Little Saint Bride [Death and the Maiden, #1]

Chapter Fifteen: Altered Egos

'He wants you too,' I hear Hadrian murmuring, in between biting and sucking on my neck. I gasp each time, as it sends odd feelings through my body. All I know is that he's a snake, paralysing me with his venom.

He wants me? Who?

Wait...who was foolish?

Who is kissing me?

I squirm away, breaking the spell.

'Who are you?' I demand, but the effect is lost as I'm panting and clutching the wall for support. You really suck, Nerissa.

The predator before me grins, showing glinting white teeth. He moves towards me, but I sidestep, hitting the desk.

'I'm Hadrian,' he says, 'the real Hadrian. The one who's lurking underneath, the one who takes care of unpleasant things, and...'

He steps forwards, reaching to touch me again. I flinch this time, suddenly afraid that this wasn't Hadrian, not the Hadrian I knew.

How well do you know him really, though? Not at all.

'...the one who is honest about his desires.'

As I peek back at the man launching himself at me, I sigh internally. As desperate as I am to obtain the King's power, to sleep with him now, when he wasn't himself, would feel too much like taking advantage of him. I'd be no better than the people I'd seen preying on the extremely intoxicated, looking for a quick fix.

Damn my morals, and my conscience. To hell with you all.

As the King steps to grab my wrist again, I turn with my back to him. I hear him chuckle; he thinks I'm going along with his game, and he reaches to embrace me, pressing hard into my back. I blush.

Now is not the time to start enjoying his attentions, Nerissa!

Sighing, and taking a mental picture of this hunk in tight fitting underwear pressed against me, I take hold of his wrist and drop to my knee.

The man goes thundering over the top of me, hitting the floor with a cold, hard, smack.

'I'm sorry!' I whisper, looking mortified down at the broken Hadrian. He's wincing in pain, but I notice his voice no longer sounds like a bull on heat.

'Shit!' he says, wheezing and doubling over. He blinks, leering at me. Then he appears to recognise me, and him, in his underwear, and what's just happened.

'Shit,' he says again, groaning and falling to the floor in a heap.

I shuffle over to where he lies, bringing back the blanket from earlier as an apology. He'll be bruised in the morning, for sure.

He mumbles something beneath the blanket.

'What?' I say.

The King lifts his head up, and to my surprise, he's bright red. He clears his throat, unable to look me in the eye. 'I'm sorry you saw that. Thank you for...wait, what are you doing in my room?'

Busted.

'Cleaning,' I say immediately, and it's that moment I realise how terrible a liar I truly am.

Cleaning? Really?

Hadrian quirks an eyebrow. 'Cleaning,' he repeats, giving me a dead look. He sits up, so that his eyes are level with mine.

I blush, because ten minutes ago he'd been eye level right before devouring my neck, and I'd been enjoying it.

Block it out, block it out!