All my talk of control, being stable, shatters when the door opens.
My gaze rakes over the breathtaking goddess standing before me. Her wild flame of hair is ruffled, her sleepy sight barely locking onto me, her cheeks flush, bare legs revealing soft, milky skin.
My blood pulses with need, urging me closer, urging me to touch her…
Higher and higher, my gaze trails that sight until it’s cut off by baggy, black material.
A piece of clothing.
A man’s.
“Who does that belong to?” I ask, struggling to control the venom in my voice.
Her sleepy gaze narrows, dark brows drawing together as she follows the tilt of my head to the item in question.
She looks down at herself, then slowly raises her head. Her eyes widen and I’m leaning in without even realising.
She tempts me like no other simply byexisting.
“Kane,” she murmurs, her wide eyes darting between mine.
That flush deepens, spreading down the smooth skin of her chest, until it disappears beneath the neck of Kane’s clothing.
I didn’t even think he owned clothes like this. I certainly did not. I believe Sai and Ezekial might…
Ah.
I smile softly, reaching down to touch one of the draw strings. “I see. Would you like something of mine too?”
Her lips part and her eyes turn glassy.
Was she still feeling the after-effects of my bite? I knew I was her first, even without prerequisite knowledge. I could feel it in her body’s reaction to the intrusion, how the sudden pleasure overwhelmed her… but it had been a full day.
Maybe I took too much? Maybe I wasn’t as controlled as I—
“Yes.”Her internal voice is a delicate husk, a whisper of seduction.
I pull on the drawstring, trying to bring her closer, but she blinks away her hazy expression and steps back.
I want—need—to follow. But I can’t.
“I didn’t mean to… That was meant to be…” Her nervous energy is ridiculously appealing, especially to my… predatorial side. Then she sighs, peering up at me. “Is this normal? Wanting to have your… things?”
“Yes. Just how it is normal for us to enjoy seeing you adorned in them.” I lean down, arm pressed against the door frame—closer. “If you require anything else, anything, you only need but ask.” My voice is soft as I simply admire her.
Admire the rise and fall of her chest, the peachy hue of her cheeks, her heart beat, the blood rushing through her veins, now myveins too—
And that is when the guilt blooms. The guilt of what I had done.
What she had given me. How she’d risked herself for me.
I sink to my knees before her. “You gave me more than I ever deserved,” I murmur, head bowed in quiet supplication. “And I will spend eternity trying to be worthy of it.”
“More than… More than you deserved?” Did I imagine that bite of anger in her tone?
I long to look, to gauge the storm behind her eyes, but I remain kneeling before her—where I belong.
“You believe you deserved to stay in the Pit? Chained? Suffering? Starving yourself into madness?”
