Riley sways forward, drawn by Julia’s magnetic pull.
Something hot and vicious unfurls in my chest.
Knowing what Julia did to Charlotte and having experienced what Riley is about to feel, I can’t stand this.
But is it Julia I’m jealous of, or is it Riley? Whose place do I want to be in?
Julia holds Riley’s face, just like she did with me. Riley’s pupils dilate as Julia begins the incantation.
“Tua essentia mea fit…”The Latin words flow from her lips, deep and seductive.
Riley’s back arches, her lips part, and a soft sound escapes her throat, like reluctant pleasure. It’s the same sound I made when Julia first fed from me. I know precisely what Riley is feeling as Julia’s first brush of power slides under her skin.
Heat floods my cheeks. This is how I looked, isn’t it? Desperate and wanting, completely under Julia’s spell.
Julia’s fingers darken as she unbuttons Riley’s hooded cloak, letting it fall to the ground. Underneath, Riley’s sleeveless top shows the lean muscles of her shoulders and arms.
Arms I’ve held, shoulders I’ve kissed, skin I’ve licked.
I have to watch, motionless, as Julia’s hands sweep up and down her bare skin, increasing the points of contact. Dark tendrils of magic trail behind her fingers in swirling, mesmerizing patterns, which I never noticed when I was lost in the sensations.
“Oh,” Riley gasps. “That’s so…”
Her head tips back. Her lips part. Her pupils dilate until her eyes are almost black.
This is the moment when Julia’s magic stops feeling like an invasion and starts feeling like the only thing you’ve ever wanted.
My hands tremble. I want to be the one making Riley gasp like this. Or I want to be Riley, feeling what she’s feeling. Or maybe I just want Julia to stop touching anyone who isn’t me.
God, I’m losing my mind.
The candles flare brighter. The green veins in the ceiling throb. Power builds in the sanctum like a gathering storm. The part of me that’s bound to Julia recognizes her magic, and it swells deep inside me.
My pulse quickens. Watching Julia feed shouldn’t make my core clench with desire. It shouldn’t make me remember how those hands felt on my body, and how her voice sounded as she purred in my ear.
Riley’s chest heaves. She grips Julia’s wrists, not to push her away but to pull her closer. Orange magic glows beneath her skin, like fire pulsing through her veins.
Julia’s fingers and eyes darken, and Riley trembles under her touch.
All I want is to push Riley away and take her place.
The realization hits me like a punch in the gut, taking my breath away.
It’s Riley I’m jealous of. It’s Julia I want.
The way she looked at Riley? That’smylook. Her fingers, her mouth, her tongue…they’re all mine.
God, what’s happening to me? Julia is turning me into someone I don’t recognize. Someone who craves danger, who’s addicted to the edge between pleasure and destruction. Is this what happened to Charlotte? Is my life doomed to end the same way?
Julia’s hands find the hem of Riley’s shirt next.
No. No, she can’t—
She tugs it upward, and Riley raises her arms, letting Julia pull the shirt over her head and toss it aside.
My vision goes red at the edges. Nausea rises inside me.
Riley is wearing her lacy white bra—the same one I’ve caressed, unfastened, left in a heap on my bedroom floor.
