Page 142 of Dhampira

He shook his head. “Other vors can be broken by the spellcaster’s death. But the three irreversible vors are just that—permanent. My people believe I’m a coward who surrendered my crown and murdered the last dragon. It keeps them safe. That’s all I ever wanted. I failed as a king. But I succeeded in that.”

Tears clogged my throat. My chest ached, and for a second, I wondered if it was possible for a heart to actually break.

Rising to my elbow, I lay a hand on his cheek. “You did not fail as a king, Lorcan Balauri. True kings are noble and brave. They put their subjects before themselves. That’s what a king does. That’s what a good man does.”

He stared up at me, his dark eyes sheened with moisture. I’d thought them dark and cold when I first met him. But that was before I’d seen them filled with dragon fire.

“I’m not a good man,” he rasped. “I’ve killed—”

“And you’ve saved lives,” I said, placing a gentle finger over his lips. “You’ve done painful, horrible things because you live in a painful, horrible place. That’s not who you are. It’s who you’ve been forced to be.”

Slowly, he rose until his face was level with mine. “I tried to end things a few times,” he said quietly. “In the early years. Vander wouldn’t allow it.” Lorcan huffed, a fond smile playing on his lips. “Vander has a way of getting what he wants.”

“He told me about the elven princess,” I said.

Surprise flared in Lorcan’s eyes. Then he nodded, the emotion turning to understanding. “He’ll never let anyone hurt you.”

Our faces were close. His scent lifted around me—soap, leather, and spice combined with a fourth element that was his alone.

“Neither will I,” he said. “No one will touch you, Corinthe.”

My heart skipped a beat, desire pooling between my thighs. “What if I want to be touched?”

His eyes shuttered, and panic shot through me. Oh gods, had I misread him?

“Lorcan,” I said, horrified when my voice cracked. “I-I’m sorry. I thought…” The panic turned to embarrassment and I sat up, intent on leaving the bed.

Lorcan caught my arm. “Wait. It’s not what you think.”

I hesitated, my heart thumping hard. “What do you mean?”

Even in the room’s dim light, the blush on his cheeks was like the sun peeking over the horizon. “I’m…” He licked his lips. “Well, you know I’ve been with Vander. But I’ve…” Sitting up all the way, he shoved an agitated hand through his hair. “This is ridiculous and mortifying, and there’s no easy way to say it, so I’ll just spit it out. I’ve never been with a woman. Not…completely.”

Oh.

Lorcan lowered his hand. “My people have strict traditions. Sex is viewed as the ultimate lack of control. To be honest, we could probably let some of that go, but it’s not like I’m in a position to change it.”

For a second, any possible response deserted me. I cleared my throat. “Do you want to be with a woman? Completely?”

The heat that flared in his gaze obliterated my doubts. He moved closer, his eyes wandering over me in a lazy perusal that made my pulse pound in my neck and between my legs.

“Just one,” he said. Hooking a finger in the neck of my gown, he tugged me forward until our lips were nearly touching. “I want this woman.”

My nipples tightened, the tips aching under the black silk.

Lorcan sighed as he pressed his forehead to mine. “Do you know what it does to me to see you in a Drachvi gown? To see you walking toward me with dragonstones around your waist and smoke curling around your long legs?” He sank his finger deeper into my neckline, his skin hot against mine. “It makes me ravenous, Corinthe. It makes me hard.”

A whimper slipped from me.

He moved his hand to my throat, his long fingers circling it easily. But he was gentle, oh so gentle, as he brushed his lips over mine. “It makes me want to see you in nothing but a chain of stones around your pretty waist, your body spread beneath me, and your pussy wet for my dick. Is that something you’ll allow me to see?”

“Yes,” I breathed, heat blasting me. “Gods, yes.”

His lips curved against mine. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear, Wife.”

I expected him to rush. But he didn’t. No, Lorcan took his time, easing me onto my back and stripping me as he would unwrap a present. My gown hit the floor, followed by my underskirts and stockings. He flung my chemise aside, his nostrils flaring as he brushed reverent fingers over my quivering breasts. He groaned like a dying man when he dragged my drawers down my thighs, and he sank a fang into his lip when he traced a fingertip down the seam of my pussy. Lifting his burning eyes to mine, he sucked his finger into his mouth.

I shivered, my nipples puckering in the chamber’s cool air. There was something wicked about lying nude while he was wrapped in all of his court finery. As if he sensed the direction of my thoughts, he pulled the dragonstone chain from the pile of my clothes. A flush spread down my chest as he fastened it around my waist, the links resting just above my bare mound. He eased my thighs apart, his fangs reappearing as my sex opened and air teased the moisture between my legs.