Happily Ever Crowned Read online

His fingers deftly removing his jacket and allowing it to fall to the floor before working over the buttons of his shirt. His mouth moved. Words I didn’t care to understand.

  “Now, Adrik,” I said, cutting him off.

  Primal instinct had taken over.

  This wasn’t the land of conversation anymore. Not verbal communication, anyway.

  No. I let my body speak for me. I lay on the bed, spreading my legs, showing him how much I desired him. Watched as his pupils dilated, his nostrils flaring at the scent of my need.

  His dress shirt fell.

  His abdomen rippling as he unfastened his pants.

  Mmm, I wanted this. So, so badly. I dipped my hand between my thighs, eliciting a feral growl from the male in the room. This wasn’t normal. This intrinsic need. But I no longer cared to think. I wanted to feel, to fuck, to fly.

  “Adrik,” I groaned, my finger disappearing into my wet channel the way I wished his cock would.

  He kicked off his pants and his shoes, leaving him just the way I wanted him—naked. Primed. Ready. Hard.

  “Valora.” My name was a rumble in his chest, a warning of sorts.

  I responded to it with a command. “Fuck me, Adrik.”

  The animalistic sound from his throat had me moaning in need, my thighs clenching, my finger working, only to be torn from my body and replaced with the instrument I craved more. So thick. So perfect. So mine.

  Adrik slid inside me in a quick thrust, his palm wrapping around my throat, his hips settling between mine. He didn’t wait for me to accommodate, didn’t ask how I wanted it; he just moved.

  And oh, it was perfect.

  Almost savage.

  A coupling between beasts being driven by the need to mate, our souls taking over and driving us into the stars, where our destinies intertwined.

  This was fate personified.

  A prophecy coming to life.

  The future unfolding in the bed of a queen.

  My breaths came in pants, my heart racing against my chest, as Adrik fucked me into oblivion and back. Neither of us caring who heard. Neither of us thinking. Just feeling. Experiencing. Being.

  My toes curled, my legs tightening, my core thundering.

  It hurt so beautifully that tears streamed from my eyes, Adrik’s tongue licking them as he continued to move. Skin slapped skin. Sweat slicked our bodies. Groans and growls flooded the room.

  A ferocious claiming, culminating in Adrik’s teeth sinking into my neck. I screamed his name and threaded my fingers through his hair, forcing him to drink his fill. Taking me into him, sealing our lives together in a forbidden embrace, mating me despite my marital ties.

  “Mine,” I whispered, my world shattering over and over again, the galaxies rejoicing with my cries. This was meant to be.

  Adrik and me.

  Forever and always.

  A king and queen finally united.

  Fire licked across my knuckles, the embers a kiss against my skin. One I returned with my lips against Valora’s mouth. She hummed in approval, her tongue dancing with mine as I slid into her slick channel once more. Her hips rose to meet mine, her lithe form perfectly keeping pace with my movements, earning her a low growl of approval from my throat.

  Hours.

  We’d been doing this for hours.

  And had hardly spoken a word.

  It was as if something had snapped. Some sort of cautionary barrier that had been holding us in limbo, away from one another. But now nothing could keep us apart.

  I bit her.

  I fucked her.

  I kissed her.

  I repeated it all again.

  And again.

  Her mewls of satisfaction were music to my ears.

  She came again on a scream, her nails ripping down my back and igniting my flesh in more of her delicious flames. If she noticed the power exchange, she didn’t comment. I wasn’t trying to tap into her energy; she was pushing it into me. As if she had too much to contain and needed someone to bear the weight of her fire.

  Her lip bled beneath my tongue, exciting my instincts. I lapped at the wound, closing it and creating another beside it. She hissed in response, then arched into my driving cock and demanded more.

  It was a whirlwind of sensation unlike any I’d ever experienced.

  I never wanted it to stop.

  Could do this forever.

  Lost in the world of oblivion.

  With my Valora.

