Marked By Masks and Secrets (Everlasting Possession #1)

14

KYLO

I f I was any other man, my self-control would’ve crumbled long ago. My blonde angel stood perfectly still, as if she were petrified of revealing her desire.

Unfortunately for her, I could smell every last drop of it. Her lust intertwined with the sinfully sweet scent of her blood, making it so intoxicating it physically hurt my nostrils. I’d never wanted to sink my fangs into someone’s throat more desperately than this moment.

Thank the gods I’d fed generously before I’d found her. I always had to feed before I saw Evie. And after.

She was driving me fucking crazy. And I wanted to punish her for this obsession just as much as I wanted to protect her vulnerable, fearful heart like it was the precious gift that it was.

I didn’t know where to look. Those pretty pink lips, those big gray eyes, the perky tits pushed up by the corset of her darling little floral dress…

As I waited for her to answer me, I settled on her lips. If I so much as attempted to capture them with mine, I was fully convinced I’d rip a hole in my glamour and dig my fangs into her sensitive flesh.

Her pulse fluttered beneath my hand on her delicate throat. When she opened her mouth, it was as if I’d been awaiting the judgment of Helia herself.

“No, I don’t want platonic ,” she said.

My heart hadn’t felt this vulnerably human in years, and I couldn’t help but smile at the adorable hesitation in her voice. As if she’d mustered all of her courage to be this forward and truthful. A skittish rabbit in the jaws of a wolf.

“But that doesn’t matter,” she continued. “You’re going to hurt me.”

She looked embarrassed. She thought I was playing boyish games, that my confidence was a weapon. She had no idea how special she was to me. She had no idea the true depths of my preoccupation.

“How about we slow down, then, angel?” I asked, slowly pulling my body from hers. It took every ounce of my restraint to move away from her body heat, to pull my hand off her throat.

Trust issues weren’t surprising, given how men in general behaved, let alone her recently deceased ex-boyfriend.

“Come read with me,” I said, tilting my head toward the nook I’d been studying in.

She grabbed her book back from the shelf, and she stared at me for several beats. I could see the distrust in every twitch of her features.

I could also still scent her overpowering, mouthwatering arousal.

“Okay.”

Good girl. Good fucking girl.

I would earn my angel’s trust. She was smart not to trust a man’s words. Actions were the only thing in this world that mattered.

She walked a few steps behind me, following me like a hesitant baby duck. It was irritatingly adorable.

We settled into my favorite corner of the library, where a small couch rested against the back wall, and a wooden table with high-back chairs sat on a green rug.

My books were already spread out across the table, including several notebooks protected by magick from prying eyes.

“Let me clear a space for you.”

She removed her small leather crossbody purse and patiently waited for me to tidy up. I moved my things to the head of the table, smiling when she chose to sit at the opposite end—the farthest seat from me.

That was for the best, seeing as I couldn’t have her peeking at anything I was plotting. But when she pulled out her own notebook and pen, and I took a better look at the mysterious black book that had flown from the shelf, I had a sudden realization.

She didn’t want me to know what she was reading or writing, either.

The book was unmarked, clearly of magickal origins. And it had come from an unlabeled section that seemed not only random but also dispelled all interest as if warded against non-witches.

“Whatcha working on?” I asked her.

She sat down, immediately tensing and showing the truth on her face. I liked that Evie couldn’t keep anything to herself if she tried. Her lack of subtlety was as endearing as it was incredibly dangerous for her.

It meant she was frighteningly easy to manipulate and take advantage of.

“Witch business,” she said, cagey as ever. “What are you working on?”

“Curriculum to effectively radicalize the youth.”

Her gaze turned to ice. “That is not a funny joke.”

I chuckled. It wasn’t a joke.

“I bet you’re reading about effective incubus seduction tactics,” she muttered.

I pinned her with a stare from across the table, both of us opening our notebooks at the same time.

“You’re a fiery, suspicious little creature, aren’t you?”

She made a soft noise of derision that made my cock strain in my pants. She had no fucking idea what I would do to her for being such an incorrigible brat—once she was all mine .

She’d better enjoy her freedom while it lasted.

Evie quickly focused on the text before her, chewing on her lip as her brows furrowed.

What was that book? And why had it made such a bold attempt to break her nose?

Every once in a while, fear would spike in her blood as she read. Her face would pale, and she would tap her fingers nervously on the table. It made absolutely no sense.

I remembered the way she’d stared at the wilting, dying shrub in utter horror.

Was she afraid of her own magick?

Fuck. This precious girl had no one in her life to mentor her, to help her understand herself or her powers. Before me, she’d had no one to protect her, no one to look out for her.

