Okay. You asked for longer chapters, so I combined what I had planned as 3 and 4 into one giant block. So I'm sorry if it took a little longer to write this one. My fingers are cramping, but it's worth it.
***
Ow.
It wasn't sunlight or the sounds of birds chirping happily that woke her up. It wasn't anything bright and joyful at all. It was the pain in her shoulder. A small pain -she figured no larger that the size of a silver dollar- but it was enough to get her attention. She groaned. What better time for her shoulder to pop out of place? Her eyes flickered open, adjusting slowly to the dim light of the flaming sconces hanging on the walls. She turned her head, trying to find the source of the pain.
On the very edge of her shoulder, just before the flesh curved down to meet her bicep, was a small circular mark. Bright red and slightly raised, the mark looked like two crescent moons pointed toward each other. Small indentations, about ten or so, made up the crescent halves. Two of the indentations, equal distance apart along one row of indents, were deeper than the others and had small scabs where their notches should have been. She stared at the marks quizzically, still dazed and groggy from sleep, confused as to what could have made such a mark. Then, like a fire alarm resounding in her head, she found the answer.
Bite marks.
Anger flared inside. The bastard had bit her! She ground her teeth, now fully awake. Apparently, his cannibalistic nature had raised its loathsome head. But the man was too much of a coward to devour her when she was awake and ready to punch his face in. She was going to let him have to now.
Furious that he had actually sunk that low, she rolled over and pushed herself up onto her elbow. She grabbed the edge of the blankets, still torn and shredded from the night before, and prepared to pull them back. An instant before she could pull them off and jump out of bed, a strong arm wrapped around her waist and yanked her back into the mattress. Stunned, she rolled over and stared into the face of the man she was just about to kill.
Darian lay on his side, the midnight colored sheets only covering everything below his waist. His muscled abdomen, still covered in luminescent gold paint, was on full display. He smiled at her, razor-sharp canines glinting in the warm light of the sconces. His eyes, which had the amazing ability to change color whenever he felt like screwing with her, were a soft sky blue.
"Morning." His tone was cheery, as if absolutely nothing was wrong and it was just another day in Hell.
That's it. Time for that damn smirk of his to go bye-bye.
"You asshole! You bit me!" Raging, she threw a wild haymaker, connecting perfectly with his cheek. His head whipped to the side, slamming into the pillow. She sat up and glared at him, secretly wishing that the heat from her gaze would set him on fire.
He shook his head to clear it, rubbing a hand against his cheek. She hoped she had smashed the bones to powder.
"What the hell?" He glared at her, his eyes quickly shifting to a fiery red.
"You
fucking
bit me!" She cocked her arm back, preparing to strike again.
Moving far too fast for her to react -Advantage: Darian- he sat up in the bed and stared into her eyes. One hand had managed to catch her fist in mid-punch. The other had wrapped around her waist, trapping her free arm against her side, leaving her defenseless. He pulled her tight against him, holding her body flush to his. The fingers that held her fist in place squeezed hard, causing her to wince in pain.
She struggled against his embrace, trying to break free. It was a useless endeavor. His grip on her was like iron. His eyes blazed when she fought against him. He bared his teeth and growled, jerking her hard against his body. His message was crystal clear: She wasn't going anywhere.
Trapped, she glared at him. If she couldn't escape by breaking free, maybe she could yell enough that he'd back off.
"You bit me." She said through clenched teeth.
Clearly in the mood to play, Darian gave her a mocking smile, taking great care to make sure his canines were in full view. "And you enjoyed it."
Her jaw dropped for an instant. She recovered and shot back, gathering up all her anger for a fight. "How the hell would you know? I was asleep, you coward!"
Twisting their bodies, Darian forced her down onto the bed, pinning her to the sheets. He held both of her wrists above her head in one hand, his other arm supporting his weight. He straddled her waist, preventing her from kicking out at him.
"A coward, am I?" He growled at her.
Shit. Bad move.
He leaned close, pressing his forehead to her own. His crimson eyes blazed. The tiny specks of gold with in the blood red irises reflected the light like sparks of passion bursting through the barrier that was his soul...If he even
had
a soul. She swallowed loudly, fear starting to swirl in her gut.
A sinister smile slowly came over his perfect lips. "A
coward
, you say?" His free hand reached over and clawed at her neck, trailing his sharp nails along the side of her throat. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to make her flinch at the small delivery of pain.
She grasped at every spark of pain and anger that she could conjure, staring him down. "You bit me while I was asleep, you jackass. You're the only predator I know that's not willing to devour their prey when it's awake. If that's no cowardice, I don't know what it."
A harsh laugh burst from his mouth. "But I
did
devour you, didn't I? Isn't that what you were begging me for more last night?"
She clamped her jaw shut, glaring at him.
"Ah, so the little hell-cat's remarks are finally quieted. And because of her own sexuality, no less. How interesting. I wonder why that's such a shame to you." His smile became sinister. "Is it because you don't accept it? Oh, my dear, sweet princess. If you're going to live here like the rest of us, you're going to have to accept that sex and pleasure are a daily occurrence here. That's just something you'll need to get used to. Especially if
I'm