  “My Adrik,” she whispered, so deep into my thoughts that we were thinking as one. Whatever had happened, whatever caused that wall to fall, was the best and worst thing to ever happen to us.

  Valora agreed with a groan, her mouth taking mine as I shifted our positions. She straddled my lap, sitting with me, riding me, taking her pleasure again and again before I pressed her into the headboard and nearly fucked the life out of her.

  More fire.

  More scratches.

  So much blood.

  She bit me, too. Her blunt little teeth marking my skin as hers while I repaid the favor against her breasts. Then I feasted between her legs, loving the echo of embers that teased my tongue after her explosive orgasm.

  And lay in bliss as she took me in her mouth to return the favor.

  The purple horizon was the only indication of just how much time had passed, how lost we’d been in this new rapturous world.

  I’d spent nights with succubi that paled in comparison to this.

  Fuck, everything paled in comparison to this.

  Valora curled into my chest, her blue eyes drowsy with pleasure as she stared at me. I lost myself to that beautiful gaze, falling deep into the rivers of adoration as I swam in her addictive aura.

  She giggled, drawing a line of fire down my abdomen to my finally depleted cock. “You’ve been holding out on me,” she accused, her voice a sultry sound that stroked my senses.

  “I could say the same about you.” I caught her wrist and brought her finger to my mouth, nibbling the pad before sucking the digit deep. She groaned in reply, her eyelids drooping. “Still not satisfied?” I teased.

  “I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to walk today,” she replied, eyes still closed. “And I don’t regret a second of it.”

  “Neither do I.” I angled her chin upward to kiss her softly, my tongue tracing the seam of her mouth. “I’m not sure what happened between us last night, but I’ve never felt better.”

  “We fucked. A lot.”

  “I don’t know about you, sweet star, but I don’t usually enjoy being burned.” I glanced pointedly at the pattern she was sketching with her fire-laced fingers. “We did a lot more than fuck, sweetheart.”

  She smiled lazily. “I’m too tired to worry about it.”

  “Mmm, you should sleep,” I agreed. “But I need to return to my rooms before someone notices I’m missing.” The lack of warning on my watch was a good sign. But I didn’t want to push my luck.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “Meet me later today?”

  “Just name the place and time,” I replied, kissing her forehead before rolling out of the sex-saturated sheets. If Necros visited her today, he would not be pleased. When I said as much, she merely shrugged.

  Not arrogance, just confidence.

  She no longer feared the king.

  And oddly, neither did I.

  Together we would kill him. I felt the truth of it all the way to my very soul.

  Don’t tune me out today, Valora whispered, her eyes already closed.

  I’ll never block you again, I vowed, dressing myself in last night’s clothes.

  Good.

  I kissed her once more, smiling as she barely returned the motions, her body already succumbing to sleep. Sweet dreams, my beautiful star.

  Only of you, she replied softly.

  Those words carried me back to my quarters, the warmth in them putting me at ease. Confessing had been the best decision of my life. Followed closely by giving in to my urges last night and fucking Valora senseles
s. I smiled as I slipped back into my room.

  Then paused as I sensed something not right.

  Death.

  I blinked. The stench of it hung heavy in the air, coming from the sitting area.

  The succubus.

  I vaulted over the couch and gagged at the torturous sight before me. Blood. Innards. Tears. And semen.

  That was when I noticed the other presence in the room.

  The demons lying in wait.

  I’d let my guard down, too consumed with thoughts of Valora to notice their appearance.

  And when I spun around, it was too late.

  A bullet sailed through the air.

  Hitting me right between the eyes.

  Val—

  Darkness.

  My body still hummed from the way Adrik had taken me all night, leaving me sore in a way I’d yet to experience. Usually, I ached from hours of torture. But this was different. Oh, Adrik hadn’t been gentle, and my muscles screamed at me for recovery, but his attentions had left me in a dreamlike state of pure bliss. So I didn’t mind the subtle ache between my thighs or the bite-shaped bruises on my flesh.

