I found that incredible. There was beauty in that. Unfathomable beauty and connection.
I was already stepping around the desk, peering down at the parchment, which I discovered were balance sheets.
Lore.
Another surprising discovery about the Kylorr was that they were responsible for the most sought-after commodity in the universe. During one particularly low harvest year, I’d heard a single leaf of lore had sold for 25,000 credits.
Lore was no blue salt, which could be harvested on many planets, that was for certain. But this seemed like a lot of work for just one being. And I had nothing better to do than roam the halls and tidy up the starwood vines out on the terrace, which I planned to do in the coming days.
Anything to distract me from Azur’s return tonight, I thought to myself, running my finger down a particular column which was labeled tun, which I knew was a universal measure of weight.
Excitement rose in my breast just as I remembered something.
“Are you Maazin?” I wondered, looking up at the Kylorr male. The male who was in charge of the lore yield reports, who Azur had already reminded once about their completion.
He was studying me carefully, the twitch of his wings behind him the only indication he’d heard me. He was still frowning, looking down to the parchment over the desk, before up at me.
Suddenly, his shoulders relaxed again. He gave me a half smile and said, “Yes. Yes, I am. And I would delighted if you joined me here, Kylaira. Of course you can help, if you truly wish to.”
I smiled. Perhaps the first genuine smile I’d given someone since I’d left the Collis.
“Call me Gemma.”
“Gemma,” Maazin repeated, inclining his head in acknowledgment. He gestured to the stacks of parchment along the far wall. “Would you like to start there? I’ll finish these.”
Looking out the wide window, which had a partial view of a village below with a peak of the sea, I saw that the sun was sinking, casting brilliant rays across the sky.
Soon, night would arrive.
And so would Azur.
“Let’s get to work,” I said, turning back to Maazin, smiling.
Chapter 14
Gemma
Every single flicker of starlight made my heart stutter as I waited.
Though I’d been half tempted to return to Maazin’s office to continue sorting through the disorganized mess of papers and records, I had decided to venture to my rooms after dinner. I’d taken the meal in an empty dining room, though a Kylorr male named Inasa had lingered nearby, just in case I’d requested anything further. He’d poured my wine—thick and sweet and tasting vaguely of the apples that had grown in the Collis—and I’d had more than I probably should’ve, considering the pleasant buzz in my head and the way my limbs felt loose.
Maybe it’s for the best, I thought, laughing softly to myself. Maybe I was more like my father than I thought.
A little after midnight, as the fire popped in the hearth, a loud thump came from outside my balcony window in my room, making me stand.
The doors burst inward, nearly shattering the lock, making me gasp in alarm.
Then suddenly…Azur was there.
And when those red, molten orbs found mine? They were feral. Angry.
My first instinct was to run.
At first, I actually did.
There was a ferocity, a wildness in his usual expressionless, cold face that made me want to flee like prey. I made to run for the door that led out into the hallway, my heart sparking to life, throbbing with every dizzying pump of my blood.
It didn’t make sense, this reaction. I’d expected his bite. I’d known he would come for me tonight. His threat had been tinged in promise when he’d left the keep yesterday morning.
When my hand found the brassy, solid, globular handle, I had just twisted it, had just managed to crack it open when his body crashed into mine.
I let out a wild, desperate little cry as he flipped me, caging me in with his body as he pressed me back into the door. His wings shielded us. Trapped. I was trapped with nowhere to run.
“I hate this,” Azur hissed down at me. His voice was thick and guttural. Changed. “You think I want this, kyrana?”
My brows furrowed in confusion even as I struggled against him, bucking to try to get away.
He groaned, pressing his hips low, and I stilled when I felt the thickness of his cock, the shadowy outline of it pressed—I assumed painfully—against the vertical metal clasps of his pants.
“You think I want to crave your blood like this?” he growled. “I’ve thought of nothing else!”
He pounded the door behind me to emphasize his point, to release his frustration in a physical way, and I felt the impact vibrate down my spine. Disbelief went through me, meeting his eyes, the wine and his words making the room sway.
His grip wasn’t gentle. His hand moved to my hair, and he gathered it in one fist, tugging it back, making my scalp pull.
A whimper escaped me as he exposed my bare neck. I should’ve been pushing him away, right? I should’ve been fighting him with everything I had in me, like a wild hellcat trying to get away from this beast!
Instead, there was an immediate, alarming switch that seemed to trigger inside me at his dominating touch. There was fear, yes…but there was also a sharp pinch of need that mingled with it, binding close to it like a braided thread. I would be lying to myself if I said I hadn’t thought of his bite in his absence. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought of the way it made me feel, how every dragging pull felt like a suckle on my clit, and how my body responded to such a physical, vulnerable act.
When he tugged my hair harder, baring more of my flesh for his gaze…a sound escaped me that sounded like a breathy moan.
Azur stilled, those eyes snapping tight and narrowing on me. I felt his fist tighten, and maybe it was the wine flowing hot in my blood or his delicious scent but I found myself relaxing in his grip. Submitting.
A soft chuff emerged from his throat. His head lowered. He dragged the tip of his nose along the column of my neck, breathing me in. The smooth slide of his fangs followed, but he didn’t break the skin. He only taunted and teased me with them. I found myself holding my breath, anticipating the sharp prick that would melt into sublime pleasure.
“Who would’ve thought?” came his dark growl, the velvety, rich rasp of it winding down my belly, tightening my nipples. What was happening? “Who would have thought that you would crave this too? What would your father think, Gemma Hara? Knowing his eldest daughter is a greedy little slut for a Kylorr’s bite?”
I flinched at the crude words—even as a rush of heat pooled low in my belly—but Azur’s fist tightened in my hair, keeping me steady. The world swam. There was shame, but it was drenched in desperation.
He didn’t give me a chance to reply, not that I could’ve with my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.
The sharp pinch of his fangs registered. I felt a flood of startling heat where he bit my neck.
Then…I was floating.