Fabled Kingdoms Read online

  "Yes, we have one," I respond quietly.

  He smiles at me sadly, the kind of smile where the pain is so visible, you can feel it.

  "I'll let you guys have a little bit of time," he says before he strides towards the door without another look back. I flinch at the sound of the door closing behind him like a gun went off.

  We're quiet then as Damon holds me in the silence. It's a strange feeling to know that my heart is in three distinct places at that moment. A part of it lying with Mason in the bed down the hall, another walking the streets of New York with Beckham, and a last part right here, holding onto Damon with all its might.

  Damon suddenly sweeps me up in his arms and then he's flying down the hall. Literally.

  “I have to have you,” he whispers to me right before we make it to his room.

  He stops at the foot of the bed and sets me down gently, his gaze lowering to my lips.

  “I dreamed about you. Every night. I just didn’t know why.”

  He grabs the back of my head with both hands and bows his head so that his mouth is level with mine. The warmth of his breath against my lips has me desperate to close the distance so I can taste him again.

  “I want to keep kissing you. Forever. Without interruption.”

  “Then do it,” I whisper, the words slipping from my mouth.

  His lips lightly brush against mine once again.

  “How did I forget you? How could I ever forget you?”

  Hearing those words after the hell of the past few days does something to me, and before I can say anything else, I wrap my arms around his neck and crush my lips against his, kissing him so hard that he nearly stumbles backward. Catching his footing, he kisses me back and lifts me with a growl. I instinctively wrap my legs around him, moaning when I feel his hardness between my legs.

  Seeing him and not being able to do anything about it had been torture. I needed him to remember me.

  Damon backs me against the door and grips my thighs, his fingertips brushing my skin. The touch of his fingertips on my bare skin has me moaning into his mouth, needing more of him. I want more of his hands on me… his mouth… his teeth. I want all of Damon. I have since the moment I met him.

  He grinds his hips against me at the same time his teeth gently graze along my neck. The feel of his erection against me, so thick and hard, has me throwing my head back and hitting it against the door.

  “I need these off,” he growls into my neck, reaching between us to undo my shorts. “I need to be inside of you now, Eva.”

  The way he says it sends chills down my spine.

  Before I know it, I’m back to my feet, and Damon is ripping my shorts down my thighs and lifting me out of them in a hurry. With his mouth hovering over mine, he gently runs his fingertips inside the waistband of my thong, a small moan escaping his lips when my stomach dips, putting space between my panties and body.

  “So fucking sexy,” he whispers, lowering his fingers dangerously close to where I’m desperate for him and then stopping.

  Keeping his hand inside the fabric, he uses his free hand to grab the back of my head, pulling me so close that we’re breathing each other’s air. My legs shake, my breathing becoming ragged against his mouth as I anticipate his touch, needing it.

  “Look at me,” he breathes against my lips. I do, and the moment our eyes meet, he lowers his hand, sliding his fingers right where I need them. We both moan out at the same time, my arms wrapping around his neck for support when he pushes his fingers inside of me and growls against my parted lips. He pumps his fingers in and out a few times, before pulling them out and sliding them into his mouth, tasting me.

  “Holy fuck,” he nearly growls, pinning me against the door again.

  The heated look in his eyes while he lifts my shirt over my head and tosses it aside as his gaze roams my body, has me a complete mess. I can hardly stand without feeling like I’m going to fall over. He keeps his eyes on mine, takes a step back, and slowly undoes his shirt, each button making it harder and harder to breathe. I swallow, my body trembling as he peels his shirt from his ripped body and tosses it aside.

  I’ve seen Damon shirtless before, many times obviously, but it feels different right now. He watches me, watching him, his breathing picking up when he reaches to undo his jeans. I catch the slightest shake of his hands when he pulls them down his muscled thighs and steps out of them, kicking them aside.

  “Damon.” His name slips from my mouth as my gaze roams over his perfect body, taking in every dip of muscled perfection.