  I felt alive.

  Exuberant.

  Like a new woman.

  It was a strange thing to no longer fear my husband, but it provided me with a fresh perspective. My power was the key to defeating Necros, and while Adrik could access it, he chose not to abuse it. Instead, he wanted to work together, to rule together. I’d seen it in his mind, heard it in his words, and sensed it in his heart.

  We would end this.

  I slid from the bed and yawned, exhausted yet invigorated. My skin carried Adrik’s scent, comforting me and warming my insides. The entire room smelled of hours upon hours of fucking, blood dotted the tangled sheets, and ash covered the bed. I never thought I could be so wild, but now that I’d found the inner goddess hiding within me, I would never suppress her again.

  Necros no longer controlled me in any way, and that included my body. All his years of torment and torture were about to backfire on him.

  He would die. Perhaps even today.

  I pulled the top cover over the bed to hide the soiled sheets. I would change them later, but first, I needed to dress and find Adrik. My heart yearned to be near him again, the vital organ wrapped in his dark shadows. I felt him with me as I showered the sex from my body, eased my aching muscles beneath the spray, and washed the ash—caused by my power—from my hair.

  Bliss.

  Happiness.

  Rightness.

  I searched through my wardrobe, looking for the right dress. Despite my pleasant mood, innocent women and children had died yesterday. Wearing color would be a disgrace to their memory. And Necros also preferred color.

  Hmm, black it is, I thought, fondling the sable fabric of a gown. No jewels on the bodice. Just a simple crisscross pattern of black ribbons weaved around the front and back to hold me into the dress. It wasn’t easy to put on without a lady’s maid, but I managed it.

  Oh, how I missed Zaya. How was she now? Recovering? Adrik told me Grigory had helped to heal her physical wounds by use of his blood, but I could only imagine her mental state. She’d shown a hint of it during the one and only call we’d shared since her departure. Maybe Adrik would allow me to call her again today.

  Adrik, do you think I could speak to Zaya again later?

  No answer.

  I frowned. Adrik?

  Silence.

  Is this a joke? Because I didn’t find it very funny. He’d vowed to keep his mind open to me. Yet while I could feel him nearby, he remained decidedly closed off.

  I scowled.

  We just spoke about this earlier today, and already he’d locked me out. Unacceptable. I trusted him, I did, but this picking and choosing when to talk to me had to stop. What was the point of the link if he could just turn it off with an instant thought? That made things one-way, giving him all the control, and I didn’t appreciate it.

  I grabbed my hairbrush and tugged it roughly through my hair to remove the tangles from our lovemaking. I didn’t doubt what Adrik felt for me. He had my heart, and I had his. But I did want to know his reason.

  I finished my hair with a twist of the long tendrils into a knot at the back of my head and secured it with an opulent clip. That would be the only evidence of jewels on my person today, except for my wedding band, of course. The gaudy gold-and-ruby ring had to always remain in place to show I was Necros’s possession.

  For now.

  I dared to call Adrik once more and again received no answer. Not that it shocked me.

  Men were all the same, really. Adrik had broken a promise, just like many others in my short history. I wouldn’t let him off lightly when I found him.

  I checked the clock on my bedside table and decided there was only one place he could be—exploring.

  Finding the hidden lever on the wall, I pulled it and stepped into the secret passageways of the castle. I wished I’d known about these years ago. I would have loved to explore them while growing up, to find all the secrets hidden within them. Perhaps even illicit love affairs just like the one Adrik and I were indulging in.

  I neared our usual meeting place but stopped when voices grew loud in the tunnels.

  Guards.

  They were searching for something in the darkness.

  Adrik? I half whispered inside my head but also into the surrounding air.

  He didn’t show himself or reply.

  This couldn’t be good. The guards shouldn’t know about these pathways. No one but Adrik and I knew, unless they somehow stumbled upon a door somewhere. Had we accidentally left one open?

  It didn’t matter. I could think about it later.

