He presses down farther on me, and I swallow thickly. Even though my poor vagina is abused and sore, every inch of me craves to feel him inside me.
“It’s because I gave up everything I valued for the sake of love. There’s no question, by anyone, that I sacrificed the most. Never once did I break my loyalty for those many, many years. In return, I was made a mockery by the woman I loved, and used without reward, to the point where I have no feelings—good or bad—remaining toward her,” he tells me.
The words sound so honest that I tremble beneath him. A tear rolls down my cheek, because I almost feel bad for how good that makes me feel. It’s as though that’s exactly what I needed to hear from him, and I…am so fucking confused right now.
“To say I love you is quite the understatement. I was never allowed to speak those words to Idun, because…she finds love to be something different than you do. She demands complete submission, no matter the personal cost or loss of dignity.”
His hand stills its descent on my neck, and his hand slowly closes around my throat. My heartrate kicks quicker, and my vagina forgets she needs a break.
His dark grin curves up on one side of his mouth, as his gaze stays steady on mine.
“You’ve completely surrendered to me once. I really loved it, Violet. I want it again,” he whispers as he leans in close and runs his lips along the skin of my throat.
His grip tightens a little more, fingers pressing firmly against the side of my neck. My legs tighten on him, and I find myself rocking against him, desperately wishing he’d stayed naked.
“And again,” he says even softer, gently gripping my hip to tilt my body more perfectly against him, providing some glorious friction with my next rock.
“And again,” he says so softly I barely hear the words, seconds before his lips cover mine.
I kiss him so hard that it hurts, and he hungrily—and greedily—drinks in every ounce of fire in the kiss.
“It’s all I’ve craved since that day,” he murmurs against my lips, even as I fight to resume the kiss.
He effortlessly fends me off, keeping power over me, even as his lips tease mine with the barest of touches.
“If you want me on my knees, I’ll happily get on them for you right now. But what I want is that surrender. I’m already your monster. I want you to be mine in return.”
I think I’d agree to anything at all just to have him inside me right now. Fortunately, Jasper picks that moment to whimper, and the spell is broken.
Oy vey. How did I forget he’s in here?!
Arion smirks at me like he can read my mind, and I can see all the smug arrogance in his dark eyes.
“I don’t need to hear the words to know you love me, Violet. You really should start seeing the bigger picture. Whatever you want from me, I’ll give it to you in spades. You’re the best prize I’ve ever found, and I’ll not give you up.”
He’s off me in the next instant, and a chill settles over me in a way that leaves me feeling bereft and unsated. I want to slap him just for confusing my already confused head.
I watch as he goes to lift the whimpering Jasper, soothing the baby, who seems to have no fear whatsoever.
Damn that vampire.
How does he do this to me so easily?
“I’m still mad at you,” I decide to tell him, since he’s left me a quivering mess with a lot of embarrassingly wishy-washy feelings.
He grins down at Jasper, shrugging one shoulder.
“It’s all a game, Violet. You don’t stay angry for long, and you love me too much to let me go. Now that I see that, I’ll be patient for a little while longer. However,” he says, eyes meeting mine as a slightly scary and serious expression steals his features, “it’s only a matter of time before I take you as my bride. You should have killed Emit instead of rewarding bad behavior. It sets a bad precedent for monsters who are obsessed with making you theirs.”
While my lips move to silent words I can’t seem to form, he grabs the diaper bag from the floor, pulling it over his shoulder.
“Send me instructions on proper feeding and such. I’ll have him back in a bit, but I don’t want to run into any surprises that lead to a screaming babe. Panic isn’t a pretty sight on any monster,” he jokes…at least I hope he’s joking.
Again, no words leave my mouth, and I just watch as he turns and goes, as though he didn’t just threaten to force me to marry him. Just like Dracula always attempted to do to his bride…at least in the disturbed/romantic versions of the tale.
Oy. Vey.
Fortunately, he’s gone when a crazy-girl smile stretches across my lips.
It’s always inconvenient when I smile about things that normal girls shouldn’t smile about. I’ll blame it on the fucked up monster inside me.
CHAPTER 19
VANCE
My head is killing me. Arion is fussing over a damn shifter baby he has strapped to his chest, which only makes my headache worse. There’s no more disturbing sight than seeing Arion play father to a shifter child.
Our world used to make more sense than it does.
How does one fucking woman change so much?
The child wails like he’s just woken up in a den full of alpha monsters, who are natural predators of his race, due to years of evolving wars and hereditary senses.