The Beast And The Blessed by Ashley Breanne
Chapter 26
Killian’s P.O.V.
Natalie looks terrified and confused at the same time. I hated that she flinched away from me, but the way she was standing up for herself was admirable.
There were only a few who had ever stood up to me, and all of them were the women in my family. My mother, my sister, and my childhood best friend.
She fit right in.
“No one is going to lay a hand on you!” I growled, feeling my beast fight for control, wanting to eliminate the threat that we had yet to be exposed to.
Something made our mate worried for her life.
The anger pouring from her doubled as she reached up and grabbed both sides of her head, shaking it back and forth as she moved from the chair and began to pace back and forth. “Then why did you bring me here?!”
My jaw dropped open to yell back, but watching water pool along her eyelids caused pain to form in my chest, and I reached up and rubbed at the area.
“Joselin said it herself that I was brought here for the battle, that I was being trained so I would be strong enough to save you! Why else did you bring me here then?” Her chest moved rapidly as she stopped, pacing and glared at me with her little hands clenched into fists in front of her chest as if she was imagining wringing my neck.
“No one said anything about you dying. You save my life, yes, but she never saw you d*ie.” I explained as I stepped forward slowly. Her face relaxed, and her eyes widened as her hands dropped to her side.
“What?” The disbelief in her tone caused a scoff of amusement to force its way from my chest, and I took another step forward.
“Where did you even get that idea?” I knew Joselin wouldn’t keep something that big from me. She had never lied to or betrayed me before, and I doubted she would start now. If she did, I would rip her heart, straight from her chest, and she knew it.
“I…” Her eye flickered back and forth across the ground as if she were reading words that only she could, see as she thought back.
I had known that when women went through heat, they were more easily triggered. I thought that knowing about the battle before her heat or finding out during her heat, would have caused her thoughts to spiral out of control. I had seen women be locked up in the dungeons while they suffered because of their m*ental state.
Most women are marked right away and don’t have to struggle through the heat. Those that do, reacted similarly to Natalie. Their beasts would control their emotions, and they would have a harder time remaining neutral.
They would be more possessive, territorial, and sometimes paranoid. But they would also feel positive, emotions more thoroughly. Love, lust….pleasure.
Just thinking about how wet Natalie had been for me last night, how she had rubbed herself against me shamelessly, looking for her release had my body tensing, and I glanced at the bed. She had been impacted by her heat greatly. But this was exactly what she was talking about. She didn’t need me trying to *** her again when we were finally having a serious conversation. Especially when I couldn’t give her what she wanted after we had finished. I still didn’t quite know what she wanted. I thought she was expecting us to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after.
That’s what mates normally did. But we were different.
“I guess no one did.” She whispered. “Huh. I had thought that… Joselin said there would be a battle, and that I would have to save you, I just figured that as a human in a battle against vampires, I would d*ie.”
“She did not see you d*ying. She saw you save me.” I shook my head as she turned her back to me and began to walk further away. But this time, it was me who was not done with this conversation. I pushed forward, grabbing her hips and spinning her around until her chest was pressed against mine. “Do not turn your back to me, little one. We are still talking.”
Her eyes dilated as she looked up at me with her lips parted. She was still angry, I knew that. But having her pressed against my body had me growing hard as images of her wet flesh sliding mine last night began to *their way to the front of my mind.
“So, we are back to ‘little one’, then? Convenient that you call me by a term of endearment when you are hard,” She whispered as she placed her hands on my chest, sliding one down until she could cup my c*oc*k through my pants. I let out a growl of pleasure at her touch, pushing my hips more firmly against her. “But then I go back to being an annoyance and a burden when the sun comes back up, and you are through with me, Your Majesty.”
My control snapped as she released me, and my hand reached up to grab the side of her neck. My fingers laced through her hair as my thumb pushed her jaw up until she had no choice but to look into my eyes. She did not have the power here. I did. I would never let her have control over me. That was why I was distancing myself in the first place.
“Do not tease me, mate. I did not bring you here to d*ie for me, but I did bring you here to be mine. If you want to be mad at me for my actions and treatment during the day, that’s fine. We will fight about it all you want.” I bent down and hovered my mouth over hers. The tip of her tongue gently touched my lips as she licked her own to wet them.
I felt my d*ic*k twitch in pleasure against her stomach, and she let out a soft, breathy m*oan that had me ready to throw her on the bed and f*uc*k her until she couldn’t walk. “I can agree to be more civil, mate. But don’t you dare turn last night into anything other than what it actually was. I did not manipulate you with, nicknames and kindness, so I could f*uc*k you. Everything we did last night was consensual and honest. You wanted me just as badly, if not more, and it wasn’t just because of your heat. You were laying in that tub moaning my name as you touched yourself before I even entered the room. When I hold you at night, you rub your pert little p*uss*y against me in your sleep, letting out these soft s*e*xy moans that drive me crazy.”
Her face turned red, and she tried to pull away from me, but I held on tighter, not wanting her to move just yet. As she relaxed into my hold, I dipped my head down to her neck and took in her scent. Her desire was thick and driving me wild, and I knew if I were to slip my hand between her legs, I would find her slick, and ready to take all of me.
“You’ll be nicer? You’ll make an effort to be civil and to treat me better than you have?” She asked as she cleared her throat and pushed her hands against my chest. I released her this time, admiring the flush, along her chest, neck, and cheeks as she tried to calm herself.
Oh, beautiful. You want me just as badly. Last night was just a taste of what I could give you.
“I can agree to those terms,” I said as I continued to admire the curve of her lips and the way the top of her b*reas*ts were rising and falling under her tank top as she continued to breathe faster than normal.
Be patient with me… I wanted to say to her but bit back the words. I had given her enough control for one night. I had given her more tonight than I ever had before. But Joselin and Charlie had been right. Hearing it from Natalie directly, how much pain I had put her through had me breaking.
I would be kinder toward her but still could not give her the rest of my heart. There was too much at stake. We would take baby steps.
“There is one more question I want an answer to while we are on this subject,” She said as she reached up and brushed her hair behind her right ear. Her entire face was bright red from blushing, and I was positive that I was going to like her question. “You brought me here to breed with me, but you pulled out last night.”
“That isn’t a question,” I smirked as I watched her thighs press together as she continued to stare at me. I strode forward, enjoying the feeling of being in control again. Gone was my angry queen, and in her place, was the nervous woman I had carried home for the first time.
Natalie gasped as I picked her up. Her hands gripped my shoulders tightly as I set her on the bed. She laid back silently as I pressed myself between her legs. When she didn’t speak or push me away, I ground against her once, enjoying the breathy m*oan she let out against my lips before running my nose across her cheek and to her ear.
“Do you want me to fill you, little one?” I nipped at her earlobe as she panted beneath me, her chest brushing against mine.
“No.”
Her reply was like a bucket of ice water being thrown over me. It was curt and direct. I didn’t want to force myself on her. While she seemed like she was enjoying our playful argument with her body responding as if she wanted this, her voice cut me like a knife, and I stood instantly.
“Understood,” I said, leaving her on the bed as I turned and made my way to the sitting room, wanting to calm myself before my guards and staff saw me.
I could still hear her breathing heavily on the bed, not bothering to say another word to her as I accepted her rejection and left the room.