“And what is?”
“Elijah is duty-bound to the Tridian Empire and our Empress—we all are—but the bastard is honorable to a fault and has always felt likeallof his loyalty needs to be directed towards the good of our lands, the future of the empire, and mostly towards the Empress. Anything that gets in the way of that he considers a distraction, one that could end in the Empress being hurt and our empire being left without a leader.”
Kyella inhaled sharply. “So he cares for her. A lot.”
“To an extent, I’m sure. I think he sees her as a representation of all the hard work and the hundreds of years, literally, that he has devoted to this place and the belief he has in it, on how extraordinary it can be,” I explained, not wanting her to get the wrong idea about their relationship. “He’s been invested in this lifestyle for so long that anything else feels alien.”
“So his duty transcends Myrin herself? If there was another empress or emperor—”
“I imagine he would feel very similar,” I agreed. “And because of that, he’s in a position that he doesn’t know how to handle. Think of it this way—if your life and her life were both in danger at the same moment, and he could only save one…”
“Oh.” She exhaled, her eyes flashing dark. “I see. He would be torn on how to proceed. Whether he should follow his heart or his mind. That would be a problem.”
Her tone was defeated, and I hated that. I didn’t want her to think this was a hopeless situation, I simply wanted her to understand where he was coming from. I rushed to add, “With that being said, when we interfered in Thaicia, that was the first time I’d ever seen Elijah deviate from a mission’s objective, and that was before he’d even had the opportunity to get to know you. He risked her ire and backlash for you even then. He risked the safety of this empire by bringing you here, and I think he now struggles with how easy it was for him to decide between his duty and his heart in that moment. If I had to guess, he’s struggling more now as his feelings for you deepen.”
Kyella perked up, smiling to herself before gracing me with it. “Thank you. I’ve been trying to figure out what makes him tick and why some days I see hope for us, but then others I find myself giving up completely.”
Elijah needed someone to keep pushing him, so I hoped she wouldn’t give up.
Before I could respond, wanting to lighten the mood for our date, she slipped her hand from my elbow and raised her brows at me playfully. “Okay, enough serious talk. How about this? I’ll race you to that red tree in the distance. Whoever wins gets whatever they want.”
Little did she know that’s exactly where I’d wanted to go anyway, and that was a bold bet to make. Whatever I wanted probably wasn’t on the table. Kyella brought out a side of me, inspired desires in me that had never come to the surface before.
“You sure you want to do that, darling?” I drew out, already feeling a surge of darkness that was normally buried deep trying to push forward.
Her eyes flashed in challenge as she offered me a wink and turned to spring away from me.
“Shit,” I cursed, realizing that with her head start and her lithe frame, she would absolutely beat me. Considering the stakes though, I more than wanted to win.
Holding on tightly to the basket, I sprinted after her, loving the feeling of the wind whipping around me as I zig-zagged in and out of the trees, trying to find shortcuts to our destination. But as Kyella came into view, looking back over her shoulder with a defiant smile, I was slammed with a desperate need I’d never experienced before.
An image flashed through my head of catching her and trapping her beneath me; keeping her pinned, completely at my mercy. That was when my instincts kicked in.
Letting out a growl, I dropped the basket and put a burst of speed on, loving the surprise that flashed across her face at the sound. Also that I had nearly caught up to her.
That’s right, darling. I’m going to catch you.
The sweet scent of her desire blew on the breeze, heightening my need and causing me to hyper-focus on her. Pumping my arms to go faster, I heard her heartbeat thumping wildly from pure exhilaration, her eyes sparking with a tiny bit of fear that caused the predator inside of me to break out from his chains.
All rationale went out the window as the base of the large tree came into view and we broke from the brush. I leapt towards her, tackling her to the ground, cradling her head from impact and rolling with her until we came to a stop. I pinned Kyella beneath my large frame, not allowing for an inch of space, my predatory instincts riding me hard and demanding I deny her the opportunity to escape. I’d caught her, so she was mine. She wouldalwaysbe mine.
Her eyes were wide with excitement as I zeroed in on the wildly pulsing vein at her throat. A groan came from me as I felt my fangs lengthening, wanting to sink into the soft flesh and spill the blood from her vein. Leaning in to do exactly that, I growled as her legs came up to kick me away. She took me off guard, actually moving me back an inch as she laughed and tried to shoot off again, rising back to her feet to continue this little game.
“Kyella,” I growled, feeling a dangerous energy roll underneath my skin. “Get back here.”
I easily closed the space between us, causing her to let out a sound of surprise at how fast I could move, before wrapping my hand around the front of her pretty throat. Pulling her soft frame against me, I snarled, feeling her ass grind right against my cock. She wanted this, so I didn’t hesitate to fist her hair and turn her neck, exposing one side of it to me.
A whimper came from her as she pushed her ass back against me, only serving to further drive me crazy with need. A need to claim her, a need to show her who she belonged to. She had to understand, toknow, that she was mine. The woman brought out this urge to dominate her, and it was only heightened when she tried to run from me.
Another needy sound left her throat that caused my cock to pulse painfully.
Trying to fight through the intense hunger and blind desire for her, I breathed softly against her neck, making her skin break out into shivers. “I want to devour you, darling. I want the warmth of your blood coating my mouth as I wring every ounce of fucking pleasure from your perfect body. I want you to beg me for what you want. For what we both want.”
She reached back to grip my back with her nails, scratching hard enough to draw blood. I groaned, my eyes nearly rolling back in my head.
Then she whispered. “You didn’t win the bet.I did.So I get what I want.”
My voice was hoarse as I rasped out, “What is it that you want?”
