Perfection

"Wish, kiss me, please."

She caught him off guard when she leaned in to do so immediately, without requiring any convincing. One hand rested around her waist while the other guided her head toward him as she moved her soft lips against his. The feeling of having been deprived and then teased with a taste overtook him, causing him to sigh in relief. It didn't matter how she kissed him, as long as she moved with him. It gave him the feeling of the whole world being wrapped around his bare hands.

She was nervous.

She hesitated a few times, and her mind was filled with doubts—wondering if she was doing it right, making a mistake, or letting herself be played by him once again.

When she attempted to withdraw, he pulled her close until they merged as one. He felt the heat lighting up her skin, and he was sure she could feel his pressing need to have her completely.

He took over, holding her still as he rocked her world back and forth with a kiss.

"Move with me, darling, please," he said encouragingly when he felt her hands against his chest, as she planned to act on her thoughts of tearing them apart. The rising scent of her sweet arousal prompted him to do better. Wish's hands remained limp in his grasp as she let him have his way.

It was satisfying.

He was gentle yet passionate about devouring her lips all at once. The more he had, the more he wanted. He swore to take good care of her in that moment of passion.

She moaned as he pressed hard, his grip on hers tightening, while she tried to close her legs together against the burning sensation that overwhelmed her. It grew painful, and she soon became out of breath, craving a release from him.

When he did release her from his hold, she was overcome by a dizzying sensation before allowing herself to collapse completely onto him in surrender.

☆

Morning came like any other day in this peculiar world, but it was a bit different because he still had her in his arms on his bed, sleeping peacefully like the little angel she was. The vampire king had clung to her all night, as if she were the center of his entire existence—which was not far from the truth.

He had the pleasure of watching her sleep all night, cuddled up and safe in his embrace; the feeling only intensified as he gazed at the sunlight lighting up her sleepy face as it rose high into the sky, filling him with complete awe and great interest.

There were no words to describe how beautiful she was in his eyes or how perfectly she fit into his every fantasy. Talking about a mortal being everything he had ever wished for in a mate was an interesting twist of fate, and it captivated him completely.

He gently touched a loose strand of her hair, drawn by its texture and feel.

"Mine."

"You are all mine, Wish."

He drew her closer until she was completely enveloped in his embrace—one of his strong legs curved around hers, one arm slipped under her head while the other wound around her upper body. He tried viewing her from different angles, and she remained the same to him.

Perfection.

☆

She woke up mainly because her stomach wouldn't stop grumbling for food. The only thing she had eaten was yesterday's breakfast, and her entire body—from head to toe—felt heavy and weak. She opened her eyes and waited a few seconds for her vision to adjust properly. When it did, what lay beside her was dark and beautiful: pale skin that shone more than any other skin tone, a bright, sleepy diamond-like expression, and streaks of white and dark-red hair falling in long, smooth waves over his shoulder in perfection.

She felt a bit constricted in a particular sleeping position where she had no choice but to stare at him, and there was no point in fighting to leave. Memories of last night seized her mind in an instant, evoking both fear and pleasure.

She wondered how she had foolishly let herself be deceived or taken advantage of by him again. There was no doubt that he was just using her to buy time or something. He might be so bored and lonely in this mansion that the thought of randomly obtaining pleasure from another lonely, sad, dumb human—one weird enough to be a regular visitor at the graveyard—did not seem too bad. He seemed to care only about summoning her when he wanted to have his fun and bully her into submission, telling her nonsense about her being some queen of his realm and that he loved her more than he loved himself, all just to get her interested in his antics.

Tears began to slowly well up in her eyes as her degrading thoughts overwhelmed her. Even vampires sought to take advantage of her meekness and vulnerability, making nonsensical promises she was naïve enough to believe—promises that led to suffering, only for her to be forgotten for an entire year without explanation, only to be retrieved again with demands that she must not leave until he was finished with her, before she might be forgotten again for, like, probably a lifetime.

She had better wake up from this and stand her ground, lest it worsen until it becomes too late to break free.

Nobody could truly, truly, truly love or be affectionate toward her… well, even her own family—before they left her with a bunch of tarot cards, witchcraft spells, and ideas for survival—saw her as nothing more than an irritable liability and a huge shame because of how ordinary she looked. They couldn't really sell her off to any man at an early age because she might be too curvy, and the men might prefer taller, slimmer girls for their pleasure; so, they had her continue her education before leaving her alone to fend for herself.

The tears in her eyes burned fiercely, and they made her heart ache more than anything she could imagine. She tried her best to get love from both genders—but for some reason, only an ex-bully from school wanted to be her friend, despite rumors that a short, curvy human was a witch on campus and the potential reason for one of their mates committing suicide.

