He grimaced at the object. “What the fuck is that?”
Ryden dipped out from under his arm. “It looks like a…digit?”
“A finger,” the female rasped. “This time.”
“Megan?” Ryden squeaked her name.
Price exchanged raised brows with Daji. Wasn’t his bro involved with Naya? He’d better not be two-timing.
The female squirmed to her knees, lifting the hood of her cloak. Silvery eyes blinked at them, brown spirals curling around her face.
“Naya!” Daji’s gasp sent relief shooting through his veins. She swept forward, crushing the woman into her arms, but the girl focused on his brother.
“Ryden?”
“Wait. You two know each other?” Price stepped into the middle, waiting for them to explain.
The woman eyed his brother as if he was a gigantic chocolate bar, but Ryden stood there like an idiot, gaping.
Man, he had to teach his brother some moves.
“What happened, my darling?” Daji’s hushed whisper shifted his focus to the girl. A nasty shiner bruised her eye and cheek.
“Nothing.” She brushed it off, tone defensive. “It’s nothing. Just some prick.”
Nothing? Not when it came to his people. “The fuck it is. Tell me his name.” Price linked his fingers and cracked his knuckles. He was far too eager to teach that sonovabitch a lesson about hitting women. His women. After all, he was practically their King.
“Really, it’s nothing. I can handle it myself.” Her bared fangs left no doubt as to what else she would have bitten off if the bastard had stuck it into her mouth.
“Yeah, I can see that.” He flinched, his hand dropping to protect his junk. Fox spirits had damned sharp teeth.
“It’s his finger.” She shrugged. “This time.” She angled her face to Daji. “Thank you, my Queen. May I retire to my chamber?”
“Of course, my dear. Are you certain you’re all right?” Daji’s tone was calm, but he’d bet Horse a barrel of hay that concern would be eating at her.
Naya bobbed her head and treaded down the corridor.
Ryden peeked at Price and he nodded his permission. Poor guy was like a lost puppy, trailing her.
Price swerved his focus to Daji. She’d grown pale and instead of behaving elated like she did in Ryden’s apartment, fear shone from her eyes.
“Something’s wrong. She’s not well.”
“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sure it’s some lover’s spat between her and Ryden. C’mon, let’s get you to bed.” He shifted her against his side, steering her to her chamber, and not for a second believing his words.
Something was wrong with Naya, all right. And Ryden better bloody well fix it.
***
Naya was back, and Daji should have been overjoyed, but witnessing her like that… Weakened. Pale and injured. How dare anyone place his hands on her successor? The future Queen. Her claws pierced her palms in eagerness to dish out ample punishment.
Price led her to her chamber, but she snuck glimpses backward, toward Naya’s room. She ought to go to her. Naya would share with her what had happened. Why she appeared so ill.
Instead, she allowed Price to close the door behind them, his strong hands massaging her shoulders in a comforting rhythm. She perched on the edge of the bed while he continued to rub her tensed flesh.
“Better?” He leaned forward, his lips so close to hers.
“Do you think she’s fi—”
Pounding thudded against her door.
“What the fuck? It’s late,” Price grumbled.
“It’s Naya. Something’s wrong.” Panic rang in the masculine voice. Ryden’s.
Daji bolted to her feet and flew to the door, but not before Price had already slammed it open. They tore through the hall together, skidding to a stop in front of Naya’s room. Daji rushed to the bed and clasped the girl’s limp hand in hers.
No no no no. She fought down the claws of dread clutching at her chest.
“What’s wrong with her?” Ryden’s voice was strained to a high pitch.
She studied Naya and the answer became clear. “She’s starving to death.” How was this even possible? Naya had been gone two months. Had been intimate with Price’s brother.
“What?” Ryden scoffed. “No. She can’t be.”
Price folded his arms and stared his brother down. “How would you know? Is she why you’ve been such a hot mess lately? Have you been feeding her?”
“No, not exactly,” he hedged.
“What the fuck does ‘not exactly’ mean?” Price growled.
