Chapter 5 Aurora #2
He ghosted his fingertips over my bottom lip, feather-light but burning, his face intense with concentration.
When his finger grazed my teeth, I bit down gently and drew the tip into my mouth, tasting the salt of his skin.
A sharp breath escaped his lips. He pressed his forehead to mine, eyes squeezed shut, and fought for control while I sucked his finger deeper.
He didn’t quite succeed, because his arm shot out to brace against the dresser and pinning me there with a low groan, his free hand suddenly around my throat.
My body ached in a way that drowned out all other senses. An ache that only his touch could soothe.
“I’m glad,” he whispered, breath labored. “Because I wouldn’t have forgiven myself if I’d been the reason my projector suffered permanent damage.”
“Try again.” I wanted to sound dismissive, but failed miserably. “I’m not yours.”
“You sure?” His hand skimmed down my arm. “You have my blood flowing in your veins, my seed trickling between your thighs.”
A raging inferno blazed from the top of my head to my toes. The memory of his body moving against mine, inside mine, overtook any rational thought. I gulped and fought the urge to clench my legs, to feel that delicious friction again.
Then he slid his fingers over my scars, and my body went from molten to ice in an instant. I stiffened. The touch was gentle, questioning, but it scraped against nightmares I’d spent months trying to bury.
He noticed immediately and pulled back, taking his warmth with him. “As long as I live,” he said, close enough that I could feel his breath against my cheek, “no one will ever hurt you like that again.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the burning sensation behind them. “Why are you saying these things?”
“What things?”
“I don’t know… sweet things.” I sighed. “Like you actually care.”
His chuckle held no humor. “One might argue that’s how a proper blood source should behave.”
“Is that all this is? A source and a receiver?”
“What do you want it to be, Aurora?”
The way he said my name, like it was something precious, something sacred, erased any trace of lingering shadows.
“I want the truth,” I said. “No more games. No more evasions.”
He tilted his head to the side, fixing me with his sharp gaze. “The truth isn’t always a kindness.”
“I didn’t ask for kindness.”
His hand came up to cup my cheek. “No, you wouldn’t. That’s what fascinates me about you. All that power, all that privilege, and still you reach for truth, no matter how ugly.”
I tried to reinforce the shield around my heart. Easier said than done when he talked like that. “Then tell me. What were those Voices? Why did the Nebula know you?”
Conflict stained his features. Then his hand dropped, and he stepped back. “The water gets cold fast. Last chance to join me.”
“Radu—” I wanted to say more, reject him again, but something stopped me. The night had officially caught up with me.
Who was I lying to?
The pull of him was undeniable and maddening. The train of terrible ideas was screaming down the tracks, and I didn’t want to jump. I wanted to ride it all the way in.
“This doesn’t mean anything,” I said, even as I bent forward and made quick work of unfastening my boots.
His attempt to hide his grin was lousy at best. “Of course not.”
“We’re just conserving water.” I took a step toward the bathroom, unfastening the throw.
He followed me. “Absolutely. Very practical.”
“And I’ll still expect answers.”
“I gave you my word.”
I stopped at the threshold. “No funny business.”
Radu gave up and let his lips stretch in a thousand-watt smile. “Wouldn’t dream of it, princess.”
I let the cover pool at my feet and put an extra sway in my hips as I marched inside, but not before shooting a furtive glance over my shoulder. A petty victory kicked up my pulse when his heated gaze collided with mine and I caught him biting his lower lip.
Inside, the state of the bathroom matched the rundown state of Radu’s bedroom.
Cracked subway tiles in washed-out cream covered the walls, while the paint on the ceiling bore similar dark water stains and peeled from the corners.
A shower stall with a corroded brass showerhead stood in the corner.
Half-melted and smelling of lavender, Gale’s candle flickered atop the marble vanity, casting just enough light to see my reflection in the spotty mirror above.
I was right.
Hair matted with Stalker blood stood in stiff clumps around my shoulders. Dirt and gore streaked my face and neck. I looked like I’d crawled out of a grave or had been digging one all night.
