I made it most the way down the hall before Brander called my name. I turned, dropping my eyes to the package in his hand.
“Knox left this for you. It’s for your birthday. Happy birthday, Aria.” He handed me the package and pushed his hand through his hair, studying me.
I watched him a moment before speaking. “Thank you,” I frowned, noting how heavy the package was. “He didn’t have to do this.”
“Take it, Aria. Knox doesn’t do gifts. Whatever the hell is happening between the two of you, I’m about to be thrown in the middle of it.”
“He told you? I haven’t decided on you yet, to be honest.”
“You haven’t?” He cocked a brow before rubbing his finger over his lip, exhaling slowly. “Knox said you would pick me and told me to be gentle with you.”
“This is awkward,” I muttered, adjusting my hold on the box. “Honestly, I have no idea what to do. I mean, it should be easy, but it isn’t.”
“If you do pick me, I will be gentle with you. I can handle plucking your cherry, as Kinvara referred to it. I’ll respect you in the bedroom, but I will dominate you. I accept nothing less in the bedroom. Knox won’t be back before your sisters’ return, and if all goes to plan, you must choose someone by tomorrow night. Happy birthday, Aria,” he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. I was about to turn away from him and make my way to the bedroom, but his hand lifted, cupping my chin. “Maybe this will help you choose.” His mouth lowered, brushing his lips against mine softly.
He smirked, watching me as my eyes widened, knowing that there was a wow factor from the touch of his lips. I didn’t feel like throwing up all over him, either. I set the box on the floor, and his gaze narrowed.
Stepping on my toes, I brushed my lips against his, pleading to feel something or even a fraction of what I’d felt with Knox. His hand slipped to my back, and his mouth opened against mine, forcing my tongue to duel with his slowly in an erotic dance as old as time.
Brander walked me toward the wall, the gift forgotten on the floor as he took control, directing my tongue with his as they dueled. His hands grabbed mine, capturing them over my head as he broke apart the kiss, slipping his heated mouth to my throat, to kiss my pulse before slowly moving up to my ear.
“You’re fucking delicious-smelling. Can you feel that?” He pressed his hardened cock against me, and I gasped. “Feel that wetness between your thighs? That’s our bodies working to help this happen, Aria. Choose me because I want to spend hours bringing you into womanhood and cherish every inch of your flesh while giving as much pleasure as possible as I do it. You won’t be sorry, little witch.” His lips brushed against mine softly, barely touching them. “Plus, it would piss Knox off that I had you first, and I’m getting the feeling you enjoy doing that.”
“He told me to pick you.”
“Yeah, because anyone else would be in such a rush, and they’d forget that we need your blood for the blessing. You’re rare, Aria. In a realm of immortals, the women have one first time to give their purity to a male of their choosing. Some men spend an eternity trying to find that first time for a woman, but normally it ends up being lost to some man who can’t be bothered to prepare her cunt to take him. It shouldn’t hurt more than it has to. Not if you find someone who knows how precious it really is.”
“You make it sound like it is something bigger than it really is.”
“I’m over a thousand years old, and I’ve never been blessed with deflowering a maiden. Think about that, Aria. In a thousand years, I’ve never found a maiden who still hadn’t known the touch of a man. I pick up broken females because, through me, they heal. Others come to me because they want to be controlled, and I give it to them. I’m a kinky prick, but for you, and considering what I am getting from it, I’ll play nice, I promise.”
He kissed my cheek before heading down the hallway with a purpose. I turned to leave and remembered the gift, lifting it up. I frowned at how heavy it was. Inside the bedroom, I set it on the bed and then gasped at what sat on the pillow. A single long-stemmed midnight rose.
I lifted it up, grabbing the note beside it and read.
Happy birthday, Aria Primrose.
I inhaled it, sitting on the bed in silence while smelling the rose and the rare beauty of the flower. I’d never seen one before, let alone held something still alive from the Nine Realms. Setting it down on the nightstand, I turned to glare at the box.
The man was an enigma. My own sisters had forgotten my birthday, but he hadn’t? The man didn’t even like me, and yet he’d sent me gifts? Rare, once-in-a-lifetime gifts in the shape of a rose from a land he knew I craved. I lunged for the package, tearing it open until it revealed a box. I frowned, opening the blood-red box to brush my finger over the gown.
He’d bought a deflowering dress. Of course, he had.
I picked it up, noting the expensive design as another note fell from the package.
I thought it would look beautiful on you, and it’s new. Inside the box are pictures and things from the realm you so wish to see. Sorry, you missed out on being able to go home with your sisters; someday, you will see the Nine Realms. ~Knox Karnavious.
I set the note down and picked up the smaller box, staring at the picture of a castle that had cascading waterfalls in the background. The castle had massive spiraling pillars and towers, with an actual battlement that surrounded the top of it. Masculine handwriting was beside the photo, and it matched the note in the box, with the description ‘Norvalla Stronghold, Castle Karnavious’ on the back.
There were several pictures, most from Norvalla, with images of creatures all around it. Smiling, I looked through them all before pulling out the crystals that were filled with rainbow hues inside them. They resembled high-quality quartz, but the rainbow coloring that moved as if filled with water told me they were something else. The moment they touched my hand, power leapt into my body, and I closed my eyes. I wondered if everything from the Nine Realms would feel so exotic and pure once I got to experience it firsthand. Someday I would go home, and I’d spend weeks there learning the realm I’d originally come from.
I lay back against the pillows, staring at the ceiling before exhaling. Knox had given me things I’d never touched before, things from our homeland that, to him, probably weren’t such a big deal. To me, it was everything. I looked at the clock, realizing I’d lost track of time with the gifts and staring at the pictures, and would miss seeing my sisters off. Pushing everything back into the box and eyeing the flower, I left the room in a hurry.
Chapter 29
I returned to the mansion shortly after my sisters stepped through the portal, leaving me with an army of men at my back and Brander between me and the portal. The moment it closed, they whisked me back in a dark SUV with sinisterly tinted windows.
Changing into my pajamas, I scooped up the pictures and began studying each one again. I knew I should protect the rose or drain the essence, but I had nothing to pour it into. It would be a loss since the essence wouldn’t be collected within the first few hours of harvest.
Bringing it to my nose, I inhaled the scent greedily. It smelled like I imagined heaven would smell. It had an aroma that seeped from the flower onto my fingers. I smiled to myself, running my fingers against my neck to keep the exotic scent on my flesh. Getting back up, I headed into the shower silently, picking out a sheer white nightgown that hugged my frame and yet left a little to the imagination instead of giving everything away.