Rejected Queen by Meg Xuemei X.

CHAPTER 23

Tessa

 

 

 

 

 

 

“If you weren’t wounded, I’d carry you like this for eternity, just you and me,” the black wolf said. “And I’ll make you all mine. But that dick will only let me have this moment with you after a hard bargain. As soon as I drop you at the dome, he’ll wrestle with me to regain control and resume his archdemon form. He’s reckless, calculating, and dangerous.”

“I don’t want him to come to me either,” I said, leaning closer to the beast, and he rumbled in satisfaction as he carried me across the terrain like the wind. “I want to stay longer with you, wolf. I can sleep on the beach with you guarding me.”

The beast growled, and this time it sounded more like Loki. So it was the beast in the man and the man in the beast. They had some kind of fierce competition going on.

“I’d like that more than anything, Mate,” the wolf said. “But I can’t be a selfish jerk. Your well-being is everything to me. You need to heal and heal fast. But I’ll cherish every moment I have with you.” He paused for a second. “At some point, you might have to forgive him. His heart is in the right place, even though his head often isn’t.”

Another threatening sound rumbled from the depths of the beast’s chest.

The wind rushed past us as the beast charged across the land. The wolf’s black fur rippled, and my hair flew wildly. In a flash, we were already inside the foyer of my dome. The beast was so powerful that he’d passed the dome’s ward just like that.

He lowered himself by the sofa. I lingered on his back a little longer before I dropped onto the soft seat. The wolf turned to gaze upon me, tenderness and fascination for me lighting his golden eyes.

“Hello, this is my place,” I greeted him properly, my hand sinking into his silky fur. He purred, leaning toward me and laying his massive head on my lap. I laughed lightly at his raw need for me.

He was a great beast god and so handsome. I felt safer with him here.

“Mate,” he said. “We—”

He didn’t get to finish. The beast’s face distorted, and two different kinds of snarls tore out of his throat. One moment, Loki’s face surfaced, then next, it was the wolf again.

“Bastard!” the wolf cursed. “You have no right to fight me when you fucked it up.”

“She’s mine,” Loki’s voice shouted. “We had a deal. You got to spend a brief time with her by carrying her here. Now it’s my turn!”

“I need more time with her as me!”

“Your time with my Bunny is over,” Loki hissed in cold rage. “I won’t let you sabotage me and go behind my back again. You’ve gotten too cozy with her and left me out of it.”

When did I become his Bunny again?

“Whose fault is it?”

They fought again, and the beast and the man shifted back and forth, both huffing and growling. Fear pumped into my veins. It seemed like they’d tear each other apart if they kept at it.

“Stop!” I screamed at them, but they wouldn’t listen.

They couldn’t be reasoned with.

Then I spotted a pillow on the sofa. I grabbed it and threw it at them.

The wolf caught it, put it under his massive butt to make himself comfortable, and continued to wrestle with Loki. That wasn’t why I threw the pillow at him in the first place!

“I need to heal her, you fucking beast!” Loki hissed. “The longer you fight me, the longer she suffers. It’s not like you don’t get your share when I’m in my demon form. Fuck off. Now! Or we’ll both be rendered useless to the only woman we care about.”

It seemed Loki had said a magical world, and the wolf stopped struggling.

He turned to gaze at me with tenderness and utter devotion that could break my heart, yet he couldn’t hide his predatory nature. He looked as if I were indeed a delicious bunny that he wanted to pounce on, not to kill but to play with and to own.

My terrifying monster.

“Mate—” He didn’t get to finish the rest of the words, as Loki took advantage of the wolf’s distraction and seized control.

The wolf was gone, and the Demon King took his place.

A large, gorgeous, and naked male stood in front of me—strong shoulders good to lean on, broad chest nice for a pillow, six-pack too delicious not to lick. His every line spelled power and seduction.

This time, he looked disheveled and devastated, which only added incredible sexiness to his appearance. I swallowed hard as I tore my hungry gaze from his perfect male body to his face, and that didn’t do me any favors either.

My gaze traced his long, dark eyebrows and noble nose to his curvy mouth that said the sweetest and cruelest things at once. His eyes brimmed with the dark light of stars and hellfire. In front of me was a dark sun god incarnate, forged from the abyss of Hell’s inferno.

His gaze fixed on me, possessive, angry, wounded, and burning with desire. There was too much and emotion too strong in his eyes. For a long second, we just stared at each other as if we’d finally found each other after searching for eternity. The next breath, my need for him roared to life and my heart sang and beat for him.

How could I still react to him like this after what he’d done to me?

I hated this vulnerability, but my body had its own will and want. Lust raced in my bloodstream.

Loki didn’t fare any better. His body turned as taut as piano wire. His cock grew to its full, glorious length, looking harder than a steel rod. I could see the veins on his velvety skin, and then a bead formed at its slit.

How dare he, after how he’d treated me?!

While I licked my lips in want, I saw red as well.

I leapt from the sofa, swinging my leg toward his head, despite being in a haze of pain and lust.