I didn’t wait for the water to warm, knowing better than to expect any heat remained after the guild’s return.
Without electricity, none of the houses in the Outer Wards had proper hot water.
The outliers had rigged an ingenious system of rooftop tanks heated by sunlight, but the Black Guild either hadn’t bothered to expand it or simply hadn’t had time.
I turned the rusty knob and stepped under the spray, bracing for the cold—only to gasp as hot water cascaded over my skin, loosening my rigid muscles.
I moaned. “Oooh.” Liquid heat. Pure heaven.
The glass door squeaked open behind me, and Radu’s presence filled the small space even before his chest pressed against my back. He gave me a gentle nudge further under the spray.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile like that before,” he murmured, lathering soap onto a cloth.
I hadn’t realized I was doing it.
I shrugged, tilting my head back to let the water run over my face.
“It’s the warm water. I’ll never take the simple things for granted again.
” I raked my fingers through the tangles in my hair, grimacing as knots caught and pulled.
“But you’re right. It’s been so long since I felt pure joy over anything that when I do, I feel like I don’t deserve it.
War has a way of making us bitter, I suppose. ”
“Don’t rob yourself of simple pleasures, Aurora.” His voice was a low rasp as he drew the soapy cloth across my shoulder, down my arm, and back up again with maddening slowness. The way his slight accent rolled the r’s in my name had burrowed into my memory.
“You were so brave today. Although you did fucking drive me insane.” He took a deep inhale, pressing harder against my back as if shielding me from the world. “I’ve never seen anything like that. You were a goddess out there.”
The simple praise, delivered in that husky voice, kindled something warm in my chest. Not the heated desire from earlier, but a deeper feeling, more profound. Dangerous to my wary heart.
I turned to face him. Water trickled down the hard planes of his face and spiked his blond eyelashes. A dewy sheen covered his bronze skin in the steam rising between us. He wasn’t just a man, but a weapon forged from flesh and bone.
“You’re doing it again,” I murmured. “Saying sweet things.”
“Do you want me to stop?” A challenge drenched in sin as he traced a slow circle over my chest and dipped the washcloth between my breasts. “Being sweet, I mean. Though you seemed to enjoy yourself earlier.”
“Derzelas, you’re such an arrogant asshole,” I huffed.
He clutched at his chest in mock pain, the sharp tips of his fangs showing with his smile.
“Ouch. You’ve wounded me.”
It was hard to stay angry with him. My own lips curved upward.
“But you’re also a loyal friend,” I continued in a softer tone. “A good captain. A beast on the battlefield. And a—”
“Great lover?”
I raised a hand to stop him, shaking my head. “An infatuated lover,” I corrected.
“You didn’t object, from what I remember,” he purred, and I felt the vibrations down to my toes.
“You’re impossible.”
He pressed his hips against me, leaving no doubt about his current erect state… and what he thought of my opinion.
“Say what you want about me, princess, but you want me as much as I want you.” His breath fanned hot against my pulse, and I had to gulp down the moan working its way up my throat.
“I can smell it… feel it.” He raised his head until his lips hovered just above mine.
“Deny it all you want. Your eyes can’t lie. ”
‘Fuck, your eyes.’
The memory crashed through the heat building between us, and guilt turned my limbs to lead. My bloodlust might have hazed most of the night, but Hummingbird’s fear burned clear in my mind.
“Do you think Hummingbird will ever forgive me for what I did to him?”
“Don’t worry about him. Despite how much I dislike the idea of sharing you, I don’t think Hummingbird would have minded you feeding on him.”
“How could he not? I hurt him, forced him to yield.”
“Projector.” He cupped the back of my head, pushing me to meet his gaze.
“I think I speak for all the halfblood male population when I say that no matter how much they hate your guts, they wouldn’t complain having your body squirming in their arms.” As if trying to prove his point, he cinched my waist with his steel-banded arm and crushed me to him.
His hard shaft pressed against my stomach. “See? It’s a win-win.”
I shoved against his chest, but my mind circled back to his possessive claim.
“Pretty territorial for someone who doesn’t even acknowledge my rank,” I said, pushing wet hair from my face.
