Page 47

Viggo's pale skin looked nearly white against the darkness. His long onyx hair floated around him like a black halo, the tattoos wrapping around his upper body broke up the pale canvas, and it made me bite my bottom lip which caused tiny air bubbles to escape. His face, which was usually unreadable stone, was flooded with so many emotions...

But I didn't have a name for any of them.

Viggo stopped in front of me and pointed toward the surface.

Yeah, that would be smart considering I was running out of air, and the last thing I wanted was to need CPR after I was just healed.

I forced a smile before nodding that I was done pouting on the bottom of the pool, for now.

Viggo offered me his hand, which I took without thinking twice about.

But what I did next, I didn't think about at all and it scared me.

I pulled myself up and wrapped my legs around his waist then smashed my mouth into his.

Kissing in water was ridiculous and not as sexy as it looked in movies, in fact, it was a quick way to drown, but feeling his lips pressed against mine made my heart race.

Viggo pushed off the bottom of the pool and kicked to the surface as hard as he could, and when our heads broke the surface of the water, he started to push me away from him.

That was to be expected.

When my breathing shuddered and tears flooded my eyes, it stole his attention and he stopped trying to push me away, and instead he pulled me into him and he kissed me.

Actually kissed me!

One of his large hands held onto the back of my head, holding me against his mouth, and the other slid up my thigh to my backside where he squeezed.

Viggo swam us over to the edge of the pool, his lips moving in time with mine as our tongues twisted and twirled, exploring the mouth of the other...

The taste of his mouth.

The feel of his tongue wrapping around mine, the slight thrill of danger that raced down my spine when my tongue grazed his fangs...

It was beyond words and it pushed me over the edge of reason.

I knotted my hands in his long hair, holding him against me, keeping him from pulling away from me again since that was what he always did when he let his guard slip.

And yes, he would perceive this as a very big slip.

The taste of his mouth was even more intoxicating than his scent!

Viggo tried pulling away from me, but I refused to let go, so he smashed me against the side of the pool, causing me to snarl.

In return, he made that deep, animalistic growl of pure masculinity I loved that caused my lashes to flutter and breathing to hitch before his body was pressing against mine, and he forced me back against the side of the pool, and the feel of his arousal was more than evident.

Micro-penis it is not!

I didn't know if Harper and the Professor were watching or if they were even around, but I didn't care either.

All I cared about was the annoying boy I was wrapped around and the way he made me feel.

My breathing was labored, and the rise and fall of my breasts in the sheer shirt against his bare chest made me slightly self-conscious, but Viggo's mouth moving down my neck caused my lashes to flutter shut and I sank my nails into his back.

Viggo's mouth moved down the length of my neck in a combination of feathery kisses and soft bites, and the sensation it caused made my body seemingly start acting on its own primal need without conscious effort; I started grinding my hips against his arousal.

Viggo started unbuttoning the dress shirt I wore with one hand.

I was about to shy away from him when he stopped after three buttons and jerked the fabric down off of my shoulder before moving to the crook of my neck where he bit slightly harder.

I moaned, rather loudly; this couldn't get any better if I tried.

And I was right.

Viggo froze in place, before he pulled away from me, looking at my neck, where he just bit as if it just registered with him. A look of disgust washed across his face as the red mark that matched up to his teeth started to swell slightly at the base of my neck from where he bit without breaking the skin.

"I... I cannot do this. I am sorry," he stammered and removed my legs from around his waist before he pulled himself out of the pool.

"Please don't," I whispered, my bottom lip trembling uncontrollably as I reached for him.

"Je suis désolé," Viggo pleaded then hurried away from me, leaving me there, alone, turned on, and extremely confused.

Eventually, I managed to pull myself out of the water and then sat on the edge of the pool. I hugged my knees to my chest in an attempt to hide the fact that I was on the verge of either staking Viggo without a stake or crying...

Or possibly both.

I didn't know what in the hell just happened...

I knew exactly what happened because it's the same as what always happens when Viggo and I start doing something that is considered intimate.

He ran because it was wrong.

But was it?

Was it wrong that it felt right?

Being in Viggo's arms, feeling his heated breath against my skin, the taste of his mouth, the way my body responded to his touch...

It all felt amazing!

It was the only thing that felt right in my life for so long that it felt as if I was completely losing my mind now and my heart was breaking, literally.

I shouldn't be surprised that Viggo turned back into Prince de Babineaux and ran when he let his guard down.

What was really upsetting me, and it was purely because of hormones, was I would have slept with him if he wanted.

I've never wanted anything as much as I wanted him at that moment.

Luckily for my virginity, he turned back into Prince de Babineaux and ran like a punk.

"Miss Li," Azrael said, coming up behind me. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, trying to wipe away the tears that had been staining my cheeks since Viggo left me poolside, abandoning me.

"Please escort me back to the dorms," I hiccupped.

"Of course. Would you like me to arrange dinner to be brought to you?" he asked.

"No thank you, I've lost my appetite." I took his offered hand and he helped me to my feet before I wrapped my arms around my chest and headed to the exit with Azrael.

Viggo was standing by the exit, his eyes on the ground, with a towel in hand.

He held the towel out for me as we approached.

I started to take the towel, but instead, my body once again had a mind of its own and I punched him in the face as hard as I could.

Viggo's head snapped to the side to absorb the impact of the blow, but other than that he didn't move or flinch.

He knew it was coming.

"Miss Li?" Azrael asked, stepping between me and Viggo. "Is this a reason for concern?"

"Not at all," I hissed through clenched teeth and continued out the door.

Hitting a Royal, especially in front of the Commander of the Imperial Guard, was a death sentence.

But I rather die a thousand deaths than feel what I felt at that moment.

Overly dramatic, I know, but rejection had never been more unfathomable to experience, and I had been subjected to a lot of unbearable things lately, but they were nothing compared to this.