Kei Valancia
I stared openly at his face. I mean, it’s freaking perfect. His strong jawline was dark with stubble, his cheekbones high with his long, dark lashes shadowing against them. And his eyes…Damn, his eyes were an intense black that glittered, just like his power, and they entranced me. His tall, lean form was bent towards me with his kissable lips tilted up in a soft smile.
I brushed back a lock of his midnight black hair, the ends brushing the nape of his neck. I noticed everything about him was dark, sexy, and mysterious. But I knew how soft he was inside, and I loved him more for it. While I was devouring him with my gaze, I smelled and saw the blood dripping from his hand and onto the floor.
“What in the world happened?” I panicked and gripped his hurt hand, plucking out the pieces of glass embedded in his skin gently.
“Nothing out of the ordinary,” he commented flippantly. I glanced up sharply at him and saw humor dance in his gaze. I felt my heart melt, but I stayed firm.
“Come on.” Maneuvering around his body, I slipped out of the covers and stood. The colder air nipped at my bare legs like an excited puppy, and I looked down at myself. My first thought was, Man I’m white. And then, This shirt is huge.
Ignoring my half-naked state, I tugged on his wrist gently, leading him to what seemed like the bathroom. The room was black, and I relapsed at that moment. Call me stupid. But I felt safe. The blackness was all I’d ever known. Granted, I had the Gift of being able to see auras, but the dark was still there.
“Here,” Ryker said, reaching past me and flipping the switch.
I squinted my eyes as the bright light filtered through the room. “Ow,” I said simply before pulling him further into the room. “All right, sit,” I commanded, gesturing towards the huge as hell jacuzzi tub. He complied and sat down obediently, holding his hand with care. I turned my back, and I was met with a large mirror with a girl’s reflection. I was momentarily stunned and poked my cheek to make sure it was actually me. The girl copied my action.
Silver hair hung low around my face, the long strands swaying by movements. My face flushed a light pink with my lips parted. What caught me off guard were my eyes. They changed from a red to green. Oh my Goddess, not going to lie but that’s pretty cool.
“You’re so beautiful,” Ryker murmured, catching his gaze in the mirror. I looked away with a blush and began opening random cabinets. But then I stopped when I figured out that I had no clue what I was looking for.
“Uh, what does a first aid kit look like?” I asked while turning my head to look at him, a sense of mortification coming over me. Sure, I know I was blind and all, but I still feel slightly embarrassed for asking the question.
“It’s a plastic box. It will have a sticker on it with a red cross. It should be in that drawer.” He pointed at the drawer just to my right, and I smiled before looking in it. It was indeed in there, and I got the light plastic blue box out, the red cross vivid.
Bringing it over, I kneeled beside him and set the kit down. Opening it, I found various ointments and bandages. I was hit with a sense of helplessness. Shaking my head, I started with a cotton ball and stood again. Opening the previous cabinet, I saw the bottle of alcohol. I grabbed it, poured some onto the cotton, and walked back over to him. Setting down the bottle, I had to ignore his gaze watching my every move and instead focused on doing the task at hand.
Grasping his hand in mine gently, I made sure to look for any more pieces of glass before beginning the cleaning process. Dabbing at his wounds gently, I noticed all of the small cuts on his palm. We were silent as I cleaned and dressed his wounds, concentrating on picking the right medicine. I had to admit, there was a slight concern that I would address the wrong thing, and his hand would fall off or something just as disastrous. But luckily, Rei was there to help me. Or not.
—Pick that one. Wait, never mind it’s the other one. No, the other one!
—I’m just going to ask Ryker.
Almost shyly, I turned to face Ryker. “Uh, King? Which one is it?”
“It’s this one.” He reached over and picked up a small tube with Neosporin written in bold letters.
I took it gratefully and began to apply it to his cuts. When I was finished bandaging his whole hand, I leaned back on my heels and felt a small sense of accomplishment.
