I Was Nothing Until the King Chose Me

Episode 8

The door clicked shut behind me, and the silence that followed didn’t feel calm, it felt like everything I had been holding back all day finally had space to catch up. I stood there for a moment, not moving, just taking in the room slowly as if I needed time to process that it was real and not something I had imagined.

“This… doesn’t make any sense,” I murmured, turning slightly as my gaze moved from the bed to the walls, then to the ceiling again. Every part of it felt too intentional, too perfect, like it had been prepared with care instead of just assigned. I let out a soft, disbelieving laugh under my breath. “There’s no way this is mine. Someone definitely made a mistake.”

“My lady,” the maid said gently behind me, her tone calm but touched with quiet amusement, “there has been no mistake. This chamber was arranged for you. Master was very specific about it.”

I turned slowly, narrowing my eyes slightly as if that alone might prove her wrong. “He chose this?” I asked, my voice lifting just a little, not out of excitement but confusion. “For me?”

She nodded without hesitation.

I blinked, then glanced back around the room again, slower this time, noticing details I had missed before. “That doesn’t make sense,” I said quietly, more to myself now, my fingers brushing lightly against my arm. “I don’t even look like I belong anywhere near this level of… anything.”

Her smile softened. “You will,” she said simply, like it wasn’t something up for debate. Then she gestured toward a door across the room. “There’s a spring bath connected to this chamber. You may use it while you wait. Master won’t be long.”

My eyes followed her hand, then flicked back to her. “A spring bath… in here?” I repeated, my tone shifting again into disbelief.

She let out a soft laugh. “Of course.”

That answer alone told me she wasn’t going to explain anything further.

Before I could press her, she dipped her head and left, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone again.

The silence settled quickly.

I exhaled slowly, rubbing my temple as I turned back toward the room, my thoughts quieter now but heavier. “I really thought I understood what I was walking into,” I murmured, my voice softer, more thoughtful. “I thought vampires were supposed to be cruel.”

Nothing about this felt cruel.

It felt… deliberate and careful.

It was almost like I was being placed somewhere instead of just brought here, and that thought didn’t sit right because if this wasn’t what I expected…

Then what was it?

My gaze dropped slightly, my fingers lifting to brush over the mark on my neck without thinking, tracing it slowly. “I’m human,” I whispered, though it sounded less certain than it should have. “I’m supposed to be human.”

The words didn’t settle.

I exhaled again and forced myself to move, pushing the thought aside as I walked toward the door the maid had pointed out. I needed something to clear my head before I started overthinking everything again.

I opened the door and I stopped.

The space beyond wasn’t just a bath; it felt like something meant to calm you without asking. Steam curled softly through the air, the water glowing faintly under the light, and the scent hit me immediately, something floral, something fresh, something that made my shoulders relax before I even stepped inside.

“…okay,” I murmured, stepping in slowly, my eyes moving across the space. “This is ridiculous.”

I spotted a neatly folded set of clothes nearby and let out a quiet breath. “At least I won’t have to walk back out like this,” I added under my breath.

I closed the door behind me and began to undress, slower than usual, more aware of myself than I liked. My arms crossed briefly over my chest before I forced them down, reminding myself I was alone.

Still, it didn’t feel like it.

I stepped into the water carefully, the warmth wrapping around me immediately, pulling a quiet breath from my chest as I eased in deeper. The tension in my body started to melt almost instantly, and I leaned back, letting my head rest as the water moved gently around me.

For the first time since arriving…

I felt still.

“This is dangerous,” I murmured softly, my eyes closing as I sank slightly deeper. “I could get used to this way too fast.”

For a moment, everything else faded, until....

“So this is where you disappeared to.”

My eyes snapped open, my body tensing instantly as I turned.

“Lyo!” I gasped, my heart jumping as I sank lower into the water, my pulse racing. “Do you have a habit of appearing out of nowhere, or is this just bad timing?”

He closed the door behind him like nothing was out of place, his gaze settling on me in a way that made heat crawl up my skin before he spoke. “You didn’t lock the door,” he said, his tone calm, but the faint curve of his lips told me he was enjoying this more than he should.

“That doesn’t mean you just walk in,” I shot back, pulling my arms tighter around myself beneath the water. “I’m literally in the bath naked. That’s your signal to leave.”

