A day with Vale II

A day with Vale II

After some persuasion, Nyx agreed to stay and eat with me.

She sat across the table, and I could tell by her expression that she was really enjoying the grilled salt fish.

I used to think she wasn’t the most striking woman I’d ever seen but something about the way her head bobbed while eating, and the quiet little hums she made, and how she licked her little, plum lips, completely changed that.

“Are you going to eat, or just keep staring at me while I devour this fish? Take a bite,” she said, her long lashes peeking out from beneath her adorable silver eyes.

My gaze drifted straight to her throat and I swallowed hard. I knew exactly where I wanted to bite.

My mark still looked fresh on her neck, but the inextinguishable hunger to taste her blood again clawed at me.

I wanted my fangs buried there, sipping her sweet, intoxicating blood while I buried my cock deep inside her.

I exhaled slowly as the image of it burned through my skull all over again.

She noticed where I was staring, and she quickly covered it with her hand. But she didn't stop eating the fish. The corners of my mouth curled at that.

“I want to devour you just like that,” I murmured, my gaze dropping to her mouth. “I want to taste your blood again.”

She stopped eating now.

Our gazes met and I slowly smiled at her. Her lips trembled and she gulped before she tore away her eyes.

I caught the faint tremble in her hand as she turned her attention back to her food.

My jaw tightened at the sight.

She was still determined to fight this? Fine. I’d just have to press harder.

I watched her gobble every last bite of the fish in under fifteen minutes.

Impressive. I hadn’t seen any woman stuff food in their mouth with that much determination like it was some kind of battle she had to win.

And fuck, somehow, it turned me on more.

“Can I get a taste—from your mouth?” I asked, my voice low and adulterated with raw, compelling desire.

She reached for the grilled vegetables, ignoring the question entirely.

“Answer me,” I growled, my tone a bit louder than I intended.

She finally met my gaze and shook her head, a little smirk tugging at her lips.

“No.”

The word was soft, but final. Still, her eyes lingered on me, daring, almost inviting.

“You sure?”

She didn’t respond. She simply looked away and popped a roasted pepper into her mouth. She chewed deliberately slowly and licked her lips after.

She wasn’t ignorant of the desire burning in my gut, the desperate pull that had me teetering on the edge of control. She clearly understood that her blood, her scent, and her mere existence were driving me out of my mind.

She was born to tempt me and she was completely aware of the power she held.

My eyes stayed on her mouth as she ate.

I swallowed hungrily as I watched the way they parted. The soft curve of them pressing around each vegetable.

I couldn’t stop the image that slid uninvited into my mind. Now, I wanted her sweet mouth wrapped around my cock. I yearned to stare into her gleaming silver eyes as she took every inch of me down her throat.

My cock jerked in my pants. I shifted in my seat, forcing the hunger clawing at my chest to settle. But I only got harder.

I reached for the bowl of roasted potatoes. Maybe letting my fingers busy would make my brain stop thinking about sex.

It was a ridiculous idea and it didn't help. At all.

I kept painting filthier scenes in my head. Things I wanted to be busy doing to her instead of peeling these damned potatoes.

The skin came away easily, steam curling from the tender flesh beneath.

I placed one on her plate without a word.

She glanced at me, her eyes locking with mine, and I winked. I didn’t miss the way her breath caught, the electricity sparking between us as she stared, mesmerized.

I was tempted, if only for a moment, to access the mind link and listen in on whatever was flooding her mind right now.

Curiosity gnawed at me. Had Hawke left the connection wide open, or had he withdrawn from her thoughts to give her privacy?

I was about to ask her that interesting question when she broke eye contact and kept eating.

There was too much poise in her for a human who’d recently been marked by me, a Zenith. Not just any vampire.

She should be aching, begging for me to touch her but no. She keeps fighting it.

For now though. Because I am interested in tearing that wall apart.

She had taken up permanent residence in my head and under my skin and she’d better be ready to own that even if she was not ready to own her desires for me.

I was supposed to be the one seducing her, yet here I was, being seduced, and all she was doing was eating.

She didn't have to look at me. Just existing, breathing, eating… it was enough to pull me apart at the seams.

Before I could dwell on it any longer, she set her fork down and dabbed at the corner of her mouth with a napkin. Her eyes flicked to mine, that same anger smoldering beneath them.

