Page 34 of THE SOULBOND AND HER BELOVED (Beasts Of Wrath And Madness #4)

Chapter thirty-four

DRUNK TALKS: HIGH AS THE STARS

“The w-way you’re looking at me…” Emeriel squirmed, shifting her weight from foot to foot.

She stood before him now, waiting for him to tell her how he wanted her. And her cheeks had flushed an utterly endearing shade of red.

“And how is that?” Daemonikai drawled, though he already knew. Gods, he knew.

“Like you would…” she faltered, lowering her gaze. “Like you’re imagining being... in-inside me.”

“Huh. That is startlingly accurate.”

He watched as the flush deepened, spreading down her throat and over her collarbone. “Oh.” She stared at her feet. Or tried to.

He held back a smile and rose to his feet, loving the way her chin tilted up to find his face. “I will teach you how to bloodfeed in the ways of old.”

Her lips parted in a soft breath as he reached for her, unfastening the ties of her gown with a gentleness that belied his lust. Bare, he guided her to the center of the room.

“Kneel.”

She lowered herself to the floor. He circled her slowly, letting his eyes roam over the curve of her spine, the way her hips flared. His beast grumbled, restless and eager beneath his skin.

“Are you comfortable?” he asked at last.

Her head bobbed in a nod. “Yes.”

“Good.” He took her wrists, drawing them behind her back, holding them loosely before easing her head to the side, baring the vulnerable line of her throat. Then he stepped back to admire her.

And gods help him, he nearly groaned aloud.

Daemonikai had seen this position more times than he could count, but seeing her like this? Fuck. He ran his tongue over his aching gums. His fangs lengthened, straining for her pulse.

“Is this alright?” she whispered, halting and unsure. “Do you… need something else from me?”

Did she ask these questions intentionally, or was she truly that naive? Did she not know what the double entendre was doing to his poor, starved cock?

“This is fine.” Hunger rippled through every hoarse word. “Close your eyes, Riel.”

When she did, he silently recited the old rites in his mind and moved behind her. He lowered his head to the pale column of her neck, inhaling deeply as his fangs elongated further, sinking deep into her skin.

She cried out, body shuddering. She tried to pull her hands free, but he held them fast, keeping her in place. He drank.

Ukrae, her blood. Heavens in hell.

He could not hold back the low purr rising from deep in his chest. His restless beast preened like a great feline, rubbing its head against his ribs lazily.

Daemonikai closed his eyes again as he enjoyed the ambrosia. Already his body felt warmer where he had been cold. Stronger.

Emeriel made small, throaty moans, shifting where she knelt, her hips rocking. Her musk broke out in the air, the sweetest scent. He didn’t miss the slick sound when she moved, the shiny sheen beneath her where her legs were spread.

He reached underneath her to feel, and now he was growling. She was making a mess. Dripping like a leaky flow tap.

So, he stuck his finger into the source, making her gasp. She was really wet but had become really narrow without a visit from his fat, hungry dick for so long. He settled for stroking her with a single finger, gliding along her inner walls. Such smooth, velvety skin of pure liquid.

“Yes,” a wobbly, drawn-out moan. “You fill me up so good.”

Dearling, it’s only one finger. I haven’t even begun to fill you. I wish I could. Fates, I really need to.

He kept drinking, kept stroking. Her body sang for him as he coaxed more of those sinful sounds from her throat.

Emeriel’s breathing turned ragged, body quaking as her pleasure rose. He could feel her clenching around him, could hear the hitch in her voice as she tumbled over the edge. Her legs shook where she knelt, hips pushing back against his hand even as he held her still.

The blood slowed, lessening to a trickle, but he didn’t want to stop. He drank greedily, even as her cries grew louder from prolonged release. Then softened as it waned. But when he heard the faintest sigh of discomfort, he knew he had to stop.

Reluctantly, he withdrew his fangs, his beast whining in regret, licking the wound closed. No, they weren’t full, but they were better. As if he had fed from eight feeders instead of one. And only she could have done that.

“Sorry, dearling,” Daemonikai murmured against her skin.

With how sweet her blood tasted, he doubted he would ever feel full. If she were a bloodhost, he’d likely spend entire days overdrinking from her until he developed a sickness for it. It was probably a mercy she wasn’t. He’d have a blood problem for certain.

She was still shaking, muscles soft and lax, her head lolled back to rest against his shoulder.

Daemonikai rose, lifting her, steadying her on her feet first, and adjusting her stance. Then he slid one hand beneath her thigh, the other bracing her shoulder, hoisting her effortlessly. Settling himself back into the chair he’d risen from, he adjusted her on his lap—part to make her comfortable, part to also relieve the sharp pressure in his raging hard-on.

