Page 68 of A Kiss From Death (Oath of Vengeance #1)

B lowing out a loud breath, I slam the book back on its shelf and grab the one directly next to it. I drag my thumb across the beveled lettering on the cover spelling out ‘The Origins of Magic - A guide to harnessing its full potential’.

Crossing my legs, I lean back against the shelf behind me and open to the first page, looking over the guide in the front.

It breaks down each basic elemental magic and where they stem from.

I’m sure this book will be another dead end in my search for an answer to the riddle, but I will tear apart each one in this room before I give up.

I skim through the book, growing more bored by the second, until I’m sure it will be of no use. I slam it shut more aggressively than I should and toss it aside while dragging my hands down my face.

“Stupid fucking book,” I mumble under my breath .

I feel a tingle drag up my bare leg, where I spot a small shadow making its way over my skin.

It crawls up my leg and slithers over the silky nightgown I’m wearing until it grips the side of my chin and turns my head to face the center of the room.

My heart stops when I find Hade’s intense eyes pinned on me from the chair he’s lounging in casually.

After training with him in the Bubble earlier, I crashed for a few hours before I joined the other contestants for dinner.

My mid-day nap made me restless and resulted in me tossing and turning as I tried to pick apart the riddle.

I eventually dragged myself out of bed and asked Hade if he would take me to the library.

“No luck?” he questions with a smirk, like me being riled is amusing to him.

“What gave it away?” I tease, the tension slowly falling away the longer his eyes roam my body.

“I know it’s never good when you start talking to books. We really need to find you some friends.”

I throw him a scowl and flip him my middle finger. I swear he knows exactly how to push every single one of my buttons. His deep chuckle draws flutters in my stomach, and I silently curse him for affecting me so heavily, even when I’m mad at him.

“You’re tense, Nyxi,” he says, an edge to his tone.

“According to who?” I respond innocently.

He sets his book to the side and leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Your shoulders are taut and your fingers are digging into your delicate palms. Your legs are crossed so harshly, your thin excuse for an outfit is drifting up your thighs, and if you tense even the slightest amount, I’ll have better entertainment to look at than the book I’m reading.

” His gaze turns heated as he draws out his next words.

“So yes, it appears you are very, very tense .”

A shiver travels up my spine, making me jerk slightly. I feel the cold silk of my nightgown slide another inch up my thigh, and Hade’s eyes snap to it instantly. My skin heats every place his eyes drag over, and my breathing hitches the slightest amount.

I slide my hands down to the hem of my dress and rest them there, forgoing dragging it back to its proper length. Looking up at him through my lashes, I purr, “Maybe I am, Hade .” I raise an eyebrow at him. “What are you going to do about it?”

I trail my finger across my upper thigh, absentmindedly drawing a pattern, which makes my finger graze the hem of my dress, dragging it up another delicious inch. I spot Hade’s jaw tick in response, gripping his armrests, turning his knuckles white.

A deep growl is drawn from the depths of his chest, and there is no mistake who it’s aimed at. His eyes lazily trail from my face to the hem of my dress, down my legs, then back up to my face.

A wicked grin takes over his face as he leans forward again, and my heart picks up with adrenaline. I can see every dark, depraved thing running through his beautiful head, and I’m both scared and exhilarated.

“Lean back and spread your legs for me,” he commands.

All the air from my lungs leaves me, and a dark chuckle leaves Hade’s lips, looking fully amused. I shoot him a questioning look, and his mouth kicks up to one side.

“I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge.” His deep voice bounces around my insides, igniting me until I’m flooded with an overbearing heat all the way to my toes. “Now, be a good girl and do as you’re told, Nyxi.”

There’s a dark challenge in his voice, one that, no matter how defiant I want to be, it’s impossible to ignore.

He holds the reins to my body now, and I think he has for some time.

Being the good girl I am, I slide my back further against the wall and uncross my legs so they are spread in front of me.

“And how exactly do you intend on doing anything while sitting on the other side of the room?” I challenge .

A darkness takes over his eyes until they are two chasms of death. “I don’t have to lay a single finger on your body to make it come alive for me, beautiful.”

He licks his lips, making wetness pool at my center.

Slowly, he slides back in his chair and spreads his legs wide, dominating the space like a god.

He rests his hands softly on his legs as he drags his heated eyes lazily to my center.

Black flames burn from within his eyes with such intensity, my throat goes dry, and I resist the urge to clench my legs together.

I gulp loudly as a bead of sweat trickles down my forehead from the charged air between us. “Now what?” I breathe seductively.

“Now, Nyxi , you’re going to touch yourself for me until every ounce of tension is forcefully rung from that sinful body of yours,” he commands.

“Oh,” I gasp, words leaving me in a puddle of writhing need. “And you?” I question, but it’s barely a whisper.

The devil stares back at me, and I almost faint on impact. “Me?” His deep voice makes my legs tremble. “I’m going to enjoy tonight’s entertainment .”

I stare down the devil and wet my chapped lips. I’ve never backed away from a challenge, and today will not be a first. I draw each shaky knee up, letting my knees flop out. The action makes my nightgown draw up past my hips, laying me bare to Hade’s hungry eyes.

A breath escapes me when I feel his eyes connect with my center, but I remain rooted, refusing to cower. I watch his throat bob as he slowly swallows and curses under his breath. I’m glad I’m not the only one at the edge of sanity.