“There.” I took it and kissed his palm gently. This sign of affection must have surprised him as I heard him suck a deep breath. Heck, it surprised me.
“Kei.” I looked up, and just as I did, soft lips met mine. Instantly, I responded and pushed on my haunches to get closer to him. With his other arm, he wrapped it around my waist and pulled me onto his lap. My knee bumped into the kit, knocking it across the floor, but it didn’t matter.
What mattered was the man before me, kissing the living daylights out of m, the one who confessed his love. And might I say he looked hot doing it. Any man who had shed tears for the woman he loves is perfect in my book. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he tightened his grip on me to keep me steady. I cupped his face in between my hands and felt so lucky. I pulled away first, breathless. With his eyes hooded, he looked at me as if I was the most precious thing in the world.
“You are,” he said, answering my thoughts. He must have seen my mystified expression because he chuckled and pulled me closer. “Mate bond, it lets me get a peek inside your mind every now and then.”
I didn’t want it to happen, but I felt my mood darken slightly. Noticing this, his eyes became cautious. “What’s wrong?”
I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him. He returned the hug after a moment and squeezed me tight. I buried my nose into his neck, and this time, it was my turn to inhale his mouthwatering scent. I found it strange that he smelt of dark chocolate, but it made him even more appealing. It smelled of home.
“Kei?” His words pulled me back to the present, and then, I noticed that I was crying. He tried to pull back to look at me, but I only clung onto him tighter.
“I don’t want you to look deep into my mind yet,” I croaked, my voice thick with tears. “You don’t deserve to see the horrors just yet. I know I told myself I would become a better mate and let you in, but it’s hard.” I pulled away and stared at him, unabashed with rivers flowing down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I’ll try harder. I promise.”
He simply reached up and wiped the tears away with aching sweetness. This made the tears flow more.
“Baby, you don’t have to try hard to be you. But there is something that I need to see, Kei. I need to experience the pain that you felt while being captive with that bastard.” Anger glittered in his eyes, and I leaned my forehead against him, a decision leaving my lips.
“All right.”
He stared deep into my eyes, looking for the truth. Once he found what he was looking for, he stood up, his arms like steel bands. He carried me back into the room, shutting the light off and putting me down on the edge of the bed. Kneeling in front of me, his face was now level with mine, and I became awestruck by his beauty once again.
His white-collar shirt was unbuttoned down his chest, showing the hard muscle underneath. Oh, and his abs—damn his abs for being so sculpture-perfect.
I know we are having a serious moment but can we ask him to take his shirt off? I would really love the view. I could practically see Rei’s mouth wide open with drool spilling out of her mouth. That visual made me laugh.
Ryker raised an eyebrow. “What’s going on inside that pretty head?”
I smiled at him. “Nothing. But you know, it would be better if you took your shirt off.”
His smile brightened his whole face, and my lungs stopped working. “If that’s what the queen wants, then that’s what the queen shall get.” He simply ripped the rest of the cloth off and threw it over his shoulder, his muscles flexing beautifully by the action. It was my turn to drool. His skin was a flawless tan; his lithe frame was corded in muscle, and it was fantastic.
Being the alpha king, you would expect him to be big and broad, intimidating. Ryker, though, wasn’t huge but instead, slender yet still full of muscle. He definitely wasn’t considered scrawny, and he was still tall and just as sexy.
“Like what you see?” He smirked.
Grinning, I ran a hand down his chest. “Yeah, I do. Now, come here.” I had him come onto the bed with me, settling down where I had him lie his head on my lap with my back against the headboard. I combed my hands through his hair absentmindedly and let out a shaky breath. I pictured a door in my mind, with chains locked around it.
—Can you see it?
—Yes.
—Are you ready?
—The question is: are you ready?
I smiled gently at his words.
Yes.
And the chains fell away, the door swinging open. And that’s when I showed the darkest part of my life to Ryker, baring my heart and soul and setting me free.