ZOEY
My heart lurchesat Aerix’s kiss.
This is a mistake.
I should pull away.
I don’t.
Instead, I melt into him, my body betraying me as I respond to the press of his lips. The way he takes, demands, and yet somehow gives all at once.
A soft breeze stirs in the room, wrapping around us like an invisible tether, as if the very air refuses to let me go. It lifts strands of my hair, and the desire that’s been building inside me—the one I’ve been trying to suppress every time he’s fed from me—blooms into something uncontrollable, consuming me entirely.
The pull between us is magnetic, inescapable. I can feel it in the way his hand slides to the back of my neck, his fingers tangling in my hair as he deepens the kiss, tilting my head just enough for him to take what he wants.
His other hand finds my waist, pulling me flush against him, and as our bodies align, something inside me ignites. It’s anelectric surge of need, with the heady rush of something far more dangerous than magic.
The chandelier overhead flickers. Cool moisture seeps into the air, bringing the unmistakable scent of rain.
My breath catches.
Because Aerix’s control is slipping.
Suddenly, his wings are out and wrapped around me, stealing the breath from my lips. And, as the force of his need moves us across the room, I realize I’m drowning in it. Because his magic is everywhere. It’s seeping into my skin, wrapping around my lungs like a vice, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
Then, my knees hit the bed.
The impact snaps me back into focus.
If I don’t stop this now, it’s going to escalate into something far more than a kiss or a feeding session.
“Aerix.” My hands land on his chest, and a sharp breeze cuts between us—like the air itself is reluctant to let go. “Wait.”
He stills, and his wings retract.
When I force myself to meet his gaze, it nearly undoes me. Because his midnight eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them, swirling with hunger and stormy with desire.
Yet, his hands stay on my waist, as if he’s waiting for me to take it back.
I almost do.
“I’m sorry,” I say instead, even though the words taste like a lie. Like something I don’t even believe myself.
“No, you’re not.” He gazes down at me in challenge. “If you were, you wouldn’t have kissed me back.”
“I wasn’t?—”
“Careful.” His smirk is as sharp as his unnervingly perfect features. “You don’t want to lie to me, Zoey.”
Heat flares in my cheeks. “I wasn’t going to.”
“No?” His thumb brushes against my waist, his fingers resting lightly on my skin. “Then what were you going to say?”
“I was going to say that I wasn’t thinking. That it shouldn’t have happened.”
He just shakes his head and pulls me closer.
“Do you think I don’t feel it?” he murmurs in my ear, and then his wings are wrapped around me again, trapping me in his presence. “The way you tremble when I touch you? The way your breath catches when I get too close? The way you?—”