“It’s true.” Daji cut off the brothers’ argument, assessing Naya’s state of health. Sluggish pulse, slow heart rate. “This female has not fed in months. We must get some energy into her.”
“Guess that means you’re up, loverboy.” Price shoved Ryden toward them, but Naya was too far gone.
She studied her sweet Naya. Only one thing would save her.
That same thing would thrust Daji closer to her own damnation.
“Hardly. I’m afraid she’s far surpassed the capacity for jīng to restore her.” She frowned at the men. “She requires something more.”
“How much more?” Ryden’s hands clenched possessively.
Switching her attention to her heir, she clasped Naya’s limp hand to her chest. “Me.”
Ryden grunted as though to object, but his brother tugged him into the corridor, closing the door behind them.
She squeezed Naya’s hand, struggling not to allow this moment and her fears to block out her better judgment. Naya was their future.
Daji would sacrifice everything to save that future.
The Three Treasures—qì, jīng, and shén—were the three types of energy in one’s body. While most húli jīng fed off a human male’s jīng—sexual energy, dispersed through ejaculation—as the Queen, Daji fed off qì—life force energy. However, Naya was so far gone, only one essence was strong enough to yank her back—Daji’s own shén, spiritual energy.
She’d have to feed Naya from her fox spirit’s essence.
Concentrating within, she drew out the energy, cupping it in her palm. “Feed, darling.” With her free hand, she parted Naya’s lips and pressed the glowing essence inside her mouth.
Naya moaned, rolling onto her side.
Daji clung to her hand for a few minutes longer, until the color flared again in Naya’s cheeks. Good. She would be well.
Swaying, she rose to her feet, the light-headedness making her stumble toward the door as though intoxicated. The second she peeled back the heavy door, Price’s thick arms enclosed around her.
Why was he here? Saving me, again. She snorted, but didn’t protest. Her legs were too rubbery to carry her to her chamber, and it wouldn’t do for the Queen to sleep in the halls.
No one, save Naya—and Price—must ever learn how weak she truly was.
Even then, she’d never reveal the depths of her curse to either of them.
“Fuck, Daji.” Price’s growl rumbled within his chest, vibrating against her cheek. “I should have told you not to do that, but you would’ve anyway.”
A smile quirked her lips. The male was learning. As a Queen, she had responsibilities most never fathomed. Whatever saving her race required, Daji would willingly give.
End of discussion.
“Thank you.” Humming, she pressed her nose to his collarbone and inhaled his tantalizing, leather-and-spice male scent. His presence comforted her, easing the tension from her body, while at the same time jolting the blood through her veins.
He carried her, his arms strong and sure, to her chamber and set her on the edge of the bed. “We need to talk about that.” His azure eyes pegged her, concern etched into his disapproving frown.
“About what?” Sleepy, she leaned back, stretching onto the mattress. The sheets were delightfully silken. A moan escaped her lips and a warm fuzz spread across her muscles, drowning her senses.
“Are you…drunk?” Price leapt on
to the bed beside her. “Hey.” He tapped her cheek with his open hand.
Blinking, she tilted her face toward him. Her lids were too heavy to lift open more than a crack. Her body weighted, sinking deeper into the mattress. “Hmm?”
“What the hell did you do to yourself?”
He sounded angry. The scowl on his face scrunched his nose—so adorable. She giggled and curled onto her side. “I shared my shén with her. She’ll be strong now.” The words mumbled from her lips, echoing as though someone else spoke them.
“And you? What’s going to happen to you?” She extended her fingers toward his pouty lips, but he slapped her hand aside. “Shit, Daji. You’ve got to stop sacrificing yourself.”
Oh, he was furious, and he was also telling her what to do. “I’m a Queen. I’ll do what’s right for my people. I didn’t ask for your counsel, nor do I wish for it.” Snorting, she rolled to her other side. At least the bedpost didn’t glower at her.
“Fuck that. I’m your Consort, and I do get a say.” He seized her wrist and rolled her over, onto his lap. A deep sigh deflated his shoulders and his tone softened. “Your people count on you, Daji. They need you strong. If you keep rescuing everyone but yourself, you’re not going to be around to save anyone.”