“And miss this?” he asked, gesturing to my body, tilting his head slightly, his voice dropping just enough to make it feel more lustful. “That doesn’t sound like something I’d choose to do.”

My breath caught for a second. “I’m serious,” I said quickly, forcing my voice to stay steady. “Turn around. Walk out. Try again later.”

“I don’t follow instructions well,” he replied smoothly, already stepping closer. Of course you don’t.

“Stay right there,” I warned, my voice tightening despite myself. “I mean it, Lyo. Don’t come any closer.”

His gaze didn’t shift from mine. “You’re hiding from me,” he said quietly, not teasing this time, just observing.

“I’m not hiding,” I snapped, though my voice softened at the end. “I just… don’t want to deal with this right now.”

“With me?” he asked, stepping into the water anyway, the movement sending a ripple toward me.

“With everything,” I corrected, my breath uneven as I felt him closer now without even looking properly.

“Then look at me,” he said, his voice lower now, more deliberate.

“I’d rather not,” I muttered.

“Elara.”

The way he said my name made it harder to ignore him. I hesitated, then turned.

His expression had changed. The teasing was gone. What replaced it made my chest tighten, something more focused, more aware. He moved closer slowly, giving me time to pull away. I didn’t.

His hand slid to my waist, steady, warm, pulling me just slightly closer, not forcing, just enough to make me feel the space between us disappear. “Talk to me,” he said quietly, his thumb brushing lightly against my side in a slow, grounding motion. “What’s going on in your head?”

I exhaled slowly, my gaze dropping before lifting again. “Everything,” I admitted. “Today… you… this place. It’s like everything changed too fast, and I didn’t get time to catch up.”

His eyes stayed on mine.

“You think this is too much,” he said.

“Yes,” I answered without hesitation.

A faint breath left him, something softer than before. “For you,” he said quietly. “For me, it feels like I’ve already waited longer than I should have.”

I frowned slightly. “Waited for what?”

His hand tightened just slightly at my waist, his voice lowering. “For you.” I frowned. Well, that didn’t help.

“What does that even mean?” I asked, my voice softer now.

“It means,” he said, his gaze not leaving mine, “that if I followed what I wanted instead of holding back… you wouldn’t be questioning where you stand with me. You'd be begging me.”

My breath caught.

“You’re not making this easier,” I muttered.

“I’m not trying to,” he replied, his tone quieter now.

I looked at him, my thoughts shifting again, something clicking into place. “Wait… can you control dreams?”

His brows pulled together slightly. “No. Why?”

“I’ve been having dreams,” I said, watching him carefully. “Not normal ones. They feel… real. There’s someone there.”

His entire posture shifted. “Someone?” he repeated, his voice lower now, sharper.

I nodded, letting my gaze linger on his face. “He doesn’t show me his face, but I can feel him. He touches me like he knows me… like I already belong to him.”

His hand tightened instantly. “Who is he?” Lyo asked, his voice dropping into something darker, something that made my pulse jump.

I tilted my head slightly, watching him. “I told you. I don’t see his face.”

“That doesn’t answer the question,” he said, his tone tightening.

“It’s just a dream,” I said lightly, though my eyes stayed on his. “He says things… like I’m his. Like no one else gets to touch me.”

His grip shifted, his hand moving to the back of my head, not rough, but firm enough to hold my attention. “Say that again,” he said quietly, his voice controlled but edged.

I didn’t look away. “He says I belong to him.”

That was it.

The shift.

“You don’t belong to anyone else,” he said, his voice low, steady, but filled with something deeper now, something possessive that didn’t need to be raised to be felt. “No one gets that close to you. Don't even think about it. You're mine. You belong to ME..”

My breath caught, and there it was. That same feeling and voice.

“It’s you,” I said softly, a small smile forming.

He stilled, then his gaze sharpened. “You’ve been dreaming about me.”

I nodded.

His hand didn’t leave my face. If anything, it steadied there, his thumb brushing slowly along my jaw as if he needed to feel that I was still there, still real, still his to hold in that moment. My breath caught halfway in my chest, uneven, and I became painfully aware of how close we were, how there wasn’t even the smallest space left between us anymore. His gaze dropped to my lips, then lifted back to my eyes, darker now, heavier, like something in him had shifted past restraint.

“Look at me,” he said again, quieter this time, but the way his voice lowered made it feel more like a command than a request, something that settled into me instead of just reaching my ears.

