CHAPTER 32: LOVE?

But she was just about to speak when she watched as Zyren simply pushed the door wider—a clear sign that he expected her to step in—even as Aria’s lashes fluttered in shock, clearly unwilling.

As she lowered her gaze, about to drop to her knees right there and then and present her neck to him.

’If you’re going to drink my blood, you might as well do it here and get it over with,’ she thought to herself, hopeful that in a more visible place, things wouldn’t escalate into something they shouldn’t.

Only to freeze as she heard him speak words that shocked her to the bone and terrified her a bit.

"One thing I’m sure of is that when I start feeding, that coat on you isn’t going to stay on!" he informed her, his gaze cold and with a tinge of impatience in his voice as he spoke.

Pushing the door open even wider than before, he ordered, "Get in!" His eyes dared her to refuse him and continue to disobey. It was almost like he was waiting for it as he stared at her, even as Aria moved her unwilling legs and walked right in.

Jerking back in shock as she heard the doors slam behind her, her grip on her coat tightened even more as she felt his presence move to stand behind her.

"Well? Go ahead! I’ve yet to hear the words!" he said.

Aria, gritting her teeth together, turned around, ignoring the massiveness of the room and the furniture in it—something she had never seen before and had been momentarily taken by.

She dropped to her knees and began to speak, "I present myself to you and ask that you—" doing her best to show nothing but a blank mask, to prove that nothing he did got to her—only to swallow as she felt him step closer.

His hands on the collar of her coat, he gently pushed it to the side to reveal her neck, which she tilted to the side.

Aria’s heart couldn’t help but begin to thump in her chest as she took in his scent, surprised to find that she could smell a faint trace of blood coupled with something that, on someone else, she would have sworn smelled heavenly.

In the next moment, Aria allowed her eyes to flutter shut, unwilling to see whatever was about to happen next, as she felt his fingers continue to slide down the center of the coat and toward the ropes that held it together around her body.

’It’s fine, Aria! Think of it like feeding a mosquito!’ she thought. A few pricks, and it’ll be—

But she didn’t get to finish before she felt her body being picked up from the floor with such speed that it shocked her and made her open her eyes just in time to catch the sight of Zyren’s gaze—and the hunger in his eyes—just before she felt him drop her onto something exceedingly soft.

In seconds, the collar around her neck was unclasped.

Aria instinctively struggled as she felt him tilt her head to the side after seeing the glint of his sharp fangs—only to gasp, her nails digging into his bare skin as she felt his fangs dig deep into her neck.

The pain was bone-deep, and she was just about to scream when she gasped the next second, her entire body turning to mush as she lost track of time.

Her eyes shut, and the next moment, she felt like she was floating in air as pleasure ran through every pore.

Aria was unaware, but she had pulled Zyren closer, urging him to take more from her neck—which he dutifully did, even as his eyes glowed even redder than before.

Their bodies moved closer to each other, even as Aria’s legs wrapped firmly around his waist. This went on for a while before Zyren pulled his fangs out the moment he realized he had taken enough.

The blood was nice, and although he wanted more, he also didn’t feel like it was time to dry up his blood supply.

But he had just backed away when Aria groaned in displeasure, shaking her head, unwilling to let him stop—when he chuckled in response, even as he ripped the coat she wore off her.

His hands glided against her skin in a way that made her groan and moan and plead, even as his gaze flickered to her face, focusing more on her lips.

One moment, he had hovered over her, and the next, he had moved her to sit on his lap, even as he stared unashamedly at her body—most of which he could see with the pieces of cloth she wore that barely covered anything.

But he had just grabbed her head and pulled her closer to kiss him when he suddenly froze, hearing Aria scream at the top of her lungs.

"You just drank my blood! Is that not enough?" she screamed at him, even as she wondered where else he wanted to dig his fangs into, watching him move closer to her face. The fear was enough to bring her back to reality as she scrambled to put more distance between the two of them—only to miserably fail.

It wasn’t until she realized how useless it was that she finally spoke in an entreating tone, "Ma-master! Please let me down!" having realized that it was the only way not only to ensure that Zyren didn’t kill her but to survive long enough to take her revenge.

But she had barely spoken when she heard Zyren say words that instantly threw her into a conundrum.

"I said I wasn’t going to force you, but I don’t understand why you would need to be forced!" he said, with a slightly confused look in his eyes—almost as if he were saying, Look at me. How could you not want to sleep with me?

"I will treat you well! Very well!" he added in an even softer tone—which Aria might have been tempted to agree with, had she not seen him kill people without so much as a change in emotion.

Her first reaction was to snap back, ’I didn’t know monsters knew how to do that!’ Aria wanted to say, but the memory of the day before was still fresh in her mind—enough for her to do a complete overhaul of her strategy as she lowered her head and slowly shook it in a demure and shy manner.

"I-I simply need some time!" she told him, even as her eyes darkened, having realized that if cursing and spitting at him didn’t work, then she might as well pretend to be enamored by him.

’What is it called? Love?’