I threw a couch pillow at him. He caught it with ease.
“I’m going to need so much therapy,” I said.
Cristian set the pillow down carefully. “You already have therapy.”
“I’m going to need more.”
He looked pleased. “Good. Perhaps then you’ll realize I was right.”
“Right about what?”
He met my gaze, steady and unrepentant. “He was not worthy.”
I hated that part of me agreed with him.
I tried to storm past him, muttering every therapy mantra I could remember. None of them covered “hot vampire ruins sex life.”
By the time I reached the stairs, I was still vibrating with annoyance. The tether buzzed unhelpfully in my chest. I could feel him moving behind me, his steps slower, heavier, like he wasn’t done.
“Don’t follow me,” I said over my shoulder.
“I’m not,” he said from too close.
I turned. He was leaning against the banister, watching me with infuriating calm, eyes dark and knowing.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“Yes,” he said, almost softly. “But I am consistent.”
I threw my hands up and started toward my room, needing distance that wouldn’t come. He followed anyway.
“I never would have pegged you as a cockblocker.”
When I spun to face him, he was already there. Fucking vampire speed.
“I have never blocked a cock in my life,” he said, voice lazy and smug. “If anything, I could replace it for you, and it would be spectacular.”
The heat hit my face before my brain caught up. “Oh my god.”
I tried to push past him, but he moved just enough to block my way without touching me. I hated how aware I was of the space between us. The tether hummed like it had been waiting for an excuse to tighten.
“Move,” I said.
Cristian stepped closer, close enough that I could feel his presence reach for me even without contact. The air between us shifted, full of heat and restraint. He smelled clean and warm, like the earth after rain and something older than time.
It was hard to breathe when he looked at me in that patient, unguarded way I wasn’t ready for. The bond stretched until it felt like it was part of my heartbeat.
His gaze dropped to my mouth.
For one endless moment, neither of us moved. The hall suddenly felt too small for both of us.
Then he stepped back. His face went calm again, but the calm felt forced, like it cost him something.
The space between us filled with everything we hadn’t said.
I folded my arms, trying to find my balance. “You’re infuriating.”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
