Chapter Four

~Eliss~

I locked the door.

My heart pounded as I pressed my back against it, fingers still curled around the key. I knew it wasn’t enough. Not against him but it was all I had. The room was too big, too grand and too unfamiliar. Every flicker of candlelight cast long shadows on the walls, warping the space into something eerie and suffocating.

I had been in here for hours and I couldn’t still find my balance. I couldn’t still wrap everything that had happened the last hours around my head. The weight of the vampire palace was pressing down on me. I missed my brother, I didn’t even know what he was up to or how he was doing.

As for me,

I knew my fate already. The ruthless Vampire king had his eyes on me and there was no escape. I could only fight to survive in here.

Lucien hadn’t come. Yet.

But he seemed like he would.

I knew it from the moment he arranged this room for me, his golden eyes lingering on my body as he told me to prepare. There had been something in his gaze, something dark and possessive, something that made my skin prickle with a warning I couldn’t ignore.

How could I accept that a human like me had the blood he was searching for?

I had seen the way he looked at me.

Like he wanted me. Like he needed me.

And I didn’t know which one was worse.

I exhaled shakily, pushing away from the door. I couldn’t find sleep. My mind wouldn’t be quiet, my body wouldn’t relax. Every sound outside the room sent a jolt through me, every freak of the old walls made my pulse race. Everything was sudden for me, I didn’t expect to be the one to fall into his clutches.

I needed air.

The balcony doors were open, letting in the cool night breeze. I stepped closer, the scent of fresh rain mixed with chocolate lingered in the air but I didn’t think much about it. Outside, the palace grounds stretched into the darkness, with towering walls and sharp spires looming under the moonlight.

It was a beautiful prison.

I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to fight the chill. My thin nightshirt did nothing to block the cold, but it wasn’t the wind that made me shiver.

I could feel it.

It was the feeling.

That same prickling awareness I felt earlier.

My sharp, gut-wrenching certainty that I was no longer alone.

I had a company.

Lumps formed in my throat as I slowly turned and met his golden eyes.

He was there.

Not outside, not at the door.

Inside.

Lucien stood by the window, his dark shirt slightly unbuttoned, his black hair a little tousled as if he had just climbed in—because he had. His eyes glowed in the dim candlelight, fixed on me with an intensity that made my throat dry.

I stumbled back a step. My heel hit the edge of the bed, stopping me from going further.

“How—“ my voice cracked, barely came out. “The door was locked.”

Lucien tilted his head, his expression unreadable. “You really did that? I had no ide

He chuckled darkly. “Humans are too predictable, did you really think that would keep me out?”

Of course, I knew a locked door wouldn’t keep him from coming in here. But that should at least serve as a warning that I didn’t want him here. Who was I kidding?

“Elias.”

The quiet amusement in his voice sent a shiver down my spine.

I couldn’t breathe.

I would never get used to this life.

He wasn’t moving, but his presence filled the entire room, thick and suffocating. The air felt heavy, charged with something I couldn't name. I gripped the sheets behind me, trying to ground myself.

“Stay away,” I managed to force out.

His lips curled, it was slow and knowing. “Elias,” he murmured again like he was tasting my name.

A dark thrill ran through me.

I clenched my fists. No. That was fear. It had to be fear.

Lucien moved.

Fast.

One moment he was by the window, the next he was in front of me, so close that I could barely think past the heat of his body. My breath hitched as he reached out, his fingers brushing over my wrist. Not gripping. Not forcing. Just….touching.

I was shaking. Not from fear. It was something else, I was attracted to him. I hated that he could see it.

“Don’t run from me,” he murmured.

I flinched. “I wasn’t—-“

It was a lie. I knew I had to run before I succumbed to the desire pooling inside of me. He was so insanely beautiful that it turned me on. It was only a matter of time before he broke me.

Lucien caught my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up. His touch was warm, firm but careful. His golden eyes flickered, searching mine. For a moment, I thought I could see something vulnerable but I knew I was mistaken. I shouldn’t fall for his tricks, his deceptive touch and look.

“You’re afraid.” His voice was softer now.

I swallowed hard. “You expect me not to be?”

Lucien exhaled, his thumb tracing absently along my jaw. His touch was possessive, lingering—like he was memorizing the shape of me.

“I don’t want you to fear me,” he said.

I let out a shaky laugh. “Then stop terrifying me.”

His eyes darkened. For a moment, I thought he would smirk, say something arrogant, and remind me that I belonged to him.

But he didn’t.

Instead, his hand slid to my neck, his fingers resting just below my ear. My pulse pounded beneath his touch. He could feel it, he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

“You don’t understand yet,” Lucien muttered.

A shudder ran through me. “Understand what?”

He leaned in, his breath warm against my cheek. His other hand found my waist, his grip light but unyielding.

“That you’re mine,” he whispered.

