Chapter 95 - Sleep*

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The Vampire King

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Apollyon watched his wife sleep as he lay on his side, with his head propped on the one hand. 

He wondered how it was possible for a virgin High Priestess to be so inexperienced, wanton, and dominant at the same time.

The High Priestess had acted like she didn't even want him at first, no matter how hard he tried to persuade her to give her virginity up.

She was adamant about resisting his seduction.

Luna didn't even want to engage more unless it was on her own terms. 

His wife had tried to play him for her amusement, and that was why Apollyon tried to use another concubine as a way to show his Empress that he was the one in control and she should abide by his rules. 

Everything should be on his terms, of course.

He was the Vampire King.

If he were honest with himself, Apollyon would never cheat on his wife the moment he used his magic to glamour the red-haired concubine to look like his precious Luna.

'It didn't really count as cheating, would it?' He told himself. 'They have the same face after all.'

Apollyon thought that this logic was reasonable enough, but boy, he thought wrong.

He didn't understand why Luna was enraged to see him with the concubine together when he hadn't even started anything yet.

Luna's eyes had turned gold, and she had gone quiet as if her soul wasn't inside her body anymore.

The Vampire King had panicked when he couldn't sense her.

He tried to probe her mind, call her soul, and bring her back to normal.

The High Priestess had gone cold, empty, and brutal over the concubine.

Luna was almost unrecognizable, but at least she still had the conscience not to kill her replica.

The High Priestess was dark with jealousy that her power alone had threatened to overwhelm him, almost defeated him.

Apollyon had underestimated his Empress.

He wouldn't make the same mistake again.

She had scolded him, and it made him mad when she started talking about reversing the roles.

What if it was Luna who had done 'glamour magic' on some other man as an object of her pleasure or worse, what if she ran off with an Archdemon and they lived happily ever after, in Hell, leaving him alone to die without her? 

Apollyon would probably chase his wife to Hell and back, and that's a fact.

He watched her wife in her element—where she truly belonged—and that was on his bed.

Apollyon would probably kill anyone who would throw her Empress any lascivious stares, or any man who engaged in even the slightest flirty banter will be part of his Kill-List. 

Any man who would see her naked body will be beheaded, no questions asked.

She was his.

He still had that fantasy of locking her inside the ivory tower so that no one else would be able to claim her and take her away from him.

The High Priestess was his strength and weakness.

He would keep an eye on her at all times.

He can't afford to lose his blood, mate—his only source of nutrition and pleasure.

His.

Luna had her cheek pressed to the pillow, sprawling on her stomach on top of the rumpled sheets.

Her hands were curled into loose fists on each side of her head.

Apollyon couldn't resist but play with the strands of her silver hair as he stroked them down the graceful curve of her back and the soft swell of one creamy buttock.

Even in a deep sleep, Luna had shivered at his light touch.

With her eyes still closed, she grabbed the counterpane to cover and shield herself from the 'chill', which had nothing to do with the weather.

The Vampire King shook his head in disapproval and pulled the sleek satin down to see her naked back once again. 

He waited for her wife to wake up so they could do it again, but this time, he should be the one on top and giving her the pleasure she deserved.

Come to think of it, when Luna was riding him, Apollyon noticed that she didn't scream that much and she didn't look too happy.

Apollyon wondered what was wrong.

He asked him, but she refused to answer, saying she was just tired.

Apollyon didn't try to read her emotions either because he couldn't access her mind. 

Luna was getting better at blocking him from her thoughts.

Apollyon could hardly blame her for succumbing to exhaustion.

The High Priestess had little enough sleep for the past few weeks because of her mission to get rid of the Blood Beast's curse.

He also liked to think that maybe she got tired because of his sexual prowess and his seduction.

Perhaps, he was too big for her, and his size had hurt too much that she claimed she couldn't do it again. 

Perhaps, she was sore. 

He was too big.

It was his fault.

Apollyon's thoughts trailed off as he remembered something niggling at the back of his mind.

He gazed down at the bed, and the blanket had slid halfway onto the floor, revealing both the sheets that had blood smears in them.

Apollyon's disbelieving stare slowly drifted back to Luna's face.

There she was with her long and shiny silver hair streaming over their pillow and her cheeks rosy with sleep.

The High Priestess eyes' were closed, her mouth slightly open, and her breathing was deep and even. 

She had long lashes that curled up to her eyelids, wayward strands of hair fell over her knitted brows.

His wife had looked as innocent as a newborn babe. 

Apollyon swallowed and cleared his throat as he settled back into the side of his bed.

After peering over his wife's sleeping face, he sighed heavily, abandoning all hope that he could have her again. 

Apollyon realized he wanted her more than ever now that he had claimed her for himself.

His lips couldn't help but curl in a victorious smile.

He calmed his cock down as he focused on the cosy rhythm of Luna's soft snoring, lulling him to relaxation.

He needed to drive erotic thoughts out of his mind.

