Page 79 of Her Vampire, His Ruin

“I’m sorry, Edie. I’m sorry he broke your heart,” I mutter.

“You’ve nothing to apologise for.”

Except I have.

I hurt Basilia in the same way. I was the cause of her pain. My actions forced her hand. My cruelty and selfishness twisted her sweetness into something bitter and vengeful. I destroyed every last bit of goodness in her.

And if I don’t end this, I will destroy Edie, too.

Despite knowing that. I can’t bring myself to let her go. Selfishly, I don’t want to. I guess some things don’t change.

My lips trace her skin before I press my mouth to hers, kissing her with a depth that aches. This isn’t passion, but something raw and honest, heavy with apology and regret. As her tongue finds mine, I ache to let the human part of me, hidden for so long, finally feel again. Entirely. Unreservedly.

Something stirs inside me, the warmth she’s summoned before swelling into a force beyond my control. A tidal wave of emotions crashes through me: joy, lust, happiness, jealousy, affection, fear, yearning, rage, pain.

Pain.

Pain.

Each emotion that surfaces brings a sharp stab beneath my skin. I snap my head back, eyes flicking to my hand where my tattoo writhes just below the surface. The barbs burrow deeper, sending a tearing sensation through muscle and flesh, as if they are shredding me from the inside out.

What the fuck is happening?

The tattoo coils around my arms and neck, tightening with every heartbeat. On my legs and chest, the thorns drive deeper, gnawing through muscle and tendon, tearing apart my flesh. Yet, there is no blood, only agony.

I clench my jaw and tremble, fighting to mask the pain, to shove it down, to reclaim control.

“Dorian, do you feel that?” Edie whispers.

There’s fear in her voice, but also something tender, loving, and it unravels me.

“I… I can’t…”

My body begins to tremble, the cold, despicable monster within me rising to the surface, pushing through the tears made beneath my skin, fighting frantically against the emotions, the feelings, and with its appearance, the pain lessens and the barbs recede.

Fucking take her, the monster within me roars. End this.

“Dorian, what’s happening?” Edie questions. I lift my head, forcing myself to look at her. “I know I said I didn’t want anything more from you, but I think, maybe⁠—”

She trembles against me, struggling against the monumental connection between us that is so much more than sexual attraction. “Don’t say it.”

“I was lying to myself,” she adds with a whisper.

My fingers clutch the satin sheets, knuckles white as I fight the urge to bite her, to claim her. My gums itch, fangs descending as the monster within me forces through the restraints I’ve fought so hard to keep it within. I scramble off the bed, retreating to the far side of the room.

“No,” I snarl, summoning every shred of willpower to keep my distance, not just because the monster within me craves her blood, but because the human within me, the part I thought long dead, aches to make love to her.

I. Want. To. Make. Love. To. Her.

The barbs tighten once again, sinking further, biting, tearing, ripping, shredding at my flesh and bone.

Sweat beads my brow and slips down my spine, but it does nothing to cool the hellfire, tearing me apart. My teeth grind, a vice tightens around my head. Every single part of me hurts.

All I feel is pain. Relentless, soul-tearing, body-ripping pain.

And underneath it all, something close to—No!

No, don’t even think it.