My stomach flipped. A sharp, involuntary gasp escaped me.

Lucien’s lips ghosted over my skin—barely there, a teasing brush against my temple, my jaw. He wasn’t forceful. He wasn’t rushing. He was savoring.

I pressed my hands against his chest, meaning to push him away, but the moment my fingers met his warmth, my strength faltered.

For a long time, I felt horny—which was weird.

Lucien hummed, pleased. His hand slid lower, his palm resting against my hip. My breath hitched a desperate, uneven sound.

“I locked the door for a reason,” I whispered quickly, hoping for him to stop because I wasn’t sure if I could hold it in me a little longer.

He smiled against my skin. “And yet, here I am.”

A soft, breathy laugh slipped from him like this was some kind of game. Like he was amused by my struggle, by the way my body betrayed me.

“I hate you,” I said, my voice weak.

Lucien chuckled. “No, you don’t. Sweet boy.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the warmth of his touch, the deep, soothing lull of his voice. He was everywhere. He was too damn close.

“Why do you fight me, Elias?”

I swallowed hard. “Because I don’t belong to you.”

Lucien went still. His grip on me tightened—not in anger, but it was something else. Something deeper

“You do,” he murmured. “You always have. I have been looking for you.”

My fingers curled against his shirt. He was too much. “You were looking for the blood, not me.”

“Elias,” he whispered, his voice deep and throaty. His lips grazed my cheeks, trailing lower, slow and lingering. His touch was reverent, worshipping. My body trembled beneath it, my breath shattering in my throat.

This was wrong.

It was terrifying.

And yet, I wasn’t moving away.

Lucien’s arms wound around me, holding me against his warmth. Clinging. Not just possessive, but desperate.

I could feel the tension in his body, the need in the way he held me. He wasn’t just trying to claim me.

He was craving me.

My chest ached with something I couldn’t name.

“I scare you,” Lucien whispered, his voice barely audible.

I exhaled shakily. “Yes.”

A pause. Then, so soft I almost didn’t hear it—

“I scare myself too.”

My breath caught.

Lucien’s grip on me didn’t loosen. If anything, it tightened. It was so hard to believe he was the same person rumored to be ruthless, he was acting way too nice to me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.

“I want you,” he murmured, his breath was hot against my neck, his grip unyielding as he buried his face in my skin. I could feel the slow drag of his inhale, the way his fingers flexed against my waist as if he were holding himself back.

“I want you,” he muttered again.

A shudder wracked through me.

“I want your blood.” His lips brushed over my throat, his voice husky, thick with hunger. “But that’s not all, Elias. I want you.”

His confession sent a violent tremor through me.

He was being nice. Too nice. And that scared me more than if he had simply taken what he wanted because I had no power to fight against him. I wanted him to give me more reason to hate him. I wanted him to be violent with me so I would have other thoughts about him.

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Lucien—“

“Fuck….my name sounds good on your lips.”

His fingers tightened at my hips, his body pressing flush against mine and I felt it.

Hard. Thick. Hot.

My breath hitched. My stomach twisted.

This was real.

The vampire king was turned on.

By me.

I squirmed, but his grip didn’t loosen. “You’re—You’re not being fair.”

Lucien exhaled a dark chuckle. “Oh, Elias.” His hand slid up my spine, slow and teasing, fingers tracing my nape as he whispered in my ears. “I’m being more than fair.”

He pulled back slightly, just enough for our eyes to meet. His golden gaze burned into mine, full of hunger so deep it felt like it could consume me whole.

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be asking.”

My throat bobbed. “Asking?”

His lips curled. “I need you.” His hand slid down, gripping my waist.

“I need your body.”

A pause.

“And I need your mouth.”

Heat flooded my face. My heart slammed into my ribs.

I knew what he meant.

I went rigid, my breath coming in short, and shallow pants.

“Lucien, I—“

His fingers ghosted over my jaw, tilting my chin up, his thumb dragging over my lower lip. My pulse pounded beneath my skin.

“You’re already hard, Elias.” His voice was so smooth, so deep that it was almost hypnotic. “Don’t act like you are not feeling this.”

I clenched my fists. “I—I just need time.”

Lucien’s eyes darkened. His hand dropped, settling on my thigh, his touch warm through the thin fabric of my shirt.

“How much time?” His thumb pressed into my skin, his grip tightening just enough to make me gasp. “Because I don’t know how much restraint I have left.”

His cock pressed against me through his trousers, thick and heavy, my stomach flipped.

This was insane.

He wanted my blood. My body.

And somehow, I wanted to give it to him.

Lucien leaned in, his breath fanned over my lips, his voice almost a purr.

“On your knees, Elias.”

I sucked in a sharp breath.

A command.

A demand.

One I wasn’t sure I had the strength to refuse.

Because God help me—

I wanted to obey.