His self-hatred was so palpable, she put her hands on his chest to soothe him. “The black scales I witnessed beneath your skin, the horns, the fangs, the talons, is it because of the symbiont?”
He sighed but nodded. “Yes. When my control slips, those changes appear.”
Urias! As terrifying as his beast side was—and it was damn near debilitating from what she’d witnessed—she refused to let it keep them apart.
Ely frowned. If Shadow’s was fae, what was his? Because Nate remained zipped about that. All she knew was that nothing good came from the Dark Realm.
He lowered his head and trailed his lips along her jaw, sending her desire and her damn temperature careening like an out-of-control thermostat. But her thoughts remained on the thing standing between them.
“Nate? What is the origin of your symbionts?”
CHAPTER18
The origin of his symbionts?
Hell, terrify her with the truth of what he was and lose her before they even started this relationship?
Nate stepped back, the tormenting scent of her arousal tugging at him to forget this damn convo and give them what they both needed. He rubbed his nape, the tension stretching his muscles like a tautly strung bow. But he couldn’t ignore this.
“It’s from a beast found in the darkest part of the Dark Realm. What you saw in the basement is a little of what it would look like.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait, are you a…a shifter?”
He massaged his brow, pain rattling his brain, a norm for him. But fuck! Couldn’t he get a moment’s peace? “I suppose.”
Her jaw dropped, then snapped shut as she digested his words. “What do you meanyou suppose?”
“I haven’t fully transformed, Ely, because I refuse to let that happen. What you saw in the basement is what emerges—what I am.” She frowned. Not wanting to worry her with his constant battle and the hate between him and his symbiont, he settled for, “I don’t like giving over control of myself to anything, even if it is a part of me.”
“But from what I’ve heard, as a shifter, you need to accept the beast part of you and coexist.” Her head cocked as she studied him. “It’s probably why you have a headache. So what kind of animal is it?”
Hell, hislaikadidn’t miss a thing.
He lowered his hand from his temple and reached out to coil an escapee tendril of pale hair around his finger. The silken strands took his mind off his pain. “I have a wyvern symbiont—a demonic wyvern.”
Ely gaped at him, and he cocked an eyebrow. “Scared?”
She snorted, seeming to come back to herself. “I killed Narakas. Sure, they have no wings, but they’re still huge…”
“Motherfuckers? Got it.” he teased, slipping his palm around her nape, and she laughed, the sound pure temptation.
Unable to resist her, he trailed his lips along her jaw, and she sighed. “Now that you know, let’s talk about something else. Better yet, this…” He kissed her tempting mouth, then licked and sucked her lower lip. A soft sigh escaped her, and she leaned into him, her hands in his hair.
With a groan, he slid his tongue into her mouth, found hers, and deepened the kiss, a burning hunger for this female who captured him from the moment he saw her. He wrapped his arms around her and flashed to his room, dropping her on his bed.
Her chest heaving, she sat up, her mouth puffy and damp from their kiss. The streetlight cast a soft glow through the undraped window, highlighting Ely like the angel she was, pure, innocent…and his.
He pulled his t-shirt off. Her passion-glazed eyes slid over him, to the fresh gauze taped on his chest, then lowered to the newly healed wound she’d inflicted.
Remorse darkened her expression. “I’m truly sorry I hurt you.”
“And then you healed me.” He shrugged it off. “I find I like your mark on me. So,laika?” he drawled, wanting to take her mind off their tumultuous beginnings. “Do you like it slow and gentle? Or wild and dirty?”
Her creamy skin flushed scarlet. “I just want you,” she whispered, her husky voice stretching every nerve in his body.
Tenderness for this female surged in a wave. A feeling so new, it floored him. His life had always been one of darkness, horror, and pain. “You undo me, Ely,” he said, sounding like he’d swallowed gravel. “You scrambled every sane thought I have—have done so from the moment I saw you in the alley, slaying me with those cold, beautiful eyes.”
A smile surfaced, tugging her kiss-swollen mouth. “Is that why you tormented me whenever we met?”