  He stands there for a moment, in only his tight boxer briefs, his chest quickly rising as we look each other over. Then, without warning, he comes at me, cups my face with both hands, and crushes his lips hard against mine, stealing my breath away.

  His kiss deepens, his tongue owning every inch of my mouth as he lowers his hands to my thighs and lifts me, pressing his hard body between my legs. Now that there’s only thin fabric between us, the size and thickness of him is so much easier to feel.

  Between him grinding against me and his hand lightly squeezing my throat, I’m on the verge of having an orgasm, and he’s not even inside of me.

  “Touch me,” he demands against my lips.

  My hand shakes as he grabs it and slides it down the front of his briefs to cover his erection.

  The moment I touch him he groans. “I’m going to come before I even get inside of you.”

  He moves his lips to my neck and gently bites it, growling out his pleasure as I stroke him. I moan into his hair as I take in the feeling of him in my hand.

  He runs his lips over my neck, before moving around to capture my lips again. He nips and tugs, the taste of him turning me on with each pass of his lips against mine.

  I’m too wrapped up in his kiss that I don’t notice him lowering the front of his boxer briefs until I look down to see him spring free from the fabric. I swear I can’t breathe. He swallows hard before he yanks them down his legs. I barely get the chance to savor the sight of him completely naked before he’s ripping my underwear down my legs and coming back at me.

  He picks me up, and in one swift movement, he slowly enters me, my entire body igniting into flames as he stretches me. His eyes lock with mine as he grips the back of my hair and begins moving in and out, going slowly, letting me feel every inch of him as he fills me over and over again. Each time he enters me, I moan out in pleasure, my body ready to explode from his touch.

  He must notice I’m holding my breath, because moments later, Damon brushes his lips over mine and whispers, “Breathe, Eva. It’s just the two of us.”

  I nod and dig my nails into his shoulders as my body moves with his, his hips pushing me up the door with each deep thrust. How am I supposed to breathe when he’s taking my breath away? This man owns every part of my body each time he enters me, and knowledge starts to spread in my soul. The knowledge that no matter what, we could never be separated forever. He’s too written in my soul.

  His hands move to grip my backside, and the next thing I know, the wall no longer supports my back. He lifts me before lowering me down on him, moaning against my lips each time I come down, taking him deep. Several pumps later, when he’s buried deep, he holds me still and begins walking. I wrap both hands into his thick hair and hold on as he makes his way to his bed.

  Without pulling out of me, he lays me down on the mattress and begins moving between my thighs, taking me deeper than before. I moan out, my hands gripping his muscular back, my nails digging in, most likely leaving a mark. His hard body moves slowly above me, his mouth exploring my neck and shoulder before moving up to capture mine at the same time he pushes inside of me and stops. He’s hitting so deep that I scream out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as my nails dig deeper into his flesh.

  “Fuck, Eva.”

  He pushes me farther up the bed with his body, my head nearly hitting the headboard. I’m so wrapped up in him that it wouldn’t even matter if it did. I probably wouldn’t
even feel it.

  With his eyes on mine, he begins moving again, his thrusts taking me deeper and harder with each moan that escapes me. His hard body moves perfectly above me, hips gyrating. I don’t know for how long we’ve been going at it before I clench around him, close to having an orgasm. But before it can take over completely, he maneuvers us so that I’m on top of him, straddling him.

  “Not yet.”

  His hand gently moves around my throat, and I lean my head back, my nails digging into his arms as I come down on him, meeting him each time he buries himself deep inside of me.

  “That’s it, baby,” he whispers against my ear, his words causing goose bumps to cover my entire body.

  I love when he calls me baby, more than I could’ve ever imagined back before I met him. He slowly moves his mouth around to speak against my lips.

  “Show me that you’re still mine.”

  A breath escapes me as he pushes himself back inside me and holds me still, his lips claiming mine. I don’t think I will ever get used to the feeling of Damon’s lips on mine. Moreover, I don’t know how I’ll ever survive without them again.

