Eternal Darkness (A Novel of the Amagarians Book 1) (10 page)

Red crawled up her neck and she narrowed her eyes. “
I am!”

The swish of her robe whispered through his body, teasing him as she twisted to track his movements. The pulse beat even more frantically at her throat, and the daintiest of feet that peeked from under the floating garment curled into
the carpet.

He stopped at her back, bent his nose to her neck and inhaled, causing her to shiver. His beast lunged and roared, and
chakra
leaked from him. Unable to stop the need, he scraped his teeth against
her throat.

She arched sharply, quivering as his tongue followed the
same path.

“Undress,” he ordered. What the fuck was
he doing?

Saieke slowly faced him. Her hands fluttered to her knots
and hesitated.

“I thought you understood what you
were inviting.”

Saieke flushed and untied the knots of the robe, letting it pool to her feet. The fragrance of her arousal became stronger, and it pleased Drac to know she endured the same
burning hunger.

The need to push her away was overridden by hunger. He drew her to him, angled his body away from hers so that only their mouths touched, and claimed her lips with raw intensity. He coaxed her lips opened, sliding his tongue against hers in a sensuous motion. Everything about her tasted like sin—dark and
utterly decadent.

She moaned and fisted his jacket, pulling him even closer. Her hands flexed, then she slid them around his neck while her mouth responded with sensual greed. She breathed in his kiss as he gripped her hips, lifted her and strode to
the bed.

He sat on the edge with her knees straddling his hips, pulling her wetness onto his straining cock, damping the front of his pants. Saieke bucked and shuddered, her hips
undulating instinctively.

A snarl hissed out from his throat at the latent sensuality urging him to
fuck her.

She froze, and apprehension flavored
her
chakra
.

He fought to slow
his intensity.

Their lips separated, and both
breathed raggedly.

“Do not stop,” she moaned uncertainty and need flickering in her eyes. “I feel achy and there is a throb between
my thighs.”

“I will not fuck you,”
he grounded.

Her eyes widened, and he clenched his teeth against the rumble building in his chest. More wetness wetted his cock through his trousers as she reacted to
his words.

He licked
her lips.

“Your eyes…they have taken on a
serpentine cast.”

“My beast,” he murmured, and smoky tendrils swirled and
enveloped them.

As if impatient, she rolled her hips, and this time he could not control his groan. The
minx smiled.

“Why won’t you
fuck me?”

The crude words from her glistening lips tugged at the savage urges beating in his blood. Drac struggled for control as her scent wrapped around his senses. His beast paced in the cage of his mind, wanting to devour instead of seduce. A red haze of lust tested his restraint as he became immersed with the need of
his darkness.

Ours
, his beast hissed inside, voice guttural
with arousal.

He trailed his hands down between her legs and probed. She trembled as his fangs extended and raked against her neck. His beast inhaled the lust riding her, and he felt its shudder deep in his mind. Drac flexed his hand and ran his fingers inside her pussy, the soft heated silkiness testing his control. He rubbed around her slipperiness until he found her clit, which he circled firmly. She grew wetter, her moans hotter, and her hips struggled to undulate against the grip he had
on them.

“Drac,” she moaned, voice husky with lust, her fingers gripping his
hair tightly.

He pushed a finger deep, and kissed her to the rhythm of his finger slowly
fucking her.

She was wet, tight
and perfect.

She returned his kiss passionately, turning to molten liquid in his hands. He dragged his lips away from hers and ran them roughly down her throat, his fangs, which he had retracted, burst out almost out of his control. He tried to insert another finger in her but she flinched and bit his neck hard, drawing
forth blood.

Drac nipped back at her neck but did not press her. He growled as she was too fucking tight. He thrust his finger inside her, pressing on her nub, and he plunged his fangs deep into her throat as she bucked and clamped down on him as an orgasm
claimed her.

She was fucking perfect…and the most dangerous woman he’d
ever encountered.

***

Rapture ripped through Saieke. She screamed in shock, and pleasure, as fangs plunged into her. Fire lanced at her neck as he groaned deeply, and dark delight rose inside her. The violence of the arousal simmering from his
chakra
made her heart bump painfully against her ribs. She did not know what she was waiting for, but the keen knife-edge of suspension sliced through her. The tendrils of his
chakra
caressed her back, the globes of her bottom, and the back of her knees delicately—the pleasure sharp
and alarming.

He slipped his finger from inside her but left his hand between her legs, cupping her possessively. She whimpered as his fangs slid from her throat, and a warm trickle ran from her neck to her breast. Saieke looked down, watching her blood, red and vibrant, trailed from her breast
to stomach.

“Drac,” she said, hating the aroused confusion, yet her body stirred in answer to the lust and possession stamped on his face. His eyes had taken on a deeper serpentine cast, and there were flickers of red. His fangs were fully extended and he looked…well he
looked scary.