I was already looking. I couldn’t stop.

My fingers curled against his chest, gripping the fabric there as I felt the movement beneath it, not steady, not controlled like he always seemed, but uneven, like mine. That alone made my stomach tighten, the realization hitting me all at once that this wasn’t just affecting me.

“You feel it,” he murmured, his voice rougher now, his gaze flickering between my eyes and my mouth like he was losing patience with holding back. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not..” I started, but the words failed the second his hand slid from my jaw to the back of my neck, his fingers threading just slightly into my hair, gripping it, leaving no room to move away unless he allowed it.

His forehead pressed lightly against mine, slow, deliberate, and my breath hitched again, softer this time, like my body was already responding before I could think through it.

“Every time you look at me,” he continued, his voice dropping further, quieter but more intense, “you think I don’t notice the way you hesitate, the way you don’t step back even when you should?”

My grip tightened without me realizing it, my nails pressing faintly into his shirt as I swallowed.

“I’m trying to,” I said, but even to me it sounded weak, like I didn’t believe it.

“You’re not trying hard enough,” he replied immediately, his thumb pressing lightly at the base of my neck, tilting my head just enough to expose more of it to him, his gaze following the movement like it meant something. “Because if you were, you wouldn’t still be this close.”

My heart stuttered. He wasn’t wrong.

“Then tell me to stop,” he said, softer now, but somehow more dangerous, his lips brushing just barely against mine, not quite a kiss, just enough to make my breath break. “Tell me to walk away, and I will.”

I opened my mouth, and nothing came out. I didn’t want him to leave. I didn't want to stop feeling him. I didn't want that sensation in my p*ssy to stop.

And the moment he realized that, something in him gave way, not explosively, not suddenly, but in a controlled shift that felt even more intense because of how long he had been holding it back.

“Exactly,” he whispered.

Then he kissed me.

Not rushed, not careless, but deliberate, slow at first, like he was making sure I felt everything, the pressure, the heat, the way his lips moved against mine with a certainty that made my thoughts scatter instantly. My fingers tightened against him, pulling him closer without thinking, and the second I did, he responded, deepening the kiss, his hand tightening at the back of my neck while the other slid to my waist, pulling me flush against him.

The shift was immediate.

What started controlled didn’t stay that way.

His grip became firmer, more certain, his body pressing closer as if he was closing every remaining distance between us, and I felt it, the change in him, the way his restraint slipped into something more possessive, more claiming. My breath broke against his lips, uneven, and I couldn’t tell anymore if I was trying to keep up or just letting it happen.

His thumb brushed against my side, slow, deliberate, sending a sharp, unexpected shiver through me that made me tense for a second before relaxing right back into him. He noticed. Of course he did.

“Your body reacts to everything I do love. You like this. You want me to touch you, to please you,” he murmured against my lips, his voice lower now, almost satisfied, like he had been waiting to see it.

“I DO........not!” I said, but the words faded when his lips moved against mine again, cutting me off completely.

“You do,” he said softly, his forehead pressing briefly against mine before his lips trailed lower, slower this time, not rushing, not guessing, like he already knew exactly what he was doing and how it would affect me. My breath caught sharply, my fingers tightening again as my head tilted back slightly without permission.

And he didn’t miss that either.

His hold on me tightened just enough to keep me there, his voice dropping into something quieter, deeper, right against my skin. “You don’t pull away,” he murmured. “Not even once.”

I didn’t, and I couldn’t; that was the problem.

Because somewhere between the way he held me, the way he moved, the way he touched my skin, the way my body heats up like its burning from desire, the way everything felt too real to ignore, so I stopped trying to.

I stopped pushing him away, not resisting, just holding on, and the second that happened, I felt it, the way he stilled for a fraction of a second before pulling me closer again, like that alone was all the confirmation he needed.

“Say it,” he whispered, his voice low, controlled, but edged with something that made my chest tighten again. “Tell me you feel it too. Tell me you want me Elara.”

I gulped. I didn’t answer, but I didn’t have to.

Because the way I stayed, the way I didn’t move, the way I leaned into him instead of away...

That was answer enough, and he knew it.

Without warning, he crashed his lips to mine and kissed me again, and for all before colliding with me into him more, knocking off all the oxygen in my system before the nostalgic pleasure flooded me and I lost myself in him.

This is not good.............