Page 155 of You’re So Vein

He kisses a trail down my neck, sending delicious shivers through me. “I’m waiting.”

My cheeks are aflame. My pulse races, skittering against the underside of my skin.

“I want you to give me the Kiss.”

He stops, his fangs resting against my skin. I feel the sharp press of them, the delicious promise. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“I’m in the Nevermore Coven with Winnie and Arabella. I know exactly what I’m asking. I want you to make me yours, forever. I want to love all of you, Augustin, even the part that’s the monster. I don’t think monsters are scary. I think they’re beautiful and misunderstood and kind of hot. Let’s be monsters together.”

“I’m in danger of becoming addicted to you,” he murmurs against my skin. “The last time, you tasted so amazing, I struggled to stop. I’ve never given someone the Kiss before—”

“I trust you.” I grip his shoulder. “Let’s make it fun. You said that tonight is about what I want. I want your cock and fangs inside me. Now.”

“As you wish.”

He positions himself over me, nudging my legs open with his knees. With a long sigh, he thrusts deep, not waiting for me to adjust to him, but burying himself completely in one long, aching stroke. It’s just the right side of pain, a little fizz along my spine that reminds me he’s mine, and he’s not human, and soon I won’t be, either.

He scrapes his fangs over the skin of my neck, the sensation drawing up something wild within me. And then, he draws back, his breath a longing sigh, and slams into me as he bites down.

The world unthreads.

The first press of his fangs is a bright spark, like lightning meeting the standing stones. And then his fangs sink deeper as he slides his cock inside me, and everything I am detonates into light. My thoughts scatter away like dust on a breeze.

It’s a pleasure so deep that it claws me open from the inside, turning every nerve into an instrument that sings his name. The world expands and dissolves into a warm, shimmering galaxy revolving around the places where his lips and cock possess me.

He drinks.

It’s a slow, devastating pull, like he’s siphoning not just my blood but everything broken inside of me. His body anchors me, his cock driving deep, his hands holding me tight, reminding me that he may be a monster, but he’s my monster, and I’m safe with him.

And then he lifts his mouth for a moment to bite his own wrist, before returning to my neck. He presses his flesh against my lips, and his blood dribbles into my mouth, then becomes a flood.

I drink.

I lift out of my body until I’m no longer flesh, no longer fear, no longer the girl who tries too hard and pleases too much. I am brightness. I am fire. I am made of starlight.

Euphoria crashes through my veins, cresting higher until I’m certain I’ll be torn apart by the sheer pleasure of it. I no longer know what is his bite and what is my hunger and what is my release. All I know is that it sends me to another world.

He withdraws, and it’s like being dropped back into my body from a great height. The starlight dims, the warmth collapses, leaving only my trembling, earthly body in his arms.

“You will sleep now,” he whispers. “And when you wake, you will be one of us. You will be mine.”

57Komal

Beth: I’m sorry, you WHAT?

I WAKE TO MOONLIGHT STREAMING through an arched window, aching teeth that feel like lead in my mouth, and a gnawing hunger. Augustin leans across the bed and kisses me before handing me a goblet of blood, which I scarf down like it’s a plate of Papa’s pakoras and then beg for more. I’m on my third one when I hear a voice like the sweetest music.

“Augie! Komal!”

Hannah runs into the room, followed by Dante, who gives me a mischievous wink. Their scents slam into me, all the new information cluttering my system, making my head spin.

When she throws her arms around her father, bright yellow flowers spring from the stones beneath their feet. And then she crawls onto the bed beside me.

“Komal, look at your fangs.” She touches one of my curved incisors. They’re going to take some getting used to. I’ve already bitten my own lip three times. “You’re so cool. This place is wild, right?”

“The wildest. Are you okay?”

“I’m not locked in a cell anymore, so yes. I’m great. And we have news.” She beams at Dante.