BRAVING THE DARKNESS: One Night With The Demon King
BENEATH HER DARKNESS: The Alpha’s Little Demon Book 2
Chapter 58 – Under A Thousand Stars (PATREA)
Five nights ago, I told Lucius I was ready to take our relationship to the next level. I was ready to have a baby with him.
A demon pregnancy could be detected a few hours after mating. But five days later, there was still nothing.
I stared blankly at the mirror inside the bathroom that Lucius had custom-made for me.
I felt empty. I felt useless.
I knew Guinevere wasn’t lying when she reversed the spell I did on my body, and I was sure Lucius could get any female pregnant if he didn’t stop himself from producing one.
So, it must be me. Maybe my actual human age has something to do with this. I was not getting older in physical form, but perhaps I was past the stage of childbearing.
And it hurts. It hurt more now than it did the first time when I thought I could not give him an heir because, this time, I expected it to be possible.
Lucius seemed to not mind, but he might just be good at hiding it. Because it was the same thing I was showing him, but deep inside, I was slowly dying.
What do I have to give up to give my king the heir he wants from me?
‘Where are you?’ Lucius’ voice rang in my head, startling me from my own thoughts.
I immediately snapped my fingers, and my face cleared up. The swollen eyes and puffy nose were gone.
‘In the bathroom. Where are you?’ I replied and asked.
‘Here in the bedroom now.’
I didn’t reply and stepped out of the bathroom instead. My lips curled into a wide smile when my eyes fell on his handsome, smiling face as if seeing me was the highlight of his day.
I launched on my feet and ran toward him, and in seconds, I was already wrapped up in his arms as he spun me around. “Aren’t you too excited to see me?”
“I am always excited to see you,” I answered, cupping his cheeks as I peppered his face with kisses.
Lucius spent the day with Dorion and Simon, visiting both the kingdoms of Kalmerus and Athwart.
“Good. Because I am as well. How about I take you somewhere to make up for leaving you alone the whole cycle?”
“Hmmm… Where?” I asked, my eyes squinting.
“You will find out soon, but let’s get you dressed up.” He said it with a smug smirk tugging his mouth before he let me down on m y feet and pointed at the bed.
Three evening gowns were in there, but my eyes focused on the red one. I wore black and blue the last time we attended an event, so I opted for red this time. “Hmmm… Are we attending some event?”
I racked my brain to check for any events in Althea’s or Lucy’s lives that I forgot because of overthinking these past few days, but I couldn’t remember anything.
“No. This is just me and you.” Lucius answered as his arm snaked around my waist, pulling me into his chest. Before I could blink, he was already wearing a blank suit with a white shirt inside.
“Aren’t you particularly handsome tonight?” I teased, my finger trailing his chin before changing my clothes, that I was already wearing the red evening dress in seconds.
“All for my queen.” He said it hoarsely before his hand cupped my cheek and kissed me passionately.
I coiled my arms around his neck, and I was starting to get lost in the kiss when he pulled away, his thumb wiping the corner of my lips. “We better go, or we might end up in bed again.” He said.
My heart clenched at the mention of the bed, but instead, I smiled warmly at him, nodding as I untangled my arms around his neck.
“Are you ready?” He asked as he offered me his arm.
I couldn’t help but raise my eyebrows at his gesture. He was really getting good at being a gentleman, and it made my heart flutter all the time.
“Ready… Take me anywhere you want, my, king.” I told him, and his hand went to my hand, holding his arm before I felt my body s*uc*ked into limbo.
We ended up inside a small room until I figured we were inside an elevator. My eyes widened as I stared at him, waiting for an explanation, but it seemed he didn’t want to say anything.
“Where are we?” I finally asked.
“You will see.” He answered in a warm voice before he carefully removed my hand from his. He then snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me closer to his side as the elevator pinged and the door opened.
My eyes widened as a butler welcomed us in a private suite, the biggest I had ever been in, but then again, my luxury experiences were limited as, before being trapped by Lucien in the underworld, I had nothing.
“Bonsoir, Monsieur et Madame Lucio Vitali. Bienvenue dans la Suite Belle Etoile du
Meurice.” The butler greeted us as he guided us inside the suite.
Vitali. My last name was Vitali, but I wasn’t using it because I didn’t want people from my past to track me down. But it warmed my heart that it was the one he thought of using for his reservation.
Lucius began to converse in perfect French with the butler before we were guided around the penthouse. It was magnificent, and I discovered we were in Paris because the Eiffel Tower was visible from the big windows.
We had a luxurious mansion in the underworld, but seeing actual human territories outside the penthouse was overwhelming.
The butler opened the bi-folding doors to the balcony, where a candlelight dinner was already in place.
I controlled my jaw from dropping and my eyes widening as a server was standing by the table to assist us, and I didn’t want him to think I was overreacting. But, of course, I could do that later when it was just me and Lucius.
I never imagined Lucius would take me out to dinner like this, not that he was incapable of i t, but more so because this was more human than demon ways.
The butler and the server assisted us and explained a bit about the Eiffel Tower and the
Louvre that could be seen from where we were. After that, Lucius requested privacy, and they bid farewell before leaving us on our own.
