“I don’t take what doesn’t want me,” he counters, “and you’re aching to stay.”
Even as the words leave his mouth, something inside me knows he’s right.
He smiles against my lips as if he can read my thoughts. His tongue lightly teases along the seam of my mouth, tasting me. I shudder, leaning into him.
“Say ‘stop’,” he whispers against my mouth. “Or say nothing… and be mine.”
My breath hitches. The million thoughts that were swarming and clashing in my mind fall silent.
I say nothing.
He pauses for a heartbeat. His eyes are full of hunger and control. It should scare me, but it doesn’t. It only draws me in further.
His body, his mouth, are so close I can practically taste him. It’s as if he’s giving me one last chance to step back.
I don’t.
His mouth presses against mine, slow and deliberate. His body crowds mine, possessive, as his lips move with devastating patience, claiming every inch of me, teaching me the pace he expects me to keep.
I respond, giving myself to him.
His hand slides down my body, around to my back, his palm holding me firm and possessive, anchoring me to him. The message is unmistakable.
I’m not falling.
I’m being kept.
Every second lingers, like he’s branding the memory into me, making sure I’ll never forget how it feels to be chosen by someone so dangerous.
He pulls away. I’m breathless and trembling, and the blood from my cheeks now stains his.
His thumb brushes over my swollen mouth, slow and satisfied.
I know it then, with a clarity that scares me.
That kiss wasn’t a beginning.
It was a claim.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
LUCIAN
I standat the head of the table, arms folded across my chest, glaring at my brothers, waiting for a fucking explanation. Boiling rage consumes me. The only thing—the only reason I haven’t torn them limb from limb—is her. I can still feel her mouth on mine, her touch, her scent. The memory of it throws a delicate blanket over my fury.
“Well?” I press.
Silas leans back, his jaw tighter than stone. “We went to St. Winnifred’s,” he sighs. “Me, Hex, Viktor, Echo, and Talon.”
“I found the address,” Echo says. “Among other things that were… questionable.”
I look between them. “Are you going to divulge this information, or continue to test my patience?” I seethe.
Echo leans forward on his elbows and rubs his face with both hands. He lets out a reluctant sigh. “It was a church. A convent, as she stated.” His gaze meets mine. “There is no record of her. She doesn’t exist.”
“How did you find this out? We can’t step foot into a place of worship,” I remind him.
“Sister Mary Joan found us outside,” Viktor says as he enters the room and takes his seat at the table.