“This is but one of the reasons I must resist you,” his low growl was dark and rich. “You are not made for the kind of lover I am. I want to fuck you
hard
…feel the press of your nails against my back, and when you cry, unable to take me, I won’t stop…because I will love
your pain.”

Her blood still flowed, and he ran his hands over her neck, stomach, and breast, painting her body crimson. His hands left fire in its wake as pleasure and hazy confusion beat inside of Saieke. He cupped her breast, pinching, caressing her nipples to heighten
her arousal.

His face took on a crueler cast as he arched her toward him and lowered his fangs to her breast, holding her gaze. Saieke groaned at the pleasure-pain that knifed through her as his fangs pierced her flesh. He drank deeply while his hands caressed her body roughly but seductively. He retracted his fangs and captured her nipple in his mouth and pulled. Hot dark pleasure rushed through her as the eroticism of what he was doing to her caused another orgasm to rush through her, blinding and frightening in
its intensity.

He became rougher, and his
chakra
became darker. He sucked and nibbled at her nipple and slipped his hand down to her core where without warning he plunged two fingers past her resistance deep into her body. “Drac!”

He snarled as her hips recoiled, he withdrew his fingers and thrust
inside again.

She felt his
control crack.

He ran his tongue over the punctures on her breast and her neck closing them, then kissed her with raw dominance in tune with the
plunging fingers.

Saieke drew her lips from his and moaned, “Drac, I can’t…” against his mouth as the pleasure-pain that was knifing through her core edged closer to
only pain.

“You can,” he hissed and twisted her down to
the bed.

He withdrew his fingers and placed his hands under her hips and drew her to his mouth. His tongue swiped through the slit; it lashed and suckled. Saieke keened into the room as her body fragmented as exquisite bliss stormed
her senses.

He gave her no ease, licking her into mindless pleasure, slowly and gently, then with harsh intensity. Saieke sobbed and undulated against his tongue desperate for more. He carried her body to the pinnacle of pleasure over and over until she was hoarse from screaming his name. Drac lifted her hips higher, nudged her legs wider, and ran his lips to the inside of her thighs where he pierced her with his fangs while he thrust two of his fingers inside her
aching core.

Saieke wailed in pleasure and exhaustion as another orgasm lifted her torso off the bed and she was only supported by the strength of his hands under her hips. Drac swiped his tongue over the punctures and eased her down to the bed. He withdrew his fingers from her and laved her body with his tongue. He swiped from her hips to her stomach, from her breast to her neck. Saieke lay on the bed as tremors racked her body. There was the softest brush of his lips over hers as he kissed her lips,
gentling her.

Saieke stared at the sensuality that carved his features and smiled. She could not believe he was still fully clothed. He returned her appraisal lazily, as if he had not just given her the most incredible delight. She drew the covers to her and stumbled to the edge of the bed. The sweat on her skin cooled with the air that wafted through the window. With a flick of her fingers breeze whipped into the room and closed the window. “I want you as
my consort.”

She lifted her hand to trace his lips
and blinked.

He disappeared.

They really had to stop doing that was the last hazy thought she had before she succumbed to the deep pull
of sleep.

The princess purred and stretched against the silken sheets. “I can feel you,” she murmured without looking in
his direction.

Interesting. His
chakra
was fully leashed. The shadows slithered from him, and she twisted her head to where he sat in the high wing back chair by
the fire.

She glowed
with pleasure.

“I am at your service for the days that you will remain in our kingdom, Princess. However my lapse in judgment will not happen again,”
he said.

“I will have you as my lover, Darkan.”

“Stated like a true princess,” Drac responded with no inflection in his voice, even though his beast roared in agreement. She
was exquisite.

She is ours
, his beast’s voice slid across
his mind.

Patience
, he said. “Are you not the Nurian king’s intended?” he asked. “Blood-oathed?”

“Not by my will or desire.” She stood and sauntered to him. “Does
it matter?”

“Most assuredly it does, Princess.”

“You did not touch me like it mattered,” she said, gazing down at him with penetrating awareness. She stepped between his open legs, the coverlets brushing against his knees, her
scent enticing.

Ours

A blush warmed her cheeks. “You did not taste me like it mattered…in fact, your touch made me feel
owned
by you…not by the insignificant
Nurian king.”

Drac wrestled with the flare of rage that came at the thought of her with someone else. He had exerted ruthless control to tear himself from her earlier, and he would not succumb again. He glided to his feet. She tilted her head exposing the graceful arch of her neck. His beast lunged, and Drac tamped down harshly on the desire that roused upon just looking
at her.

“Dress yourself, Princess. I will return shortly,” he said stepping into
the shadows.

