Caelum was standing in the middle of the room, looking like he'd just been hit by a whirlwind. "You should thank me. I just saved you from a very boring future with a very boring rabbit."
I winked at him and stepped out into the hallway, leaving him alone in the wreckage of his reputation.
I was hungry, and now that the 'pest' situation was handled, I had a mansion kitchen to loot for dinner.
I turned to leave but didn't even make it three steps when a cold and powerful hand clamped around my upper arm. Before I could even gasp, I was yanked backward with a force that made my head spin.
The door to the suite slammed shut with a deafening thud, and I was pinned against the heavy wood, Caelum's massive frame looming over me.
He was breathing hard, his chest heaving against mine.
And here I wondered why he didn't take it hard on me for ruining his soon-to-be and upcoming relationship with the rabbit. Had he moved on from her already? Seriously, men will be men.
The Perfect and iron-moralled heir was gone. In his place was a man pushed to his absolute limit. His grey eyes were blown wide, dark with a mix of fury and a desperation he would never have shown me under normal circumstances.
But things weren't normal. There was hunger, that's for sure. And one I was very familiar with. It seemed like my little lip teasing had stirred something in him.
I looked down. His robe had fallen open even further, and the 'problem' was impossible to ignore—hard, erect, and straining against the silk.
Absolutely delicious to look at.
I let out a low, wicked chuckle that vibrated between us. I felt this intoxicating scent of a predator swell around me, and my lips curled up devilishly with the excitement of finally cornering my prey.
"My, my," I whispered, reaching up to trace my fingers over his damp, corded muscle. "Look at you," I whispered. "The great Caelum Valerius. The man who goes by the books. The man who wouldn't touch a 'demon' like me with a ten-foot pole."
Caelum didn't speak. He couldn't. He just stared at me, his jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth might break. He looked vulnerable, stripped of his titles and his pride, laid bare by the very desire he claimed to never partake until marriage.
I leaned in, my lips brushing against his heated skin, right over his racing heart. I could feel the frantic thrum of his pulse under my fingertips.
"You're shaking, Caelum," I taunted, my voice a silken thread of malice and heat. "Is it the rage? Or is it because you realize you're just as 'simple' as your brother?"
He let out a choked sound, his grip on my arms tightening until it was almost bruised. He was fighting himself, trying to find that 'Iron will' again, but it was far too late for that.
I grinned, my golden eyes flashing with triumph.
"So much for your 'discipline'," I rasped, my fingers digging into his shoulders.
He was trembling and clumsy, but the sheer intensity of his focus was intoxicating. He hadn't even touched me yet, but I could feel how he was trying to consume me with his eyes, as if he could erase the shame of his desire by drowning in it.
Was he suddenly going into heat?
Just from a kiss? How simple a virgin he was.
Then, he reached for me, his hand going inside my maid's gown, and I felt his hand reach the apex of my thighs, his fingers sliding over the silk of my undergarments.
But then, he froze for a split second, his breath hitching against my skin, terrified and enthralled by what he was doing.
I smirked, even as my own breath came in ragged hitches.
Poor, sweet virgin.
"Is that all you've got?" I challenged, my voice a sultry dare. "You've spent so much time looking down on me. Don't stop now when things are finally getting... interesting."
The last bit of his restraint snapped.
He lifted me off my feet, my legs instinctively locking around his waist. He carried me toward the massive canopy bed, his mouth crashing onto mine violently.
This was the same person whose lips had been clumsily following mine a second ago.
He was undone. Completely, utterly broken.
I smiled against his lips as we hit the mattress. Beatrice might have had his 'gentle' eyes all to herself and claimed his heart, but I had claimed his soul. And tonight, I was going to teach the Ice Heir exactly what it felt like to melt.
But I didn't let him just have his way with him. I covered his mouth, stopping him from going forward, and said with a sly grin.
"There's no such thing as a free meal," I said. "You think you can just have me just because I kissed you? I'm not that easy, you should know that by now."
His body trembled, and I looked into his hungry eyes.
He was probably thinking of how to just take me as he saw fit. Since I was a female, I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. But that crazy desire clashed too much with his morals.
He could not force himself on a female, no matter how desperately horny he was.
This was the part where I broke the last of his will, because I can still feel some sort of spark of superiority from him.
He thinks he's the man and the one on top, but I have other plans.
"Beg me,"