Claire approached me with tears blazing in her eyes. Her emotions poured through me as if they were my own. The hurt. The pain. The soul-deep ache to be desired and loved. And... the love she felt for me. I could feel it like it was alive and real. Solid and immovable.
“Why would you say such things?”Claire demanded.“Is that what you want? To send me away?”
I didn’t want to hurt her, but this hurt paled in comparison to that which could befall her. This was her last chance to have a quiet life. Away from me. Away from that horn. Because I loved her so much, I owed her a choice.
“Of course it’s not what I want,”I admitted.“But I won’t lie to you, Claire. Staying with me is not the easy path. Or the safe one. Not when it takes us to the Lawless Lands.”
“It’s not easy for you either,”Claire said. Fresh tears were leaking down her pale cheeks.“There are consequences?—”
I couldn’t bear to see her cry. Not again. Not at my hand. So I hugged her to my chest, holding her against me as tightly as I dared. Idrank in the sweet smell of her hair and ran my hand down her back in soothing strokes.“You could have a good life.”
She gripped my shirt, holding me closer.“I already have what I want. You stubborn mule. Why is that so hard for you to accept?”
Did this woman know what she was saying? I was trying to protect her.“I’m dangerous. I’m going to take you to a dangerous place. For Diana’s sake, I drink your blood.”
I knew saying that word would trigger her, yet I said it anyway to make a point. We could use other phrases for what I did. I could dress it up. Make her more comfortable. Drink from her inner thigh instead. It would not change the truth—I was a monster who only took from her. Claire released her hold on me, and I did the same. Regret and relief coursed through my veins. Maybe she finally understood.
She backed up a pace and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she did, I noticed a shift in her. The deep well of emotion had closed, and what replaced it wassomething else. Something darker. Something I could smell in the air. Something… that made me stand a little straighter. She blinked, and her honey-brown eyes flashedcrimson.
She was using dark magick. I didn’t think she realized what she was doing, but she was casting a spell, working her influence.On me.
My attention drifted to the horn on the table. I studied the curve of it. The color of it. I imagined how it might fit in my hand. I tried to remember the night everything in my life changed, embracing the memory instead of avoiding it like I usually did, but my human memories were distant.
Claire dragged a finger across the curve of the horn, and all of my desires narrowed into a singular focus.My wife.
“You’re bad for me, is that it?”she asked. Voice thick.
A terrible war waged inside me. Between the beast whowanted to protect her from me andhimand everything, and the pull of her. Of our bond. Of my deep love for her.
“Yes.”
She hummed in the back of her throat. A wicked smile stretched across her face. The scent of her arousal filled the air. It was… distracting.
“I see,”she said. Plucking one of the white flowers from the vase and tucking it behind her ear.“You’re bad, and I’m just your precious moonflower. A helpless damsel in need of protection.”
Helpless? No. Never helpless. Just mine to protect. Just…mine.Blood rushed to parts of my body, coaxing them awake.
“That’s not it.”I shook my head, watching as she began to unbutton the tiny buttons on the front of her gown. I grabbed her hand, stilling her progress.“You’re too good for me. Too good a girl. You deserve a beach and warmth and…”
Our eyes met, and Diana forgive me, instead of buttoning her back up, I ripped the damn thing half open. My breath stuttered at the soft swell of her breasts. I wanted to touch her. Taste her. Give her everything. Anything.
“You deserve someone to fuck you rotten.” I dropped my hand, curling my fingers into a fist. I couldn’t do this. I was stronger than this. “I should be hanged for the things I’ve said to you. That I’ve done to you,”I said.“I’m–”
“What, Bastien?”she asked, setting her hand on my chest.“Bad?”
“Yes,”I choked out. I was bad. Very bad. She should know this. The way my cock strained against my trousers was a clear indication. She didn’t look convinced, though. If anything, it was turning her on. The scent of her arousal was growing stronger.“I made you my wife when it was against the law.”
Claire grabbed a chair, set it in front of me, and then climbed onto it so we were eye to eye. Nose to nose.Chin to chin. Chest to chest.
“Do you wanna know a secret?”she asked. My throat bobbed up and down as I swallowed hard.“You don’t scare me, Bastien Allard.”
Everything inside me stilled. I’d heard that once before. When I’d held a knife tohisthroat and told him I had come to banish him to the Underworld.He’dsaid the very same thing. Except… he’d called meSebastien.
Chapter 12
Possession
BASTIEN
