She leaned down. Her mouth found mine in the dark, soft lips pressing tentatively at first. I surged up to meet her, capturing her mouth fully, my tongue pushing past her lips to claim the wet heat inside. A groan rolled low in my throat as I sucked on her tongue, drawing it deeper.
My hand came up, fisting her hair at the nape of her neck, strands tangling around my fingers. I yanked her head back just enough to control the kiss, angling her so I could devour her properly.
The needy whine she made against my lips vibrated through my chest and shot straight to my cock, making it twitch and harden. I pulled her closer, my other hand gripping her shoulder as I thrust my tongue against hers.
She gasped into my mouth, and I swallowed the sound, biting down on her lower lip. Her teeth caught mine, the sting sending a jolt through me that blurred with the ache in my wound.
My hips jerked off and she climbed onto me without hesitation, swinging one knee over my thighs to straddle me fully. Her weight pressed down on my ribs, the bandage pulling tight, but I ignored it, focused only on the heat of her core settling against my erection.
“That’s going to hurt,” she breathed against my mouth, her lips brushing mine as she spoke, already swollen from our rough kissing.
“Do it anyway,” I growled.
She lowered herself fully, grinding her hips down onto mine, the friction pulling a groan from my chest. She froze for a split second, mismatched eyes widening as she felt me throb beneath her.
“Did I-”
“Don’t stop.”
My fingers dug into her hips hard enough to leave marks. I used my grip to rock her against me, forcing her to slide back and forth over my length, building heat that made sweat bead on my forehead.
With my other hand, I pulled her hair again, tilting her head back to expose the long line of her throat. I leaned up, my mouth latching onto the pulse point just below her jaw, teeth grazing the flesh before I sucked hard enough to bruise.
She whimpered, the sound wrecked, her nails raking down my bandaged chest. The scratches burned through the gauze, pain blooming alongside pleasure until every sensation fed into my hunger.
“Lucian.” My name spilled from her lips, breathless, and we’d barely started. She paused, catching the unnatural glow in my eyes, the predatory gleam that betrayed what I truly was. “Your eyes...”
“I know.” I captured her mouth again, kissing her fiercely, refusing to let her pull away.
“I should be terrified,” she murmured when I allowed her a breath.
“Are you?” I demanded, nipping at her earlobe.
She stared at me and slowly shook her head.
That was all the permission I needed. I flipped us over, my hand stayed tangled in her hair, holding her head still as I ground my hips into hers. She arched off with a moan escaping her.
“When I’m healed,” I rasped against her throat, “I’m going to take my time with you. Hours.”
I bit the spot where her neck met her shoulder, teeth sinking in just enough to draw a gasp of pleasure. Her whole body jolted beneath me, hips bucking to meet mine.
“That’s a promise, Mira,” I murmured, licking the mark I’d left before kissing her again, the taste of her filling my senses until nothing else existed.
The memory dissolved and I woke up in the cold sheets of an empty bed. The present crashing back with cruelty. She was one room away. Peaceful, probably dreaming of things she couldn’t understand, while I lay in the ruins of a week she’d never know she gave me.
I fucking hate this situation.
Dawn found me in the kitchen with my hand wrapped around a mug of black coffee. I’d been standing there for ten minutes, staring at nothing, trying to burn the taste of her out of my head.
The dream clung to me. Her body beneath mine, her teeth in my skin. The sound of my name in her throat, wrecked and wanting.
I took a long sip and let the bitterness scald my tongue. It didn’t help.
Footsteps approached from the hallway. Solomon appeared at the counter, took one look at my face, and paused.
“You look like a mess.”
“Tough sleep.”