He gritted his teeth at how easy she had shaken his resolve to never taste her again. He’d been unable to sleep, burning with need for the princess on his lips. He wanted her with a visceral desire. He had promised Gidon that he would exercise caution. Drac could not promise to stay away from her fully, but he would keep in mind that they had a lot riding on just having one kingdom form a relationship
with them.

A powerful kingdom such as Boreas would be
a coup.

How he had pleasured after his earlier talk with Gidon was not proceeding with caution. She simply enthralled him. Not just her beauty, she called to him on a deep instinctive level. He had taken her blood several times, and it enticed to him like nothing had before. He had never had the primitive urge to take another’s blood before; as Darkans, they simply fed from the negative energy from others. Yet what he had felt from absorbing her essence was rich, powerful
and decadent.

I want you as my consort

His cock jumped in remembrance of her sweetness and the silky feel of her body in his arms, the lushness of her curves, and the tightness of her pussy. Everything in him clamored that she was his mate, yet the impossibility of it had him hesitating. Something that he was not prone to—he was decisive, swift
and brutal.

The madness of it did not
escape him.

She would leave his real in three days’ time, hopefully ending the obsessive need he felt for her. It was imperative that he found the assassins before they made a move toward Gidon. The manner in which his father had been murdered bespoke of skill and viciousness. Drac did not doubt Gidon’s ability in the slightest, but there were webs that he needed to untangle so that his king would not be caught in any traps from the enemy.
The Kingmaker
. Drac needed to know beyond a doubt who was the enemy. Now was not the time for distraction, despite how beguiling the
distraction was.

***

Saieke groaned, completely stuffed. Drac had done nothing but stare at her while she gorged herself on their delicious food. He lounged at the entrance of the private dining hall, waiting patiently with lust flaring from his
chakra
. She almost grinned in sheer pleasure. It seemed despite his resolve to stay away from her, he could not help his desires. She understood, he fascinated her, and somehow she felt safe and protected knowing that he was in the castle and would be her escort for her days in the Darkage. He restrained his
chakra,
but Saieke was still absurdly pleased and gave him a wink to which he returned a glare filled with his usual iciness. She shrugged. He wanted her and that was all that mattered at
this time.

She had to remind herself as she dressed with exquisite care for him, that the desire she felt for him had to be temporary. The excitement filling her at the thought of learning him had evolved to dread. It was her loins alone that should be shivering for him…not
her
. She would have to guard her
heart stringently.

Her realization had not prevented her from selecting a sheer silver caftan threaded with rubies. A beautiful creation which molded to her skin exquisitely, even with the extra layer added for protection from the cold. She had also armed herself with the blades gifted from the king, and used silver combs to pin her hair into
a topknot.

Saieke agreed to stay a few days in the Darkage, and she wanted the time to be used wisely and pleasurably. Guilt already shredded her, imagining the fear her parents must be enduring. Whenever she felt her resolve weakened, she reflected on all that her kingdom would lose under the rule of
the tyrant.

She flashed from the table to Drac’s side. “Thank you for
being patient.”

He grunted.

She rolled her eyes. “Where will my
tour begin?”

“I will take you
to Lachlan.”

She inclined her head in acquiescence, and they exited the castle to the courtyard. Impenetrable darkness crashed
her senses.

“Your fear
is unwarranted.”

“Do you sense everything I feel?” She flared out her energy and used the glow of her
chakra
to light her path as she strolled with false serenity. She found the absolute darkness petrifying but did not want to appear weak
to him.

“
Not everything.”

She glanced at him. “You feel only my
negative feelings?”

“Yes.”

He walked with the grace and sleekness of one of the great jungle cats of her kingdom. She admired his masculinity, the sharp cut of his trousers and shirt. She smiled to see that his top coat was a deep blue instead of black. His shirt molded his muscles to perfection, and she imagined his shoulders rippling with each step. Her hands flexed in remembrance of how he felt under her touch, and she desperately wanted to glide her fingers over the muscles of
his chest.

“You are staring, Princess.”

Her lips twitched. “There is no need to sound so affronted. You are a
handsome man.”

“You are making no effort to suppress
your desire.”

He could feel the pleasure she derived from looking at him? “I thought you only felt negativity,” she
said accusingly.

A breath hissed from beneath his teeth. “I can smell your arousal, and it is tempting me to spread your thighs right here and sink my cock into you, hard and deep. So control your needs…for I will not be the only one smelling you, and I will rip their fucking throats out if they sniff in
your direction.”

Saieke stumbled at his shocking crudeness. Unfortunately it only made her blood stir more, and
he growled.

“Why are there no great torches in the courtyard?” she asked grateful for another topic, unable to bear thinking about the fact Darkans could smell how aroused he
made her.

