The King Of All Vampire Kings (Book 1) ✔️

|9|~Spaghetti~

Claire POV.
Edited.

As soon as Xander's name leaves his mouth, my heart rate accelerates, butterflies swirl in my stomach, and I feel all mushy inside.

The three kings all turn to face me. One stares at me in amusement, another one with great interest, and the other, let's just say, King Nicklaus is sending daggers my way. Sort of like scorching hot daggers that have been placed into the fire. Just like silver daggers with neon orange and neon red blending together at the sharpest point of the knife, straight out of the fire type of daggers. The intensity of his stare is that serious. He's way past the point of being pissed.

I don't have the slightest clue why. I lost track of the whole conversation once he mentioned Xander's name.

"We shall finish this conversation," King Nicklaus growls, speaking through clenched teeth.

The other kings don't say a word. They vanish in the blink of an eye. Just like that, they're gone. I'm just sitting in my chair looking dumbfounded, left all by myself with this very angry-looking vampire king.

Like seriously, what did I miss?

He continues to stare intensely at me for a long-drawn-out moment, before finally breaking the silence.

"Come to me, Claire," he commands. His voice sparks something inside me. "Now, Claire," he barks, holding the edge of the table so hard it cracks.

I must be going insane because I rise instantly, and my feet move in his direction. But this time, my mind actually agrees with my body's reaction. There's something about how he called my name. It stirred a strange reaction deep within, burning flames inside me that match the color of his red, glowing eyes.

Without being told to, I take a seat on his lap, shocking the hell out of myself. But he doesn't move me; he doesn't even look surprised, not in the slightest. He continues to stare at me with blazing red eyes that seem to burn brighter by the second, red flames dancing away. I seem to be caught in some kind of trance. My heart rate increases, my heart beating so fast I feel like it may jump out of my chest, forming little legs before taking off. The butterflies that once were flying inside of me turn into buzzing bees, stinging the surface of my gut.

King Nicklaus continues to watch me, eyes focused and lips turning into a deadly smirk.

"This is the only reason your heart rate should speed up, firecracker," he tells me trailing his finger down the side of my face, never once breaking eye contact.

"You belong to me, Claire." His voice sounds compelling, but this time it doesn't feel like he's reminding me of my place. His words are spoken with more emotion, in a possessive but passionate way.

A passionate way. Yup. I'm losing my mind.

Whatever he does to me would explain exactly why I'm reacting like this. It's not me. This is him, controlling me again. That's the only thing that could explain why I feel so comfortable sitting on his lap, or why I so foolishly believe he's claiming me in another way.

A passionate way to be exact, his smirk deepens.

"At this moment you're free from my control, Claire."

His finger makes its way to my chin. He lifts my face up high, holding it in place making sure we're sharing eye contact.

"And I mean what I said in every single way that's running through that pretty little head of yours."

Shivers run down my spine. I part my lips to speak, but he cuts me off before a word can come out.

"Forget everything you saw or heard tonight. Eat your dinner until I suggest, otherwise . . ." He pauses. "Oh . . . and stop drooling over my brother." His words echo loudly inside my head.