A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(37)



Evren’s chair scraped harshly against the floor.

He didn’t look at me as he stood and dropped his napkin to the table. “If you’ll excuse me, I need a bit of air.”

He pushed out of the room, his long strides moving quickly until the door clicked shut behind him.

I stood, unable to just let him leave after what I had just shared, and gave my father a soft smile. “I need to check on him. I’ll be back.”

No one stopped me, and they wouldn’t have been able to. My magic was back inside myself, but every ounce of it craved to be with him. Every fiber of my being refused to let him out of my sight.

I entered the hall and heard the door to the back courtyard close. I followed the sound, and when I opened the door, I saw Evren standing in the middle of the courtyard with his hands on the back of his head as he stared up at the sky.

He paced, his anger driving his movement, and I quietly closed the door as I watched him.

But his gaze found me the moment the door latched behind me.

Pain shuddered over his face, and my chest ached.

“I’m sorry, princess. I just need a moment.”

“Then take it.” I nodded. “But you take it with me.”

His gaze roved over me, and his eyes were so dark my heart rate spiked. “It is you I’m trying to stay away from.”

My breath rushed out of me, and I searched his face. “Oh. I can go back inside.”

I reached for the door, but it was his next words that stopped me in my tracks. “It is you who I can hardly look at without guilt eating me alive. The things my brother did to you.” He swallowed hard and shook his head. “I will never forgive myself for it.”

I turned back to face him, and he dropped his hands as his gaze ran down my body. “It is you I want to leave my mark on until no one in this world or the next is confused about who you belong to. For them to have no confusion about my devotion to you.”

“You do not need to mark me for them to know.” I pushed away from the door and stepped toward him. There was so much possession in his eyes, his desire drowning him. “But if that’s what you need, then take it. I will wear any mark you give me.”

“You should go back inside, princess.” His teeth were bared, and chill bumps ran down my spine. “I have no control when it comes to you.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” I shook my head. “I want you.” I reached out, wrapping my fingers into his shirt, and the heat of his skin burned into my fingers.

“I can’t be gentle,” he bent down and whispered harshly in my ear.

My breath caught in my throat as his strong arms embraced me, and I shivered as his familiar scent filled my senses. His gaze was intense, searching for something in my eyes.

When I didn’t pull away, his hands moved to my lower back, pressing me firmly against him. I could feel how badly he wanted me as it pressed against my stomach. Moisture pooled between my thighs as his fingers dropped to my bottom, and he lifted me. His head lowered into my neck, and he let out a sigh as I responded in kind, locking my legs around his waist.

He moved us quickly, not stopping until my back hit the stone of the palace wall, and his teeth scraped against my neck.

A whimper passed my lips, and his hips surged forward against me. Tortured pleasure coursed through my body. My thighs tightened against him, pulling him more firmly against me.

My hands gripped the material of his shirt, and I pulled him closer. His mouth left my neck, and he growled against my ear. “Princess.”

The sound of my name on his lips sent a shot of ecstasy through my body, and he thrust against me again. I whimpered as my magic snaked through me, desperate to get to him.

“Evren,” I moaned as it consumed me, and his face lowered to mine, his lips trailing over my jaw, so close to my lips, but he denied me what I wanted. He denied me his kiss, as his nose ran down the length of my jaw, and I whimpered at the gentle pleasure until he replaced it with pain.

His teeth scraped against the sensitive skin of my neck roughly.

I let my head drop back against the palace wall, and his hands moved beneath my dress until he was cupping me. His fingers dug into my skin as his teeth moved harder against me, and I cried out even though I couldn’t focus on either sensation without being overwhelmed by the other.

“Will you let me?” His words were muffled with his mouth against my skin, but his teeth scraped even harder, driving his question home. “I want to erase every trace of him. When you wake tomorrow, I want your body to ache with memories of me and me alone.”

I nodded my head against him, the feeling in my core driving me crazy with need.

“Say it, princess.” He pressed his lips over the skin he had just ran his teeth across. “Tell me you want it too.”

“I want it.” The last word had barely passed my lips when his teeth sank into my neck.

A cry left me, and my body convulsed. Every inch of me was on fire, drowning in pleasure and pain. He gripped my bottom and ground against me harder and harder. I could feel the wetness between my legs as he moved, and my legs weakened still wrapped around his waist.

The pain in my neck seeped away, slowly morphing into the kind of agony that would make me beg him on my hands and knees. There was an inferno burning through me, awakening every inch of my body and reminding it exactly who it belonged to.

Holly Renee's Books