  I needed to get out of here. If anyone caught me in these tunnels, Necros would punish me, and given his immunity to my powers, I wouldn’t be able to fight back. Not without Adrik.

  I hid my shoes in the darkness so I could flee on silent feet and tiptoed through the passageway toward my room. Ugh, but my skirts kept swishing despite my holding them off the ground.

  This was where pants would be useful. I longed for—

  Voices.

  The guards were gaining on me.

  I needed somewhere to hide.

  Adrik, I tried again, starting to worry. What’s happening?

  Finding a small alcove, I bent down into a tiny ball, thanking my lucky stars I wore a black dress and not a bright-colored one.

  Adrik, they’re in the tunnels.

  No reply.

  Something’s very wrong, I realized. Adrik wouldn’t cut me off without a reason. I knew that. But I’d felt so betrayed that I hadn’t considered the obvious, that something had happened to him.

  Footsteps approached. Loud. Penetrating. Demanding.

  I held my breath, praying to be invisible, as a trio of guards walked past chatting together. I listened to their words but captured nothing of importance in them. Just that they were searching the tunnels following their discovery to ensure they didn’t pose a threat to the king.

  When they disappeared around a corner, I emerged as quietly as possible and fled down the corridors to the entrance of my rooms. I jumped inside and closed the door quietly behind me. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might leap right out of my chest. I needed to get out of my room and find out what had happened with Adrik.

  If they’ve discovered him—

  No. I couldn’t think those thoughts.

  My hand covered my mouth.

  But if he had been caught, then he was wrapped up somewhere in one of my husband’s schemes, unable to talk to me. Where he couldn’t use my powers to defend himself because he refused to risk killing me.

  Fuck!

  A whimper flowed into my palm, and I swallowed it back down.

  Think, Valora!

  Crying solves nothing.

  Use your power.

  You’re a star.

  All the words were mine, but underlined in Adrik’s influence. It
was time I owned my birthright. Time I fought.

  The door to my rooms rattled beneath my palms, refusing to budge. I narrowed my gaze. Then I’ll burn you down.

  It was wood, after all.

  Flickers of blue embers emerged from the tips of my fingers and curled around my hands. I stepped back, ready to unleash a firestorm, when the door slammed open, almost flying off its hinges as my husband strode inside.

  I hid my hands behind my back, willing the flames to subside.

  “Wife.” Necros scowled at me. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “Shouldn’t have been very hard, husband. After all, you locked me in here. Remember?” I replied, taunting him.

  His gaze narrowed. “I think I need a stronger armory for my new weapon.”

  I supposed weapon was more of a compliment than him calling me a whore.

  Ignoring him, I turned to go into my bathroom, but he strode across the room in a few quick paces and grabbed me around the waist.

  “Missing Graystall today, are you?” he breathed into my ear and forced me to face him. “You know I despise black on you.”

  “That’s too bad,” I drawled. “Maybe you shouldn’t have killed all those innocents yesterday.”

  His brow furrowed. And then he laughed, the sound so loud I expected the glass in the windows to smash from the vibrations of it resonating around the room. “You mourn for the rats of Caluçon?”

  “They were people, Necros. Women and children.”

  “Ah, yes, the ones you desired to save. What was it you said? You wanted to educate them.” He chuckled again, shaking his head. “It’s a good thing you’re useful, or I’d grant your wish and leave you with them to die.”

  I hated the reminder of him spying on me. Hated more his cruelty and disregard for others. And truly hated the way he pulled me against him to force me to feel his thickening cock.

  He grasped my chin with his opposite hand, his touch deceptively gentle.

  “My naïve little wife,” he cooed, his lips lowering to mine.

  I couldn’t bear his touch anymore.

  The feel of his hand against my skin.

  His breath on my mouth.

  Before, I’d let him touch me because it was my duty, but he no longer possessed a hold over me.

  I loathed him.

  “Get off me,” I demanded, trying to shove him away.