From Slave To Queen (Athena and Michael) novel Chapter 140

“You can be jealous.”

He curves his lips into a mischievous smile.

“In fact, I love that you’re jealous.”

We stay in each other’s arms just a little longer until he sets me back on my feet, and as I lose some of his warmth, a shiver runs down my spine.

“I’ll find a way to bring you back to me.”

“There is a way,” I say, and at his expectant silence, I continue. “I’m not human–in fact, I’m part Pureblood. I’m one of yours. Therefore, I could stop being anyone’s feeder the moment I expose that truth.”

“You know what would happen.”

“I know. That’s why we should wait.”

I take a deep breath.

“I need to understand myself better, know what I’m capable of, control my abilities so I’m prepared in case everything spirals out of control.”

He opens his mouth to say something, but quickly closes it. We both fall silent, and then I hear what made him stop. Footsteps. Far off, but without a doubt heading this way.

“It’s Ciro,” he says, his eyes already scanning the room. “Don’t let him into the room. He’ll smell me. Open the door and get him away from here. We’ll meet at the ballroom.”

“He’ll smell you on me,” I clarify.

“You’ve always smelled like me. Even when you’re with him.”

His words stir a painful pleasure low in my belly. I glance quickly at the mirror, checking that everything is as it should be. I apply some lipstick and a little perfume, all under Cassian’s attentive gaze. The steps are getting closer–it’s only a matter of seconds before he’s here. I rush to the door, but before I reach it, he brushes my hand to stop me.

“What does he want?” he asks.

The footsteps stop in front of the threshold and a few knocks echo in the air. I look away from him and hurry to open it. At the same time, I force open the tightly sealed doors in my mind and slide a thought through them, hoping he’ll hear it:

“He wants me to fall in love with him.”

I open the door, trying to appear calm. Ciro stands radiant, confident, wearing a white shirt and one of his perfectly pressed vests. He offers me his hand with a smile.

“You look stunning.”

He kisses my knuckles as I accept his hand.

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12:35 Sat, Jul 26

Chapter 141

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“Red is definitely your color, Elara.”

I smile shyly and take a step outside, wanting to put distance between Cassian and Ciro as quickly as possible. He grabs my hand and places it over his forearm. I turn to close the door behind me, subtly searching for any sign that might reveal the presence of the other vampire in the room, but everything is just as it was before–no sign that he is or was there, much less of what we did. I have to suppress a sigh of relief as I shut the door and face Ciro again. I let him lead me down the hallway, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end when a voice slips into my head:

“Will he succeed?”

I bite my lip to avoid smiling. I don’t need Ciro suspecting that I’m now having private conversations with the man he hates most. I won’t lie–my desire took possession of me back there, and I know we have many things to talk about, many to argue over. But the connection between us is undeniable. From the start, there was something pulling us toward each other, no matter how much we claimed to hate one another. Our bond is stronger–something beyond limits, something divine.

“Are you afraid?” I tease him.

We reach a pair of oak double doors that open without being touched. Beyond them is an explosion of faces some familiar, others completely unknown to me. There are women in various states of undress–some engaged in sexual acts, others dancing or serving blood from jars they balance on their heads. Ciro slides his hand to the small of my back, showing us as close for the others. His grip tightens for a fraction of a second, and I understand why when I see from the corner of my eye a figure entering with an authoritative stride, wearing a suit as black as night and eyes so blue they freeze you.

To see him, no one would guess that just minutes ago he was inside me, and that now I have his essence sliding between my thighs. As if he can hear that thought, Cassian throws a mocking smile in our direction.

“I hope his presence won’t be a problem,” Ciro whispers in my ear.

should it be?”

“I don’t know if his feelings are returned.”

“I thought I’d made my feelings toward you both very clear.”

Contrary to what I expected, he doesn’t lead us toward the group of men that includes Cassian. Instead, he takes us to the dance floor, where the gazes directed at us are anything but discreet. We draw everyone’s attention. All eyes shift between us and the vampire watching with ice–cold eyes. I think people are holding their breath, expecting a murder. Ciro loves a good show, so he smiles proudly at all the attention

With his hand in mine and the other on my waist, he guides us across the floor to the rhythm of the music.

“I hope those feelings might change.”

“What makes you think I could see you differently in a month? I lived under the months.”

“I’m not a monster.”

Same..

Mas Cassian for almost two

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