“Your eyes are such a beautiful color,” he said, staring into my soul so intently I had a moment of panic.
My eyes were naturally two different shades. One a vibrant amber, the other midnight blue. Just one more trait that set me apart when all I wanted was to fit in. I instantly reached for my necklace and the little charm dangling at my throat. Relief hit me hard. Nox had made it for me a few years ago when the bullying had gotten out of control. It made both my eyes the same shade of blue.
“Thanks,” I murmured, heat creeping up my chest under his continued scrutiny.
“Where have you been hiding?” he asked.
I was thankful for the change in topic and forced myself to turn playful. I giggled. “I told, you. Colorado.”
“It seems like I’ve been spending time on the wrong continent the last few years.”
“Well, you’ve probably been busy with your…Scotch tastings and leather bound book reading.”
This time he fully laughed, and the deep raspy sound of it wrapped around me like a promise. He didn’t strike me as someone who laughed often, and I was immensely proud of myself for achieving the impossible.
I was about to ask him a little more about himself when someone bumped into me again, harder than last time. Irritation flashed in his eyes and I worried he was going to feel the need to defend me from a drunken raver. That was the last thing I wanted when I had barely thirty minutes left until my meeting. I felt a little like Cinderella waiting for the clock to strike midnight.
Instead of yelling at the guy like I’d thought, he surprised me by wrapping his arm around my waist and leading me to the far side of the dance floor lined by a row of dark tables. Most were occupied, the shadows creating a sense of privacy, though the moans made it pretty obvious what was going on.
Iniquitywasn’t your typical club. It had a bar and dance floor, of course, but it was actually better known for the special rooms in the basement. Thesexrooms. This was a BDSM club run by a millennia old succubus. You consented to being fed on when you walked inside. The dance club was simply window dressing, a place for the more vanilla patrons to let loose or others to build the confidence required to venture deeper into the den of sin Lilith had created. Either way, everyone wanted to be allowed in so they could gain entry to the real thing.
“What happened to dancing?” I asked.
He tugged me by the wrist until I was as close to him as possible, then we began moving again. “Nothing. I just wanted to take you somewhere a little less crowded so I wouldn’t have to share you.”
The possessive note in his voice filled me with warmth even as I had a momentary pang of disappointment that we weren’t about to join the ranks of the moaners at the tables. But at least he was still touching me.
“Is that so? What if I like to be shared?” I asked, arching a brow and wondering where the fuck that had come from.
“Shared? Really? It doesn’t seem like you’ve even been sampled, let alone shared.”
I barely suppressed a wince. He wasn’t wrong, but it felt extremely unfair for him to point it out while I was trying to seduce him. At least, I was pretty sure that’s what I was attempting. I hadn’t gotten a chance to flex that particular muscle in my life.
“Silence is an answer, just as much as words are.” He leaned a little closer, his eyes penetrating mine. Was he searching for my truth? It sure as hell felt like it.
“No one is sampling me. Not even you.”
“Oh, I see. So you won’t even let me have a taste?”
I glanced around like I was searching for something. “Was there an attempt in there? Or am I supposed to do all the work?”
His fingers threaded in my hair at the base of my skull before he tightened his grip and tilted my face up. “I shouldn’t,” he murmured, his gaze burning as it traveled over my face and lingered on my lips before darting back up to my eyes. “But I’m going to.”
I only had the briefest of moments to suck in a sharp breath before his mouth lowered to mine and he gave me my first real kiss. I’d never experienced anything like this before. Instant arousal, a rush of endorphins, and the desire for more all hit meat once. I melted into his arms, letting out a soft moan as he held me tightly to him and continued feasting on my lips.
I’d had the odd kiss here and there, little pecks stolen under the cover of trees by a boy in my pack, but nothing ever serious. Nothing powerful. The boys I’d grown up with were far too afraid of my parents to ever attempt to claim me publicly. Their reputation cast a very long, very impressive shadow. Even when I’d attended Ravenscroft Academy. I’d given up hope anything would change once I started at RU. Not when one of my dads was the headmaster.Andan ex-priest to boot. No one in their right mind would ever come near me with a ten-foot-pole tipped in silver. I’d be lucky if someone ever had the balls to ask for my hand in marriage.
I’d end up a virgin on my death bed unless I took matters into my own hands.
He groaned against my mouth, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips. On instinct, I opened for him, giving him access and welcoming a part of him into a part of me. Releasing my waist, he brought his other hand up to join the one in my hair. Before long he was holding my face and I wondered if this was all him or if the effect ofIniquity’smagic.
Van continued to nip and suck on my lips, drawing more ragged moans and whimpers from me. It was all I could do to keep myself upright as I clung to him and what remained of my sanity.
Eden Farrell who? Never heard of her.
I was reborn in a tidal wave of sensations I barely understood.
He pulled away with a soft groan, his forehead resting on mine as he struggled to catch his breath.
