A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales #1)(31)

None of that mattered, though. What drew me in was his aura—the hard, raw intensity that slammed into me like a force all its own. It turned my stomach runny and bones fluid. Made my flesh tingle and pooled fire in my core. His obvious ruthlessness, his darkness, sent my heart racing, and I didn’t know if I wanted to run from him or cling to him in mindless desire.

One thing was eminently clear: he was not a guy to turn one’s back on.

His gaze flicked to Hadriel. “You may go.”

Hadriel offered a deep bow. “Yes, sir.”

When Hadriel had gone some distance, Nyfain turned and faced the field. “As I said last night, I had not heard that everlass could slow the sickness killing the people in the villages.” His tone suggested he still thought I was lying.

I’d been called a lot of things in my time, but there were two things people always agreed on—I was brutally honest to the point of social awkwardness, and I knew my way around plants.

This guy was questioning the very foundations of my being. That rankled in so many ways. So much so that I stood there in silence, envisioning ways to ruin his day.

“What is this elixir?” he asked after a moment. “What is in it?”

It wasn’t in me to hold back such useful knowledge, no matter how much I wanted to stick him in the ribs with something sharp. If I could help the other villages, I would. I described my process from beginning to end, explaining why I harvested when I did, how I’d come to that conclusion, and the effects it had.

When I was done, he looked at the field for a moment before he asked, “Where did you learn to work with the everlass?”

“Books. Trial and error.”

He turned to me. “Impossible. One must be taught to work with everlass. It is passed down from generation to generation. Mother to daughter. Father to son.”

“And then some smart fucker with daddy issues took his knowledge and put it in a book. Now I have it.”

His eyes sparked fire. My spine felt like it was disintegrating within that menacing stare.

When he spoke next, his voice was low and dangerous. “Are you afraid of me, princess?”

“No.” Lies.

“No? You should be.”

“Well, aren’t you knowledgeable in shit I don’t care about.”

“Keep at it with that smart mouth, and I’ll be forced to fuck it.”

His words shocked into me. My body lit up like it had been dead all this time, and he had brought it to life. Liquid fire pooled hot and spicy in my core, suddenly throbbing and desperate for hard, brutal contact. My nipples tightened and shivers coated my sensitive flesh. Within it all, the presence inside me—my animal—roared and twisted, struggling to get free so she could sink to her knees and grip his thighs. I could actually feel her desperation to suck in his big cock and choke on it. That bitch did not need a strand of pearls to clutch. She was here for it.

I struggled for breath, struggled to stay standing as my knees weakened and my body trembled. My whimper of desire was incredibly embarrassing, but I kept fighting the beast inside, my hands balled into fists and my arms shaking.

“Say shit like that to me again, I’ll burn your bed…with you in it,” I ground out.

It came out like a purr. Damn it all. Hard to be tough when you sounded husky and wanton.

A smile slowly pulled at his lips. “You’ll need that fire before the end. Mark my words, princess, before this is all over, I will ruin you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Is that a threat…or a challenge?”

At hearing challenge, he sucked in a startled breath. His golden eyes burned into me as they settled on my lips. Another surge of his power shocked through me, trying to bring my beast to the surface.

My panties flooded with wetness, and my core tightened until I nearly had to clench my thighs together. I barely stopped from moaning at the flurry of heat playing within me. Barely stopped myself from plastering my front to his. I knew he’d let me, even if he didn’t want to. I somehow felt his desire almost like a palpable thing. I knew he’d be pissed at the lapse of control, just like last night.

Would he push me away before or after he filled me with cum?

I struggled against his alpha’s call—because that’s exactly what this was. He was using his power to try to dominate me, like alphas used to do before the curse. I’d heard it talked about. I’d read about it in books. People back then hadn’t seemed put out by it.

I was not fucking having it.

I struggled to suppress it, but the ferociousness of the alpha serenaded my newly awakening animal. He was hitting me on multiple levels, and it unfortunately didn’t matter that he’d plucked me from my life and was holding me captive. I wanted to pull him down between my spread thighs and accept him deep, deep into my body.





7





This desire was something I would have to ignore, because I was not going to reduce myself to fucking this dickhead.

Maybe I did need to check into the salon for a little meow, meow.

“You done?” I asked him with a bravado I didn’t feel.

He closed the scant distance between us, his big body dwarfing mine, his sweet breath dusting my face. Fire and rage and lust charged the air between us. His breathing was shallow, matching mine. Unsaid words—dirty, filthy, sexy words—hung around us.