Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 156210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 781(@200wpm)___ 625(@250wpm)___ 521(@300wpm)
Dark Companion.
Doesn’t it sound almost romantic?
I shake off the intrusive thought, then turn around, sliding my legs into the hot water and showing off my aching back.
I freeze when Kyranis appears right next to me. Did he move by magic? Or is he simply this fast?
“You’re not yet naked,” he tells me, and while I can sense sparks in the air, he doesn't touch me.
I swallow, torn between what I want to do (climb him like a tree) and what I should do (steal the key and run away).
I settle for a middle ground and slide my boxers off then chuck them onto the moss. “There. Since we know nakedness is required for medicinal reasons,” I can’t help the snark when cornered, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
Kyranis pours some water over my chest. The drizzle slides down my stomach and into the water, making the atmosphere oddly intimate, even though we’re not touching. A part of me wonders what it is that he wants, but asking him directly might just provoke him, so I stay quiet.
“Strictly medicinal,” he says and then picks up a sponge before dipping it into the water, between my spread thighs. Only then it hits me that he followed up on my joke.
Next thing I know, I’m distracted by the feel of the unimaginably soft sponge against my cock. It lingers only for a moment, then slides up, but I still hold my breath. I cannot be getting a boner right now.
My sexual partners were either very to the point, or wanted me to make the move. I don’t know what to do with this limbo of unresolved tension when I should be hating this fucking elf dude instead of considering pushing my face into his crotch and getting my hands on those hard abs.
But here we are. And as the damp sponge rides up my body, gently cleaning the cuts, I close my eyes and think of the spoiled burger meat I once discovered in a delivery. Because I definitely cannot reveal my cards yet.
“You’d be wise not to trust my relatives. They could also have a claim to the throne in the wrong circumstances,” Kyranis says.
This sobers me up a little. Though it could, of course, be an attempt to stop me from seeking further help. And that damn sponge doesn’t make thinking any easier. The bastard knows exactly what he’s doing.
“But you’re the prince. How would they have a claim? Surely only if you… weren’t there,” I mutter instead of ‘if they murder you.’
The sponge makes wide swirls all over my chest, making me warm while he talks.
“I will have an undisputed claim to the throne only once we wed and I am crowned as Lord of the Nocturne Court. No one will be able to take that away. But if you die, I will have to find myself a new promised and that takes time and risk. I'm sure you would agree that isn’t a pleasant prospect for either of us.”
I swallow and nod. My death is definitely an unpleasant prospect.
He’s so close it’s impossible to not get enveloped by his smell, salt and a hint of leather with something vaguely flowery but so discreet I can’t pinpoint it.
I’m glad there’s foam on the water now, because when he puts his hands on my shoulders, my dick twitches, and I’d rather he didn’t see that. I lean forward to give him better access to my ripped back while getting to hide my crotch at the same time.
Is he a top? He definitely has top energ—
Stop it, Luke. He’s the enemy. He holds the key to your freedom.
I glance at the tattoo of an elegant key on my wrist, to remind myself that I didn't fight for my freedom just to get trapped in another prison.
“When you said the shadowy eels marked victory, did you mean that… you killed the other shadow wielders?” I end in a whisper. I want to gauge how afraid I need to be.
“I did. As you can see, I am perfectly capable of protecting you as long as you don’t try to go behind my back,” Kyranis says as he dries my skin with a towel as soft as goose down.
I’m confused, aroused, and frightened at the same time. No one’s ever promised to protect me. Let alone someone capable of murder. I’m unable to count how many eels slither over his skin in some eternal dance of the dead, but it’s many.
“I won’t,” I lie.
This might be the best bathtub I’ve ever used, and the fruit soup he fed me was exquisite, but he still abducted me.
I can do it. I can run.
I just need to be smarter about it.
Kyranis nods, and as he applies the cream to my wounds, the instant relief makes me shiver. “I hope we understand each other now.”