Dark Possession - Aja James Page 0,54
males to bed. For, in becoming a Dark One, the Elemental prince’s Gift had evolved as well.
He was able to control his powers better, and when he was displeased, he withheld them from her. Whereas before, she could feed off his strength through his rich, Pure blood, now she could only grasp his power through sexual intercourse.
But as soon as she tasted it, felt his Elemental strength course through her body, it would wane far too quickly. By necessity, and soon, by desire, Ashlu rutted upon the gorgeous young prince long and often, delighting in teaching him all the ways to please her.
To her, his body was a source of power and endless fleshly pleasure. To him, her body was his haven, his heaven, the place his heart called home.
So when she held a competition at the stronghold for all Dark Ones to participate, where the winner would become her Consort, the Elemental did not, could not, understand.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked for the umpteenth time, as the Dark Queen’s handmaidens prepared her for the opening ceremony.
“I am your Consort. I am your Mate. How can you offer yourself to any other male?” he demanded.
Ashlu looked at the Elemental prince, now truly a magnificent male, unparalleled in primal, masculine beauty and bounty, burgeoning with raw strength and power, his body a fortress of taut muscles, smooth, satiny skin, and long, strong bones.
“You are not my Consort or my Mate, darling,” she said easily, cajolingly. “You are my own sweet prince. You will always have a special place at my side, but it is not upon the throne next to mine.”
“Why not?” he argued, the temper that he usually kept carefully leashed making an appearance as his hands fisted by his hips.
“You were a Pure One, unfortunately,” she answered with a pretty downturn of her lips. “You only became a vampire through the Decline. My Consort must be a True Blood.”
Not a lowly Blood Slave, she left unsaid.
“It is the only way the Dark citizens will accept the heir that I will eventually birth. I am sorry, beautiful darling, but this is the way of politics. It’s business, not personal.”
“Why must you take a Consort now?” he asked, changing tack. “You are powerful enough on your own. You have me!”
Ashlu did not look at him while the maidens wove her long, dark hair into intricate braids, looping threads of gold and jewels through the silken strands.
“I do have you, and I always will,” she said firmly. “But I am the destined Queen of All Kinds. I must expand the Dark empire across the known world. There are many other factions, many other hives. I will rule them all. And I cannot do so without alliances.”
“You can! I will conquer the lands for you. I will lead the Dark armies into battle as I have done ever since becoming a Dark One. I have never lost. I never will.”
“No,” she stated with finality, spearing him with a hard look, revealing a hint of impatience that he seldom saw from her.
His heart hurt at her displeasure. He did not understand. He could not understand.
Almost immediately, her expression softened again, her amber eyes shimmering with affection and desire for him.
The Elemental could never resist that look upon her beautiful face.
“You know that I love you most, my darling,” she murmured, extending her hand to him.
He took hold of it in both his own and intertwined their fingers, needing the physical connection.
He wanted to make love to her right now. Be joined with her in the most intimate way. But he knew that she’d frown upon his need.
He’d learned over the years that the less he showed his unquenchable thirst for her, the more she wanted him. So he kept himself in check, even as his body strained to mate with hers.
“This changes nothing between us,” she promised. “You will always be my special prince.”
“But you will be Mated to another male,” he whispered, his voice leaving him as if he physically couldn’t utter the words out loud for fear that they’d come true.
“You’d take another into your body. How can you love me if you…”
He swallowed down the bitter bile that rose through his esophagus to flood his mouth.
Was this what despair tasted like? Was this the poison of jealousy?
“I have never…” he said brokenly, hardly able to form words, so distraught was he.
“Only you. I have only ever been inside you. I will only ever want to be with you.”
“Oh my