Every one of my thoughts is wiped away, and I gasp as the only thing I’m left with is pure burningneed.
“Leon!” I manage to choke out.
I search for him through the haze, frantic until I spot him, still leaning against the wall.
He cocks his head, smiling smugly.
Without thought, I surge forward, desperate to feel his lips on mine. He catches me easily, pulling me flush against him, and my dress rides up my thighs as I wrap my legs around him.
“About fucking time,” he mutters, and then his mouth meets mine.
I kiss him frantically, needing to feel him, to please him. Grabbing my ass, he walks us to the large, four-poster bed. He sits on the edge of the mattress, letting me straddle him.
“I can fucking smell him on you, pet. I have to cleanse you, replace his scent with mine, until you’re pure for me again,” Leon hisses, and his teeth graze across my collarbone as he shifts to undo the fastenings of his pants.
I nod, desperate to be better for him. “Yes! Please, Leon, I need you to erase him from me.”
He licks across my shoulder. “Fucking mine,” he growls. “Isn’t that right, pet?”
“Yes,” I moan, my eyes closing in bliss.
The fog in my mind presses closer, but somewhere in the distance, I can hear screaming. I frown, confused, trying to place the sound.
Through heated touches, I realize it’s my voice. But there’s someone else there too. It takes anotherheartbeat to recognize the sound of Cassandra’s memory.
But why are we screaming?The question feels like it’s floating through the haze, drifting further out of reach.
Fingers shove my underwear aside, and the screaming in my head grows deafening. The sound is accompanied by the briefest flash of reverent gray eyes.
Sin… this isn’t Sin.
My eyes snap open.
“NO!” The sound is wrenched from my lungs, and without thinking, I throw a blast of Reaper energy at Leon. My power surges as I pour the full force of the screaming voices into it.
The links on the mental leash shatter.
The blast throws Leon back against the bed, but he doesn’t release me. The shock in his expression only lasts for a second before it contorts with fury. His grip on me tightens, and he tries to force himself inside me.
Still screaming, I claw at him, but his grip is unrelenting, pinning me against him.
“Fucking mine,” he whispers against my ear, sounding as though he’s won.
Anger replaces fear, and I twist, sinking my teeth into his ear. Cartilage cracks and tears. The taste of iron floods my mouth.
Leon screams, trying to shove away from me, but I don’t stop. My own grip tightens around him, and my teeth dig deeper. Finally, something gives, and Leon manages to wrench himself away.
There’s only a gaping, gory hole where his ear should be.
Blood drips down my chin as I grin back and spit his ear at his face.
His roar is the last thing I hear before he slams my head into the marble wall.
Everything goes dark.
Chapter 29
Vivian’s Point of View