Biting my lip, I scrape up the courage to slowly drag my palms up my bare thighs to my hips. Looking up, I drag my hand ever so slowly, hovering it directly over my center, teasing him.

“And here I thought you would be the one drawing the tension from my body,” I taunt, my voice breathless.

“Who said I wasn’t participating in the fun too?

” His voice is so low, it feels like talons dragging across my skin.

Before I can even register his words, a tendril of black magic lashes out, slithering across the floor, aimed directly at me.

It takes its time crawling along the floor like a predator cornering its prey until I feel the tip of it crawl across my foot.

Cold air drags across my heated skin, making my head spin. It leaves chills across my skin as it makes its way up my upper thigh. My eyes track the magic the entire way, anticipating its next move as my heart lashes aggressively against my chest.

The tip latches on to my arm, wrapping tightly around my pointer and middle finger, resting a breath above my aching clit. My body shudders, realizing exactly what he has in store for me, and a thrill dances up my spine.

When I look up, my eyes connect with soulless black pits as Hade sits lazily back in his chair, a look of ruin across his face. I’ve never felt more alive than I do in this moment. His eyes twinkle with mischief, and it’s my final undoing.

“Come alive for me, Nyxi ,” he growls.

I feel the influence of Hade’s magic take control of my fingers, pushing them forward with a tingling pressure, right where I’m dying to be touched. I gasp loudly as they press further until my body vibrates in pleasure.

A breathy moan trembles from my lips as his magic takes control of my fingers, expertly swirling them around my clit.

Hade remains composed across the room, staring at me without blinking, but I can see the beast beneath begging to be uncaged.

I choke for air when my fingers pick up in pace, spreading my wetness around until I’m a panting mess.

“Hade,” I pant, unable to form a coherent sentence .

“Yes, beautiful?” he smirks, looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

“More…” I choke, desperate for more friction as I ride the edge of pleasure and sin.

In an instant, everything goes pitch dark, and I gasp in shock and excitement.

I suck my bottom lip between my teeth as the familiar sensation of Hade’s magic wraps snuggly around my eyes like a mask.

My senses heighten with the loss of my sight, and I let my head roll back as my body melts into the floor.

My fingers fall under the spell of his magic wrapped tightly around them. They continue to take and take until I’m trembling, on the verge of coming fully undone right before his eyes. Butterflies erupt low in my stomach as a fire starts, growing until it’s a giant ball of mind-numbing ecstasy.

Even without sight, there’s no denying the feeling of Hade’s eyes dragging across my tight skin, a weight sitting on my chest. A low, satisfied rumble erupts from deep within his chest, and my back arches, whimpering and on the edge of crashing over the dam of pleasure, falling to his desires.

I hear rustling and then steady steps stomping across the floor, growing louder by each step. My breaths fill the silent room, my skin growing slick from overheating. Stars begin to dance behind my eyelids as I feel an orgasm barreling towards me.

A breath fans across my neck, and I moan in response. Hade strides to my side in an instant, swiftly squatting beside me. His overbearing presence is something I’ve grown fond of.

His tongue lashes out, scorching a trail of fire up the side of my neck, and I angle my head in response, begging him to take more. I would give him anything in this moment, as long as the feeling of heaven he’s raining down on me never ends.

His lips graze the shell of my ear, and my eyes roll to the back of my head.

“It’s a shame, really,” he purrs against my neck, barely above a whisper.

All I manage is a loud moan, my brain working on overdrive to keep my body upright with the pleasure he’s ripping from me.

His dark chuckle makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand, the rope going taut in my core with another flick of my fingers.

There’s no denying I’m seconds from exploding.

His magic drags my fingers down until they rest right above my entrance.

My breath stalls when his next words leave his punishing lips.

“That not a single soul gets to experience the madness of watching you come undone like a goddess of sin. I could not possess a single copper to my name and still consider myself the richest man in the world, as long as I get the pleasure of laying my eyes upon you ,” he grumbles possessively.

The second the last word leaves his damning lips, his magic thrusts my fingers deep inside myself, and I cry out as I finally topple over the edge.

“Hade!” I scream, loud enough to wake the whole castle.

He crashes his lips to mine with a whimpering moan, greedily devouring my orgasm as he demands more and more.

Everything goes black, and stars dance happily behind my eyes as magic akin to pleasure seeps through my entire body.

It feels like a rebirth as I float in the unknown, no longer possessing a name or purpose but rather caught up in the moment of feeling nothing and everything at once.

I convulse below him while his lips absorb the sounds of havoc lashing against my body.

He kisses me like his soul would rip in two if his lips were to leave mine.

He’s all predator above me, taking command over my body and drawing out every last drop of my orgasm until I’m nothing more than a pile of broken, limp limbs below him.

I feel his thumb press to the pulse point of my throat, tracking the beats like they’re his lifeline.

I’m barely coherent, the orgasm he tore from me making me feel like I ran for hours.

He softly brushes his lips against mine one last time, leaving the faintest taste of himself, and it’s my new favorite flavor .

“ Perfection ,” he breaths against my lips, scooping me up to cradle against his chest. I relax into him as he carries me all the way back to my room, where I pass out with the blissful feeling of his lips branding something that feels like no return.