Chapter 32
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
SANORA
I pushed the door shut behind me, exhaling a breath, only for it to catch in my throat when my eyes locked on him.
Thrax stood against the counter just outside the kitchen, arms folded, waiting.
His long dark hair fell loosely around his face, never tied back, and those black eyes dragged over me from head to toe—from my hair, to my pink top, to the white shorts clinging to my legs, down to my feet. Then his gaze returned to my face.
He pushed off the counter, rounding into the kitchen with slow steps, before stopping in his usual place—the same place he always stood to watch me eat. His palm tapped idly on the counter, the soft sound echoing louder than it should.
Come.
Heat shot straight through me at the simple gesture, blood rushing to my ears, a pulse flaring insistently between my legs.
Instead of flying into his arms the way my reckless heart begged me to, I shifted my weight onto one leg, clearing my throat. “Then you’ll answer any question I have.”
His eyes darkened. “Get on here, Nher.”
Nher.
He’d called me that yesterday, but I’d been too high on adrenaline to notice. Was that some kind of nickname? I tilted my head, feigning calm. “That isn’t so polite. Besides, I asked you a question. Will you answer anything I ask? Outside our daily question and answer?”
The muscle in his jaw ticked as his stare grew heavier. I would have understood the heated look he was sending my way if I knew the reason behind it, so going near him didn’t feel like a safe option. And besides, he was yet to agree to my deal.
So I turned towards the stairs, feigning nonchalance, ignoring the way his stare burned into my side. I’d only taken four steps before his voice cracked the silence.
“You know you aren’t getting on that stairs, Sanora. Might as well sit here obediently,” he said, and the urge to disobey him invaded my bloodstream, taking my legs further near the first step. Then he added, reluctantly so, “Please.”
The single word sent victory sparking through me. My lips twitched, and I tucked a smile away before it could betray me. Turning, I swept my hair behind my ear, aware my attitude was riling him further. His fingers were drumming impatiently against the counter.
“And do you agree to answering my questions?” I pressed.
“Depends on the questions.” He tilted his head. “I don’t have all day. Get on here.”
My chest fluttered as I walked, trying not to skip my way to him. I placed the book I carried onto the counter, rounding it. I stopped in front of him, needing him to move back so I could get on the counter.
But then, his arms suddenly came down on my body, catching my waist and lifting me off the floor. He planted me on the counter with ease.
Butterflies rioted inside me, especially when he stepped in, parting my thighs and tugging me closer until the firm plane of his lower stomach pressed against my core. I left my legs at his sides, resisting the urge to wrap them around his waist and pull him flush completely.
When his eyes came up to mine, I was painfully reminded that I was now at his mercy.
“Hey,” I breathed, desperate to ease the crackling tension.
But instead of answering, his head dipped slowly, his mouth tracing the line of my jaw, feather-light, before dragging lower to my neck, sending shivers down my spine. I felt his jaw clench against my skin. “I smell a boy on you.”
My eyes widened, surprised at how he’d known that I’d spoken to someone, even though Merton hadn’t touched me. “Did you leave the house?”
His dark chuckle vibrated against my skin as his lips trailed upward, grazing from the curve of my neck to my ear. “I don’t need to see you to know,” he murmured. “I know because it’s you.”
I had no time to puzzle out what that meant.
His hand slid under my top, palm hot and calloused against my skin.
My breath caught as his touch swept over my stomach, circling my waist, skimming my back but never moving upward where I ached for it most, where my nipples were straining against my bra.
“Stop letting me have you. I’m going to be very selfish,” he muttered, like it pained and thrilled him that we were like this. He continued to speak against my neck, giving my ear a soft bite. “I’ll take, Nher. And I don’t know how to stop. So stop me. Please.”
“Can’t you?” I didn’t want him to.
A dry laugh escaped him. “Yes, I can’t. The little control I’m hanging onto right now is the only thing preventing me from bending you over this very counter and pounding into you until we both don’t know where we stand in this world.
If I let that slip through my grasp, we’re fucked. So no, I can’t. Stop me yourself.”
My head spun from the bluntness of his words, brain getting a sensory overload from how things had changed in the past forty-eight hours. “I don’t want to.”
“Try.” His hand tangled in my hair, tugging just enough to tilt my head. The other hand pressed firmer against my skin, dragging me closer until he couldn’t.
