The shower itself was made of some sort of fancy green marble that probably cost more than all the money she’d ever made. It was big enough to fit four people his size, and a wide bench stretched across one side. Nooks built into the walls contained the high end bath products of her dreams.
It was as close to a spa experience as she’d ever come, and it got infinitely better when Felix stripped down to nothing and stepped inside with her. She’d imagined what he’d look like athousand times over the years, but her imagination didn’t do him justice.
Felix was all pale skin, bloody tattoos, and lean muscle. A heavy, half-hard cock hung between toned thighs, and when he leaned his head back into the water to wet his wavy hair, the livid wound of her bite stood out like an erotic beacon on his pale throat.
A heady pulse of arousal moved through her as she watched him run his claws through his hair, scraping it back from his high cheekbones with quick, practiced movements that made the muscles of his biceps bunch and release.
Trying to distract herself from the unsettling mix of sexual arousal and hunger that seemed to come with being a vampire, Dahlia turned away and tipped her head back as well. Hot water ran down her body, soothing the minor bruising and scrapes she’d picked up on her outing.
“Do all of you have those tattoos?” she asked, voice echoing off the marble walls. “I noticed Luis has a similar one on his arm. Milo and Marietta, too. Though I think hers is on her ankle.”
Big hands settled on her hips, drawing her back into him. Felix dipped his head to skim his lips over her shoulder. His fangs scraped her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.
“Mm,” he hummed, running his hands over her stomach and up to cradle her breasts. His thumbs traced the outline of her nipples, teasing them into tight points. “Just the cousins.”
It wasn’t easy to think clearly when he touched her like that. It was gentle but possessive, like he wanted to map every part of her that belonged to him.
His skin was slippery where it met hers, and the scents of steamy fresh water and the natural musk of him made her core clench with need. Dahlia’s eyes fluttered as she swayed into him, feeling the hard bar of his cock against the small of her back.
“Why… why just the cousins?” Gods only knew how she managed to get the words out.
“We wanted something that bound us all together that wasn’t just our names or our hair. Something we chose.” Felix slowly rolled her nipples between his fingers, punctuating each soft word with pleasure. “It wasn’t enough that we were related. We wanted something that’d show we’d chosen to be family — unlike our parents and grandparents, who all hated each other.”
The more he spoke about his family, the less she felt like she understood Felix. Dahlia couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that he seemed so… caring. Not in any traditional or healthy way, maybe, but in a way that was true to him and his world.
Felix seemed to speak another language, almost. How he expressed his love wasn’t the way she expected, but it was there. It was real. And it made her question a lot of the assumptions she’d made not just in the past few weeks, but throughout their entire relationship.
Hooking a hand behind his neck, Dahlia tilted her head to one side, allowing him greater access to gently nibble at her throat and shoulder. The gentle fall of hot water over their heads nearly drowned out her voice when she summoned the bravery to ask, “Felix, do you love me?”
Another man might’ve tensed up, the blunt question killing the mood as he scrambled to come up with some evasive answer. Not Felix.
He let out a low, sensual laugh against her skin. One hand abandoned her breast to snake down, following the trail of water to slip between her legs. He stroked her slowly, stoking the building heat, as he drawled, “Obviously.”
Dahlia’s breath sawed in and out of her. Her legs widened, feet sliding on the shimmering tile to accommodate his talentedhand working its magic on her cunt. Still, she somehow managed to gasp, “Obviously? What does that even mean?”
“Did you think Ididn’t?”
“Not really, no?—”
Felix whirled her around so fast, her feet threatened to go out from under her on the slippery tile. Luckily he held her firmly as he loomed over her. Eyes narrowed dangerously, he pressed, “What do you meannot really?”
“Well, I…” Dahlia tried to gather her thoughts as her mind went from arousal to defensiveness in a few heartbeats. “I always thought you were more interested in a conquest than anything else. You hated talking about feelings, Felix. We were never lovey-dovey, were we? And you got so mad that I didn’t tell you I was hurt at the bar, but you also didn’taskif I was okay. Forgive me for wondering if you didn’t actually care that much.”
She expected an argument, not to be hoisted up against the wall. Jets of steam pumped from little holes in the marble on either side of her as Felix pinned her there, his hands clutching her ass like he owned it. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist as she grabbed his wet shoulders, steadying herself.
Water sloped down his forehead to run in rivulets down his sharp nose, high cheekbones, and beautifully carved lips. It clung in sparkling droplets to his long, spiked eyelashes, which gave his glare an unfairly pretty quality.
“I don’t see the point in talking about my feelings when they’re obvious,” he coolly informed her. “I didn’t ask if you were okay because I assumed my girl, who knows how much her safety means to me, wouldtell meif she were hurt. And I didn’t do lovey-dovey shit because I thought you liked our games, pet.”
Words escaped her when he brushed his lips against hers. In a low, husky voice, he asked, “Isn’t that true? You liked beingchased. You liked teasing me. You liked when I showed you how far I’d go to get your attention.”
Her nails dug into the meat of his broad shoulders. Heat rolled through her in a slow, inexorable wave, stealing what little fight she still possessed. Dahlia’s thighs tightened around his lean hips.
There was no pride left in her when she’d been hollowed out, left aching for the one thing and the one man who could fill her up.
“Yes,” she whispered, “but I want both.”
“Both of what?”