“I should go and freshen up,” she said softly, pushing back her chair.

A grin pulled at my lips before I could stop it.

“We could do that together,” I offered casually.

She froze for the briefest second enough for me to know the idea landed exactly where I wanted it to. Then, with irritating grace, she stood and brushed off her coat.

“We could,” she agreed, her lips curving into a little smile. “But where’s the fun in making it that easy for you?”

“The more you resist, the tougher life gets for Hawke around here,” I said before she could walk past me.

She threw me a dirty look. “Why are you using Hawke as leverage? You think you can use him to manipulate him, don't you?”

I met her furious eyes and smiled. The kind of slow smile that made people uneasy if they had sense.

“Manipulation is such an ugly word,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I prefer… incentive.”

Her eyes narrowed, that spark of defiance burning brighter. “You’re unbelievable,” she snapped, crossing her arms. “You think I will keep giving myself to you if you use people I love against me?”

Oh. She loves him?

I chuckled, unbothered. If she could love other men and not me, naturally I’d use them to get under her skin.

“I’m just laying out the reality. You make this easy, and we all get along. You make this difficult, the atmosphere gets complicated and unbearable for your lover.”

She stared at me incredulously, her jaw tight as her fist clenched at her sides.

For a moment, I thought she might actually hit me. Part of me hoped she would. I ached to feel her touch.

“I don’t respond well to threats,” she said finally, her voice steady but low.

I took a slow breath and got to my feet. In the blink of an eye, I was standing right in front of her.

“Good,” I said, my voice low as I leaned in close, letting my chilled breath tease her skin.

“I wasn’t making threats not yet.”

Her eyes blazed, her lips pressing into a hard line as she took a slow, measured breath.

“For someone so ancient,” she said, “you sound a lot like a child throwing a tantrum.”

I ignored the insult. If she thought that would rattle me, she didn’t know me well enough yet.

“I’m not throwing a tantrum,” I replied, my voice calm, and dangerous. “I’m making sure I get what I want.”

“What did you want? To bathe with me?”

“We can start from there.”

She ground her teeth, staring at me with her expression filled with defiance.

“And if I decide we stop at that?”

I smiled, observing the beautiful sparks in her eyes. “Then, we both find out exactly how stubborn I can be.”

“Only a bath. Please… just give me some space.” She asked quietly, her pride cracking at the edges. Her voice was so delicate, it sank straight into the hollowed-out remains of my soul.

“I’ve been patient,” I shot back without hesitation. “Every moment you were in that hospital with Hawke, and I had to stay away, watching from a distance, wasn’t that time enough for you?”

I watched her closely as she stared up at me. Her eyes were dilated with utmost desire and defiance. She hadn’t spoken yet, but the tight set of her jaw and the way her fingers curled into fists told me everything I needed to know. She was holding onto the last shred of self-control just to stand this close to me.

But I wasn’t built with her patience.

She could hold herself back all she wanted. She could grit, brace, and pretend this blazing attraction wasn’t burning us alive. But it was. And if I made the first move, there’d be no holding back. I’d bury myself in her and never let go.

“Only a bath. Nothing more. Unless you think I’ll fuck you the moment I see you naked again,” I muttered, aware of the raw heat behind my own voice.

I hated how close I was to scaring her, and I hated that she might be right to be afraid of me.

“Fine,” Nyx exhaled finally, the word sounding like a surrender she hated giving. “A bath. But nothing else.”

My eyes dragged over her beautiful face and remained on her lips. I wanted to taste them badly. “You underestimate me, sweetheart.”

She gasped and glared at me. But she didn't resist. She simply followed after me like a loyal puppy.

If she thought I would see her like that twice and I wouldn't want to ruin her for anyone else, then she was more naive than I thought.

I chuckled to myself, already looking forward to that bath with more eagerness than I cared to admit. But before that, I needed her to understand something.

I wasn’t going to sit around and wait for her defenses to crumble on their own.

I’d tear them down, brick by brick, if I had to.

I veered around suddenly. My hand moved before she could even flinch and I framed her face between my palms as I leaned in and stole a brief kiss from her.

“Keep resisting me if it makes you feel better,” I drew a harsh breath, my mouth brushing her lips again. “But we both know how this ends.”

She didn’t look away. Didn’t speak. But I could hear her blood pumping fast in her veins, and that incredibly intensified my hunger for her.