Our eyes meet across the room, and the air changes, the temperature seeming to rise several degrees.
The firelight throws shadows across her face. Her wintry eyes pin me in place, and her parted lips remind me of her bruising kisses. My skin prickles with the memory of what we did in the forest.
If I’m not mistaken, there’s a flash of that look on her face now. Like the memory is tormenting her, too.
Good. Let her want me until she can’t take it anymore.
The air is thick. It feels like an invisible wall is pressing at my back, forcing me closer.
I can see her fighting the binding spell’s pull too, gripping the edges of the book in her lap with white knuckles.
“Find anything?” My voice comes out strained.
She blinks and looks down at the book. “Rebecca was thorough.”
The defeat in her tone makes my chest squeeze. I’ve never heard her sound so human.
I walk over, my bare feet silent on the Persian rug, my heart pounding.
Riley would be horrified at what I’m about to do. Dean would drag me out of here. But they’re not the ones bound to her. They don’t understand this pull inside me. Being close to her is the only thing my body wants, and it’s the only way out of this.
So I keep walking closer. “Julia.”
She meets my gaze, and the rawness in her eyes catches me off guard. For once, there’s no predatory confidence, just a woman facing the possibility of losing everything.
I swallow hard, summoning bravery. “I’m ready to try again. To trust you fully this time.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. Then her brow furrows, and she searches my face. “After what Rebecca told you?”
“Becauseof what she told me.” I move close enough to catch her scent, which sends a comforting trickle through my veins. “I understand what I’m risking now, and I’m choosing it anyway.”
“Then you’re either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.”
“Maybe I’m both. But…I’m also incredibly tired of being afraid.” It hits me that I’m not afraid of her anymore, which doesn’t make sense, given all I’ve learned. Then again, maybe it makes perfect sense. “Of everyone in my life, you’re the only one who’s been honest about who you are. Riley lied. My parents pretended to care when they didn’t. At least you were honest from the moment we met.”
Julia closes the book and lays it on the pile, her movements slow. “Honesty is no reason to trust me, pet. If we attempt this again and fail—”
“I’m positive. But I need something from you.” My pulse quickens. This is the gamble. “I need something real.”
She goes very still.
I take a breath, steadying myself. “I want us to have sex, and not just for the purpose of feeding. You can feed on me at the end, but I need this if I’m going to trust you fully.”
I’m not being entirely truthful about my revelation, but this is necessary. She needs to think this is about me surrendering and trusting her enough to let go. If she knows I’m trying to make her surrender too, she’ll get her guard up even more than it already is.
“That is not what I am, Hannah.” Her voice wavers, and she breaks our gaze.
She’s afraid of what she feels. Which means she feels something. If I can make her want me so much that she lets me take control…
“I’m not asking you to change who you are.” I close the distance between us, standing over her. To have her seated like this, looking up at me, feels like a reversal of how things have been all night. My stomach flutters as my body recognizes what could happen if she agrees.
“What, then?” she murmurs.
I run my fingers through her hair, toying with the tangled strands. She goes still beneath my touch.
Her hair is softer than it looks—thick and silky, smelling faintly of smoke and that apple-cinnamon scent I’ve come to crave.
I let the strands slip through my fingers slowly, watching the way her breath hitches. The sound is barely noticeable, small and involuntary, but it’s there.