He turned his head to the side to avoid my boot. His hand lashed out and grabbed my shin, faster than any one had the right to be. He held me and slid me along his hard nudity.

I cursed him.

I’d have landed that kick if I wasn’t fatigued, feeling so weak, and also wounded.

The wolf growled harshly, warning the Demon King.

The beast would always take my side.

Loki crushed me against his chest and adjusted his position so I was straddling him vertically.

I swung my arm to ram my fist into his eye. I still hated his guts. I hated his bedroom eyes that sent seductive waves out to defenseless women every second of the day. I was determined to blacken his eye and let everyone see how he’d seduce females with two big panda eyes. With inhuman strength and his archangel’s speed, he seized my fist and pressed it to my side, then he leaned in and kissed me.

No, you don’t!

But my body responded to his heat. It softened and molded perfectly around the Demon King. It urged me to press my breasts against his hard torso and grind against his hard length to take it further.

My nipples became taut against the fabric of my dress, and I could feel my panties were soaked.

So I did what I could to counter this. My hand grabbed the king’s thick mane to pull him away from me, but he held on and kissed me harder.

His kiss wasn’t gentle, his tongue prodding between my lips, insisting on me opening my mouth for him to have fun. The nerve he had!

My lips parted despite my rage. His tongue thrust inside, claiming victory. I clamped my teeth on it and bit down, but he still refused to withdraw his tongue. He sucked mine, to dare and seduce me at the same time.

His blood, tasting of copper, fire, and power, dripped onto my tongue, burning me with energy. His flame sank into me, turning my ice to embers. The lick of flame he’d offered me the day our avatars escaped the Ice God leapt from my depths to meet his. The King of the Underworld had just reactivated my dormant fire.

Warmth spread in me, and Loki’s energy kept flowing into me, rippling into every cell until I felt my cracked bones starting to mend and my wounds sealed one by one. His energy of hellfire and blue light didn’t stop until I was completely replenished.

Pyre to my ice.

I breathed out a trace of frost that bore a spark of hellfire, his fire now mine.

I felt invincible and sighed with drunken giddiness. Loki could feed me energy. While he was feeding me, he opened himself up and left himself vulnerable. This could be the best chance to end him. I even had the bespelled blade hidden in my boot.

I think I might be kissing him back now.

He flashed open his eyes, pulled away, and held my glare. Our breath still mingled, as did our lust and menace.

“You bastard!” I cursed him.

He grinned at me wickedly, his dark hair spangled with golden curls hanging to his jawline. He was so sexy it almost hurt to look at him.

“You bled me, Bunny,” he said quietly. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever allowed to bleed me, but I won’t allow you to take my head before I fuck you and claim you properly, Mate.”

My heart skipped a beat before dropping into an ice box.

How could he know? I’d thought of every possible leak and couldn’t find any. Now I knew he knew, he should have killed me, yet he hadn’t. I bet that he hadn’t even told his dukes, Esme, and Mari, or they wouldn’t have allowed me to roam freely. They’d have slain me that same day if they’d known.

Something clicked. That was why he’d destroyed half of his castle and threatened to end me.

And now he’d just called me out and declared me to be his mate for the first time. The wolf knew I was his mate by instinct, but I hadn’t realized that Loki had known it as well.

I was getting rusty, but then I’d let Loki get too close. If I was his weakness, then he was mine too.

“Nothing to say?” he grated. “How’s Lucifer these days by the way? Healthy, vicious, and horny? Did you sleep with him before you came here? Is that why—”

I slapped him hard across his face, and he blinked twice.

“Fuck you,” I told him.

He grabbed my throat, yet he gave me just enough room to breathe, careful not to bruise me. He still held me and wouldn’t let go of me. I thought of kicking him down, but my body rebelled. It wanted to please and pleasure the Demon King instead of damaging him.

“Fuck me, sure,” he said. “Isn’t that why he sent you here to murder me, Tessa Morrigan, a first-class assassin in the universe? You didn’t come here to be my queen. You didn’t come to warm my bed.” He hissed, his midnight eyes burning. “You came for a single purpose—to deliver my head on a golden platter to Lucifer, my worst enemy.”

I trembled, ice filling my lungs.

“Why didn’t you strike me when you first saw me?” he asked, his cold gaze studying me.

“Maybe I should have,” I hissed. “I regret my mistake.”

He laughed hoarsely. “You can strike me now. I’m here.”

“Congratulations, you unveiled my dirty little secret,” I said sarcastically to cover my fear, regrets, shame, and longing for the Demon King, my parched throat feeling like it was clogged with cold sand. “Why didn’t you deliver the blow then? You could have killed me. I’m at your mercy in your realm. But you didn’t even let your inner circle into this dark scheme of mine. You didn’t even tell your beloved little sister what kind of person I am.”

A vein jumped in his jaw. “If they’d known, they’d have killed you at any cost.”

“When will you kill me then?” I asked, almost lazily.

“When will you strike?” he countered.

“I’m not all knowing!”

