“It’s not disgusting,” I whispered. “And you shouldn’t think it is.”
“It’s absolutely exasperating,” he went on, voice low, “how much I’ve wanted to touch this skin—” His finger slid down my nose, then to my lips. “—and how badly I’ve wanted to silence these lips with a kiss.”
I gripped his wrist, halting the slow exploration of my face, and locked eyes with him. “Is that why you left me back then?”
He stilled for a beat before slowly taking my hand in his. “The day in the closet,” he mumbled. “At your school. You remember?”
My eyes widened.
He wasn’t pretending anymore.
HewasShadow.
“I’d been trying to provoke you,” he continued, “trying to rile you into anger—”
“You always do. Still do,” I cut in.
He smirked, fangs flashing.
“Yes.”
Then, softer: “But that day… I saw your face, flushed, excited. And for the first time, I saw a woman.”
“I was excited you had flesh,” I admitted. “Even if it wasn’t yours.”
He shook his head slowly.
“Because you were young. Naïve. Foolish.”
I frowned.
“Sorry, it doesn’t take me long to decide what I want.”
His nostrils flared.
“You didn’t know who I was. If you’d fallen prey to me back then, you would’ve never forgiven yourself.”
“I’m still prey now. What’s the difference?”
He stepped closer.
“Now you know who I am. You’re not young and foolish anymore—though you’re still naïve. But now you’re stubborn. Strong. Amusing.”
His eyes flicked across my face. “Your jaws are sharper while your eyes—more seductive. Your lips…” He exhaled through his nose. “You don’t sulk anymore when I anger you. You don’t cry. Instead, you adapt and handle everything.”
One large hand pressed against my lower back, pulling me close.
“I fear you can be the Devil’s mate.” There was a slight purr in the monster’s voice.
Flutters burst in my stomach.
It was the first time he’d acknowledged being my mate as somethinggood. Maybe the first time he’d acknowledged it at all.
I leaned into his touch.
“Does it have to be like this?” I whispered.
Do we have to end before we begin?