“Otherworldians do not venture this far. The torches are lighted for
their benefit.”

Oh
. “I never realized Otherworld beings lived in
the Darkage.”

“Several humans reside in Gidon’
s castle.”

She drifted closer to him. “My dearest friend is a human. I dread the day her short life span will end. She is so wonderful. It is distressing to know she has only a mere seventy years or so of life remaining, when we
have hundreds.”

She jumped as screams rent the air, followed by frenzied screeches that echoed from miles out. She smiled tightly, so much for
appearing unflappable.

“I am with you, princess. I promise no harm will come to you. You
worry needlessly.”

“It is fascinating that you sense every anxiety, every fear. It must
be draining.”

“Why would it be? It is substance for
my kind.”

“You are amused by
my naivety.”

She felt the caress of his eyes over her face instead of
seeing it.

“Ahhh… you
sense emotions?”

Saieke smiled, pleased at his curiosity. “I sense only if the person’s
chakra
is not contained tightly, or if the emotion is very powerful. I did not sense you at the borders of your land. If I did I would never have fled inside.” She shivered as the icy winds penetrated the several layers of
her caftan.

“You are cold. Why did you not take
your robe?”

“It’s summer-tide.” She plucked a flower sniffing. “Flowers are blooming, and fruits are in season. I forget that the Darkage is chillier than the rest of Amagarie. I would only wear a robe back home at the beginning of winter-tide. I did not think
it necessary.”

A whisper of air passed her lips, and he held the flowing robe in
his hands.

Impossible
. “I…thank you.” She lifted the weight of her hair from her shoulders as she slipped on the robe. He had selected a deep silver robe to compliment her dress.
He
had noticed
.

He led her down stones steps into a garden. The area was lighted with several torches and Lachlan was seated at a great stone table with several chairs curved in an arch
around it.

For the first time Saieke saw him clearly without shadows and darkness obscuring her vision. Tawny eyes, sensual lips, set in beautiful face.
Too beautiful
.

She felt, more than saw, Drac’s gaze slide across her face then back to Lachlan. “He is very handsome, but he does nothing for me,” she said softly into Drac’s ear. “Please no ripping out of
his neck.”

Lachlan cleared his throat, amusement glittering in his golden eyes. “
Princess Saieke.”

“High Lord Lachlan,” she greeted, holding out
her hands.

He clasped her hands and led her to a stone carved high wing back chair padded with the most comfortable
of cushions.

She stayed silent as shadows wrapped around Drac like a second skin and he disappeared…but she could still feel him. The light showed the beauty of the sculptures that graced the area and the flowers and trees artistically arranged within the garden. The stone sculptures were of huge elegant beasts carved in eternal combat. Some were carved from black stones, others harsh grey and white marble, and the contrast of the different vibrant colors planted at stone beasts’ feet
was incomparable.

“Is the entire courtyard designed with such mastery?”
she asked.

“Yes,”
Lachlan replied.

“It’s beautiful. Who is
your artist?”

“Talon is one of our most skilled. However, we have several people belonging to the artisan caste residing in the castle who crafted these.” He went right into business. “Princess Saieke, what is it that you want to know about us that would facilitate a relationship between
our kingdoms?”

“Your king has indicated a desire for our nations to trade. This surprised me as all I have ever heard about your kingdom suggests you value your solitude and have no desire to mingle with other kingdoms. All of Amagarie distrust the Darkage. I would need to know what you have of worth and value that we could possible want, and why should we trust that you will negotiate
with honor.”

He stroked his chin. “It is a part of my scope to see what we can offer as a kingdom and it has been
most challenging.”

“How so,
my lord?”

“In our history, we have never traded before with any nation. We have only sold our skills and cunning. Our king’s vision is to move our kingdom into trade and prosperity and not only be viewed as death dealers,” Lachlan stated blandly, his eyes never leaving her face, noting every minute reaction. “I have been thoroughly researching the other kingdoms’ wealth and the goods. We do not hold crystals of light as the Avindites. We do not possess the pure fire of the Nurians to forge indestructible iron and weapons. We do not have the valentium sand and steel from Aria, or the healing elixir, grains and minerals of Boreas
and Caelum.”

“What of your tapestries, your wine, and your caftans?”
Saieke asked.

“Cloth?” he asked a
bit skeptically.

“I find them very beautiful, and I would spend a fortune purchasing your tapestries. I have been to Caelum, Aria and Avindar, and I have never seen tapestries woven with
such mastery.”

The Darkage had richness worth trading for. Her nation got their wine from the Aria—the kingdom of earth and sands. It was potent, rich and earthy. Yet, what she had tasted of the Darkage fruited wine was something more. She had hummed in pleasure at the sharp sweet flavor that exploded in her mouth from the
first taste.