Throne of Ice and Blood (Flame and Thorns, #2)

by Marion Blackwood

“So you took it upon yourself to strip me naked while I was unconscious?” A slow and vicious smile curls his lips. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“I could always just handcuff you to your desk again.” His eyes glitter. “You’re welcome to try, little rebel. But you and I both know that you look a lot hotter in handcuffs than I do.”

“I thought I told you to stay in your room.” “And you actually expected me to do it?”

“You thought I was just going to obey your orders and not try to escape?” “I’m not draining your magic. I took off your collar. I’m trying to⁠—” “You made me your slave, Draven! When push came to shove, you still locked that iron collar around my throat and sucked my magic out of my body.” “Look, I get that you feel betrayed.” “Do you? How could you possibly know what it feels like to be so thoroughly deceived?” “You wanna talk about being deceived?” Pain flickers in his eyes. It’s followed by something deeper. Something more like hurt. “How do you think I felt back in that underground forest? How do you think I felt when I realized that you didn’t fuck me because you genuinely wanted to? That it was all an act. That you didn’t really want me. That you only fucked me as a distraction to steal the ring from me.”

“So hate me all you want, little rebel. And fight me all you want in private. But out here, in public, you need to act as if I’m your God.”

“You’re going to regret that wish. Because inside these walls, I’m going to become your worst nightmare, and I won’t stop until you bow down before your own personal Queen of Hell.”

“As long as you act like I’m your God outside these walls, I welcome your hell in here, little rebel.”

“Do you want me to punish you, little rebel?”

I once more try to remind myself that Draven and I are enemies. That I shouldn’t enjoy his commanding hands on my body. That I should just block out all the confusing emotions about him that have been twisting inside me ever since the Atonement Trials. But when he’s looking at me like this, like I’m the only person in this whole world who matters, it’s impossible.

“Did you forget that cute and very desperate moan that came out of your mouth the moment that my fingers brushed against your wet little cunt?” His golden eyes gleam. “I hate to break it to you, little rebel, but you lost before we even began.”

“I thought you didn’t want me in your bed.” “I thought you climbed into it anyway.”

Draven nods towards the open door to my bedroom. “You have thirty seconds to go and put on your nightgown. Then I expect you in my bed.” Heat rushes through my whole body. Licking my lips, I swallow. “Or what?” “Or I’m going to throw you over my shoulder, carry you back there, and handcuff you to it.”

“You’re right,” he says, tilting his head back so that he meets my gaze. “I kneel for nothing and no one.” His golden eyes burn like flames, searing right through my soul. “But for you… For you, I would kneel.”

“I was just thinking how good you look on your knees before my feet.”

“Don’t get cocky, little rebel.” He flashes me a sly smirk. “You and I both know that I can have you begging for my cock with just a few strategic strokes of my fingers.” “A few strokes?” I taunt while raising my eyebrows. “Now who’s getting cocky?”

“Azaroth’s flame, I should just put you in black armor too, because you’re as bad as my own clan at just following simple orders that are for your own protection.” “Maybe you should,” I bait. “That way, there would be no question who I belong to.” “There has never been a question about that.”

“Fine.” He works his jaw, still holding my gaze with those burning eyes of his. “I’m a jealous territorial bastard who can’t stand the thought of you flirting with someone else.”

His eyes burn through my soul as he stares me down. “Because you’re mine.” I arch an eyebrow at him. “Your life slave?” “No. Mine. In every sense of the word.”

Looking back over his shoulder, he meets my gaze while a smile that is pure villain spreads across his face. “Oh and, Selena?” It takes me a second to remember how to speak, and when I do, the word comes out in an embarrassing croak. “Yes?” His eyes glint. “You will pay for this little stunt tonight.”

“Here’s the deal, Shadow of Death.” My own eyes are full of challenge as I meet his desperate gaze. “Either you fuck me, or you watch me fuck myself. Those are your two options.”

And as I kiss him back, I can’t for the life of me understand how I’m supposed to make myself remember that one crucial fact that I must never allow myself to forget. That Draven and I are supposed to be enemies.

“I thought we had already established that being snarky and disrespectful is my natural state.”

“Don’t ever apologize for crying. It’s not a weakness. It’s a sign that you’ve had to be strong for too long.”

“Goddess damn it, stop being such a fucking idiot! I am offering, you thickheaded overgrown bat, so just take it!”

Maybe I need to be more like them all. More like Alistair. More like Isera. More like Draven. Maybe it’s time that I start doing what they do. What everyone else in this messed up world of ours seems to be doing. Take what I want and to hell with everyone else.

“I thought you said back when you were holding me captive in your room during the Atonement Trials that the sight of my body in a tiny little nightgown does absolutely nothing to you.”

“You are mine. It’s time the world knows that.”

“Careful with those eye rolls, little rebel,” he warns. “Wouldn’t want anyone to realize that you’re not actually my submissive little plaything.”

We are, and always will be, enemies.

A short laugh escapes his lips. “And then you threw your drink in my face.” He shakes his head. “Azaroth’s flame, little rebel, it has been decades since someone managed to surprise me like that.”

He swallows and glances away for a second. “I was trying to protect you.” Then he draws in a deep breath and meets my gaze head on. “But I was wrong. You don’t need protecting.” A wicked smile, full of approval, spreads across his face. “It’s the world that needs protection from you.”

And now that we are no longer enemies, I might finally be able to allow myself to consider what he told me back there in his bedroom. That he has fallen in love with me. That he is in love with me.