His thumb brushed her bottom lip, and lust replaced the rage in his eyes.
Price was torn between bending Daji over his knee and teaching her a lesson, and well, nope. That was pretty much it. He’d love to slap her tight ass, though there’d be little punishment involved.
She was so beautiful. Her full bottom lip plumped against his thumb, begging him to nibble. Those swirling eyes. Wisdom, confidence, desire, and uncertainty, everything in those coppery depths drew him in. He couldn’t resist her if he tried, and it had nothing to do with her fox spirit powers.
Daji had never used them on him. He stiffened at the picture of her going down on him, taking everything he had to offer.
She wouldn’t. Nope, the Queen was one stubborn female. He didn’t like this new development, not one bit.
Yeah, he had issues about sacrifice. Didn’t require a therapist to point out his mum had thrown herself in front of that monster when it had lunged for him.
That his mum had sacrificed herself for him.
He should have been the one who’d died, protecting her. Not the other way around.
Shoving his issues deep, he focused on Daji.
Shén was spiritual energy—in her case, her fox spirit’s. From what he grasped, fox spirit essence could be divided, kind of like how the Chosen each handed a portion of their spirit animal to either the Tiger or the Dragon, the two leaders, to signal their loyalty. He snorted, not that he would be dishing out servings of Horse anytime soon.
In Daji’s case, Naya’s fox spirit would consume the energy—making Naya stronger and Daji weaker.
And apparently, intoxicated. The depletion must be messing with her head. “Do you have to feed?” He squinted at her dilated pupils and wished he’d asked who to call to order a human heart.
Did they have a hospital on speed dial?
She shook her head. “Can’t. Too soon.”
“Yeah, but look at you. Tell me this is something you can sleep off and I’ll back off.” He raised a brow, daring her to lie to him.
Her ruby lips parted, and he detected the deception in her throat, but she closed her mouth and sighed.
“You can’t have qì, and shén isn’t easy to come by…”
A flush rose in her cheeks and she squirmed in his lap. Oh, hell. A jolt shot into his groin, making his cock throb and his balls ache.
But she would never, ever, agree to that.
Would she?
He couldn’t fight how badly he ached for her to feed off him, so why try?
Clearing his throat, he clasped her chin and tilted her face to his. Her blush had grown redder, fanning high across her cheeks.
“I haven’t fed off a male since my initiation.”
Whoa. His brows drew together as he processed her confession. Daji was old. Not gray-haired-and-hunchbacked-grandma-old, but she’d lived a long time. What was she trying to tell him? That she wasn’t sure what to do?
His lips tugged into a smirk. “If you’re begging for a lesson, I’ve pretty much written the handbook.”
“No, I don’t think that would be appropriate.”
Her pretty protests didn’t work on Price. She wasn’t ready to admit what she wanted yet, but he could bring her halfway there. Cleansing ritual be damned. He refused to wait another second.
Sinking forward, he slanted his mouth across hers, feathering his lips along her soft mouth. She tasted of floral honey and sun-ripened berries. Her plump lips were even more velvety than he’d imagined. Way more intoxicating and addictive than he’d prepared himself for.
Because he craved nothing more than to shove his tongue into her luscious mouth, he grunted and drew back.
He wasn’t ready to lose himself in her yet.
Her lashes fluttered, blinking in renewed vigor. Shocked by his kiss…or infuriated he’d stopped?
Parting, her ruby lips taunted him, pleading his name, “Price…”
It was a request he couldn’t bring himself to deny.
He didn’t know why and he didn’t care. He just knew—he had to have one more taste.
Swooping forward, he claimed her mouth again, despite how brilliantly idiotic an idea that was.
Kissing Daji could very well prove to be his downfall.
But hell, it would be one enjoyable ride.
Chest heaving, mind fuzzy but finally grasping onto a smidgen of sanity, he reluctantly pried his mouth off hers.
Wait. Hadn’t they been discussing a feeding?
