"Or how about here?" Her breath sucked in as my mouth moved down her body to her breast. "A personal favorite ofmine. Sinking my teeth into this soft flesh, watching your nipples pucker."
I glanced up at her, and her eyes widened when she spied a glimmer of my fangs.
"But my favorite?" I continued to tease. "It is this." I went down and nudged her pussy, running my nose up her crotch through her shorts. Saliva filled my mouth. "You smell incredible. Whenever you were near me, it took everything in me not to grab you, lift you up, and sink my tongue here."
I buried my face in her pussy, and she cried out.
"Wait!" Her hand pushed me aside, and she scrambled back on the bed.
I growled, frustration bleeding through me. "Alice. As much as I enjoy bedroom games, I do not have the patience."
"Acheron, we can't have sex," she blurted out.
My mouth dropped, my fangs instantly disappearing. "What are you talking about? Get over here."
She shook her head, although I could taste her indecision. "I can't have sex with you until I'm divorced from David."
I flinched. "Do not mention his name in our bedroom."
Her expression softened, and she shifted onto her knees. "I'm sorry, but…even though I wasn't in love with Da—with him, Ididlove him. He was my best friend for years, and I hurt him a lot. Out of respect for him, I would prefer not to do anything…sexual…until it's finalized."
"Your bonding laws do not apply to us."
"But they apply to me. They're important to me. My vows to him meant something at the time. You don't understand the guilt and confusion I felt when I kept dreaming of you, missing someone I didn't know was real. I betrayed David a lot sooner than our kiss. Emotionally, I was in love with someone else."
I reared up and clasped her chin, forcing her eyes to me. "Again." My voice was rough, gravelly. Otherworldly. "Say it again."
Her eyes bloomed when she realized what she'd said. Still, her mouth trembled slightly. "I love you," she said on an exhale.
A satisfied grunt rumbled out of me. I did not think I needed the words; I knew Alice loved me. But hearing those three simple words coming out of my mate's mouth—it made me feel ten feet tall. I could take on a horde of BloodKin on my own and tear them limb from limb. Well, I could do that regardless.
"And who are you to me?" I demanded.
"Your Queen." Her eyes were glazed as she stared into my blackened gaze.
"I worship and adore you, my Queen." My forehead pressed against hers. "Leave your divorce with me. I will sort it within your human laws."
"Oh, but—"
"I will sort it."
She rolled her lips and nodded. "Okay." She knew better than to argue. Not about this.
"Now. I am off to rip a few heads off the captured BloodKin. I need to blow off some steam."
Chapter 24
Acheron
The wooden table took up a large space in my throne room. I was seated on one side with my Elders, while King Damon of Ameros and his Elders took up the space opposite. We were both flanked by Von and Roul, our bond-servants.
They had all been attempting to set up a meeting with me for the past two weeks, yet I'd continued to put it off, too preoccupied with assimilating Alice into my world.
And getting her divorced.
I did not like to spend too much time in the human world. Admittedly, I found them beneath me and utterly uninteresting. I didn't even indulge in drinking from them, whether bagged or directly from the source. There were far more tasty and less annoying creatures to feast from.
Now? Well, I still hated being in the human world, but it was a necessary chore to cut Alice's ties to her old life completely.