“What is it?” I asked, and this time I didn’t stop my eyes from widening as I waited for his response.
“I haven’t taken you out on a proper date. Because months ago, when I asked you, Nyneve visited you. We never got the chance to go out on a real date.”
“Paris, wow!” I was sure my eyes were beaming.
“Dinner in Paris, and we will sleep in an igloo hotel in Scandinavia to watch the Northern lights, and you will wake up in a different place in the morning. A tropical island. And many more after that.”
“Wow! I always wanted to travel around the world!” I exclaimed excitedly. I felt like I was i n my teenage years, dreaming of traveling the world to discover new things. “Wait? How did you know all about this?”
He swallowed hard, and for some reason, I thought I saw sweat form on his forehead.
“Did you go inside my head?”
He nodded his head. “I only want that detail.”
“But?” I added it because I was sure there was a but coming.
“Can we have dinner first, and then we can discuss everything after? Please.” He asked, squeezing my hand.
“How can I enjoy dinner when I have questions in my head? Don’t think I am not grateful, my love. I am. I’m happy that you took me here, that you took an extra effort to give me what I always dreamed of as a young girl.”
“Patrea…”
“Did you also see my recent thoughts?”
He nodded his head, and my eyes welled with tears. He pushed his chair backward and walked to my side. He then adjusted my sitting position, so I sat sideways from the table before he crouched in front of me and took both my hands.
“Patrea, I didn’t mean to see that part, but it accidentally came, and I felt guilty making you feel that way. I’m sorry.”
“Why are you saying sorry? It’s not you. It’s me. I can’t give you an heir.”
“I only wish for an heir, but I didn’t say I wanted it more than you. I want to apologize because my wish made you feel that way.”
He pressed my hands into his mouth before he continued. “I want you, Patrea. I’ve said it before and am saying it again: it’s you I want. I didn’t pursue you because I wanted an heir. I pursued you because, unknowingly, my heart wanted you.”
“I want to give you so much more.”
“You have given me so much, Patrea. More than a demon like me deserves. Look at me! I a m a confident king now because I have you. But before you, this demon in front of you had nothing. I kept fighting, scheming, and
betraying everyone around me to prove I am something because, d*eep inside me, I know I a m worth knowing.”
“Why are you saying that?”
“Before you, I didn’t even know what I was worth. I have done everything, and yet, my father never saw me the way he saw Lucija or Gulleirmo. I was always worth nothing.”
I bit my bottom lip as I knew this part of him was h*ard for him to let go of.
“But you, with that mark that proudly glowed on your neck, are the living proof that I was worthy of something, especially because the gods let me have you. You are more than enough for me.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I took in all of his words.
“A child can make us happy, but we will still be happy without one. We have family and friends. And most important is that we have each other.” He stared directly into my eyes, and I believed every word he said just by looking into his soul. “Will I not be enough for you, my queen? Can I not make you happy? If I don’t give you a child, will you see me as less o f a demon than I am?”
I shook my head, my forehead creasing. “No, never. You alone can make me happy, Lucius.”
He stood up and tugged at my hands gently, making me stand with him. “It’s the same for me, Patrea. Whatever fate decides for us, I will be okay as long as you stay beside me.”
“Why are you so perfect? Where is the arrogant demon I first met?” I asked, and a smile was now gracing my lips.
With the bright lights of the Eiffel Tower in the background and Lucius taking out all my worries, this night couldn’t turn out much better than it already did.
“I am the best version of me when I’m with you.” His hands placed my arms around his neck before he held my waist. “The rest of the world could see the demon in me, but for you, Patrea, I let you see my whole soul.”
Lucius tipped his head down and rested his forehead against mine as I closed my eyes.
“Thank you, Lucius. I was worried that after everything, the wishes and the gifts from the gods, I still end up failing you.”
He withdrew from my forehead, and my eyes opened to find him staring at me.
“You can never fail me, Patrea. The only time you will is if you leave me to be with someone else. And maybe even if you do, I will still come running after you….” He paused. “After I shred him to pieces and roast him to death, only to revive him and repeat the same process.”
I couldn’t help the soft giggles that left my throat at his words.
“I’m not even kidding.”
“I’m sure you will never have to shred or roast anyone to death because I am not leaving you. I love you with all my heart, my king. I hope you know that.”
“I feel it, Patrea. Every single day.” His eyes watered before his lips pursed into a thin line a s if he were stopping his tears from falling.” Thank you for loving me.”
My tears raced down my cheeks even before his tears fell, and my arms flew around his neck, locking him in a tight embrace. “Thank you for loving me as well, Lucius. I am grateful to you. All the pain of my past was worth it because I got you. So don’t ever leave me…”
“I will never leave you. Until the end of time, until eternity, my queen. You and me, until the end.” He whispered into my ear, and I kept nodding my head.
“I love you, my king.” I moved my head away from his neck and gave him a loving smile as I stared back into his eyes.
“I love you, my Patrea, my queen.” He told me in a husky voice before his hands cupped my jaws and crushed his lips against mine.
Lucius was kissing me bruisingly h*ard under a thousand stars until the terrace was illuminated with lights from the fireworks display that suddenly graced the sky as if they were celebrating with us – celebrating the love we found unexpectedly in each other.