Snack time. “That’s where you’re starting off wrong. Don’t think. Feeding is much more of a feeling.” He seized her hand and guided her fingers to the bulge in the front of his pants, pressing her palm against his hard-on. “You’re programmed to know what to do, baby. Let me guide you.”
Gods, her touch on him ignited his blood, and his eager dick almost pounced into her hand. Daji wore her regal exterior like armor, but if he peeled it off, he’d encounter a fiery goddess of passion waiting to be unleashed. If only she’d let him melt her frigid exterior, she would be the one leaving him burned.
“Embrace who you are. You can’t rule your people and suppress the very nature tying you to them.”
Tentatively, her fingers relaxed, spreading across his erection. She licked her lips, the sharp tip of her fang glinting at him.
“Fuck, yes.” He pressed her hand harder into him, rubbing to ease the pressure.
Daji crawled onto her hands and knees, her free hand extending toward his belt buckle. A fierce determination replaced the glaze in her eyes.
Damn straight. He’d sensed this whole time she was hiding inside, and now his ice queen had melted into a goddess of seduction.
With nimble fingers, she unbuckled his belt and slid down his zipper. He caught her hands in his, tsking. “You didn’t assume it would be that easy, did you?”
Before she had the chance to freeze again, he pressed a heated kiss to her lips and murmured, “Did you forget? You’re not allowed to touch me.”
Her breath hitched. Hell yeah.
She was going to feed off him, but on his terms.
Kneeling face to face, he stripped open the front of his pants, freeing his thick, rigid cock. She glanced down, but he rested his hand on her neck and forced her to regard him, his thumb caressing her throat. Her clawed fingers dug into his forearm. With his free hand, he gripped himself, pumping.
She sucked her bottom lip into her mouth, her fang flashing enticingly. Emotions flickered across her features—embarrassment overruled by carnal curiosity. Once intrigued, a fox spirit’s attention was difficult to divert. The second her inquisitiveness was piqued, Daji became his.
The awkwardness melted, and as he pleasured himself, he met her dilated eyes, luring her deeper b
eneath his spell.
As a fox spirit, she experienced the sensations with him. Each stroke, every jolt of euphoria. Squeezing the head, he groaned at how pent-up he was for her. He’d been waiting for this moment, for the chance to offer Daji a taste she’d never have enough of.
A taste of him.
His cum beaded, the silken liquid glossing across him as he pumped harder. Squeezing tighter, he neared the brink of ecstasy.
He scented her getting wetter, her sexual hunger growing as strong as her physical thirst. She peered into his eyes, caught in his game.
He was caught too. Ever since he’d first glimpsed Daji, he hadn’t been able to look away. She mesmerized him. Horse and man.
As his cum spurted from the tip and his release pounded through his veins, his stare remained glued to hers. He grunted, low and deep, not daring to close his eyes.
He pressed his thumb into her mouth, willing her lips to part and accept what he offered. Her brows pinched as though uncertain of what to do, but he nodded, and she opened her mouth wide. His jīng essence floated to her, a bluish glow swirling into her sweet mouth. She closed her lips and swallowing, moaned.
Fuck. He’d never done that. Never fed a húli jīng with such intimacy.
Chest heaving, he shifted his face to the side.
Gazing into each other’s eyes had been like peering into each other’s souls. That was something he’d never trusted anyone to do.
Before Daji.
Blinking, he pulled back, shuffled off the bed, stuffed his stiff erection into his pants, and stumbled out the door.
That had been close. Too close.
***
Daji tapped her nails on the windowsill. After Price had fled from her chamber last night, she hadn’t left the room. He hadn’t called upon her.
Like her, he must have sensed how foolish their actions had been.
The decadence of his essence lingered on her tongue. She hadn’t conceived jīng energy would do anything for her, but there was no denying how she’d awoken this morning, revived and lightened.
Price’s energy was potent. Just like the rest of him.
Powerful. Raw. Untamed.
In his eyes, she’d witnessed so much. Those flashes of vulnerability, of longing. Kissing him and feeding from him had felt far more right than they should have.
Reining Him In (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 5) Page 9