It was all so irritating.

My angel needed me.

She just didn’t know it yet.

When I had her pinned to the bookcase, she’d rolled up my sleeve to search for my tattoos. She didn’t know for sure who I was, but she was intelligent enough to suspect it. Probably because I couldn’t help but tease her in my vampire form just as I did while glamoured.

In a strange, nonsensical way, I was almost angry that both versions of me turned her on. Even if I knew we were one and the same, she didn’t.

I was self-aware enough to recognize the insanity of letting my violent possessiveness get triggered by another version of myself .

“What are you smiling about?” Evie asked.

“Am I not allowed to experience pleasure and amusement, Evie darling?”

She made a face. “No.”

Gods, she was such a brat right now. And I knew she was only this prickly as a defense mechanism. She was testing me. She could sense I was different from any other man she’d met before, and she wanted to ensure her intuition was real. That I truly did possess the bare minimum of patience, respect, and chivalry.

Her pen hovered over the page, unmoving.

“I’m not sure men deserve to experience pleasure and amusement,” she said.

I laughed, and a cheeky smile broke through her icy facade. She met my eyes, almost appearing pleasantly surprised to have made me laugh.

That was a good sign. I wanted her to feel satisfaction when she pleased me.

“Some don’t,” I agreed. I let my smile fade, showing her a more serious expression. “Not everyone will disappoint you, Evie. If you hide from the world, the world will hide from you.”

She crossed her arms, and I had to suppress a groan at what it did for those perfect breasts spilling out of her top.

“Here I thought you were lying about your philosophy tutoring gig. That was a good line,” she said indignantly. “But you don’t know me.”

“I want to know you.”

“Why?”

I shook my head, my lips unable to stop themselves from tipping up. “Why is that so hard for you to believe? You fascinate me. You’re an intriguing rarity in a world that tends to churn out the exact copies and archetypes every generation.”

“ Every generation makes you sound a lot older than you look.”

“You already know my penchant for history.”

She squirmed in her seat. She had no idea of her own uniqueness. The genuine passion ripe in her blood, the idealistic dreaming that most people exorcise from their souls out of fear. I knew her depth was likely an unfortunate by-product of past suffering, but she had no idea how refreshing it was all the same.

“Most people think and talk and move through life exactly as their parents had,” I said.

I didn’t miss the way she flinched slightly.

“They fit into a role that feels safe. They don’t challenge themselves. They don’t grow. They cower from greater purpose or meaning. They run from the terrifying and beautiful art of being seen and understood, or, gods forbid, the heavy responsibility of truly seeing and understanding another. They live for comfort, and then they die. Maybe they leave behind the exact same sort of person who will take their place before they go.”

“That’s bleak,” Evie said with a frown.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “They live and love in the way they’ve chosen, and that’s still worthy of respect and empathy. Life is hard and grueling, and I do not blame them for prioritizing safety over uncertainty.” I paused. “But it does make those with the bravery and gall to stand out from the crowd that much more delightfully unexpected.”

I could see the unmistakable gleam of excitement in those big gray eyes. She opened her mouth and then closed it, as if she wanted desperately to say something but wouldn’t allow herself to say it.

“I fear I’m going to disappoint you. I’m not as interesting as you’re making me seem,” she said finally, unable to hide the way her hopeful features betrayed her.

“I highly doubt that.”

She thought she could conceal her beautiful, leaping heart from me, but I heard every beat of intrigue against her ribcage.

Even still, she focused back on her book. She jotted down notes that disappeared as soon as they were scribbled. It appeared she wasn’t the only one who used magick to hide her work.

I could sense a low buzz of power from her, but I couldn’t read its exact frequency.

Just when I thought she was done talking to me, she spoke without looking up from her notes.

“I want to open my own shop. That’s what I’m working on—new spells and more information about my particular gifts. I know it sounds stupid in a city already saturated with magickal goods. But my clients believe my products are unique and potent, and I do too. I want to help as many people as I can.”

I couldn’t stop my grin, a kind of warmth infecting my heart that I hadn’t felt consistently in years.

“That’s not stupid, Evie,” I said. “That’s brave. You deserve to feel proud. You deserve to believe you can accomplish exactly what you desire. That’s the only way to conquer anything worthy of being conquered.”

I watched those full pink lips curve. It was as though the whole room lit up as she did, the lights around us growing warmer.

She would conquer her big, magickal dreams. And I would conquer her.

Loud shouts erupted from beyond the bookcases. A woman screamed just as I sensed the magick of Lillian’s demon spawn flood the air.