CHAPTER 466: RETURNING FAVOR

Salviana smiled softly, almost dazed. "Then don’t stop hearing me, Alaric."

His answering grin was small, almost boyish despite the darkness in his eyes.

"Careful, fiery wife," he murmured, brushing his lips against hers again, "because I might just never stop."

Salviana was still catching her breath, her cheeks flushed from the tender kiss when a thought slipped out before she could stop herself. Her fingers curled into his tunic, and she looked up at him with wide, hesitant eyes.

"Alaric..." she whispered.

"Hm?" His voice was low, his thumb brushing lazily across her lower lip, his gaze still fixed on her like she was the only thing that existed.

Her heart fluttered wildly. "If... if I asked... could I... do to you what I did last night?"

The question hung between them, soft but charged, and Salviana felt her own words heating her entire face. She nearly took them back—until she saw the way his expression shifted.

The teasing glint in his dark eyes sharpened into something else—darker, hungrier, but warm with affection. His lips curled slowly into a smirk that looked far too sinful for this quiet garden.

"You want to do that to me again?" he asked, his voice dropping, rich and deep. "Gods, fiery wife... I would let you. Gladly."

She swallowed, her fingers still gripping his chest. "You... you would?"

Alaric tilted his head closer until his nose brushed hers, his lips ghosting just shy of hers. "Not just that." His voice dropped to a whisper, his tone threaded with velvet and danger. "If you truly want... I’d like to return the favor."

Salviana blinked, her lips parting slightly. "Return the—"

"Yes," he interrupted smoothly, his smirk deepening. "Exactly what you’re thinking. Last night, you made me lose my mind, and now... I can think of nothing else but giving you the same. Right here. Right now... if you want it."

Her breath caught, heat rushing to her cheeks so quickly she thought she might faint. "Alaric—"

"No pressure, Salviana," he murmured, his thumb stroking her cheek soothingly even as his gaze burned into hers. "But I can’t stop imagining it. Tasting you. Watching you fall apart under my mouth like I did under yours."

Salviana’s blush deepened until she felt like fire itself. She pressed her forehead to his chest, trying to hide her flustered face. What is he talking about? That is all she wants! How could he still ask for permission like this?

Alaric chuckled, low and husky, his hands sliding down to rest on her hips. "I’ll take that as a maybe. But say the word, fiery wife... and I’ll gladly worship you until you beg me to stop."

She looked up at him then, her lips trembling between embarrassment and anticipation, and whispered, "Maybe... sooner than you think."

Alaric’s dark gaze flickered dangerously, his smirk curling wider. "Gods help me, Salviana... I’ll hold you to that."

Salviana’s blush deepened so much she thought her skin might ignite. Her hands trembled slightly against Alaric’s chest as she whispered, barely audible, "No..."

It was soft. Shy. But the way her breath hitched, the way her pulse fluttered wildly at her neck, and the delicate tremor in her body told a different story.

Alaric stilled, his dark eyes locked on her face, his vampire instincts sharpening in an instant. He didn’t need words—he could smell her. Her warmth, her nervous excitement, her desire. His senses, always heightened, picked up the soft, alluring sweetness of her—the scent of a woman who wanted, even when her lips denied.

And gods, he was a vampire. Her vampire.

His gaze darkened, a slow, hungry smirk spreading across his face. "Fiery wife, you can say no all you want, but your body is telling me something else entirely."

Salviana’s lips parted in protest, her cheeks aflame. "Alaric, I—"

But before she could finish, he was already moving.

With a fluid grace only a predator of his kind could manage, Alaric dropped to his knees before her, the motion so sudden and reverent that Salviana gasped, stumbling back a step before his strong hands gently caught her hips. His head bowed slightly as he looked up at her with that intoxicating mix of adoration and hunger.

"I can’t resist you, Salviana. Not when you smell this sweet." His voice was velvet and sin, a low growl threading through every word.

Her hands trembled at her sides, her pulse hammering in her ears. "Alaric—someone might see—"

But he was already weaving magic with a flick of his fingers, his eyes glowing faintly darker for a heartbeat. The air around them shimmered faintly, distorting like heat waves, enclosing them in a private cocoon of silence.

"There," he said, his smirk turning softer now, almost boyish despite the dark desire in his eyes. "No one will hear you now, fiery wife. Not even if you scream my name."

Salviana’s breath caught, her face burning scarlet. "Alaric!" she whispered furiously, glancing around just to be sure no one could hear.

"Shh," he teased, his hands sliding slowly down her hips, his fingers caressing her thighs reverently. "You smell like temptation itself... I can’t ignore it. And neither can you, can you?"

Salviana bit her lip, torn between protest and the rush of heat spreading through her. She wanted to deny it, to push him away, but her body betrayed her—her breathing shallow, her knees weakening as his thumbs brushed slow, soothing circles along her inner thighs.

"Alaric, this is... this is wrong, we’re outside—"

"No one can see, no one can hear," he said, his voice dropping even lower, his forehead pressing against her stomach as if he were praying. "Please, Salviana. Let me taste you. Let me love you like this."

Her breath caught again, her hands instinctively finding his shoulders. She could feel the heat of him even through his tunic, the way his body trembled slightly against hers—not from cold, but from restraint.

And gods help her... she wanted this too.

Her voice trembled, soft as a whisper of wind. "I... I shouldn’t let you..." because he never lets her.

Alaric tilted his head up, his dark eyes locking on hers, pleading yet burning. "Then say no, Salviana, and I’ll stop right now. But if you don’t—if you so much as stand here for another breath—I’ll take it as yes."