Page 25

Cadence

When the darkness dissipated, we were standing in Ryker’s chambers. The familiar environment immediately calmed my racing heart.

That was until I turned around and caught sight of Ryker.

Blood coated every inch of him, but his eyes had returned to the steel-grey color I was used to. His fangs had receded, and there was no sign of the shadowy wings that had cradled me protectively.

I could feel Ryker’s anger radiating from him, and that may have been a cause for concern if my own rage wasn’t morphing into a maelstrom of wrath.

Raising my hand, I sent my palm sailing toward him until it connected with his cheek. A sharp stinging sensation erupted on my flesh, but I ignored it as I slapped him again and again.

Unsatisfied with the damage I was inflicting, I refocused my efforts on pummeling my fists against his hard chest. I was almost certain that the blows hurt me more than they hurt him, but I refused to give up the only outlet I had for my anger.

Ryker’s hands moved between us, and he wrapped his fingers around my wrists in a punishing hold.

“That’s enough,” he growled.

My head reared back before I drove it into his face. Blood erupted from his nose, yet the sight was less satisfying than I’d hoped, tainted by the blood of his victims.

Ryker released me and staggered back. He pinched the bridge of his nose as he stemmed the flow of blood. I watched in silence. My chest heaved as I glared at him.

After a few tense moments, he removed his coat and tossed it to the ground. Next, he reached his hand behind his head and pulled his tunic over his bulky frame. He used the garment to mop up the blood on his face and hands before discarding it to the floor alongside his coat.

“You want it rough, Cadence?” he snarled. “Fine by me.”

Ryker prowled toward me, and I stepped out of reach.

“Don’t think for one second you’re putting your fucking hands on me, Ryker,” I spat.

“Oh, I’m thinking about it, Cadence. It’s all I ever think about. Every second of every godsdamned day.”

I darted behind his desk, trying to create distance between us.

“That’s what you have a fiancée for.”

Ryker let out a low, menacing growl, the sound vibrating with a warning before he swept his arm across the surface of his desk. Parchment fluttered, and the inkpot toppled, spilling its contents all over the ground.

“If I want to take a wife, Cadence, I’ll take a fucking wife. And you know what? You’ll still be here, waiting obediently in my chambers, because no version of our story ends with me giving you up.”

“You don’t get to marry her and keep me as your unwilling mistress, Ryker,” I shrieked.

The word tasted foul in my mouth, and I wanted to retch all over again. “I’m not that type of woman.”

“What you are, Cadence, is MY fucking woman,” Ryker growled as he slammed a palm against his bare chest.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ryker,” I said in a sultry tone. “I belong to no man, and when I escape this place, you’ll see that for the truth it is.”

Ryker lunged for me, his hand wrapping around my throat as he dragged me to him. My legs landed on either side of his thick thighs and my ass rested on the edge of the desk.

I gasped, unable to conceal the excited sound.

“You say that I don’t own you, Temptress,” Ryker sneered as he gathered my skirt in his grasp and pulled it up to my waist.

His fingers dipped inside my panties, and he groaned against my throat as he found me dripping wet for him.

“But your cunt tells a different story.”

I raised my knee and slammed it awkwardly into his side. Ryker jolted, and it was enough to break his hold. I raced across the room and jumped onto the bed in a desperate attempt to escape him. Futile, as it was.

“I don’t care how much my body betrays me. My mind will never stop fighting you.”

Ryker straightened, pain pinching the corner of his eyes as he rubbed his side.

“You’ll pay for that, Cadence.”

“I’ll kill you, Ryker. If you lay your hands on me, I’ll fucking kill you!”

“All this because of an insignificant fiancée?” he scoffed as he threw his arms wide. “She’s a figurehead, Cadence. Nothing more.”

It was my turn to scoff.

“You’re marrying her, Ryker. That will undoubtedly come with some responsibilities, no. Unless I’m mistaken, you’ll need to fuck an heir into her to ensure the line of succession. I suspect the kingdom won’t look favorably on you if you outsource that task.”

Ryker stared at me before breaking out into a wicked grin.

“My, my, my, Cadence. You can deny it all you want, but your jealousy is showing.”

I ground my teeth together because fuck him, he was right.

I was jealous. And that made me the stupidest woman in the realm.

“Besides, with everyone’s attention on her, they won’t be looking at you. My marriage to Celeste protects you, Cadence.”

