I wait for her to convince me further, and I think of ways in which I can ask her to do it without saying it outright.
But then her lips are on mine, cool and soft, and it’s like being set alight. Her lips move slowly, cautiously, and although I’m sure she knows how much I want her, she pulls back. Her breathing quickens. “More,” I whisper. I grab her collar, drawing her mouth to my own. We’re still not close enough. Our teeth knock together, and she pushes me down. Before I can get used to the cold stone beneath me, her lips find mine again, hungrier this time, tongue trying to pry them open.
Her knee presses between my legs, and a gasp escapes me. Aliz’s wet kiss moves down to my neck, her hand still a blindfold. “Let me see you,” I say digging my nails into her coat. But Aliz pulls back.
“No,” she says, breathless.
“Why not?”
Her hand finally pulls away from my eyes, and I blink, adjusting to the dim light. There’s a faint red glow in her irises. Her breathing is still uneven, and she bites her lips. The fangs which should terrify me, which should be like a sudden shower of ice-cold water on my desire, are just another part of her that I love.
“It’s too dangerous,” she says.
“Maybe we should go, then.” The words sting as I say them. I need more.
When she climbs off me, I take a deep breath. The freezing October air sinks through my coat.
We walk back inside, down the narrow staircase. Silence hangs between us. We just crossed every line and boundary we’d silently imposed. I can’t imagine being able to sleep pressed against her after what just happened there. And worst of all is the dampness between my legs, cool and slick.
There’s always been tension between us, but now the air is thick with it, about to snap. My skin burns beneath my jacket, the fabric far too warm. Our hallway is deserted, lamps casting a faint glow on the emerald ceiling. Without thinking, I take her hand, and Aliz glances at me. Her lips part, but she doesn’t say a word.
Instead of going straight to our room, she tightens her grip on my hand and takes a right turn. She guides me towards the common room at the end of the hallway. Three velvet armchairs, green like the ceiling, form a little circle, while the surrounding bookshelves are bursting with volumes that I’m only now realising must all belong to Aliz, if she really had this hallway all to herself prior to my arrival. “Why are we here?” I ask, glancing out the window, shutters lifted to reveal a faint outline of the hills.
Aliz leans against a bookcase, across from me, while I rest on the back of an armchair. “We’re here because I need to know what’s going to happen next.” She rubs her forehead. Her shoulders are tense.
I step closer, taking her hand again. I need to feel her against me. Every nerve in my body is like a match, about to catch. I run my hand from her shoulder down to her waist, the stiff wool of her coat rough against my fingers. Aliz takes a sharp breath but doesn’t move. I want to tear every last item of clothing off her, feel every inch of her skin. “We’ll go to our room,” I say.
“I assumed as much,” she says, voice cautious. “What I want to know is what’ll happen when we cross that doorway.” She swallows, and just like on the roof, there are nerves—or perhaps just impatience?—thickening her voice. “Are we going to act like nothing happened, sleep next to each other, without touching, or…” She lets go of my hand, reaching to trace a slow line up my neck, making me shiver before she clasps my chin, tipping me up to face her. Her eyes are still black. Safe.
“Or…?” I ask, so low she wouldn’t have heard me if not for her vampire senses.
She leans close enough for me to feel her breath on my lips. “Or make a terrible mistake?”
I’m not entirely sure which one of us closed the distance first, but suddenly we’re kissing again. Her lips are slow, careful, as though she’s doing this for the first time, trying to savour every second. I wrap my arms around her neck, nibbling her lower lip, pressing her harder against the bookcase.
“Define ‘mistake,’ ” I whisper, trying to steady my voice.
Her gaze darkens, looking at me the way she did at the start, back when I felt she could see right throughme.
“I want to fuck you,” she says. My lips part with a gasp, but I can’t find anything to say. My skin was already burning, but her words have set me ablaze.
“That would be a terrible mistake.” I keep my lips close to hers. “But you should do it, anyway.”
Aliz pushes herself off the bookcase, and me in the process, until she’s pressing me against the back of the velvet armchair. In a matter of seconds, she unbuttons my coat, and her lips are on mine before I can say a word, hungrier than they were a moment ago. This kiss is rough, and my legs may have given way if not for her thigh, pressed between mine. I suppress a moan, trying to get my thoughts in order, before I manage to say:
“Here?” She kisses her way down my neck, hand on my waist, slipping beneath my jumper vest. “I thought we were going to our room!”
“No,” she says, drawing back to whisper in my ear. “I said I’dfuckyou in our room.”
I swallow hard, anticipation building in me as her hand finds the hem of my skirt.
“What if someone hears us?”
“You’ll just have to keep quiet,” she says, lips curving into a crooked smile. But before her fingers reach me, Aliz pulls back, hesitating. “Are you sure you want this?”
“Yes,” I say, practically interrupting her. “I do.” I don’t care if I sound desperate. But now her question echoes in the back of my head, drawing out another one that I’ve been trying to ignore. “But you…” I look at her, heart thudding. “You wouldn’t want this if it wasn’t for the mark.”
Instantly, I wish I hadn’t said it. Because Aliz inches back from me, brows furrowing. “I still have free will, Cassie.”
