"Remove it."
Eve stared at the man in defiance, her eyes blazing with fire. But unknown to her, the fear that she tried so hard to suppress kept coming back up, showing itself in the way that the corner of her lips twitched and how her throat went dry within seconds of arriving in the king's partitioned section.
Nonetheless, she ignored it. That part of her mind that was screaming at her to run. To run as far away from this creature. That she had invited upon herself a doom so dark that within the next few seconds, it would be too late to turn back. Instead, she held on to the rage that she had been suppressing for the past few years, fastly melting under his golden gaze.
"No." She replied, raising her chin at the towering man before her.
The king tilted his head to the side, his golden eyes glinting dangerously as he took a step towards her. "I wasn't asking." He said, his deep voice sending light electric vibrations through the tendrils of her hair as his breath fanned against her head, his face inches from her own.
Eve narrowed her eyes at the King, unsettled by the proximity of his body to hers. It was not that she hadn't dealt with creeps before. But this particular one was cutting through her nerves as no one had before.
She wanted to reach out, grab his neck and slam him to the ground as she had once done to the young lord Cavanough. But she knew without even trying to that it was an impossible task. She was starkly aware of her own humanness and his lack of it.
He was cruel, narrow-minded, and a good-for-nothing king who needed his uncle to help him keep running a kingdom that he must have inherited without even raising a finger as far as she knew. He had called her a peasant with much distaste that night at the inn, as if even saying that out loud made him feel like stepping on filth.
The woman who was currently writhing on the bed, currently hidden from her view by his muscular form had probably been drugged with something and the way that he was dealing with her said eons about his manners, she thought, turning away from him in irritation. She needed to find a weapon to stab into his heart before-
Eve didn't have the time to finish the thought when a warm hand landed on her arm. Her heart dropped as she found herself pulled back, her body turning towards what she had turned away from only seconds ago, every single moment flashing by painfully slowly before she stopped, inches from a pair of turbulent golden eyes staring down at her.
As the king's fingers wrapped around her chin, Eve gasped, her slowed-down heartbeats shooting up at the pace of a fast-falling meteorite. A low growl shook his chest, escaping his wet lips as he drew her towards him in a threat.
"Remove it if you don't want to replace her as my food." He warned, sending a hot wave of a sweet breath towards her mouth.
A shudder passed through her nerves, all kinds of thoughts flashing through her head. She could feel her skin itching where his hands were not, for the first time making her feel things she had never felt before even in the darkest depths of the night.
His scent was heady, like sweet grape wine- the kind she had only served and never tasted. She found herself wondering how it would feel to press her lips against his mouth. Would he taste as sweet? Or would he taste like aged wine, a little bit tart and earthy?
Eve bit her tongue, trying to control her wandering mind. Remember what he did to you, she reminded herself, pushing away all other thoughts from her head. Rage coursed through her body as the past crashed into her unwelcome desires.
"Fine." Eve spat, glaring daggers at the breathtakingly beautiful man in front of her.
The king opened his mouth to say something, but closed it quickly, rethinking his decision as he released her face from his grip, turning his back towards her in irritation. Not that she noticed any of it. Eve's gaze was fixed on his back, searching for the spot that she was determined to push a knife into, if not today, then tomorrow.
She stood on her tip-toes, raising her hands as she grabbed the collar of his robes and pulled, releasing the heavy drape from his wide shoulders. She ignored the sigh as the man turned around, lowering his hands as he took a step closer to her.
Eve clenched her teeth, willing her shaking hands to reach the top button of his shirt that felt like it was made of the softest black silk. She felt her skin tighten and her insides shiver in pleasure as the heat of his body pushed against her, her fingers lingering ever so slightly, yet unintentionally against the hardened texture of his muscles as she unbuttoned the last gem loose from its loop.
She felt him shudder as the tip of her fingers grazed the skin beneath his navel, bordering the hook of his pants. Her eyes grew wide at the motion, trailing up the contours of his hardened abdomen, his chest, the bulge of his neck, and till she found herself staring yet again into those beautiful golden eyes.
His wet mouth was slightly parted as he stared back at her with lust-filled eyes, mirroring her emotions as they flashed brightly against the chiseled lines of his face. The silk fell to the floor, exposing her to the naked torso of the man she had hated all her life- the creature that had destroyed everything she ever had.
Yet at that moment, she could only feel the tingle between her legs and a spreading wetness, the way his muscles felt under her palm and the heat that tempted her to close the gap between the two of them with the rhythm of the drums pushing into her every sense fast pushing her off the edge of her rationality.
"Theo," The writhing woman moaned from behind him, startling the two.
Eve quickly stepped away from the man, her face red from embarrassment. She focused her eyes on the large bed, refusing to meet his eyes as she watched the naked woman rise on her knees, crawling towards the edge of the mattress with a lustful smile on her delicate lips. She stopped, shyly raising her torso towards him from the edge of the bed.
"Theodore, my King." She called out, opening his slender arms wide to him.
Her knees were far apart, shaking as she closed and opened her eyes slowly, trying to stand through the vibrations that coursed through her insides from the strange pulsing rubber jutting out from between her legs. Eve licked her lips, her fingers itching to push up her own dress and feel her clenching core.
She glanced towards the man who was now staring at the jeweled slave on his bed with an irritated expression. Theodore, the name strangely suited him, Eve thought, licking her lips. But neither she nor the other slave calling for him saw it coming.