  He wraps an arm around my waist and the other behind my neck and begins moving me up and down, being sure to go deep every time he pulls me down to him.

  “Look at me,” he breathes across my lips. “I want to see your eyes when you come for me.” Within seconds, I’m coming undone in his arms, squeezing him as he catches my moans with his mouth.

  “Damon…” I fall into him, barely able to control my body or my breathing. I’ve had many orgasms in the past, but never one this intense.

  “Hold onto me, baby.”

  I wrap my arms around his neck and hold on as he picks up speed, slamming into me, harder and deeper than before. Within seconds I’m screaming out his name, another orgasm consuming me as he slams into me one last time, releasing himself inside of me. We don’t move apart. We stay this way, our sweaty bodies molded together, breathing the same air as we fight to catch our breath. I don’t know how long we’ve been clinging onto each other, but it feels like forever before he brushes my hair away from my neck and kisses it. I’m not ready to let him go, and from the way he pulls me farther into him, I don’t think he’s prepared to let go either. However, the longer we stay this way, the more rational my head becomes, allowing the stress of our current situation to creep in slowly.

  “Don’t think,” he whispers into my neck, most likely noticing me stiffening.

  “Just let me hold you for a while.”

  Closing my eyes, I push everything negative from my thoughts and hold onto him. It hurts too much to breathe if I think about everything else.

  We lay there, entangled in the sheets, the soft sounds of our breathing filling the room.

  "We should talk about how you're feeling," he says softly as he strokes my arm gently.

  I stiffen, knowing what's coming. "I don’t think we should."

  "You know that I never would have touched her."

  "Ugh," I practically shriek as I pull away from him, not even sure why I'm so upset about something he had no control over.

  "Eva," he says gently, wrapping his arms around my waist and taking me back to him. A place I really shouldn't ever, ever leave.

  I sigh, closing my eyes as the image of Selena wrapped around him once again fills my head. It makes me feel sick.

  "It was like seeing my greatest fear brought to life," I whisper in a choked voice as he presses kisses against my hair.

  "Oh baby," he tells me softly in a voice that warms me right down to my soul.

  “You know what my greatest fear is?” he asks, his mouth below my ear now as he places a kiss there. I shiver at the sensation his breath leaves as he kisses his way down to my chest.

  “What?” I ask in a pant as he reaches my breast.

  “Losing you,” he says, looking up at my face. “Losing this. And it happened."

  His lips close around me, his tongue flicking against me. His hands work their way between my legs as he gives attention to my other breast.

  “You’re everything I’ve ever wanted,” he says, whispering kisses down my stomach. “You’re everything I need.”

  My head hits the bed with a thump when I feel his tongue on me.

  “I would die if you left me, you know that, right?” he says against me. “I would never leave you. It just may take me a second to find you."

  His words take their time in fixing the tears in my heart. And there's a lot of them.

  I would always find you, I promise him as our bodies begin to move against each other once again.

  Even if it takes a second to find you.

  I dream that night wrapped in Damon's embrace.

  Horns sounded in the distance as I sat in my room. When I wasn't tending to Aiden's wants, I spent my days memorizing the document I'd stolen from Lexi's quarters. I'd been captured at the edges of his lands but not because of Lexi. She'd disappeared after I'd left her room, and no one knows where she'd went.

  To say Aiden had been displeased at his guards finding me would be the understatement of the eternities. He'd said nothing about the status of Damon but I lived each day in the fear that today would be the day Aiden revealed that he'd killed Damon. I carried the bruises of Aiden's rage all over my body.

  But at least he hadn't discovered the paper yet.

  I poured over every word over and over again, trying to understand it.

  I don’t know how much time I have before Lexi comes back. Or Aiden somehow finds out I'd taken something from her that I wasn't supposed to.

  So, I read it. And I struggled to understand it.

  There was something about a tree. And a sacrifice maybe.

