The scent of her fear followed me all the way to the open door near the rear of the plane and increased to a dangerous level when she saw the sizable bed waiting for us beyond the threshold. It took up the majority of the space, with a pair of nightstands on either side. And a single interior door led to a bathroom with a stall shower.
I turned and noted the tremor in Willow’s limbs, her balance uneasy on her four-inch heels. The rumble and movement of the jet probably didn’t help matters, but she remained on her feet.
“Close the door,” I told her as I removed my jacket and set it on the bed.
She complied, her gaze lowering to the floor in a perfect display of submission. Her training was kicking in, chasing away her warrior side and replacing it with a meek female.
I moved toward her, walking her into the back of the door, and placed my palms on the wood on either side of her head. It left minimal space between us, forcing her to acknowledge my presence.
“Willow,” I murmured. “Look at me.”
Her throat worked to swallow, her pulse a raging invitation that taunted my vampiric instincts. But I allowed her a moment to collect herself, then smiled internally when her blue eyes lifted to meet my gaze.
There’s my little warrior, I thought, catching the glimmer of anger flickering deep in her irises. She hated what society had turned her into. That alone was a fracture in her programming, one I intended to wholeheartedly exploit.
I slid my knee between her thighs. The slits of her gown went all the way up to her hips, making it simple to part her legs without any hindrance from the fabric. It was meant to provide easy access, and oh, did it deliver.
Her nipples beaded beneath the fabric, the little rosy buds a beacon for my tongue.
But it was her mouth that fascinated me most, the way her lips parted in delicious surprise as I pressed into her personal space.
“Have you ever been with one of my kind, sweet pet?” I asked her softly, bending to run my nose across the flush of her cheeks. She smelled amazing, her blood tempting my inner beast to steal a taste.
“No.” It came out as a whisper that would have been lost to most beneath the rumble of the jet, but I heard her just fine.
I pressed my lips to her ear and replied, “Then consider this your introduction to playing with vampires.” I would go easy on her, give her just enough to addict her to my methods, and draw out the introduction between us.
She shivered as my mouth skimmed her throat, her pulse beating a mile a minute beneath the skin. I hummed against her, taunting her flesh, while my thigh flexed between her legs, applying pressure to the place I desired to seek out with my tongue.
“If I push you too far, tell me,” I said against her ear. “Just say, ‘My Prince,’ and it ends. Unless we’re in public—then I want you to call me Ryder.”
Damien said the other day that humans were never allowed to address their superiors by their given names, which provided the perfect cover for me to escort Willow out of a room should I need to.
“What ends?” Willow asked, her hands forming fists at her sides.
“Everything,” I promised, drawing my nose along the column of her neck in a warm taunt to both of our senses. “I’m not human, Willow. My proclivities are dark. I like blood. But it’s not my wish to damage you. So if I’m really hurting you, I want to know. All right?” Some pain could be mingled with pleasure, something we would explore once I understood her true limits.
“By saying your name.”
“When we’re in public, yes. And call me My Prince when we’re in private.” My teeth skimmed her raging pulse, my incisors aching to pierce the thin membrane to reach the ambrosia beneath. But I needed this from her first. “Do you understand?”
“Yes.” A note of hesitation lurked in her tone, telling me she didn’t fully grasp the concept yet. Probably because she’d been trained to never say no. We’d fix that together.
“Do you want to call me Ryder or My Prince right now?” I asked her, testing her limit.
Her nostrils flared. “Ryder.”
I smiled. “Are you sure? We’re locked in a room and have a few hours. The things I could do to you are endless, sweetheart.”
“You’ll do them with or without my consent,” she replied with a slight bite in her tone, one that made me even harder for her.
“Oh, Willow. You don’t have to verbally consent to give me permission,” I informed her softly.
She narrowed her gaze. “Is that your excuse?”
“No, darling. It’s my explanation. Allow me to demonstrate.” I placed an open-mouthed kiss on her neck, eliciting a quiver from her. Rather than bite her, I put my hands on hips to pull her with me as I walked backward to the bed. She followed on unsteady legs, her eyes on me the whole time.
Such a good little pet, I thought, pleased with her. “I’m going to sit down, and you’re going to straddle me.”
While I enjoyed having her pressed up against the door, I suspected her legs wouldn’t be able to support her throughout our introduction. Sitting would be easier for us both.
I slid onto the bed until the mattress hit the back of my knees, and kept my feet planted on the ground. Then I pulled Willow between my spread thighs, her tremble at my nearness proving Damien’s point from the jet’s lounge area.
I’d been so consumed with the notion of teaching her how to protect herself that I’d completely missed the importance of preparing her sexually.
If she acted like this in front of the others, they’d consider her to be nothing more than food. And while being a member of my harem wasn’t all that much better, she’d at least be marked as my personal property. And no one touched a royal vampire’s property without permission.
Moving one hand down her hip to her thigh, I gave the muscle a squeeze. “Lift your leg onto the bed.”
She did as I requested, her cheeks darkening to a redder shade as the lace of her gown split to reveal her creamy flesh to my view. It served as a decadent tease, the fabric still covering the part of her that I wished to devour. Mmm, the thought of spreading her wide had me eagerly reaching for her other leg.
“Now this one,” I told her. I helped lift her off the ground as she complied with my demand, then I guided her to the place I desired, with her hot cunt pressed right against my zipper. “Bunch up your skirt, Willow. I want to feel you up against my cock.”
Defiance flickered in her gaze, there and gone in the skip of a heartbeat. I secretly hoped she’d fight me, but resolve steadied her features instead as her fingers gingerly pulled the lace upward to sit around her hips.
“Higher,” I said, wanting to see if she was as wet as I suspected.
Willow shuddered, her eyes briefly leaving mine as she brought the fabric up to her stomach. I placed a palm against her lower spine to hold her steady as I leaned back just enough to see her pretty pink flesh.
Mmm, yes, she was very thorough with that razor. I was almost jealous. Next time I’d groom her myself and taste her afterward. Because the sight of all that glistening interest made my mouth water. Alas, we didn’t have enough time for me to properly enjoy her now. So we would do this introduction a different way.
“This is why I don’t need your verbal cue,” I told her. “You’re wet for me, Willow. But I dare you to call me My Prince right now and tell me to stop.”