Chapter 263: Boiling Pool 🌶️

He waded toward me. The water reached his waist. He possessed a single, driving purpose.

He cornered me against the white stone wall. He braced his large hands on the edge of the pool, trapping me between his thick arms.

"You took a risk in the study," Vasilis growled. He lowered his face. His nose brushed my jaw. "You let a corpse get within striking distance. You let Ignatius take the hit."

"I handled the corpse," I answered. I tilted my chin up, refusing to back down.

"You think you can handle the dead on your own," Vasilis snarled. "You are arrogant. A Queen needs her Vanguard. You do not fight in the mud anymore. You let me spill the blood."

"I will not hide in a tower," I challenged.

"You will let me protect you," he demanded. "Or I will lock you in this room."

"You cannot lock a god in a room, wolf."

"I can try."

He crashed his mouth against mine.

The kiss held zero hesitation. It tasted of sweat and raw rage. He forced my lips apart. His tongue swept inside, marking his territory. I tangled my wet hands in his dark hair. I pulled him flush against my chest. The hot water surged around our waists.

He broke the kiss. He trailed his mouth down my neck. He bit the soft skin where my neck met my shoulder. He did not break the skin for a permanent mating mark, but he applied enough pressure to leave a dark, bruising claim.

I gasped. My back hit the wet stone.

He grabbed my hips. He lifted me out of the water. I wrapped my bare legs around his thick waist. I locked my ankles behind his back.

"You sit on the throne," Vasilis rasped against my collarbone. "You wear the iron crown. But you belong to my pack. You belong to me."

"I belong to you," I agreed.

He pushed me back. He pinned my spine against the edge of the pool. The smooth stone offered zero cushion.

He drove his hips forward.

He entered me in one brutal, relentless strike. The stretch tore a scream from my throat. The sound echoed off the high, arched ceiling of the bathhouse.

He set a punishing, heavy rhythm. He pulled back and thrust forward, hitting the deepest part of my core with flawless precision. He did not care about the splash. He did not care about the noise. He needed to prove his dominance. He needed to overwrite the fear of the assassination attempt with the raw weight of his flesh.

"Tell me who commands you in the dark," Vasilis demanded. He gripped my thighs, leaving dark bruises on my pale skin.

"You do," I sobbed. The friction ignited a massive coil of heat in my lower stomach. "Mon loup."

He liked the French words. He growled, a deep rumble that vibrated against my chest. He increased the speed. The steady rhythm shifted into a frantic, driving pound.

The golden Alpha spark in my veins flared. The magic answered his feral energy. The water around us began to boil, reacting to the intense heat radiating from my skin.

I arched my back. I dug my nails into his thick shoulders. The pleasure crested into a blinding wave. I lost my breath.

"Vasilis!" I cried out.

The climax hit me. My inner muscles clamped down hard, milking the rigid length inside me. I threw my head back, letting the intense, burning waves wash over my brain.

Vasilis hit his peak. He let out a deafening shout. He arched his massive back. He drove forward with a final, crushing surge. He released his hot seed deep inside my body.

His chest heaved. He collapsed against me, burying his face in the crook of my neck. I held him tight, feeling the rapid beat of his mortal heart. We rested in the boiling water. The steam grew thick, cloaking the entire room in a white haze.

Vasilis pulled back. He offered an exhausted, possessive smirk. He traced the fresh bruise on my shoulder.

"The Commander secures the Queen," he whispered.

I smiled. I kissed his wet jaw.

We stayed in the pool. The hot water relaxed my tired muscles. The stress of the long day faded.

Then, the water began to swirl.

I felt a cold draft pull at my legs beneath the surface. The boiling heat of the pool dropped in a single second. The water turned freezing cold.

Vasilis frowned. He looked down into the water.

The red rose petals spun in a tight circle. A massive whirlpool formed in the center of the white stone basin. The water drained at a terrifying speed.

A deafening crack echoed from the bottom of the pool.

The white stone floor split open. A gaping black hole swallowed the remaining water.

Vasilis grabbed my waist. He hauled me out of the pool and shoved me behind his broad back. He reached for a weapon he did not have. He left his broadsword in the corridor.

A pale, rotting hand reached out of the dark hole. It gripped the edge of the cracked stone. A second hand followed. Then a third.

Dozens of corpses crawled out of the drain.