Nyte clenched his fist, and it trembled in the air. “Because her gluttony compelled her to. She’d fed from me for years by that point, and the more my heartbrimmed with lust and affection, the more tempting it became to her. Why have a taste when she could gorge herself on an entire feast? Infused with my magic, with my stolen lifeforce, she became stronger than ever, and I doubt she would’ve had to feed again for a long, long while.”
Ember gaped at him. “That fucking bitch!”
He looked at her, a crease forming between his eyebrows as he lowered his hand.
She clutched at her arms as anger burned in her chest for what had been done to him, for what he’d been through. He’d been so… God, he’d basically experienced a form of love for the first time, and the person he’d come to care for, the person he’d trusted, had literally stolen his heart from his chest and fuckingateit.
Ember attempted to temper the rage brimming within her. The succubus wasn’t here, and there was nothing that could be done about her now.
“Is that why you secluded yourself in the Pit of Despair?” she asked gently. “It was because of her, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. I was left…diminished. Vulnerable. I needed time to recover, time for my heart to regenerate.”
Sadness washed through her, and she touched her fingers to her chest, unable to imagine what he must have felt. How alone he must have been.
Ember stepped toward him, wanting to touch him, needing to comfort him. “I am not Sarne?—”
He cut her off with a hiss, eyes blazing. “No. Do not sully your lips with her accursed name.”
“I’m not her, Nyte. I would never hurt you.”
“I was foolish enough to give in to lust once before.” Nyte straightened, both his body and expression hardening. “I will not do so again. I will not leave myself exposed to such a betrayal. I’ve no need for attachments, for caring andaffection.”
“You may say you don’t need them, but I believe you want them. And more than that, I know youdeserveto have them.”
Crossing his arms, Nyte scowled and notched his chin up, spreading his wings behind him. “I am a nocturnus. I am darkness and emptiness given form.”
Ember snorted at his air of superiority and gestured to her thighs, where his dried cum still sparkled. “You sure weren’t empty when you came last night.”
Nyte opened his mouth as though to speak, but his gaze dipped to her thighs, and no sound emerged. The light in his eyes brightened with the same heat, lust, and primal possessiveness that had been in them last night before he snapped them back up to meet hers. “I will not be mocked.”
“I’m not mocking you, Nyte, I’m telling you the truth. We shared something last night. I felt it, and I know you felt it too. Your ex was evil, manipulative, and cruel, but you’ve already given her four hundred years. You shouldn’t waste any more time because of her.”
He clawed at his own chest. “What difference can time make to such a wound, mortal?”
Back tomortal, huh?
So much for him saying her name.
It’s him trying to put distance between us.
“You’re seriously going to give up on love because of some nasty succubus who wasn’t worthy of your heart?” Ember asked.
“Love?” he scoffed, eyes flicking aside. “There’s no such thing.”
“There is, and I’ll prove it.” She closed the distance between them, and this time, he didn’t disappear on her, didn’t move away, though he remained wary.
She stroked her fingers downhis cheek and along his jaw in a gentle caress. As though unable to help himself, he subtly leaned into her touch, lashes drooping.
Smiling, Ember stood on her toes to brush her lips over his. “I’m not giving up on you, Nyte.”
She withdrew and walked past him toward the bathroom, leaving him speechless as her lips tingled with the want for more.
Chapter Seventeen
Nyte lay back, propping himself on his elbows. The shingles were abrasive beneath him, but the discomfort provided no distraction from the guilt that had skewered his chest.
He sensed Ember’s presence in the house below him. Fittingly, it was like a fire, radiating alluring heat. For so long, he’d felt like he was adrift in an icy abyss, bereft of warmth and light. All he had to do was go to her now and that ice would melt.
