A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(17)

The words had barely passed my lips when his hands wrapped around the backs of my thighs and lifted me against him. I didn’t hesitate to wrap my legs around him as he pushed forward, and our bodies hit the wall behind me.

My words had possessed him. My own want was driving his.

His mouth came down against mine, rough and claiming, and I didn’t stop him. I kissed him back just as harshly, and I hated how desperately I clung to him.

His hands were hard and frantic as they touched every part of my skin they could reach. He pressed his hips against mine, and I could feel the dagger at his side that dug into my flesh. It was a reminder that he was always ready for any threat that lay before us. It was a reminder that hit me in the chest that he was going to leave.

I whimpered against his lips, and he groaned before pushing off the wall and heading toward the doorway.

“What are you doing?” I panicked and tried to cling to the fabric of my towel to wrap it around me, but Evren’s arms had me completely caged in as he reached for the handle and stormed through the door.

“Not here.” He looked down at me before making his way across the hall. I didn’t see anyone, but that didn’t make me feel better. I was in the middle of the hall of the Sidra Palace, wrapped in nothing but a towel and their prince. “I want you in my bed.”

His power shot out of him, and his door opened before we made the final step in its direction. His dark, power-laced hand lifted, pressed against my jaw, and he turned my head until I had no choice but to look back at him.

His mouth met mine again, crushing, pleading, begging, and I wanted to give him everything he asked for. In that moment, I couldn’t remember why I wasn’t supposed to want this man. Why I didn’t want to accept his offer.

It was just me and him and my power coursing through my body and imploring me to ask him for more.

I couldn’t think of what was to come. These stolen moments were all we had, and my fingers dug into his skin as I held on to it with everything I had.

Evren kicked the door shut behind him, but he didn’t give me time to take in his room. He pushed across the space before he dropped me down against his bed, and I gripped his dark green bedding in my hands as I stared up at him.

My towel lay beneath me, leaving me completely exposed to him, and he rubbed his hand along his jaw as he stared. Lust and admiration. It was all I could see in his eyes, and it messed with my head.

“You are so fucking beautiful.” He pulled his shirt from his waistband before reaching behind his shoulders and pulling it over his head. “I am so undeserving.”

He tossed his shirt to the ground before he fell to his knees before me. I didn’t have time to question if that was what I wanted. Evren quickly wrapped his hands around my thighs and jerked me to the edge of the bed before spreading me open in front of him.

“Let me show you, princess.” He pressed a soft kiss on the inside of my right knee, and I jerked beneath his touch. I was wet, so wet, and I knew he could see how badly I wanted him. “Let me show you the depth of my need. How desperate I am to worship you and erase every trace of my betrayal.”

I slammed my eyes closed against his words. That was everything I wanted. I wanted him to take it away, to destroy this ache inside of me, but I also knew that I needed to cling to it. I needed to remember that this man who could bring me so much pleasure was also responsible for causing so much pain. And he was capable of causing far more.

If I allowed myself to forget, I feared I would lose myself completely. The future I wanted and the future destiny laid before us were vastly different. I couldn’t allow myself to get lost in the fantasy and forget the truth of my fate.

His mouth moved to the other knee, his lips barely a whisper against my skin, and I tried to close my thighs as a shock wave of lust coursed through my core.

“No, princess.” Evren shook his head against my thigh, and I opened my eyes to look at him. “There’s no fucking hiding here. In this room, there is no pretending to be who we aren’t. I am your mate, and I’m going to devour you. Now, spread your legs like a good girl and let me have what’s mine.”

I shouldn’t have been turned on by his words. I shouldn’t have loosened my muscles and allowed my outer thighs to press against the bed, but I did. I did both as I watched him lower his head and press a gentle kiss to the top of my sex.

“Eyes on me, Adara. I want to watch you as you come against my mouth.”

It was impossible not to obey him, not as he breathed me in deeply, or as he licked his lips as he ran a dark, magic-stained finger down the slit of me. It was torturous watching him, and I had to bite down on my tongue to keep myself from begging.

This man was equal parts fae and vampyre, equal parts of both kingdoms I hated, and still I was willing to beg.

Evren pulled away and lifted my right thigh in his hand, kissing the inside of it before he placed it over his shoulder. “I could do this all day.” His fingers dug into my flesh as he nuzzled against my leg and his breath rushed out against my sex.

“Torturing me?” I asked with a rushed and desperate voice.

“Devoting myself to your pleasure.” He leaned forward and rolled his tongue through my sex before he sucked my nub into his wicked mouth.

I cried out as my back bowed off the bed. This man had barely touched me, and already, I felt like I was falling apart.

He devoured me then, no longer giving me teasing touches or whispers of promises. He was a man starved, and he took every bit of his hunger out on my flesh.