Time stopped.
I stood there, dumbfounded, in complete shock at his admission.
My next words crawled over my dry throat. “You don’t mean that.” I gave him the opportunity to take it back. Or amend the word. But he’d said it. And saying it made it real.
“I do. I do mean it.” He stalked toward me, steps suddenly lighter as if his confession had relieved him of the heavy burden of a forbidden secret.
“No,” I softly insisted as he closed the gap between us. “It’s just the blood. You’re…craving.”
“That may be part of it.” Dommik lifted his hand and, without touching it, traced the form of my arm. I wished he would touch me rather than mimicking the motion. “But certainly not all of it.”
My eyes drifted from his hand back to his heated stare. “How do you know?”
His nostrils flared as he exhaled. My entire body was buzzing. Fear and curiosity spiraled together, dancing up my spine and settling at the base of my neck.
“Because a person who craves you might build you a garden, but a person who loves you knows lilies make you sneeze and have them removed from your chambers.”
My arms folded over my middle.
“And a person who craves you might gift you a horse, but a person who loves you would know that your first horse threw you.” My eyes widened, I didn’t remember mentioning that story to Dommik. “You’re too scared to ride the horse he gave you, aren’t you?”
My mouth hung agape as he continued his declaration.
“But it’s more than just what I know about you. It’syou.”
Dommik’s shirt was oversized, but the way he whispered ‘you’ made me feel naked and bare in front of him.
“It’s the way nothing ever seems to get past you. You and your hypnotic brown eyes. I swear, there’s magic in those eyes. It’s the fucking way you bite your lip when you’re thinking deeply—can you stop?!”
I released my lip from my teeth.
He leaned down, his breath tickling the base of my jaw and neckline as he whispered, “It’s the way you felt beneath my hands when I helped you from your mount. Your warmth. And the sounds you made when I feastedon you. The way you said my name? It haunts me. I don’t want a day to go by when I don’t hear you moan my name.”
Heat flooded my cheeks.
“It’s the way you’ve invaded my every thought. Death would be kinder than existing in such torturous proximity to you.”
“Those are just physical things. They’ll pass,” I squeaked out, repeating the familiar script I’d thought to myself a thousand times.
“It’s not—they’re not—” He let out a frustrated laugh. “It’s the way you never seem to run out of room in your heart for living things. No matter if they’re innocent or guilty. Or whether they deserve it. And you’re clever. Too clever, but aware enough to know to hide it. And cunning. I’ve never met anyone since being turned that felt so much my equal.”
My throat tightened and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. I thought Dommik looked at me and saw the memory of a lost love, but he sawme. All of me. I’d never felt so seen. So understood.
“Reyva, I love you. And it’s fucking terrible.”
In another life, another time, maybe the warmth of flattery fluttering within me wouldn’t be so overshadowed by the conflict thrashing in my chest.
I was breathless, half fearing and half hoping for what could happen next. If he pressed himself against me, I wouldn’t say no. If he kissed me, I wouldn’t push him away. My spine curled at the thought.
“My job is to protect you. My duty is to see you safe. But I love you, and that puts you in harm’s way. I can’t be the thing that puts you in danger. But I also can’t stop. The Four know I’ve tried.” Dommik searched my gaze with pinched brows.
I thought it had been lust. A fleeting attraction. The thrill of the hunt. Wanting what was new and unknown. At least, that’s what I’d felt…or what I’d told myself I felt. But now, after hearing his words and how close he’d paid attention, how deeply he knew me, it unlocked a feeling I’ve only experienced once within me.
Tired and spent, Dommik exhaled. “I need to know.”
The question unbalanced me. “What?”
“Do. You. Love. Him?” Dommik bit out.