His eyes darkened, and not in a good way. “When you’ve spent decades fighting in this hellhole,” he said, “you learn to seize what matters. The rest is just noise.”
Curiosity got the better of me. “So you don’t feed from your guildmates?”
A tendril of jealousy snaked its way up my body. Before I could process it, his hands had lifted and secured me against the cool tile. I draped my arms around his neck while my legs wrapped around his waist.
“I’ve shared with them in the past, but we agreed to keep our feedings separate from guild business,” he admitted, adjusting me against him.
Sucking in a breath, I raised an eyebrow, feeling bold. “So you’ve never tasted pureblood before?” I rocked against him, relishing the friction of his hardness against my heat. ‘Good’ was such a pathetic word for how he felt. For how we felt together.
There went my voice of reason. To never fall for his sexy tricks again.
Instead of his usual smirk, his expression remained intense. “I’ve never had you before.”
The pure honesty in his voice stripped away my defenses.
I needed to feel him again.
Radu’s hands moved to support my weight, lifted me gently, and entered me in one powerful thrust. The fullness made me gasp, my head falling back against the tile.
“You’re unlike any immortal I’ve known,” he breathed into the nook of my shoulder.
Butterflies swarmed in my stomach, and my heart gave a worrying lurch. I began to move against him, finding our rhythm. “What exactly did you expect when you met me?”
His movements never hesitated as he pressed me harder against the wall. “Another useless, self-absorbed projector who’d retreat at the first sign of trouble.”
“Not all projectors are cowards,” I countered, though we both knew most were.
“You’re nothing like them.” The water had long since gone cold, but the fire between us more than compensated.
His hand cradled the back of my neck—possessive, carnal—drawing me closer until our lips nearly touched.
“You’re fierce, compassionate, loyal to a fault, and still believe things can change. You’re a dreamer.”
“A dreamer?” I whispered, but he claimed my mouth, and time blurred.
The universe became meaningless until we finally parted.
“You dream of a better world,” he whispered against my lips, panting. His voice, rich and velvety like aged wine, thrummed a string somewhere deep inside me. “And in this hell, that’s rarer than you know.”
Desire coiled tighter with each powerful stroke. Waves of pleasure radiated through my core, building toward devastating heights. My nipples hardened to painful points; my legs trembled as they clutched his waist. The pressure inside me swelled beyond bearing, a dam ready to burst.
“I want to come with you inside me,” I gasped against his mouth.
“Whatever the princess commands.”
His pace quickened, strong hips rocking me with every thrust.
When release finally tore through me, it shattered everything. My composure. My control. My very sense of self. I cried out, uncaring who might hear. Radu followed moments later with a guttural sound and emptied himself inside me.
Underworld’s balls. Had I truly been alive before feeling Radu move inside me, before knowing what my body was capable of experiencing?
We remained locked together, my head resting above his thundering heart.
I savored these quiet seconds, knowing they wouldn’t last. Soon enough the spell would break, and reality would intrude.
One of us would do or say something cutting, and we’d be back to circling each other like starved predators.
I felt his throat work, preparing words, and braced myself.
“We need some boundaries,” he murmured against my throat.
I froze, uncertain I’d heard correctly. “Boundaries?”
“While this lasts, you don’t feed from anyone else and don’t take other lovers.”
My inner muscles clenched at his commanding tone. He responded with a small thrust that sent aftershocks rippling through me.
“While what lasts, exactly?”
“This craving.” He met my eyes.
“Only if it works both ways,” I answered and, right then, I couldn’t imagine that fire ever burning out.
And that terrified me.
Satisfaction flashed in his gaze. “Deal.”
Too late, I realized. I’d let myself get sucked into his energy again. I needed space. Needed to breathe air that wasn’t saturated with his scent.
Slipping from his grasp, I pushed the shower door open. He wrapped a large hand around my wrist just as I reached for a towel.
“You look good wet.”
I fought to control my racing pulse. “And you owe me answers.”
Sweet Derzelas, help me from falling head over heels for this man.