The King of Darkness | ✔️

Chapter Twelve

It's almost impossible to refrain from my eyes glancing towards his body and I scold myself for even thinking for a second that he is undeniably gorgeous. I have to think about Easton, about how kind and gentle he is with me.

I notice a small smirk tugging at Darian's lips and I glare at him.

"Get out of my head," I snap, facing him now and not caring about staring - especially when he's inside of my head. Privacy has clearly gone out of the window.

"You think I'm gorgeous," he teases and I feel that blush rise again out of pure embarrassment. I want nothing more than to slap that look off of his face.

"People would be blind not to... it doesn't mean anything other than what I have simply observed. Quite frankly, it makes up for your awful personality," I shrug and something changes in his eyes.

Darian sits back with his arms stretched across the back of the tub, manspreading. Something feral glints in his eyes and the same smirk resides on his lips. I can't help but glare at his antics - which only seems to egg him on.

"I come back from a rather strenuous meeting and am greeted with you naked, drinking my wine and in my hot tub. I'd say that means something," he moves from his position and with each breath seems to grow closer to me.

My breathing hitches and I am very much aware of both of our bareness.

"Call it boredom," I retort, him still moving closer across the water. I try to gain some more distance between us but my back hits the edge of the tub. My heart is thundering against my chest so vigorously I'm sure it may explode.

Darian is now a breath away, his eyes boring into mine. "Call it what you like but it doesn't mean that you do not yearn for me in ways that you could never for that useless mortal - even if you are unaware of it."

"Yearn for you, you must be joking," I say but my voice lacks the conviction that I had hoped for.

I take the bottle and bring it to my mouth, keeping eye contact with Darian the whole time as I take a sip. The remnants of the wine linger on my lips and I was about to wipe it off before Darian beat me to it. His thumb swipes across my bottom lip ever so slowly and I'm sure I have forgotten how to breathe.

His hand then travels across my jaw, down my neck, following the curve of my breast until it rests on my hip - his eyes leaving mine not once. "If it's a joke then why is your body reacting to me this way," he whispers.

It's then I realise how much my hips had gravitated towards him, how much closer I had gotten.

Darian's head leans in and before I can even take a breath his lips are on my neck, the kiss is soft and sensual - a faint buzz trickling through my veins from the contact. This is wrong, he is wrong. All I can think about is Easton as his lips work their way down my neck.

Easton is probably rotting away in some cell and here I am letting the person who put him there kiss me. Even in my hazy state, I know how wrong this is, so wrong that I'm sure this has completely sobered me up.

I place my hands against Darian's chest, his mouth still working wonders against my neck, and push gently. "We need to... stop," I say breathlessly and he chuckles against my neck.

"Do you want me to stop," he says teasingly and plants another gentle kiss as his hand squeezes my hip.

I find myself hesitating before I answer - but only because I can't think straight with his lips on my skin. "Yes," I manage to get out and he pulls away only by a margin. His mouth still hovering over me.