Chapter Two – Gavin
It was seven o'clock AM and he needed blood.
The king didn't bother knocking on the door to the apartment he'd given Aria in his palace. He expected to find her in the little breakfast nook, with a cup of coffee in hand. Maybe making breakfast on the hotplate he had installed, or rooting around the mini-fridge for some of the fruit he'd stocked it with. But she wasn't in the main room. The door to the bathroom was open. It was empty.
Maybe she was dressing? It was a little late for that, but given that it was her first day here and the interrupted sleep she had the previous night, he could overlook it.
He knocked on the door. No answer. Frowning, he knocked again. A moan came from the other side. A deep, throaty moan. The kind that women made when a man was between their legs. Hot, irrational anger filled his chest. She was his! Any vampire who dared come into her chambers and into her bed had to be punished swiftly.
Gavin kicked down the door. He charged in, searching for the vampire who dared take what was his. Aria was on the bed, alone. She gasped and flailed, head jerking up from the pillow. In a tangle of limbs and blankets, she fell off the bed. She hit the floor hard and stared up at him, mouth agape.
"What the heck, man?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes before glaring at him. "I was sleeping!"
She wasn't with anybody. Gavin took a step back. It wasn't often that he was wrong. But he had kicked open her door… How was he going to explain that? "I told you to meet me this morning."
"It is morning. The sun's barely up."
"You mean the sun is already up."
Aria got to her feet. "It's morning until noon, and I'll get up when I damn well please."
He wasn't used to people talking back to him. Mostly they simpered and agreed with whatever he said. And in the rare case that they disagreed, they bowed and apologized and assured him that his will was what was most important. And yet here was this human with her hair all over the place, sleep sand in the corners of her eyes, wearing faded pajamas, telling him exactly what she thought.
Gavin wasn't sure if it was refreshing or annoying. "You are here to work for me. That means you keep the hours that I assign you."
"Be clearer, then. You can't just say 'morning' and expect me to know what you mean..." She checked the clock and groaned. "It's seven. I'm not a morning person."
Gavin cocked his head to one side. He had intended on giving her a stringent introductory course to what her life at the palace would be like from now on, but perhaps she needed a little more time. Besides, he wasn't a cruel man. He could be lenient in this case.
"Fine. You can go back to bed, but I need some blood first. I have several important meetings today, and I need my full strength."
Aria tensed but nodded. She walked past him, into the main room. Gavin followed her, admiring her full ass. It would be delightful to see her form out of these baggy clothes. Everything she wore from here on out would be perfectly tailored for all her curves. And perhaps soon he'd be able to see her without clothes at all.
The human offered her wrist to him, but Gavin shook his head. "I need something fresher. By the time blood has gotten to your extremities, it's already used some of its energy. I need something closer to the heart."
His gaze dropped to her neck. She swallowed, but when he reached for her she didn't resist him at all. Good. She was already warming up to him. He undid her top two buttons and moved her top off her shoulder, exposing her skin to him.
"Ready?" he asked, glancing up.
Aria's eyes were bright. She chewed on her lip as she nodded. Gavin put an arm around her and drew her closer. He frowned at how tense she was. But this would be the first time he took a proper drink from her. She was probably just nervous. He kissed her neck gently. Aria shivered and burrowed herself closer to him.
So she was receptive. She just needed a little encouragement. With a grin, he placed his fangs against her pulse and bit down.
The woman jumped, then let out a throaty moan that surprised him. He felt her vibrate as he sucked, pulling in the sweet, sweet taste of blood. Everything tightened inside of him. It tightened, even more, when Aria grabbed his hand around her waist and tugged it upwards. She pressed him against her breast, her body undulating beneath him.
Gavin groaned, pulling her even closer. Who cared if he had meetings to attend to? He was the king, his time belonged to no one except for himself. If he wanted to stay here with this beautiful woman, he could.
He dropped his hand from her breast to her waist, pushing it under her elastic waistband. Aria moaned again, lifting her hips to his touch. He grinned as he felt she wasn't wearing any underwear, and slid it down between her thighs.
Aria shuddered. She slammed her hand against his chest, making him jerk away from her.
"No," she gasped. "No. I'm a virgin, and if you want to be the first man who takes me, you have to forgive my father's debt first."
The king's hand was still on her hip. Her blood dripped from his lips. At first, only one word jumped out of that. Virgin. Fires stirred inside of him. It was his opinion that virginity was overrated. Give him a woman who knew what she was doing over a nervous, inexperienced girl any day. But the thought of teaching Aria all the pleasures of the body…
Then the rest of what she said hit him. He drew back, his brows furrowing. "What?"
She clutched her top closed, though blood dripped from her neck to stain it. "You heard me. If I'm going to be your personal prostitute, that's my price. My father's debt wiped out."
Prostitute. He hated that word. He hated it as much as what Aria was saying. He drew back. "So that was what you were hoping for? Why you let me – no, encouraged me – to touch you? I don't need sex. You're a beautiful woman, but I have hundreds of beautiful women who want to please me. I'll pay for your blood. That's all. I'm not paying for your body. No matter how much you tempt me."
"I tempt you?" Aria got to her feet and backed away from him. "I'm not the one who started pumping you full of aphrodisiacs. You could have at least warned me that having my blood drunk would be like foreplay! I bet it didn't even cross your mind, did it? You thought that I was agreeing to be your sex toy as well as your juice box. Well, I'm not!"
Aria's face was flushed, her hands clenched, eyes narrowed. She really believed what she was saying. She hadn't known about the side-effects of drinking.
Gavin got to his feet. "You're the one who suggested our arrangement. I thought that you already knew what it would entail."
"Well. I guess I know now. And I mean it. You don't get this body unless you wipe out my father's debt."
"Fine." His own hands clenched. For a wild moment he wanted to forbid her from being with any man other than him while she lived in the palace, but given her temperament, she'd probably go out and sleep with every man she could find just to spite him. "Like I said, I don't need sex from you. Now get cleaned up and dressed. I expect you downstairs in half an hour."
"But you said—"
"I changed my mind. I'm going to be meeting with a human police representative. Apparently, there have been an unusual amount of kidnappings this year. You will be there in case something happens and I need some fresh blood. In fact, you are to be with me at all times except for night. Now go get ready. You have clothes in the wardrobe."
Aria bared her teeth at him but didn't say another word as she spun on her heel and marched back into her bedroom. Gavin turned away, carding his fingers through his hair. What was it about this woman that drove him so crazy?