Heart of Darkness

Roxana's body continued to shudder and her insides quivered for a while as she remained laying on her stomach. She still had a grasp on the sheets and her breath came out in short gasps.

Although she knew that women could experience pleasure as well, she never anticipated it would be this intense. She turned her head as Alexander's hand caressed her back and she watched him regain his breath.

His chest rose and fell heavily. "Are you alright?" He asked turning to her.

"Yes." She breathed still astonished.

She felt a little intoxicated, her mind clouded, and her body limp. And this position, she didn't think it could be done like this.

"It can be done in many ways. I plan to show you all of them." He told her.

She was already flushed to blush. "You didn't bite me." She said now that he reminded her he could read her mind.

He smiled. "You were already losing consciousness so I decided to save some of it for later."

"Or maybe you just want to keep reading my mind."

He chuckled. "That I do want. I am going to miss hearing them. Your compliments and possessiveness."

Oh no! The more she remembered what he heard all those times, the angrier she became. She turned her body to face him and stared at him with a grim look.

"I want to do it. I can't have you in my head anymore." She said.

He changed position as well to face her. "Where do you want to take blood from?" He asked.

"Can I choose?" Her eyes widened.

"Yes."

"Well, wherever is easiest for you."

He looked at her curiously for a long moment.

"What is it?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I just thought I would have to convince you and calm you down about drinking blood and mating. I didn't think you would be asking for it even if it isn't for the reason I imagined."

She nodded thoughtfully understanding what he meant. "Alexander. I am already committed to you or I wouldn't be here tonight."

"I know." He said caressing her cheek gently. "I am not belittling your reason. Your thoughts are your own and they should be private. It is distressing to be so exposed. I'll do my best not to listen." He promised.

"Thank you," She said feeling suddenly very tired and sleepy.

Alexander sat up and covered them with the sheets.

"Come here," he said holding his arms out. She snuggled against him and he held her tightly.

In his warm embrace, her eyes started to droop and her thoughts began to drift off to sleep. She allowed herself to get even more enamored by his aroma before dozing out soundly.

Oh, she didn't want to wake up. It was rare that she slept so well. Being on the run all the time, she had learned to sleep with one eye open but not this night. Despite feeling the warm sunlight in the room, she continued to keep her eyes shut and sleep a little more until she felt fulfilled.

When she woke up, before she could fully open her eyes she stretched her limbs. Oh god, her muscled still felt a little ticklish but then slowly a soreness settled between her legs. She did question why she had not had more discomfort before. It appeared to arrive later.

"Good morning," Alexander's voice came from somewhere else than beside her.

She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked ahead. Oh, what a way to be greeted in the morning. Alexander had the white sheets wrapped around his hips and walked around with the rest of him naked to bless her eyes.

She took a moment to just stare now that she could do so. He put two plates on the round table in the room, where there were a few dishes served.

He turned to her. "You can stare and touch as much as you want, but I need you to eat first." He smirked, his fangs still visible.

Oh lord. It made him look even more sinister.

Roxana pushed herself up and then swung her legs down before standing up. She wrapped the sheets around herself and then walked with unstable legs and a sore pelvis to the table.

Alexander pulled the chair out for her and she sat down, taking a moment to adjust her hair as she looked at the food on the table. A royal breakfast.

"I took it straight from my chambers. I can't cook." He said as he sat down beside her.

She smiled at him. "What is happening?" She asked nodding toward his fangs.

"Oh," His eyes darkened. "I am still hungry." He said leaning in and placing a kiss on her bare shoulder.

"Then… will you bite me today?" She meant it but she also said it jokingly to his remark.

He chuckled. "You never fail to amuse me." He rested his elbows on the table and looked closely at her. "This hunger comes with another hunger. It will also be less painful if I bite you while you are intoxicated with pleasure. That is why you are in more pain now than last night."

Oh, so it was about making it less painful?

"I'll be fine." She said. She has had worse pain. It couldn't be that bad.

She paused remembering something. "Your Majesty! Work. Don't you have to be at work and I have to."

"Don't worry, Rox." He took her hand and nibbled on her arm. "I took care of it. You will be mine for the whole day and another night before I let you go."

"Where are we?"

"I will show you around, but eat first."

He put the scrambled egg and bread on her plate and then offered her a bowl of warm porridge. Oh, what was this luxury?

She ate her food quickly, enjoying every moment of it. Alexander watched her for the most part.

"You don't eat much." She said.

"I don't need to."

"So demons don't eat?"

"We do. We just don't need food or sleep as often." He said putting a strawberry into his mouth.

Her gaze remained glued to his delicious mouth for a moment. "What else is different about you?" She asked.

"There are many things. I can do things much faster, I am much stronger, I have heightened senses. In addition to me being an arch demon, I can…"

"What is an arch demon?" She cut him off.

"It means I am in the first three generations of our kind. Our demons are closer to the ones of our ancestors, which means we have much stronger instinct and power than other demons and we can manifest in our true form with wings and horns."

"What do you mean stronger instinct?" She asked.

"Well, as demons we have certain instincts. To hunt and feed, to recognize and desire our mate, to mate and reproduce, to recognize danger, and protect what is ours. Those are stronger the closer we are to our ancestors." He explained.

She nodded. "How do you recognize your mate?"

"Mostly by scent."

Scent?

"If we are drawn to a certain scent, we often know. I knew you were the one from the very beginning."

He did?

"You smell like salt and ocean." He said as if it was the most delicious thing he smelled. "It is most delicious to me." He replied to her thoughts.

She chuckled. Sometimes the mindreading was fun.

"Are the other demons also arch demons?" She asked.

"No. I am the only one amongst the ones you met." She nodded.

"I thought you were all friends but one of them told me about the mind-reading…Blayze I think."

"We have a complicated relationship. I wouldn't really call us all friends. We are damaged to be each other's friends so our relationship is a bit different. The closest to me is Rayven. Lazarus and Acheron are easy to get along with, although… well, don't listen to everything they say and Vitale is …" He shrugged. "Reliable at work. Blayze you should ignore."

She nodded. "I will try to remember it all."

He smiled. "You will get to know them eventually."

After they finished eating, he took her hand to show her around the house. The room was upstairs and he showed her two other rooms, one of them being a study and the other one a bedroom. On the bottom floor, there was a kitchen, a parlor, and two other bedrooms with private rooms. It was all simply decorated yet, had a warm welcoming feel.

"I bought this for you." He said.

"What?" She looked around confused. "You mean… the house?"

"Yes. In the winter, living on the ship will be cold. Although I am expecting you to move into the castle long before the winter you can keep this house. For Fanny and for when you find your family."

Roxana became speechless. She never got something so easily and she always dreamt of buying a house for her family before she found them. She wanted them to feel secure and at ease, because she didn't know what state she would find them in.

Tears filled her eyes as she looked around and Alexander rubbed his thumb over her hand to comfort her.

"Alex," She turned to him not knowing what to say. Thank you wasn't enough. She leaned in and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you." A tear fell down her cheek.

He hugged her back with a chuckle. "You can't cry yet. There is still so much I want to give you."

She just tightened her hold around him and he placed a kiss on her hair.

"Alright. The bath will get cold." He told her.

Bath?