“Oh, my apologies,” I said in a saccharine tone. “I guess I should thank you then.”

With a sudden burst of speed, Ryker was across the room and standing right in front of me. An undignified squeal escaped me, and I grabbed the closest thing I could find and hurled it at him.

He ducked his head and avoided being struck by the book I’d been reading the night prior. He didn’t hesitate as he reached out and gripped my ankle before tugging me toward him.

I tumbled to the mattress, my fall cushioned by the soft pillows and comforter. A tearing sound filled the room, and I peered down, surprised to see the front of my bodice torn in two.

“Oh no, you don’t,” I hissed as I scrambled away from him.

I was no match for his strength, however, and he proved it a moment later when he flipped me onto my stomach and pinned my hands at the base of my spine.

“Stop. Fucking. Fighting. Me.”

His words only egged me on. I bucked and kicked and even scratched whatever part of him I could reach from my restrained position.

“Fuck!” he snapped. “Those claws of yours are sharp, Temptress.”

“Good,” I said with a ragged breath. “I hope you bleed to death.”

Ryker chuckled above me, right before he tore the rest of my dress away from my body.

The cool night air nipped at my bare skin, and I shuddered. From the cold or anticipation, I couldn’t tell.

Ryker’s palm landed with a bruising force on my ass cheek and my whole body jerked up the mattress. Three more slaps quickly followed, and my core had turned molten by the time he’d finished.

“Tell me, Temptress, is my pussy ready for me?” Ryker taunted.

She was, the traitorous bitch. But I’d sooner die than admit it.

The rustling of clothing sounded behind me, and then Ryker’s free hand was in my hair, pulling my back flush against his chest. His hot breath caressed the shell of my ear before he bit down, making me cry out.

“I’m going to fuck this disobedience out of you, Temptress. And if you’re a good girl, I might even let you come.”

Ryker shoved me down roughly, and then he entered me from behind. He slammed inside me, all the way to the hilt, and my pussy burned as I stretched to accommodate him.

He didn’t give me any time to adjust to the intrusion. He pounded into me with a ferocity that both thrilled and terrified me.

The sound of skin slapping against skin filled my ears, and my breaths became shallow pants as I climbed toward my climax.

“Don’t you dare fucking come, Cadence,” he bit out.

I didn’t answer him, couldn’t answer him, as a moan slipped between my lips.

“Cadence,” he growled in warning, but I was too far gone.

I crested the peak, my orgasm tearing through me as I clung on, simply trying to survive the waves of euphoria crashing down on me.

“Oh, gods,” I moaned as I drowned in a sea of pleasure.

Ryker covered my body with his as he leaned down and growled in my ear. “The gods don’t own your pleasure, Cadence, I do.”

He picked up his pace, abandoning his hold on my wrists and hair as he gripped my hips. Ryker slammed into me, going faster and deeper than ever before. I could feel the stirrings of another orgasm as he impaled me on his cock.

“Mine,” he snarled. “My fucking pussy.”

He snapped his hips forward, driving into me.

“You hear me, Cadence? Your pussy belongs to me. Your body belongs to me. There is no part of you I don’t own.”

His grip on my waist tightened, and I could tell he was getting close.

“You’ll never own my heart, Ryker,” I panted. “No matter how long you keep me trapped here, I’ll never stop trying to escape you. I’ll fight you every step of the way. Do you hear me?”

Ryker let out a sound somewhere between a groan and a snarl as he emptied himself inside me.

A sharp sensation pierced the delicate curve of my neck, slicing through the tender flesh with searing precision, and I cried out as another orgasm was violently wrenched from me. This one was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life. Stars exploded behind my eyes, and my whole body trembled as indescribable pleasure coursed through my veins.

I didn’t need to turn around to know that Ryker had sunk his fangs into my neck. The deeper they pierced my flesh, the more my body writhed against him.

My orgasm went on and on until I was sobbing and begging him to stop. When he withdrew his fangs, he flipped me over, and he pulled me against his broad chest. Sobs continued to wrack my frame as I came down from my high.

“You did so well, Cadence,” Ryker soothed as he ran his fingers over my hair. “My perfect fucking goddess.”

His warm mouth covered the wound on my shoulder, and his tongue darted out to lap up the blood. When my sobs receded, Ryker laid us down on the bed, his arm curled over me protectively.

As I surrendered to the darkness, I thought I heard him whisper, “I can never let you go, Cadence. My world would be empty without you in it.”