Her lashes were heavy as they fluttered. Her expression languid, soft. And then she smiled—wide, foolish, dazed.

“Oh, you smell so good,” she said, her words slurring. She hiccupped. “Have I… ever told you that?”

High as the stars.

Daemonikai chuckled low in his chest.

“And you feel really good,” she added, the dreamy quality in her voice growing. “You don’t know how hard it is… going all these lonely months without the taste of your manhood.”

And her filter was gone . Completely vanished.

Good to know it wasn’t only her heats that loosened her tongue.

“It’s been really hard?” he asked, curious despite himself.

“So hard,” she confided, leaning in slightly. “I’ll tell you a secret… but you can’t share it with my beloved.”

His brows lifted. “Tell me.”

“Sometimes in the dark of night, when he’s away, I part my thighs and touch myself.” Another hiccup. “I pretend it’s him.”

These visuals... Hell on a train, they weren’t good for him. Heaven on a blade.

Her smile was dreamy and sweet. “I pretend it’s his fingers, and it feels really good to get them inside and imagine it’s him.”

Daemonikai swore under his breath.

This was cruelty. Pure, unvarnished cruelty.

And it was glorious.

Pleasure trickled down his spine as his throbbing cock got friction, rubbing against her side. When had his hips begun to move?

“And his dick…” she giggled, covering her mouth like she’d said something scandalous. “That word is funny. Dick . Dick. Dick.”

He let out a sound that might’ve been a growl. “What about his dick?” He needed to hear the rest.

“Oh, it feels… A. M. A. Z. I. N. G.” She spelled the word out slowly, her closed eyes flapping as though she could see the image clear in her mind. “It’s the only one I’ve had, you know. His dick. But ohhh, even I know it’s one of a kind.”

Daemonikai cursed again, this time in a low, rough voice. He was going to come. Right there. Just from this.

The way his body was moving on its own, grinding against her as if he were some rut-drunk male starved for release. Her voice, her praises, her downright dirty tongue—all of it was too much. He was close.

“But it hurt me, you know,” came as the softest whisper.

His hips stilled.

“His dick. Something I like so much that brings me so much pleasure… brought me so much pain, too.” A lone tear slipped from her closed lids, trailing down. “And somehow… my mind fixates on that.”

Daemonikai swallowed thickly, his chest growing heavier.

“I want to feel it again, you know. I think about how good it feels… and I anticipate how good it’s going to feel. But when he tries to enter my body, all I see… all I feel… is how good it didn’t feel. That night.” Another tear followed the first. “I wish I wouldn’t think of that night. I wish… when my beloved tries to enter my body again, all I can think about is how good it feels. How much I want to feel him again.” Her brow furrowed. “Oh, and that our bond returns. I think of that too.”

Now she grinned and the animation on her face stole his breath.

“I have wished upon the stars over and over,” she confessed in a bright, low tone. “I prayed, promising Ukrae and the moon goddess we would do better this time. We would cherish the bond, and we would never blame it for any misfortune.”

Daemonikai had made those same promises. Whispered them to the stars and to the silent gods who no longer answered him.

“I miss feeling his emotions. Being able to call out to him in times of trouble. I miss feeling him in here.” She pressed a hand to her chest, hiccupping. “And I refuse to lose hope, our bond will return. Oh, I feel very excited just thinking about it.” She bounced her hips in enthusiasm.

Daemonikai stiffened, trying to hold her still. “Wait, Emeriel—”

But she kept moving, rolling her body as if to wiggle free. The movement dragged her against his dick with far too much friction, and the sensation pushed him unexpectedly over the edge.

His release was dull but still dragged a deep, pleasured groan from his chest. Semen spilled thick between them, soaking her side, dampening his robes.

“I think I just peed,” she whispered, a bit sheepish. “My bladder’s been funny lately… sorry.”

Daemonikai barked a laugh he couldn’t help, shaking his head. “You did not pee, sweetling. Wrong wet place.”

“Nooo,” she insisted in a hazy hum. “Not that wrong. See?” She reached between her legs, gathering her slick and cum. Holding her hand up for him to see, she grinned. “Look. Wet.”

“That’s not pee—ugh.” No point arguing with a drunk. Giving in to a different craving, he curled his fingers around her wrist, brought her hand to his mouth, and ran his tongue slowly over her fingers. “Mmm, delicious.”

She wrinkled her nose, opening her heavy-lidded eyes just enough to give him a sleepy glare. “You’re disgusting.” Her lips twitched. “But I love you anyway.”

