Lucian

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Consciousness returned in gradual waves and I slowly emerged from a sea of thick suffocating darkness. The bright light in the room hurt my eyes and my head thumped as though it was about to explode into a million tiny pieces.

It took a while for reality to trickle back in, but once it did, the sense of instant panic made me stop breathing. Gasping for air, I quickly sat up and nervously glanced around the spacious room. Almost instantly, my eyes froze on the silky green dress that lay in an abandoned heap on the floor.

All the blood drained from my face as I gave credit to the fact I was all alone in the prince's bed, wearing nothing but a thin, flimsy chemise. No matter how much I forced myself to think, I had no idea how I had gotten into this position or what had taken place between us. The last thing that sprang to my mind was the image of my enraged master who dragged me to his room after a scandalous incident with his younger brother. There was absolutely nothing I could recall after the moment we entered his quarters.

I gulped at the crushing realization it was happening again. Just like that time I had landed on my stepparent's doorstep, there was a huge gap in my memory that caused immense confusion and filled me with inescapable feelings of dread and insecurity.

My mind refused to wander to that dark place, but I wasn't a fool. What I couldn't understand when I was a child, made perfect sense now. I was absolutely certain this deep state of amnesia could be caused by only one logical thing—severe trauma.

Crushed by the sudden awareness the prince had probably bitten me or done something far worse, both of my hands flew to my neck, then frantically lowered down my body, searching for wounds and injuries. But I couldn't find anything. There were no scratches or sore bloody places. No visible signs of any kind of abuse. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. Nothing hurt. Everything seemed perfectly normal...even though I knew that was impossible.

"What is the matter, little mouse?" The prince's curt voice sounded in my ears and I belatedly realized he suddenly stood right above me. "If you're searching for bite marks, you won't find any. Though the idea seemed infinitely appealing, I didn't ravish you in your sleep."

I parted my lips, too shocked to hide my amazement at the fact he had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, looking more handsome and regal than ever before. My breath caught in my throat at the sight of his perfectly tailored black coat that hugged his tight muscles, his pale smooth skin that glowed like it was made of gold, and those cold grey eyes that shone as bright as diamonds in the sun. There was no sensible way to describe this insane fascination for the vampire who scared me the most of them all. No matter how much time I'd spent in his mesmerizing presence, his immortal beauty somehow continued to both amaze and intimidate me on a level that was almost impossible to put into words.

Gazing at him with unhidden incredulity, I mouthed in careless wonder, "B-But something must have h-happened because I—."

"Spare me your ridiculous human analogy. I'm not in the mood to hear another sob story," he interrupted in a curt tone and cast me a look of subtle warning. "It's obvious the difference in our anatomy isn't exactly to your advantage. If I drank your blood or claimed your innocence while you were unaware, don't you think you'd feel at least a little sore at certain places?"

"I...I wouldn't know," I breathed and my cheeks flushed in deep embarrassment. 

"No, you wouldn't...because you're still as virtuous and untouched as ever," he reprimanded in a cold tone and smirked with unmistakable cynicism, revealing that menacing pair of sharp snow-white fangs. "Don't worry, Raven. When I demand you to fulfill your duties as my slave, you'll be conscious and aware of every single thing that takes place in this bed."