9. I Am Royalty.

~DAHLIA~

The doors boom shut behind me, causing me to flinch a bit.

Keep it together, Dahlia.

My heartbeat rises with the uneasiness settled deep in my bones, but I force my hands not to tremble.

Looking around, I instantly feel swallowed up by the large room adorned with bronze patterned stone walls and a massive bed dressed in the richest blood red fabrics I have ever seen. There are golden fire candelabras with their flames casting dancing shadows across the walls behind them in soft glows.

A king’s domain. Fitting for the ruler of a kingdom as dominating as Drakarith.

It's a little hot in here, and I rub my arms slightly, also inhaling the sweet scent of oils mixed with warmed water and steam that is filling the atmosphere and mingling in a way that prickles my skin.

At the far end of the room, there is a corner covered with long flowing curtains hanging down a shiny rail pole. The curtains are white and very light, and I can clearly see the silhouette of someone getting up from what looks like the same large bathtub I bathed in this morning.

Before I fully process, Azraelyrs emerges through the curtains.

I gasp.

He is completely, utterly NAKED.

And I can’t tear my eyes away.

This man is a god.

Hot steam curls around his towering, hardcore body glistening with water, the droplets tracing slow paths down the ridges of his mouthwatering sculpted muscles. His long dark hair falls in dripping wet waves spread across his shoulders with the strands slipping over his collarbone, and I can't suddenly for the life of me understand why my fingers are itching to pull and tangle into those tempting locks….

Damn me….

His body is a masterpiece of raw power. A body forged for war yet designed for ultimate worship. With those broad shoulders and a taut abdomen lined with defined muscle and strong arms built from battles, he is definitely more devastatingly beautiful than I had imagined him to be when he was fully clothed yesterday.

However, it is not only his breathtaking physique that grabs my attention more.

It is his inhuman beauty.

His skin, though appearing like a human’s, carries a faint shimmer that catches the lights of the golden fire candelabras. There are deep scars and strange, black veiny markings that look like tiny headless snakes coiling across his chest, shoulders, arms, and the lower part of his abdomen.

At first glance, they could be mistaken for tattoos, but something about those markings don't look normal to me. They appear so alive and elegant, like there is some sort of aura and power flowing in them that draws me towards Azraelyrs like a moth to a flame.

I feel heat crawl up my neck, my breath still hitching as I continue salivating at this King. Involuntarily, my eyes decide to trail down lower—

“Are you done?”

His deep voice snaps my eyes up in alarm, and I almost lose myself into the golden depths of his slitted eyes. They are once again like molten gold, and they pin me right on the spot where I am standing.

Wait, I think he said something.

What was it again?.....

I can't remember.

My stomach twists, and I am mortified at the way my body betrays me with heat still creeping up my cheeks in the presence of this man.

I shouldn’t care.

I shouldn’t be finding him sinfully attractive.

I was raised in the courts of Velmira, where queens are meant to be poised, unshaken by the presence of kings no matter how those kings present themselves.

Yet, I find myself struggling.

I want to look away.

Truly, I do.

But my eyes keep betraying me.

Azraelyrs watches me, probably amused or wondering why I haven't spoken up regarding whatever he must have said to me. He is so unbothered by his own nudity that he is not even making any attempts to cover up with a robe or something.

"You do not bow." His deep voice sinks into my bones, sounding so smooth and so dangerous.

Yet I am not one to be easily intimidated.

“I am royalty,” I say boldly, holding his attention defiantly. I am expecting him to flash me a smirk, perhaps even mock me or get angry.

But he only tilts his head slightly to the side, studying me as if I am something curious he wants to dig into. His eyes slowly drag over my body as if he is peeling back every layer of my skin, and I fight and hold back myself from shifting under the weight of his eyes.

"You are uncomfortable.” He scoffs.

“I am not uncomfortable." I lie.

“You are, and you shouldn't be so shy since you will have to get used to seeing me like this after our wedding very soon.” he chuckles.

My mind instantly shifts elsewhere.

Is he for real?! Is he just trying to pull my legs?! Is this a damn test to toy with me?! Does he mean I will be seeing him like this every night?! That I will be expected to share his bed, to—

The thoughts make my skin burn. My fingers curl into fists at my sides as I try to banish the dirty sinful images that rush into my mind.

I inhale sharply and voice out my thoughts without thinking. “So, I am to sleep with you whether I like it or not?”

There is a rush of movement too fast for my human eyes to follow.

And suddenly, Azraelyrs is dominating my fragile height right in front of me.

I gasp, stumbling back and nearly losing my footing. My heart lurches into my throat as the air between us charges at our close proximity, suffocating me with his nakedness and something else so powerful that flows and curls around his damp skin.

Power.

The room falls deathly silent.

My stomach drops.

Maybe I should not have spoken so boldly.

But dear Creator, he smells so good….