The bathroom is next to my room.I open my door and peer out.No one is lurking in the shadows so I quickly pad into the bathroom.It’s surprisingly clean for a clubhouse full of men or monster or whatever they are.The hot water on my skin does little to wipe the memory of Vex’s hands on my waist, his mouth on mine, the sound of his fist hitting the wall.
This is going to destroy us both.
And I’m not sure I care anymore.
Chapter Six
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Vex
Asoft thrum pulsesthrough the wall, Tessa’s heartbeat, unmistakable and maddening.
That’s the problem with vampire senses, they don’t come with an off switch.Every sound, every scent, every minute shift in the air registers with crystal clarity.And right now, standing outside Tessa’s door at four in the fucking morning, I’m drowning in her.
The soft rustle of sheets as she shifts in her sleep.The catch in her breath when she dreams.The racing thrum of her pulse when nightmares pull her under.Each sound drives into me like a spike, demanding I go to her, protect her, claim her.
I don’t.
Instead, I lean against the wall opposite her door, arms crossed, eyes tracking every shadow in the hallway.This is where I’ve spent every night since she arrived at the clubhouse.Close enough to reach her in seconds if something comes through.Close enough to hear every damn thing that happens in her room.
Too close.
The mark on her shoulder calls to me in ways I don’t fully understand.It’s not just the ice-devourer’s sigil, it’s something older, something that resonates with the vampire in me on a frequency that makes my teeth ache.Prophet says it’s tied to ancient magic, to bloodlines and prophecies older than Christ.All I know is, being near Tessa sets every instinct I have on fire.
Rule number one: Never feed from Tessa.
I’ve repeated it to myself a thousand times.Ten thousand.It doesn’t matter.My fangs still ache whenever she’s close, my mouth still floods with venom at the thought of tasting her.Not only her blood, though fuck, I can smell how sweet it would be buther.Her fear, her anger, her arousal.Every emotion has a flavor, and I want to drown in hers.
Rule number two: Never touch more than necessary.
I broke that one tonight.My hands on her waist, her body pressed against mine, her pulse thundering beneath skin so warm it burned.I can still feel the echo of it in my palms, the way she fit against me like she was made for it.Like she wasmine.
Rule number three: Never fully claim her.
That’s the big one.The one I can’t break, no matter how much the monster inside me howls for it.
