whispered, pressing against my ear. “Stop hesitating, Sunshine. You’re the May Queen, and no one can get fucked until you choose a partner. You know that you’ll choose Rhys, it’s a given.” I turned to face Cole, staring into his pretty blue eyes as he grabbed my wrist. My eyes found Rhys standing across the room, watching us. “But in case you’re not certain, a Van Helsing has to claim you as well. Can’t have all the alphas holding a claim and none of us, right?”
He smirked boyishly, his teeth worrying his bottom lip. When he’d finished tying on his ribbon, he held out his elbow, and I slipped my hand around it, holding him tightly. The undressing was precisely that. We were stripped down to our panties and paraded around the room with me, leading all the women.
Rhys stared openly, slipping his gaze down to the tiny panties that luckily covered my ass, which I was sure was his doing. Once we’d finished walking in a circle around the dance floor, we moved from it, and I swallowed, walking to him as he smirked, turning his head to peer up at the stairs before moving toward them.
Closing my eyes, I nodded to the women who held my dress, slipping back into it before heading to the stairs as everyone watched me. My heart sat in my throat, and yet it was probably for the best that he hadn’t allowed me to tie my ribbon to him. He obviously had chosen someone else, and avoiding me seemed to be his way out of dealing with me tonight.
“What the hell is happening?” Conrad asked, turning to look at Ian.
“I’m guessing she gifted herself the ribbon and intends to fuck herself tonight?” Ian snorted loudly.
“Can she do that?” Hunter asked.
“She’s a Silversmith. She can do whatever the hell she wants with Rhys’s protection. Good for her,” Cole muttered, but there was a catch in his tone that tugged at me.
The knights walked me back to the room, where I silently removed my heels and rubbed my neck. Stretching it out, I reached behind me, unclasping the necklace. I started for the dress’s zipper, but hands stopped mine. I lifted my eyes to the azure gaze in the mirror.
“Tell me to leave, Remi,” Rhys whispered huskily.
“Stay,” I swallowed, holding his heated depths while he reached for my arm, turning me to face him.
Rhys flicked a blade open, slicing through the other ribbons on each of our arms, freeing them as he set the knife down. Carefully, he secured his ribbon to my wrist while his eyes held mine prisoner. Once he’d finished, I tied mine to his, and he smirked wickedly, turning me around as he unzipped my dress to watch it pooling on the ground at our feet.
“You have no idea what I intend to do to you tonight, Remington. I intend to use every single second of the next twenty-four hours with you until you’re screaming and begging me for mercy. You should know, I don’t have any,” he growled, turning me toward him as he began walking me slowly backward. “Tonight, you’re mine, woman.”
“About time, Van Helsing,” I whispered breathlessly, crushing my mouth against his in a kiss that showed him I meant business. He groaned, lifting me, pushing my back against the wall, and capturing my hands above my head in one of his vise-like grips. His other hand grasped my chin, taking control as he devoured me hungrily, growling until I was moaning against his hard body with need.
Rhys pulled back, and I studied the blue of his eyes fighting the darkness of the incubus for control. It mattered little which side of him won tonight, as long as it ended with me getting relief from the need pulsing through me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Rhys didn’t just kiss me. He slowly seduced me, holding me helplessly pinned against the wall with his body. His tongue caressed mine, deliberately moving in and out of my mouth. It was as if he was showing me exactly what he intended to do to my body tonight. My stomach tightened with need, my core clenching greedily to be filled by him. Moans escaped my mouth, only to be swallowed and captured by his hungry kiss.
He pulled away from my mouth, kissing my neck as his fingers threaded through my hair, forcefully turning me around until my forehead pressed against the wall. His mouth brushed over my shoulder, nipping the skin with his teeth. Rhys’s fingers