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“What do you think this is? Do you think acting like this makes me feel safe?”

They stared at one another in silence and several emotions passed over Lukas’s face before he exhaled heavily.

“You are safe.” His conviction stared back at her in his pale green eyes. “I just…” He stared at her mouth. “I need to erase it…”

Lukas leaned down again, his movements slow, and Blaire could have pushed him away if she wanted to. He gently brushed his lips over hers, hesitant and uncertain. When she didn’t stop him, he pressed into the kiss.

Blaire saw stars.

This. This was what had been missing from Aiden’s kiss.

Her body melted beneath his as she returned his kiss eagerly, whimpering against his soft lips. Lukas shuddered against her body, taking what he wanted from her and leaving no question that this was a kiss meant to claim, to show her who she truly belonged to. She did belong to him. She’d felt it building for a while, and with each layer she peeled back, she found she only wanted more of him.

Her body sparked instantly alive with Lukas’s spicy apple scent filling her nose, creating an intoxicating haze in her mind. She had no idea kissing Lukas could feel this good. His kisses tasted like honey, and she didn’t want to stop tasting him.

He reached up and interlaced his fingers through her hands that still rested on the pillow. She squeezed his hands as he pressed into her, his arousal evident as it pressed against her thigh, and instead of feeling uneasy like before with Aiden, desire pooled at her core. The feeling was scary, but maddening.

Lukas licked over her lips slowly in a silent request for access, and she opened to him without hesitation. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, caressing hers as he explored, laying his claim, groaning into her mouth. A thirst she didn’t know she suffered was quenched, and she moaned into the feeling.

He broke the kiss and stared down at her panting face, his pupils blown wide with desire.

“You’re mine, Blaire. I will never let you go.”

Blaire stared up at him, trying to catch her breath. She had never wanted anyone this badly in her life. A wildfire raged deep inside her body that she couldn’t put out. He spoke the truth. This single kiss confirmed everything for her.

After staring down at her in silence for an eternity, an eternity where her eyes begged him to kiss her again, he climbed off her and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Blaire lay there as her breathing began to relax and she put her hands over her face, trying to get her body to calm down. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh, cry, or scream. What was she going to do? There was no way she could ignore this thing between them, but his attitude made it so hard. They hadn’t even talked about what happened. He said he didn’t lock her out, so why couldn’t she get into the room?

She turned over and buried her face into the pillow, which smelled strongly of Lukas; his scent started to relax her. She sighed.

Lukas didn’t have to say any of that. She already knew she belonged to him.

19

WANT

After thirty minutes spent roaming the academy grounds trying to cool off the intense urge to claim Blaire, Lukas returned to the dorm room and opened the door, not sure if he could handle another confrontation. He felt certain if Blaire looked at him with those same lust-filled eyes, he would take her then and there and nothing would be able to stop him. He would not take her like that. He wanted Blaire to give herself to him when she wanted him completely, without being clouded only with physical urges. He wanted it to be real in the way he wanted her. He needed her heart, not just her body, but if she had kissed Aiden, then he didn’t know how much of her heart belonged to him, and it made him uneasy.

Lukas barely made it out of the room earlier when she was pinned beneath him, her desire raging around them, her heart beating rapidly. He shuddered as he stepped into the room and stopped.

Blaire was lying on his bed on her side, clutching his pillow in her arms, her face buried in it. He had no idea what that meant, but he didn’t dare disturb her. He sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, running a hand over his face before there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he muttered quietly, only loud enough that whoever was there could hear him.

The door opened. Mera entered the room before Riley shoved past her as Lukas looked up from his position on the floor.

“What the hell happened last night? Why did you lock Blaire out?” Riley demanded loudly.

He clenched his teeth and glared at her. “Either get out, shut the hell up, or lower your voice.”

Riley noticed Blaire lying on his bed and raised her eyebrow. “What’s she doing on your bed?”

Lukas rubbed his face again and sighed. “I got upset with how close Aiden and Blaire have become…”

Mera asked, “What’s that have to do w—”

Riley cut her off, mocking playfully, “Aw, are you jealous?”