“It’s a simple decision for you.” He looked at me darkly, a calculating light flashing in his eyes. “I haven’t made mine yet when it concerns you, but let’s see how you behave first.”

My body was ice that craved fire, so it inched closer to the king to borrow his heat, even though I expected violence to erupt from both of us at any second. It’d be a death duel.

The king knew I had a contract on him, but did he know it was bound by blood and I couldn’t get out of it, no matter how hard I wished I’d never taken that cursed contract? I was only delaying the inevitable. How long could I go on like this before the blood force summoned and cornered me, demanding I fulfill my part of the bargain?

The longer I put a hold on it, the worse it would be when the blood magic finally controlled me.

“I must have you,” Loki said roughly. “I need to fuck you over and over, days and nights. I swear I’ll lock you up until my lust for you is finally sated.”

If I hadn’t felt such guilt weighing down on me, I’d have kneed him in the nuts on hearing the promise of locking me up.

I bared my teeth.

“I’m not even sure if my desire for you will ever fade,” he continued. “You might not know, but you’re my true mate. I knew it the first time I laid eyes on you. You woke up my wolf, and he scented you and became obsessed with pursuing you. I never thought this would happen to me. I’ve been alone for centuries. Always alone. And then you came, batting your big blue eyes and showing up at the worst time possible.”

I glared at him some more. I’d never batted my eyelashes at anyone.

“I couldn’t get you out of my head.” He sighed, as if everything was my fault. “You affect me like poison, yet I can’t get enough of you. Every moment, I wanted to see you and hold you in my arms. And then I learned that you came to kill me, which is fine, except you’re working with my worst enemy. And yet, it’s not in my nature to harm you. My wolf thought I was a heartless bastard. But he never knew that even though I’m heartless, I can never lay a finger on my own mate. These couple of days have been the worst in my existence. Even though I knew you wanted me dead, I still craved you more than anything…”

I swallowed, a riot of emotions churning within me. This wasn’t what I’d expected.

“Do you know you always talk too much?” I asked huskily, still taking in his every feature. He was too attractive for his own good.

“You don’t like me talking too much?” he asked viciously. “Wait until you scream my name!”

“Yeah? That’s what you have in mind?” I snickered.

“I’ll show you what I have in mind!”

He pulled me closer, his cock, hot and hard as rock, pressing up along my belly. He dipped his head and kissed me with bruising force.

I responded right away. I bit his bottom lip since I was now energized and thus more motivated, and then I parted my lips for him. His tongue thrust in, lying on mine, lazy and hot. It didn’t take long for him to be more aggressive and sweep his tongue against my hard palate, sending tingling sensation all over me. I shivered at the pleasure and I missed it so much.

The King of the Underworld knew how to play me like an instrument, and when the tip of his tongue claimed my mouth in a seductive dance, I could no longer resist him.

Pent-up lust scorched me. My panties were soaked with liquid heat. Flame licked at the apex between my thighs.

I wanted to writhe and whimper and shamelessly beg for him to take me now. Raw need seized me. As I struggled to gain my dignity, my hand grabbed his steely length and stroked it hard. 

Loki let out a rough groan, his eyes molten gold. The black wolf peeked out at me, full of unbridled lust.

The king slammed me against the wall. His hand pressed against my back to cushion the impact. Then he pushed up my dress, looked at my leggings, and tore them away along with my panties.

His hand palmed my bare pussy possessively.

I moaned at the incredible sensation as he rubbed my slick flesh with the heel of his palm, then his thumb joined and brushed my swollen clit back and forth. My legs jerked at the stimulation. I tried not to cry out, as I nearly had an orgasm just from his touch.

“Even when you plan to kill me, you’re still so wet and ripe for me,” he said in vicious satisfaction.

“If you’ll just shut up for a hot second,” I advised between moans, “the world will be a better place.”

He laughed and lifted me while hooking my leg onto his forearm, then he nudged his thick crown toward my entrance.

“This is real, Bunny,” he said. “This will be me fucking you. We aren’t in our avatar bodies. I’ll taste you however I want, and it’s all real. I’ll fuck you so hard until you can’t take it anymore and cherish you. And I’ll punish you in my way.”

“You’re sending a mixed message,” I said. “You confuse me.”

“How’s this confusing? After I’ve fucked you sore, I’ll bend you over and pound into you. I won’t be gentle; I’ll be brutal. And then you’ll know how it is to mate the King of the Underworld.”

My pulse raced, my blood heated, and an ache echoed within me. I needed him to fill me more than anything. And now.

“Any more empty threats, Demon King?”

My fingernails sank into his shoulder as lust bombarded my every cell, undoing me. My body was going to combust if he didn’t do the deed now.

The mating call beat like a war drum in my bloodstream.

Fighting this firestorm with fire might be the only way.

Loki growled, possessiveness, lust, and the residue of rage flooding his dark golden eyes. His handsome face morphed into a beastly, savage look as he was swept up by the wild, carnal need we both shared.

“The mating fever has arrived, Mate,” he warned. “Follow my lead and brace for it.”