Not knowing what to do with my own hands, I explored him—his broad shoulders, his chest, the hard lines of his stomach—again and again, as if memorising every inch would steady me. A visible shiver coursed through him, his teeth grazing my skin like he needed the bite to keep control.
“Goddamn,” he breathed raggedly. “This is insane. You’re insane.”
Satisfaction swelled in me, didn’t know why my touch affected him so much, but I enjoyed it. My hands slid up to his hair, those soft strands spilling between my fingers as he growled my name like it was a curse.
“Sanora.”
Fuck. I so much wanted him to lose any shred of control he was holding onto and bend me over this counter like he said.
“Please,” I whispered, skin burning with the need.
“Please,” he echoed, begging for a different reason.
Of course I didn’t think a one night hook up with the Soulless Man was a bad idea.
That was how bad I wanted his body on top of mine.
My mind had not been able to think of anything else since I saw him bring himself to orgasm in the bathroom.
I hadn’t been able to stop imagining what that cock would look like sliding into me instead of his fist. The thoughts were intoxicating.
We could keep our feelings out of the door and pretend it was merely an experience for both of us.
Feelings made things complicated, and even though I wanted him far more than my body did, I would gladly keep my feelings out if he wanted it.
I would gain nothing from involving them anyway. He was an immortal, and I was just...a girl.
Everything would pass.
He pulled back, fist tightening in my hair as if forcing himself to reclaim control. His tormented eyes locked on mine, and through them, I could see the war he was fighting, realising his rational self was winning.
Knowing he would put a space between us, I locked my legs around his waist, dragging him closer, my glare sharp. “Don’t you dare push me away after everything you’ve said. Put space between us again and you’ll see me lose it.”
His brow arched, amused. “Again?”
“Wasn’t that what you were doing when you always left before I woke up and came back only when I was in bed? That time, you were avoiding me. Is that how you run from your problems?”
His expression hardened. “You think you are a problem?”
It was my turn to lift an eyebrow. Okay?
“You’re more than a problem, Sanora.” His tone dropped.
“Problems don’t get under my skin. They don’t make me restless when I should be calm.
They don’t crawl into my head and stay there when I try to shut everything out.
They don’t follow me into my mind when I try to sleep.
But you—” his eyes held mine, unblinking, “—you stay there whether I want you to or not. Problems end, Sanora. But you never.”
Oh, gods. I could feel my eyes prickling with tears as I held his gaze. Hearing those words, the things I made him feel, realising I was the one making him feel them and it wasn’t just me that was falling into madness, made my chest tightened with emotions.
I should have called his bluff. But there was no bluff in those eyes.
“Why? How? Since when?”
“Why?” He tilted his head, repeating my question. “Do you think you’re unworthy of someone’s attraction?”
My breath hitched. My gaze dropped to his throat. “Not someone’s. Yours.”
I swallowed hard and forced the truth out.
“You’ve existed for centuries. You’ve seen women I can’t imagine, touched them, had them.
You’ve lived enough lifetimes to be bored of all of it.
There’s nothing new for you. So your interest in me—now—it feels questionable at best.” My voice lowered to a whisper.
“There’s nothing special about me. So it’s hard to believe everything you’ve been saying.
Not that it matters. None of this is permanent. ”
“Look at me,” he said.
Slowly, I obeyed, only to find amusement flickering in his dark eyes, like my logic was absurd.
“This isn’t funny.” I nearly smacked his arm.
His lips twitched with a smile he was holding back. “Is that the question you wanted to ask?”
“No.” Damn him. If he hadn’t reminded me, I would’ve forgotten why I came here in the first place. The question had vanished the moment he lifted me onto the counter. “I heard something.”
“Shoot.” Both of his hands bracketed my waist.
I braced myself. “Do you know The Cave of the Undead?”
His body stilled.
The amusement drained from his face.
Shit. He knew.
“You do?”
“Where did you hear that?” His voice was steel now, no trace of play left.
I shrugged. “Could’ve been a book.”
His jaw flexed. “I’ve lived longer than your libraries, Sanora. I know what’s in a book and what’s not.”
“Fine.” I sighed. “I heard it from someone. On my way back from the library.”
Displeasure darkened every line of his face. “The boy, yeah?”
I might have laughed if his serious tone hadn’t killed the mood. “Yes. He said he saw the cave.”
His frown deepened. “And he’s still alive?”