I don't need asking again.

My fingers dig into her thighs as I tilt her just a little more before thrusting deep into her core. Our moans morph into one between us as I take a second to adjust to her heat.

"You're my everything, Adrianna," I rasp, desperate to give her everything I have the ability to offer while claiming every last ounce of her for myself. "You're mine, you know that, right? Fucking mine." Her eyes pierce mine with a ferocity that sets my veins on fire. "Say it."

She swipes her tongue over her lips, and I thrust into her harder, faster, desperately, encouraging her words.

"I'm yours."

Two words, barely more than a whisper, and I'm ready to crumble to my knees. My cock twitches, ready to explode at the declaration, but I bite it back, refusing to go over the edge before she comes on my cock.

"That's it, Troublemaker. You're mine, and I'm yours. I know those fuckers are a part of this too, and I promise you I will worship the ground you walk on, but don't ever threaten to leave me again. Not like you did earlier. Not ever."

My movements become brutal as I pound each word into her. The reminder of her threatening to walk away back in my room was enough to make me see sense. Never again will those words leave her lips. Not in my direction anyway.

"You're mine," she breathes, wonder in her tone as she gapes at me, and I grin.

"Yes, yes, I am."

Our lips fuse together, words no longer needed, as I feel her pussy squeeze desperately around my cock. The second she sinks her teeth into my bottom lip, stifling back her cries of ecstasy, I chase her over the edge.

Panting, I'm lost to the spasms that ripple through my body, and just when I think they're done, she shivers, another wave rushing through her, and it seeps into me, too.

"Fuck, Raiden," she rasps, warming my whole fucking being, soul and all.

Lowering her feet to the ground, I fix her pants before rolling the condom off my cock. I take a step back with a sigh, a strange feeling clinging to my lips.

"What does it mean if I feel weightless? Like, my heart is calm, my soul full, and my entire body is serene?"

She offers me the sweetest fucking smile I've ever seen as she takes a step toward me. Squeezing my arm, she tilts her head. "I'm quite sure that's how I would describe feeling content."

Content.

Huh.

"That's how you make me feel," I blurt, and her smile somehow gets cuter, warmer, happier.

"When you're not an erratic lunatic of a vampire, you make me feel that way too. Sometimes."

"Sometimes? I can take that, Troublemaker. I want to make you feel all of those things. Always," I say, cupping her cheek as I lean my forehead against hers again.

The warmth only seems to grow hotter as I bask in her, this moment forever searing itself into my memory.

"I like you, Raiden."

"I like you too, Adrianna. A lot."

"A lot," she repeats, a giddiness to her tone, and I smirk down at her.

"Let's get out of here, get you cleaned up, and I'll happily show you how much a lot is," I promise, vibrating with delight at the sound of another giggle.

The sweet sound is cut short as she lurches to the side, her humor turning into a grunt of pain as she slams into the stone wall where I just fucked her, and my heart crinkles in my chest.

Alert, I growl as I find Vallie standing at the opening of the alleyway. Her snarl is aimed at my fucking Troublemaker and I don't like it. Not one bit. The way her chest heaves and her arms roll back, I know she's the reason Adrianna is no longer in my grasp.

Fucker.

"You were boring the fuck out of me," she states, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a sigh as her stare turns to me.

"You're just asking to meet your end, Vallie," I snap, and she rolls her eyes at me.

"If you say so. Let's go and see what your father says about that, shall we?"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Raiden?" Adrianna's soft voice cuts through the air as the pounding of footsteps echoes off the walls.

A moment later, Kryll, Brody, and Cassian stand behind my least favorite vampire with disgruntled expressions.

"Raiden, what the fuck is going on?" Cass asks, pointing over his shoulder to reveal my father's men lining up behind them.

"He's being summoned. Come, little pet," Vallie hollers with a wicked snicker.

Fuck.

Glancing down at Adrianna, my heart aches, but I know what I need to do. Her eyebrows pinch as she meets my stare, and I hope she can see the smallest flicker in my eyes before I lock my emotions down.

"Go home. I'll meet you there."

"But—" I wave Brody's protest off as I turn for Vallie and my father's men.

"I have somewhere to be."