“And I love you. Since you’re letting me off the hook...” He guided her hand back between her thighs, coaxing her to gather more of her moisture. Then he drew her fingers back to his mouth, lashes lowering as he licked her fingers thoroughly clean. “Even better.”

“But I hate your control sometimes,” she said out of the blue, eyes sliding shut again.

He allowed her hand to fall, licking his lips. “Why?”

“I wear the barest of things, say really naughty things… I show you my breasts and my butt.” She gave an exaggerated pout. “But you won’t take me. Sometimes I wish you would just… pin me down and ravage me. Throw caution to the wind.”

Daemonikai’s jaw hung open. I knew all those double entendres were no coincidence, damn it. And all that fucking ‘harmless’ teasing…?

He hadn’t known she wanted for that; he’d thought she wasn’t ready. But all this time, she’d been begging him to mount her.

“And then, when you’re done… and you come inside me… it’ll drip down my legs,” she went on, dreamy again. “And I’ll have to walk around the bedchamber with your seed running down my thighs.”She sighed wistfully.

Daemonikai couldn’t believe such thoughts came from his pristine little mate. He loved that imagery. A lot.

“I feel so sleepy,” she murmured.

He watched as sleep came for her, softening her features.

He lowered his head, brushing his lips against her nose. “It doesn’t matter if our bond doesn’t return, we’ll perform the bonding ritual. I would rather have you as my bondmate, go through the rites and vows… than not have you at all.”

She was already asleep, her breathing soft and even.

It’s high time you feel me again inside you, my horny radiant star. Tonight, I will give you what your pregnant body craves so much.

I will make it happen, and this time, I will take steps to ensure we see it through to the end, even if I have to do something I’m not particularly fond of.

***

Emeriel wouldn’t go so far as to say she was avoiding her beloved. But if one were to put it that way… well, there was little she could do to deny it.

She was beyond mortified. Embarrassed didn’t begin to cover it. Chagrined… that, and so much more. The things she had said. The things she had done in the early morning hours.

As soon as she’d woken that afternoon, the memories had been merciless, striking her and bludgeoning her. She had wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow her whole.

But, of course, the ground had done no such thing, because her luck was dreadful.

So she had done the next best thing. She had quickly freshened up and all but fled to the plantations, spending the remainder of the day there. She kept herself busy inspecting crops, checking for pests, issuing instructions to the workers. But her mind…

Her mind was on her highly unladylike behavior. On the whorish things she had said. Words that belonged in the shadowed corners of a brothel, not from a princess’s lips.

When it came time to rest, she sat beneath the shaded expanse of an old tree, one hand resting over her belly as she watched the workers in the distance.

“My princess,” one of the young girls approached, offering a respectful bow. “Will you be meeting the court scribe today?”

She was supposed to. She helped her grand king with paperwork, easing his burdens in whatever small way she could, but today… Emeriel shook her head and the girl left. Not today.

She would not be collecting parchments. Not if it risked running into him .

“Sometimes in the dark of night when he is away, I part my thighs, and I touch myself. I pretend it’s him.”

She winced, squeezing her eyes shut. Oh, by the stars…

But in the midst of her mortification came a memory that warmed her heart despite everything. The way he held her, spoke to her, looked at her.

“It doesn’t matter if our bond doesn’t return. We will perform a bonding ritual. I would rather have you as my bondmate, go through the rites and vows, than not to have you at all.”

Her chest filled with something tender, and she blinked hard against the tears stinging her eyes. She still couldn’t quite believe he’d said that.

Two years ago, their bond had felt like a cage, a trap neither of them could escape. Now, the bond was gone, yet they were desperate to reclaim it, willing to undergo ancient rites to forge a non-natural bond just for a chance to belong to one another.

The irony. Oh, the gods must be laughing. They must be having such fun with us.

“Haven’t we suffered enough?” Emeriel whispered, staring out across the endless rows of crops. “Could you not take pity on us?”

With a tired sigh, she let her eyes fall closed. Just for a moment.

But the moment stretched, and soon she had wandered into sleep under the quiet rustle of leaves and the distant hum of workers.

***

It was late evening by the time she returned to the fortress, exhausted, her back aching. Ugh. She could use sleep again. But when wasn’t she sleepy these days?

She rubbed at the small of her back and looked down at her belly. “See the things you put me through.”

Drawing a deeper breath, she pushed open the doors of her bedchamber, and came to a halt.

Five human servants stood in formation, bowing low. A tub had been drawn and stood steaming in one corner, fragrance in the air. Fresh garments were neatly arranged across her bed, pins and combs laid out in meticulous order beside them.

One of the women stepped forward with a polite smile. “His Majesty has ordered us to see to you, prepare you, and bring you to him, my lady.”