I open my mouth, but he’s closing the bathroom door behind him before I can
process his exit, leaving me kneeling on the floor and feeling a little dejected.
My heart sinks, guilt gnawing at my insides for asking him to spare Rio. I wonder if I should rescind my decision. Though if I’m being honest with myself, I think I’d mourn his death. And I’d never be able to look Katerina in the eye again, despite what her brother has put me through.
I’m sitting up in bed, mind racing over what to do when Zade emerges, steam
rolling from the depths of the bathroom from behind him. He dons nothing but a
black towel, loosely tucked around his waist and on the verge of slipping off.
My mouth waters at the sight, and I grow so heated, my blood boils until I’m
left with nothing but vapors.
There will never be another that looks like him—never another that will be anything like him. And there’s a small part of me terrified to see the day Zade dies. Though I’ll have a lot to fucking say if he croaks before he turns ninety.
Asshole jumped through hoops to get me, now he has to suffer through a long
life of having me.
I'll never understand how humans fear death when time is far scarier. It ultimately leads us to death because it’s the only thing that truly makes us mortal. We’re locked in the illusion with no way out.
Fuck, I really want out.
When he spots me, he pauses just briefly before sighing. “You’re still up.”
“And you’re hiding from me,” I retort.
He chuckles humorlessly. “I’m a stalker, baby. I’ve always hidden from you.”
“Stop it,” I snap.
“What do you want, Adeline?” he asks sharply, his frustration mounting.
“Dammit, Zade, I want you. I’m sorry that Rio gets to live, okay? Jesus, it’s one of the very few things you’ve let me have power over, and you’re making me feel guilty…” My voice trails off when he storms over to me, fear clogging my throat.
In seconds, he’s standing before me, gripping my jaw in his hand, and pulling
me up until my knees barely touch the bed. I squeal, clawing at his arm, but he
doesn’t relent.
“You love to pretend you’re so fucking helpless, just like a little mouse caught in a trap. If that’s what you want to be, I can show you what it truly means to be powerless. I can show you what it means to be me. ”
My eyes widen with bafflement, my nails digging deeper. “You?!” I echo,
aghast from his implication.
“Yes, me!” he shouts. “I have no goddamn control when it comes to you. I lost it when I saw you in that bookstore and never got it back. You think me stalking you was control? Drinking from your body despite your cries? Do you think I have it right fucking now?” he growls, shaking my head to emphasize his
point.
His eyes are blazing, dilated with both fury and something so potent, it burns
me alive.
“You’ve said it yourself, I could use your body for my own pleasure, but what’s one thing I could never take from you? What’s the one thing I wanted the most from you, Adeline?”
“My love,” I cry, tears welling and spilling over.
“That’s right. Your love. The only thing I’ve ever needed from you. You are the one with the power, you’ve just never known what the fuck to do with it.”
It takes several moments, but slowly, it dawns on me. His words finally
fucking process through the thick skull God cursed me with.
Zade gave in to every one of his darkest instincts because he never possessed
the control to stop himself. He took, and took, and took because it was the only
thing he could take. But that never made him powerful—it made him helpless.
Until now, I could never make sense of that when he’s always done what he
wanted. Stalked me, touched me, fucked me whenever he wanted. No matter how many protests fell from my lips, or how many times I fought him.
He chased me when I ran, pulled me back when I pushed him away, yet would worship me at my feet if I asked him to.
And I finally understand why. One cannot wield power if one does not have
control over it.
“Glad to see you finally take over the throne,” he murmurs, frustration
radiating from his mismatched eyes.
I shake my head, retracting my nails from his arm and gently prying his fingers away from my jaw. He releases me, brimming with energy.
“I’m not taking over the throne, Zade. You are the throne. You’ve always been my pillar of strength, and I’m sorry it took so long to see it.”
His gaze searches mine desperately, hunting for any hint of a lie. It would be
like finding an active bomb. The second he discovered it, it’d tear him to pieces.
Slowly, I stand from the bed, backing him away from me until I’m on both of
my feet. He doesn’t give me much room, but I don’t want it.
My heart pounds, and I drop my eyes, watching my hand rise to meet his heated flesh. He nearly burns to the touch, and I’ve never wanted to be consumed by fire more.
The pads of my fingertips brush across his defined muscles, beautiful tattoos,
and the white scars slashing across several parts of his torso. My knees weaken
while I focus primarily on the dragon running up his chest.
God, if that creature doesn’t embody the man standing before me, I don’t know what does. A fire breathing dragon capable of sending me fucking soaring.
Flattening my palm on his stomach, I push him away, almost fascinated by the way he relents without resistance.
“Take that off,” I order, glancing at his towel, my voice trembling with desire.
He stares at me, his silence loud and chaotic as he heeds my command.
I work to swallow as he slowly and methodically unravels the towel, taunting
me while keeping his yin-yang eyes pinned on me.
It feels as if an entire galaxy is swirling in my stomach. There’s a black hole,
devouring all sense and reason. A sun sending solar flares lashing throughout my
body, heating me from the inside out and sinking lower to the apex of my thighs,
and a supernova, on the precipice of exploding.
He releases the knot, the towel dropping to the floor with a quiet thunk.
Fuck me sideways.