There’s still doubt in her eyes.
“She is a lover.” I feel her body jolt, and she shoves at my chest. I release her chin and take a step back. “A past lover,” I clarify. “Casual. She wants—and has always wanted—more. If she saw, or knew how I felt about you, she would want you dead.”
“How do you feel about me?” She shakes her head, disbelief in her eyes. “I’m nothing more than a pet to you. A possession.” Her mouth twists into a sneer. “You’re just going to have to learn how to share your pet. I’m sure one of the others will let me sleep in their room.”
She turns to storm past me, but she doesn’t get the chance. I catch her easily, lift her, and throw her onto the bed. Her body bounces with the impact. I’m on her instantly, pinning her beneath me, my weight a promise she can’t escape.
“Get off me,” she snaps, fighting.
“No.” My voice comes out low, dangerous. “You’re going to listen.”
Her chest rises fast beneath me.
“You are mine,” I growl. “Not a pet. Not something to be shared. You’re my prey.”
Her eyes darken.
“Every part of me is obsessed with you. Your scent. Your heat. The way your pulse jumps when I’m close.” I lean in, my breath brushing her mouth. “I crave you.”
Her lips part despite herself. I inhale slowly, tasting her arousal on the air.
“You consume every fucking part of me,” I admit, raw and unguarded. “You can pretend you don’t feel it, but your body tells me the truth.”
I brush my mouth over hers, barely touching.
“But it’s wrong,” she whispers. “None of this makes sense.”
“Everything about my undead existence is wrong,” I murmur, my gaze dropping to her lips. “You’re the only thing that’s ever felt right.”
My eyes flick back to hers. “Tell me this doesn’t feel right.”
Then I take her mouth.
She doesn’t resist. She kisses me back with the same savage hunger burning through me. I release her wrists and tear her dress apart; the soft fabric giving easily in my hands. She lies bare beneath me, her darkened eyes following every movement as my hands roam her skin—slow and claiming—tracing each curve as if memorising her. As if carving her into me.
“Lucian,” she breathes.
My amber gaze snaps to hers.
“I… I’ve never…”
“I know,” I cut her off.
I rise deliberately, making her watch as I shed my jacket, unbutton my jeans, and kick off my boots. My clothes fall away.
I fist my cock once, hard, while she lies open beneath me. Something ancient coils in my chest.
Mine.
I crawl back over her, settling between her legs, guiding myself to her entrance. Her eyes never leave mine as I press forward slowly, filling herinch by inch. Her lips part as she breathes through the stretch. I stop right there, right before I take what cannot be undone.
Her gaze burns into mine. “Make me yours,” she whispers.
The last thread of restraint snaps. I thrust, feeling the barrier give. She gasps, pain flashing across her face. A deep, feral growl tears from my chest.
Her blood hits the air—sweet, intoxicating—mixing with her arousal. It nearly shatters me.
I pull back abruptly.
