32. You Are Jealous, Your Majesty

I stepped back and looked at him with a horrified look on my face while trying to fight off my embarrassment as I struggled to meet his gaze.

Clutching my ears as the tingling sensation of his mouth in my ears still persisted, I uttered, “Do you want me to, Your Majesty? You do not know me fully well, then.”

“Are you willing to die in exchange for knowing who is Zenith?” he asked me. “Death awaits those people who keep on trying to unveil what happened one year ago. If you are ready to face death, I can tell you all about her. But in exchange, you die.”

A shiver ran down my spine as I listened to him. Was that woman even worth it?

“You can bury all her secrets in your grave, Your Majesty. I no longer want to know about that woman.”

But it does not mean I will stop knowing more.

He scoffed, leaning on the table. “I thought you were desperate about that, River. But I was wrong.

You’re more desperate to put Elijah under your clutches. You are the same as the others in the palace.”

My eyes narrowed at the weight of his statement. “What are you trying to say, Your Majesty?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The fierce look in your eyes. The way you did not cower under my gaze, but instead looked at me straight in my eyes told me you wanted power. You will do anything to achieve your goal reminding me of someone. And gaining Elijah’s trust and using him would be to your advantage. What are you planning to do, River? You’re quite ambitious. I will credit you for that.”

I shifted on my side, not allowing him to see that he partly caught me there. “Nothing. You are mistaken. Everything you said was untrue.”

“I am never wrong about uncovering a person’s true color. However, let me remind you that it is wrong to bite your master’s hand. I owned you, River. If you forget, I am your master. I can do whatever I want with you.”

“You can do whatever you want to others, but not me, Your Majesty. You can do it if I allow it. There’s a fine line between harassment, respect, and abuse.”

“Ah. Such fire in your eyes. Full of passion and life. It’s beautiful to look at them just like how I loved watching the wildness of your hair right now. It perfectly suits you.” He folded his arms in front of his chest and said, “And another thing. I was harassing you? What part, River? Your body screamed at you telling me that you like my kisses, but you are fighting for control. No one ever refuses me. And may I remind you that you are my personal servant? We had a deal.”

My chest constricted hearing him compliment my hair which was one of my insecurities. I gritted my teeth, refusing to be swayed by his words.

Clearing my throat, I replied, “Yes, we had a deal, Your Majesty. You are right that you own my life, but it does not guarantee I will give my body to you. I want men who can satisfy me in bed and Sir Elijah can kiss better than you.”

It was too late to take back my words. The alpha king got madder and in a blink of an eye, he grabbed me and kissed me again, savagely.

Fine.

If he wants the same, I will give it to him.

If you cannot beat him, join him. As the adage says.

So instead of fighting him, I used another tactic. One moment I was noncompliant and the next moment, I kissed him. Hard, gripping with the same intensity he used while snaking one of my arms around his neck. While the other fisted on his shirt, I ripped it apart and touched his ripped body with intense touches.

His hands cradled my bottom. Using that leverage, I jumped and wrapped my arms around his waist. I felt the alpha king walk in whatever direction and shoved me until my back hit the cold wall. Without breaking the kiss.

Punishment after punishment.

Every kiss left a burning mark on my body, making me feel as if I was thrown into hot burning magma inside the mouth of an erupting volcano.

Muting my thoughts, I just focused on my body’s reaction and copied how rough he touched me.

The alpha king’s fingers dug into my hips but as seconds passed by, the rougher it got, the wetter I felt it became down there.

However, the punishing kisses melted away until they became brushes of lips between our lips until the energy in our bodies nearly left us.

Rough became soft.

My hands traveled toward his hair and pulled him closer to me, and he did not even protest. Instead, he was loving it. As much as I do.

No. I must fight this reaction.

It was too late. I was already drunk from him.

However, to save myself from the embarrassment that I liked everything, I pulled myself still carried by him.

“Sir Elijah is still better at kissing me, Your Majesty,” I whispered and nibbled his lips as if he was some deletable candy displayed. His mouth was soft and sweet against mine. And it reminded me of the strawberries that were grown at the farm at Haverstone Pack.

That delicious and sweet tiny fruit that I could not stop picking.

As if challenged by my statement, the alpha king massaged the valley of my chest, using his expert hands, making me arch my back.

No. Must not moan. Or he would think I was loving every inch of it.

“Is that all you can do, Your Majesty? Perhaps your age wears you down,” I taunted even more.

I knew I was playing a dangerous game. I had no experience when it comes to sex between men, and I was still testing myself on how far I can do. On how far will this play end.

“You talk too much, River.”

And he started taking off my clothes, but realization dawned on me and as if a cold bucket of water was thrown at me. I stopped him from doing so.

I cannot give myself to anyone even if he was the alpha king myself. Not now.

The alpha king rested his forehead against mine while catching his breath. “What’s wrong?”

“L-let me go.”

He froze, not liking my statement. “Why?” he asked coldly.

I met his gaze and answered. “I-I can’t do it, Your Majesty. If you want other women to satisfy you, I can call them. Nora is waiting. Always.”

He looked at me for a couple of seconds as if he wanted to know if I was serious or not. When I did not smile or beam, he let me go.

My knees nearly gave out and I was thankful I was able to grab a chair to support my weight.

The alpha king turned his back away from me, while I was busy fixing my unruly hair. I let it run wild earlier, but it was time to control it just like my emotions. I pulled out my hair tie and tied my hair into a messy bun.

“Why?” he asked, again. “Why did you hesitate while you did not to Elijah?”

Back to that again?

Gathering a fresh set of air, I answered, “He is incomparable to you, Your Majesty.”

“Do you like him? And even if you did, I will not allow your relationship until I permit you. You are my personal servant. You’re mine.”

“I know but with all due respect, you did not carry my other request of looking for my real parents.”

He faced me, his forehead knotted with lines. “Tracing what happened eighteen years ago is not an easy task. You are wrong when you said I did not do anything to find your parents. I did. But it will take some time. However, I am constantly asking for an update about them so you better do the end of the deal to serve me.”

“But it does not include offering myself to you.”

“But you can to Elijah?”

Sensing he will no longer believe my words no matter how much I deny it, I said, “Yes because he is kind and treated me with respect. He does not boss me around despite my status in the place. All my life, I’ve been constantly dealing with people who treated me as if I am some sort of rug but when it comes to Sir Elijah, he treated me as if I am some sort of treasure. And my heart longed for that, Your Majesty. My mate rejected me because I am a servant. An omega. A slave. But despite Sir Elijah’s status as one of the members of the Council, he treated me as a human.”

I was not certain if how much of what I had said was right and how much was lies.

His eyes went cold. “Elijah is not what you believe, River. He is dangerous for you. You can still have time to walk away from him.”

I laughed bitterly which made him face me. Good. Because I want to see his reactions. “You’re only telling me that because you are jealous, Your Majesty.”

There I said it.

His nostrils flared and gold flashed in his eyes. “Come again?” he asked. It was no longer him talking to me but the beast inside him.