When Kael finally closed his eyes, he thought he might find sleep in the heavy silence of the chamber. But the moment he lay still, he felt it an ache deep in his chest, hotter and harder than he could restrain. His body refused peace. His manhood strained against his control, demanding her.

Seraphina.

He had promised himself he would wait. That he would give her time, allow her to adjust to the chains of their marriage. But with her lying there, her dark hair spilling like ink over the pillow, lips parted in restless sleep, and that dagger still clenched limply in her palm as if she might stab him even in her dreams he couldn’t resist.

He turned toward her, breath heavy, eyes drinking her in as if she were water in the desert. His hand hovered above her waist, trembling not from fear, but from the force of desire he could no longer contain.

At first, he only touched the silk of her gown. The faint brush of his fingers against her hip made her stir, but she did not wake. Slowly, dangerously, he leaned closer until his lips ghosted over the curve of her throat.

“Seraphina…” his voice was a growl, low and rough. “You’re mine.”

His mouth found the soft skin beneath her ear, tasting her. She shivered, a tiny gasp slipping from her throat. The sound nearly undid him.

Her hazel-gold eyes fluttered open, dazed and furious all at once. “Don’t touch me,” she whispered, though her voice shook more than she wanted.

Kael’s storm-gray eyes locked onto hers. “I can’t stop. Not tonight.”

And then his lips were on hers.

It was not gentle. It was fire meeting fire, a kiss meant to burn. She tried to resist, to push him away, but his hand gripped her wrist, pinning it above her head, while his other hand explored the line of her thigh through the slit of her gown.

Seraphina’s heart hammered. She told herself to move, to drive the dagger into his chest. Yet her body betrayed her heat flooding her veins, legs trembling as his tongue teased her lips apart and claimed the sweetness within.

“You taste like sin,” he murmured against her mouth. His tongue traced the corner of her lips, then down to her throat, licking the delicate skin as if savoring every inch. “So beautiful… so untouchable, until now.”

She gasped when his teeth grazed her collarbone, when his hand slid higher, inch by inch, over the dangerous territory of her trembling body. She wanted to hate it wanted to scream but all she could manage was a broken sound that made him smile darkly against her skin.

“It’s your first time, isn’t it?” His voice was husky, almost reverent, though his eyes burned with possession.

Seraphina swallowed hard, refusing to answer, but her silence was all the confirmation he needed.

“I’ll make you remember this night forever.”

His lips traveled lower, exploring the curves she had never allowed anyone to see, his tongue drawing moans from her throat she didn’t recognize as her own. She clutched the dagger tighter in her free hand, but her strength wavered each time his mouth worshipped another piece of her.

Her body arched despite herself, responding to him in ways that frightened her. Heat pooled where his touch lingered. Her breaths came ragged, desperate.

“Stop fighting me, Seraphina,” he whispered, his breath hot against her skin. “You hate me, I know. But your body already belongs to me.”

Tears of rage stung her eyes, yet she could not deny the truth in his words. Every lick, every graze of his teeth made her burn hotter, made her want what she swore she never would.

When his hand finally slid beneath the last barrier of silk, she gasped so sharply it cut the silence. Her dagger slipped from her grasp, clattering harmlessly to the floor.

Kael smirked against her lips, claiming her once more, his tongue deep and merciless. “That’s it. Give in to me.”

And when he finally pushed her past the edge, when her first cry of surrender echoed through the chamber, Kael knew he had claimed not only her body, but a piece of her soul.

She collapsed against him, trembling, gasping for breath, while he held her tightly, his chest rising and falling in ragged rhythm.

For a moment, it almost felt like tenderness. Almost.

But then he leaned to her ear, his words cruel and intoxicating all at once:

“Remember, Seraphina… this was only the beginning. You are mine now every breath, every cry, every tremble.”

And as she lay there, torn between hatred and the strange, dangerous hunger he had awakened, Seraphina realized her revenge had never been more complicated.