Page 37 of Crave Me

“Yes,” she replied, her answer immediate. “Your magic is quite alluring,my king.”

I growled, that phrase of hers erasing my amusement in favor of stark arousal. “Stop saying that.”

“Why?” she asked, and I swear there was a hint of a purr in that single word. “Didn’t you tell me to behave earlier? To show you respect?”

“For the meeting, yes. But we’re alone now. No more titles.” According to her, they didn’t mean much anyway.

“So we have different rules between us when we’re alone?”

“Yes.” I slowed the car at a stop sign, then continued onward toward Reykjavik, or what used to be Iceland’s capital, anyway. It was now Gold and Garnet’s headquarters, and the city had been restructured as such.

“Then tell me the new rules.” Her voice told me she was teasing, the goddess having no desire to bow to me whatsoever. I’d have to earn that kind of respect from her.

A challenge I fully accepted.

Because I very much wanted to see her on her knees. Particularly in my bedroom.

“There are no rules when we’re alone,” I decided, wanting to feel free with her. It was a risky proclamation, but why not test some boundaries? Being open would allow me to truly know her, and I would quickly discern whether or not she would be a good fit for my kingdom.

Besides, we’d established an unspoken expectation of truth between us. I’d rather not fracture that tenuous foundation by layering it with rules.

“That seems rather trusting,” she murmured.

“It does, doesn’t it?” I made another stop, then turned onto the road that would finally lead us into the city.

The airport was a good forty miles from my house.

But magic allowed me to speed across the snow-covered roads. There were enchantments woven into the tires that essentially melted everything in its path, guaranteeing a safe drive despite the harsh climate.

“You can sense the truth and communicate telepathically,” she said, telling me how well she’d read my abilities. “Can you read minds, too?”

No,I replied via a mental link to her thoughts.I can only speak into the minds of others, not read them.

She remained quiet for a beat. “So it’s definitely one-way, then.”

“It is,” I replied. “But now I want to know what you said.” Because she’d obviously tried to think something back at me.

“I was wondering if we’ll be able to communicate back and forth once I taste your blood.” The warm promise in her words had my blood heating in expectation.

“Only one way to find out,” I replied, catching her wrist as her hand went to my thigh. I placed her palm back in her lap. “But not until we’re in my house.”

“Hmm, that sounds like a rule.” Her comment wasn’t a pout so much as a taunt.

“More of a precaution. I don’t know how I’ll react to your bite or how you’ll respond to my blood.” And I would prefer not to be driving when she put her mouth on me.

“So what does ‘no fucking’ qualify as?” she asked, her abrupt question almost causing me to veer off the road. “A rule or aprecaution?”

I swallowed, my dick suddenly hard as a fucking rock.

Partly from her blood-play taunt, then the wandering hand I’d just caught.

And now fully from her saying the wordfucking.

This female is going to test my control more than anything and anyone else has in my life.

“Because fucking each other makes rejecting the bond impossible, right?” she continued, that damn word igniting an inferno inside me. “Or that’s what I inferred from your conversation with Kaspian.”

I cleared my throat, my mind whirring with a dark hunger I needed to ignore. Otherwise, I might pull the SUV over and introduce her to the back seat.