People even dared say to her face that she sacrificed Kelly as a human sacrifice to the devil in order to become more intelligent and pass all her exams. It was a ridiculous rumor that brought shame, suffering, and a degrading curse upon her miserable life.

Now, foolishly believing that a beautiful vampire with the appearance of a god could genuinely feel something for her—that she wouldn't be hurt, tossed aside several times, or discarded in the end in the current storm of her life—seemed suicidal. This was something to be avoided if she didn't want to completely drown in this deep pool of suffering.

Malachi listened quietly to his bride's thoughts without interruption, trying to understand what was running through her mind, as she looked like she was moments away from crying.

"Can I… leave now? I have work… to attend to today?"

Wow.

His Majesty was greatly disappointed in her.

Wish wanted to say she had a life to attend to now that he had gotten what he wanted from her after bullying her into staying with him. The way he looked at her was new and concerning. Yes, he could be the type who might want to have fun with women, especially when he found them a bit sexually appealing to his eyes. Hell, his own father built a harem for him back at home, which he vehemently fought against but lost multiple times. He visited his women from time to time, based on his father's demands and tantrums about not "wasting" the beautiful women provided for him to have fun with.

But her case was indeed special, and she was far too valuable to be thrown into his father's crazy harem. He didn't only want pleasure from her—that was the least of his demands. He wanted to build a connection—to connect with her soul and bond with her. He wanted to feel her and to be the only one she thought of, just as he did. He wanted to see her become crazy about him, just as he had at first sight.

He had always wanted to love someone deeply, truly, and unconditionally, and he found himself uncontrollably leaning on her shoulder, as if she were the one meant to bear his purest affection. He wanted her and no one else to be placed beside him as a rival. He really didn't know how to explain to her that he wasn't just messing around with her.

Damn hell, he was ready to fight his father and a whole army of angry, hungry vampires to make her his queen forever.

He moved, startling her a bit, when he forced her to lie back down so he could climb on top. Her long strands fell around the sides of her face and all over his perfectly sculpted, naked torso. It brought a deep blush to her face as he slowly pinned both of her hands gently to the sides of her face, leaning in so close that her overheated skin almost touched his. That meant she must be attracted to him in some way. It could be because of his unnatural looks, but who really cared—as long as she looked this adorable while being pinned beneath him, every chance of escape was limited.

"I am really sorry for leaving you alone for a year after I promised to come for you that night," he said, forcing her into another dreamlike state. Her brown eyes widened at him, and the heat that overtook every aspect of her skin threatened to overwhelm every part of her senses. Why did he always look so beautiful, no matter the position? She couldn't help but stare, wonder, and be captivated by his unnatural beauty over and over again.

"But… that shouldn't make you question my intentions toward you, my Lily."

Lily?

"I have noticed that you look so down on yourself, and it has blinded you to your own worth and to how you effortlessly draw me, like a bee to honey. In case you still doubt my intentions: how did I know that you work approximately eight hours a day, that you like to take long, punishing walks down the road on rainy days, and that you cry so much when you remember an uneventful scene from your life? How did I know that you once took in a stray cat on your way home one evening, only to release it in defeat that same night because you thought you couldn't be a worthy guardian to a lost and homeless creature? How am I so aware of the exact time you wake up, and that you sometimes murmur in your sleep when you have a very stressful or demanding day? Or that you have strong feelings for a human boy who is so unworthy of you?"

Slowly, she parted her lips in disbelief at how much he knew about her, even though he had only seen her about four times since that graveyard incident.

"Yes, I was not physically there with you for a year, but that didn't stop me from keeping a watchful eye on the one thing I want most in all of my existence."

She stared at him in deep shock, almost in a trance.

"I am not playing with you. I honestly do not have much time for games."

He released his hold on her slightly to give her the gentlest look he could, for it was hard to remain displeased with her for long when she looked so lost, confused, and frightened under him.

"I want something, I go for it, and I have it. I have never been denied anything good in my entire existence, and I am pretty sure you wouldn't be an exception, especially when you've been the best."

The vampire king then took on a new position. He leaned against the headboard while his beloved sat straddling him on his lap. Both of her hands rested shyly on the toned muscles of his naked chest—one hand holding her around her neck, and the other playing with the loose strands of her hair. Each strand mesmerized him as he adored every part of her.

Wish avoided eye contact the entire time for fear of being consumed or lost in his singular beauty. She preferred placing her arm around his neck rather than being further tempted as she had been before.

"I will be going home soon, and I can't leave without you coming with me."

That was enough to make her stare up at him, not understanding what he meant by that.