Eve didn't know what to say. She was stunned. She could never marry him and once he knew the truth about her, she doubted he'd want her.
"I'm sorry, Drago. I cannot be your queen."
His jaw tightened. "You don't have to answer me now. Let me show you how right it could be between us." He took her by the shoulders and drew her in his arms, his dark gaze dipping to her mouth. "Eve, I want you," he said. "Let us be together now, in this moment, as man and woman."
Slowly, he lowered his head and Eve fought the urge to run from him. The look he gave her as his head came down made her stomach somersault. She wasn't going to deny herself anymore. She wanted this and would treasure this moment forever.
She closed her eyes and felt his arms go around her as his mouth met hers. His lips moved sensually over hers, her knees growing weak, and she slid her hands up his arms to his shoulders. She moaned softly against his mouth and ran her hands to the back of his head. She didn't want this kiss to end.
His hands came between them and he slowly unbuttoned her vest. Dragging his mouth from hers, he slipped the vest from her shoulders and cupped her breasts, giving her a bone-melting gaze.
"You drive me mad with desire," he said, his tone hoarse with need.
His hands slipped to her pants and he felt around for lace or ties. He gave her a quizzical look. "How do these come off?"
Slowly, she slipped her hands inside the waist band of her pants and slid them off her hips.
His face tightened with desire as her bare skin revealed itself.
She bent and lifted her feet from the pants, tossing them behind her. She stood before him, unashamed of her nakedness.
"Now, it's your turn," she said, her tone husky with unconcealed desire. She went for his tunic, but he grabbed her hand and shook his head.
"Let me. It will be faster." With deft and quick moves, he removed his royal garb and stood naked before her.
Eve ran her gaze over his body and shivered. He was perfection. She glanced down at his arousal and nearly gasped. It appeared his immense size wasn't only limited to his shoulders and biceps.
He bent and lifted her in his arms, his warm flesh sending thrills down her spine and carried her to the bed. He lay down beside her and ran his hands along her body, down to her womanhood, where she arched her neck and gasped as he slipped his finger inside her.
She writhed and bucked as he explored her core, darts of pleasure shooting up her spine. She reached out her hand and ran it along his strong chest, marveling at the beauty of his magnificent body. She went lower until she found his rigid staff draped in velvet and steel and clasped her fingers around him.
He sucked in a harsh breath and growled. Their gazes locked and she parted her lips in wonder at the look of possessiveness on his face.
His eyes turned amber just for a second and she frowned for a moment. She wanted the man, not the wolf.
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Your eyes just changed for a moment."
She wasn't even sure if he heard her because in the next instant, he was lying on top of her, bracing his weight above her with his elbows on the bed. She arched her lower body to meet his.
He stared at her, his face tight with desire and he positioned himself before he impaled her with a sharp, hard thrust, filling her. Her body immediately expanded to accommodate his size and she moaned at the exquisite rush of pleasure and pain throbbing at her center.
He looked deeply into her eyes, his gaze sultry and dark and a delicious shiver ran down her spine.
Slowly, he began to move and she matched his tempo and pace. He kissed her, his tongue warm and sweet and she surrendered to her mounting passion. Drago groaned softly against her lips and picked up speed. The energy between them was thick and hot and she felt truly human for the first time in centuries.
He made her feel like a woman, not the undead creature she'd become. And he made her forget everything. The only thing that mattered was her and him, embracing with a passion borne of need.
Her body felt like it was ready to snap and she turned her face and squeezed her eyes against the sheer ecstasy building in her limbs and bit into his arm. He groaned from deep within his throat.
A warm pool of pleasure gathered in her core and she raised her face and kissed him with a hunger she didn't know existed in her.
He made a deep, strangled sound in his throat and slipped his hands beneath her, cupping her bottom and ground her against his mounting thrusts and pulls. She threw her head back and bit back screams. She was soaring to a pinnacle where she would find bliss. She cried out as he ground his body to hers and she was hurled to her summit, spiraling out of control, over a precipice, her body quaking with the spasms of her release.
He made a deep, guttural sound and arched his head, his expression dark with arousal. With one final thrust, he spilled his seed into her womb and she dug her nails into his shoulders as her spasms subsided.
They lay in silence for a few moments, their skin sleek with sweat, the breathing ragged. Drago rolled to his side, taking her with him as he wrapped his arms around her.
Eve closed her eyes, sighed and basked in the glorious aftermath of her climax.
A strange, guttural noise alerted her and her eyes flew open. She looked over to Drago and saw his face etched in shock, his eyes turning amber. He pulled from her and staggered out of the bed, his hands clenched to his sides. He gave her a look she could only describe as astonishment. Eve grew frightened.
And then he shifted. He released his Lycan as his body grew, his face changed, his limbs stretched. He raised his head and howled long and loud.
Eve sat up sharply and slid back in one fluid move against the headboard, hissing and baring her fangs. She wasn't going to let him take her in his monstrous Lycan form.
Luckily that wasn't what he had in mind because he shifted back to his human naked form and stared at her with shock. "You were in front of me all along," he murmured. "I always suspected, our bond, my connection to you, but I never believed it to be true until now."
"What are you talking about?"
"You belong to me now."
"I belong to no one."
"I will not let you go. We are bound now for all eternity."
She had had enough. "I've been alone for four hundred years, Drago." She rose from the bed. Unashamed of her nakedness, she walked over to her clothes and started putting them on. With jabs, pulls and tugs, she dressed, angry at him for ruining their moment. She'd wanted to remember this moment with tenderness. She didn't want to recall his arrogance. "I've come to terms with my destiny. It's an eternity of nothing." She tossed him a glare as she buttoned her vest over her breasts. "I suggest you come to terms with your destiny. You said so yourself, your kingdom is your destiny." Dressed, she bent to grab her weapons and gasped. He moved fast and before she knew it, he was holding her in a vice grip around her waist, dragging her body up against his.
"Lycans control their turning except when they make love to their destined mate, their one and just now I couldn't control my turning. After we made love, I shifted involuntarily." His expression was tight with suppressed emotions. "You, my beautiful Eve, are my one!"
She stiffened, staring up at him like he'd lost his mind. "I…I thought you shifted because your wolf wanted to be released." She was dazed. "This is absurd. You told me earlier the legend didn't apply to you." She was still too shocked to contemplate the full moon rising tomorrow. "No Lycan has ever mated with a vampire."
"It appears we just did," he replied, his face grim.
"In…in the legend, the Lycan's one turns into a werewolf on the next full moon. What will become of me tomorrow when the full moon rises? I am already a vampire. What kind of beast will I turn into?"