Page 61 of Loved By The King

I lie back against his warm chest, a soft moan escapes my lips as he reaches my most sensitive spot, gently tracing circles with his fingers. My body responds instantly as he slowly slips in one finger, then another. I feel myself quivering with every stroke, my muscles clenching around him. He works his fingers in and out of me, building a steady rhythm that has me panting and writhing with pleasure. An orgasm starts to build deep within me, growing stronger with each stroke. Just as I’m about to reach my peak, he lifts me up effortlessly and positions me over his impossibly hard erection. With one swift movement, he enters me, filling me completely.

I cry out as he grips my hips, rocking my body while his cock moves inside of me, each push and pull sending waves of pleasure coursing through my body. I feel myself getting closer and closer to release as he picks up speed. Suddenly, he leans forward and sinks his teeth into the tender flesh of my neck. I scream in ecstasy as my orgasm rips through me. But just as it begins to fade, a sudden surge of pain follows, an intense heat spreading through my veins like liquid fire. It’s his venom coursing through me, heightening every sensation. Chasing away the remnants of my high replacing it with unbearable pain.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, pulling his teeth from my neck, blood washing down my chest. All I can think about is the way pain is consuming every sense, overriding everything.

Panic seeps through the fog of pain, and I struggle weakly against him. “Soren,” I gasp out, my voice barely above a whisper. For a moment, he doesn’t respond. His body is still, his grip on my hips ironclad.

And then, I feel his lips pressing gently onto my shoulder, a soft sigh leaving them. “It’ll be over soon,” he assures me, but his normally smooth voice is rough with what seems like regret.

I want to believe him, the man whose touch turned me into a sea of simmering desire just moments ago. Yet the burning sensation spreading from where his fangs had sunk into me feels like it’s consuming me whole.

His hands start gliding over my body once again. His touches are soft and soothing this time, tracing languid patterns across my trembling body.

I can’t hear anything but the roar of my blood in my ears, my heart thundering in my chest. The pain is unimaginable, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. It feels like my body is being torn apart from the inside out, every nerve ending aflame and radiating with agony.

“I’ve got you,” Soren’s voice soothes. “I’ve got you.”

Time loses all meaning after that.

The fire spreads within me, Soren’s arms are the only stable thing I can latch onto. Through it all, he continues to stroke my hair, his fingers providing an odd comfort amidst the inferno.

“Focus on me,” is all he urges, his voice a quiet murmur against my ear.

I try. By the gods, I try to do as he says. But how can I? Everything hurts. It’s like being torn apart and sewn back together again. Caught in a storm where all I see is lightning and all I hear is thunder.

Suddenly, there’s pressure at the corner of my mouth. Soren’s fingers. They lift my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. They’re void of any regret but full of concern. As much softness as he can muster under the circumstances reflects back at me. It’s enough to ground me a little—enough for me to realize what’s happening.

Despite the pain, something within me stirs—the primal part of me that has long since grown accustomed to Soren and his touch.

For an agonizingly long heartbeat more, time blurs and bends around us—then everything stops and everything goes black.

Chapter 29

• King Soren •

I stand by Aubrey’s side as I place her on the bed after drying her off as best I can, my gaze fixed on her writhing form. Every convulsion of her body sends a spike of guilt through my chest.

“Aubrey,” I whisper, reaching out to brush a damp strand from her forehead. She flinches at my touch, a low moan of pain escaping her lips.

Her heart pounds wildly, each beat echoing in my ears. I can sense her pain, feel it as if it were my own. Her breaths come in ragged gasps, her chest heaving with the effort to breathe through her pain.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, though I know she can’t hear me. “It has to be done; you don’t understand right now but you will,” I promise her. For what I have planned, she can’t be vulnerable, she can’t bear his mark.

The memory of Rhett’s smug face flashes in my mind, and I clench my fists. That monster had no right to claim her. But now, watching Aubrey suffer, I wonder if I’m any better.

Her body arches suddenly, a scream tearing from her throat. I reach for her hand, holding it tightly.

“Stay with me, Aubrey. You’re strong. It will end.”

Even as I say the words, doubt gnaws at me. The blood-laced wine was supposed to ease her transition, make the bonding smoother. I miscalculated, and now she’s paying the price even with me feeding her my blood. I should have given her more beforehand.

I watch helplessly as another spasm wracks her body. What have I done to her? She’s becoming something new, something tied to me in ways I don’t fully comprehend. And it’s killing her. Killing who she used to be. A worry I didn’t even know existed forms. What if she hates me for what I’m making her into? What if she doesn’t want me? Even as those thoughts flit through my mind, I dismiss them. Even through her pain, she is looking to me for comfort.

“I won’t leave you,” I promise, squeezing her hand as I lay next to her.

Her eyes flutter open for a moment, unfocused and glazed with pain. Does she even recognize me? Or am I just another hurting her.

I know the danger she’s in. I can feel her life force wavering, struggling against the change. She needs me – my blood, my strength – to survive this.