  It was written in an ancient language of the fae, one that I would have been able to learn if I was still at home, tucked in safe with my mother, and able to be groomed as the queen she'd always wanted me to be.

  I shook my head, trying to push away the morose thoughts. I had a purpose right now. No matter how worthless my life had become, I had a purpose.

  I needed to get to a library. I'm sure there was one in this dark castle somewhere, but it was the last place that Aiden would let me go. Especially now after he was so suspicious of my intentions.

  I looked out the window from my vantage point on the bed, staring out at the blue sky half-heartedly. I guess I could try flying around the castle again, see if any of the windows led into the library. Maybe I could get away with no one seeing me.

  Horns sounded just then...loudly.

  Puzzled, I got off the bed and walked to the window, staring out at the horizon for a sign of where the horns could have come from. I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth in horror when I saw a flag carrying the emblem of my kingdom in front of what resembled my kingdom's entire royal fleet of soldiers.

  And even with how far away they were, on a white horse by that flag, there was a golden-haired man that I'd never stopped seeing in my dreams.

  Beckham. He was here.

  My heart stopped for a moment as it danced between initial hope and then devastating fear.

  Why was he here. Hadn't he heard the tales that I'm sure had spread throughout Fairie of what happened to those who crossed Aiden?

  And why if he had decided to come, had he only come just now.

  The troops weren't advancing any closer, like there was an invisible line in the sand between them and Aiden's territory. They were far into the ruined, blackness of the land and I wondered how much good they could even do...if they were even here for me, with dead Fairie sucking their energy dry.

  Beckham.

  I sit up straight in bed, Damon sleeping peacefully next to me.

  That dream....

  A buzzing sound catches my attention, the most likely culprit of my awakening. Looking over, I bite my lip in relief to see that it’s Beckham calling.

  I pick up frantically, just catching it on its last ring. "Beckham-" I start out.

  "Eva," I fro
wn at the sound of Eric's voice. Why was Eric of all people calling me in the middle of the night on Beckham's phone?

  I guess Beckham and he could have been somehow hanging out, but I doubted it. In this new world I was living in, Eric wouldn't have known Beckham. At least I didn't think so. We'd never had a conversation about Eric for me to know if Beckham had even met Eric before me while hanging out with Damon.

  "Eric?" I question cautiously. Damon is up by now, his face questioning as his supernatural ears pick up every word spoken on the phone.

  "Hey Eva. I think you should come downstairs,” Eric responds lightly.

  "How did you get Beckham's phone number?”

  "You should grab Damon and come downstairs," he tells me, his voice sounding cold and cruel through the phone.

  "We'll be right down," I tell him, seeing Damon's nod.

  "I've never liked that idiot," Damon seethes the second I hang up the phone. "Whatever he wants, it won't be good."

  "It's Eric though. He's always been...harmless."

  Damon huffs but gets out of the bed and begins to get dressed. I watch in disappointed fascination as his beautiful, perfect skin disappears from sight.

  Once we’re both dressed, we check to make sure Mason is still sleeping, and then we take the elevator downstairs.

  There’s a bite to the air and the streetlights send an eerie, unearthly glow on everything as we step through the doors of the building. I shiver. I didn't think it possible for the air to feel more ominous...but somehow it did.

  "There he is," I murmur as I see Eric down the sidewalk, walking towards us.

  Eric is only a few feet away when Damon mutters "fuck", and his wings shoot out. He practically throws me behind him, and his wings encase me in a feathery cocoon.

  "Damon!" I all but screech as I try to move out of his wings’ embrace.

  "Vampire," Damon hisses, his eyes lock on Eric who stands there smirking about ten feet away.

  "Vampire?" I ask, confused. Looking closer at Eric, my heart ricochets in my chest. Lexi and I had gone to that vampire club what seemed like a lifetime ago. I remembered their skin, that otherworldly glow.

  Eric had that now.

  But how...