Never had he been so drawn to a female. Drac had always been careful to bed women who understood the viciousness buried him in, who embraced their darkness similarly. His brother had fallen in love with a woman who refused to draw upon her demon powers, reviling the very essence she could never separate from. Assassins had come with the shadows and she had been taken as a bargaining chip. And she’d been an effective one. Vlad had betrayed their kingdom in the name of saving a woman who’d been too weak to fight and hold on until he arrived. Then he’d relinquished his soul to his demon when he lost her.
The torment of fighting his brother, of being unable to kill him as he ravaged so many of their people, drunk on the malevolence of the power of his demon, beat in Drac’s blood. Vlad had been unstoppable. Terrifying.
Drac had already proven harm to the princess made him dangerous. And he risked the same loss of self to even contemplate taking her as a mate.
Mate?
His heart slammed into his throat. When had it moved from wanting to fuck her body to her being the next half to his soul?
She swayed closer to him, her ripe scent an unbearable temptation. Drac clenched his teeth as desire hardened his cock to the point of pain. The thing that lured him, beckoned so dangerously, was that she had not been repulsed by his touch, knowing that he was a Darkan.
He was intrigued, even though it was dangerous to be so enthralled.
***
Saieke’s heart pounded as Drac’s charka became darker and curled around her body, almost caressing her. Her nipples tightened as he stepped closer and used his fingers to trail from her neck down her collar, his face darkly sensual. Heat climbed her neck as he trailed his fingers with pressure over her hard straining nipple, where he lingered, then gently pinched.
She flinched, and he dropped his hand.
Saieke felt as if he was testing his limits…or testing hers. Even in the face of all that she was feeling and allowing, he was almost expressionless. If not for the feelings that leaked through his chakra she would not have known that he was as aroused as she.
She parted her lips, but no sound came out when he cupped between her legs with firm possessiveness. He used one of his feet to nudge her legs wider.
“I don’t…”
He lowered his head and captured her lips in a domineering kiss.
Sharp desire gripped her in a tight vice. He flexed his hand, but did not move it beyond that. A thing she was grateful for as mortifying wetness had already started to slick from her feminine channel.
He bit gently into her bottom lip, and she whimpered into his kiss. His touch grew firmer, turning her gasp into a moan of heat. He parted her folds and ran his fingers into he
r wetness. Saieke shivered as he slipped a finger deep inside. Her breathing came harshly, and she swallowed, adjusting to the strangeness of his intimate caress. A thumb flick against her nub and she arched her hips more into his touch.
He lifted her roughly. Saieke instinctively encircled his thighs with her legs, sliding the finger deeper and creating the most delicious friction in her core.
“This is dangerous,” he growled against her lips.
She knew it was dangerous, yet it stunned her to know that he knew and continued. His teeth snapped together and the corded muscles at his throat strained. She felt more than saw his burning hunger.
“Yes…” she whispered, giving in to the tempest even as fear pummeled her. If he took her purity, there would be no going back. “Kiss me,” she tempted.
“No,” he groaned, resisting the jerk of her hips that buried his finger so much deeper.
She was tilted with speed, and before she could blink, she lay in the bed with the coverlet tucked under her chin. Why had he stopped?
“You’re awake.” A voice filled with amazement had Saieke swinging her head toward the chamber entrance.
Two ladies entered with baskets in hand with herbs and scented water. How had he heard them?
“Princess?” A hesitant voiced queried at her silence.
“My lord!” One of the women said as Drac sauntered forward all chakra and emotions contained.
They quickly curtsied. His eyes made contact with hers over their heads, and his lips curved into a sensual smile that had her clenching her legs together, hoping to subdue the throb of desire. Then he disappeared. Saieke’s heart lurched. She was not mistaken, he simply vanished.
She flashed from the bed wrapping the coverlets around her naked frame, praying to the King of All, the ladies could not sense her anxiety. “You refer to him as a lord?”
The ladies glanced at each other. “Yes, High Lord El Kyn is the Archduke of the Northern Keep. He is the Mecca there,” The younger replied hesitantly.