Apollyon didn't need to tease himself by driving his mind to madness with his lust for his Empress.

The High Priestess moved and turned to his side of the bed, slipping one arm around his waist.

She drew him to her tightly into the lush cup of her body, giving him a warm hug that spread all over him, reaching the depths of his cold, cold heart.

In turn, Apollyon smiled as he wrapped his arm around her small frame, liking the softness of her naked breasts pressed to his chest.

Apollyon placed one leg of his over her thighs possessively.

He felt territorial all of a sudden.

How can this one female made him feel all sorts of emotions in a single moment? 

Groaning beneath his breath, he glanced downward at his cock.

Luna would never believe that he wasn't to blame for this.

She was the one who initiated contact first.

He just hugged her back as a sign of respect so that she wouldn't be embarrassed like the good husband he was.

Shuddering with lust, Apollyon whispered her name in her ear to gently wake her up, but her eyebrows only knitted to a scowl as she released a disgruntled moan, then nestled deeper into him.

The sheet still draped around her thighs, and Apollyon frowned at it, treating it as a blockage of his vision to paradise.

He pulled it down completely and threw it to the ground.

The graceful curve of her neck and the delicate wings of her collarbone enticed him along with the dusky shadows of her nipples pressed to his chest.

He licked his lips as he inhaled her scent.

Luna smelled like warm lavender--—a fragrance so erotic and so irresistible to a man's nostrils--feminine and musky with sleep, which made him feel more aroused. 

The Vampire King had always prided himself on his self-control when it came to a woman.

Every seductive word he uttered, every seductive kiss, every expert stroke of his fingertips was carefully calculated to bring about his lover's loss of control.

Not his. 

But here, Apollyon was on the brink of losing that prided self-control with little more than an artless touch from the High Priestess.

Sunlight had already drifted through the window, signifying a new morning for both of them as a married couple.

He studied his wife once more.

The High Priestess' parted lips were as lush and tempting as rose petals.

He wanted to bite them with his fangs to wake her up.

'I promise I'll be the perfect gentleman.'

His words haunted him like a ghost who wouldn't just leave him be. 

Hadn't he told her that he wasn't in the habit of making promises he couldn't keep?

It would be unscrupulous of him to satisfy his own carnal appetites by stealing a kiss while Luna was vulnerable, defenceless, and asleep.

He moved closer and bent his head, gently brushing her lips with his own.

Apollyon will apologize later after he got what he wanted.

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High Priestess

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Luna was being kissed by a vampire who had been born to the art of seduction.

The Vampire King's lips were soft as a petal as it slid into her mouth over and over, using just the right amount of pressure to coax them apart.

Her eyes fell shut.

If this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up.

But she could not help stirring when he entered her mouth with his tongue.

Her hips arched towards something hard of their own accord.

His tongue toyed with hers—teasing, tantalizing, stroking. 

Desire stirred thickly in her veins, pulsing in secret places she didn't want to mention. 

Hands traced the curve of her throat and wrapped his hand around her neck, moving to the delicate flare of her collarbone down to the aching swell of her breasts.

He gently cupped one of them, testing its weight in his palm and flicking her nipple with the pad of his thumb and forefinger.

She moaned as he sucked softly on the very tip of her tongue, the provocative motion sending a shiver of yearning deep into her womb.

Luna might have been able to convince herself she was still dreaming, but she was sure she was alive and awake just by the feel of her senses tingling from the tender mastery of Apollyon's mouth and hands.

She couldn't feign sleep throughout the whole ordeal.

Luna's small fingers clung to his shoulders, and she pushed him so she could look directly into his eyes. 

"Husband," Luna said in a gentle reprimand, her voice husky from sleep. "I would like to tell you something."

"What is it, wife?" The Vampire King looked like he had just awoken from his fantasies as his hooded blue eyes landed on her.

His lethargic gaze had narrowed as he stared at her eyes, then back to her lips, then back to her eyes as if he had just seen her for the first time. 

He appeared so lost, dazed, and confused by his lust. 

Tilting his head, Apollyon licked his lips before asking, "Do you have a problem?"

Luna blushed, but her husband's query brought a scalding wave of heat to her cheeks.

"Are you all right?" The Vampire King searched her face with what could easily have been mistaken for genuine concern. "I fear I might have been somewhat… over-vigorous in my attentions last night. It was thoughtless of me."

"I think something was wrong with me." Luna's voice was small as she admitted what had been bothering her before she fell asleep. "Perhaps, you might want to discard me now before you proceed."

Apollyon's eyebrows knitted as his face scrunched in a scowl. "Why would I want to discard you?"

He had to know.

Luna couldn't bear the brunt of this shame alone.

Apollyon had to know the truth.

"Umm—" Luna playfully scratched his broad shoulders with her nails as her gaze focused on an invisible point behind him.

She was so embarrassed she couldn't look him in the eye.

"I didn't come yesterday."