58. Chapter Fifty-Eight - Desiree
As I exit the bathroom, the frigid air from the open window gives me goose bumps.
Water trickles from the short strands of my black hair, trailing down my neck before disappearing into the plush fabric of the towel wrapped around my body.
The scent of soap lingers in the air, mingling with the smell of sex as I climb the steps to the lofted bedroom.
Vane sits on the edge of the bed, the tangled sheets covering his naked body.
Despite the satisfaction that should come with sated desire, his brow furrows as he rests his head in his hands, his elbows pressing into his strong thighs.
A pang of unease twists in my stomach.
“Did you change your mind?” I look at my packed bag on the floor.
We are supposed to get ready to catch the next train out of the city, but Vane hasn’t moved.
I tighten the towel around myself, suddenly feeling exposed.
Vane meets my gaze through the veil of his long lashes.
With warm palms, he draws me closer by my hips.
A hesitant smile tugs at the corner of his lip.
I swallow, my stomach twisting.
Is he about to let me down easy?
Has Vyvyan summoned him home?
If he’s leaving me, I won’t beg him to take me with him.
I am not going back to the Nest.
I believe I’ll be okay alone for the first time in my life, but I’d rather be with him.
“Well?” I prompt.
“You don’t have to say it. I know you are going back to her.”
I try to pull away from Vane’s grasp, but his fingers tighten.
The bruises and marks left by our rough encounters have already begun to fade, but I wish I could have him tattooed on my heart.
I won’t forget him.
“Vyvyan?” His thumbs trace gentle circles on my skin.
I nod, not trusting myself to speak.
Vane smiles, and I frown.
Is he mocking my misery?
“Have you already forgotten?” he asks.
I lift a brow.
Vane kisses my stomach before resting his cheek against me.
“I am yours. I’m not going back to Vyvyan.”
I release a breath as I cup Vane’s cheek, forcing him to look me in the eye.
“Then what’s bothering you?”
Vane presses his lips against my palm.
My eyes flutter shut, and I press my thighs together, trying to stave off the growing ache.
What we did in the cemetery unleashed a relentless need whenever I’m in his presence.
“Vane,” I groan.
For this to work, we need to be honest with each other.
I won’t let him distract me.
True intimacy lies in vulnerability and shared secrets.
“You’re stalling,” I whisper, wetness pooling between my thighs.
Fuck, I am insatiable.
We’ll never leave Borealis, let alone this bed, if I can’t control my body’s response to his touch.
“If we’re going to be together, we must be able to talk to one another. Otherwise, I am walking out of that door and your life.”
“There’s nowhere you could go where I wouldn’t find you.” Vane inhales deeply.
“My scent is mingled with yours.”
I press kisses over his face and neck.
He falls back onto the bed.
I crawl on top of him, rubbing my heated core against his hardening length.
When he reaches to touch me, I pin his arms above his head.
“Are you trying to dominate me, Desiree?” Vane asks with a wicked gleam in his eye.
“If it gets you to open up to me, then yes.”
Vane tries to kiss me again, but I turn my head.
He pouts.
“You’re being mean.”
“The truth for a kiss.”
Vane could overpower me in an instant, but he doesn’t try.
His gaze drifts from my face to my chest before he sighs.
“Fine. I don’t think we should leave the city yet. I just had a premonition. Lua has marched armies into Corona, camped just outside Aurora.”
Hair lifts on my nape and arms.
Is Wilder in danger?
Vane touches my cheek.
“Leigh is going to try to negotiate peace with Alden. Alden’s lover was turned into a vampire a while ago, and he blames Vyvyan for it.”
My jaw slackens.
Alden’s true motive for coming to Borealis becomes clear—he was attempting to get close to Vyvyan.
His desire to visit Little Death and explore the tunnels makes sense now.
A chilling thought crosses my mind.
If he had discovered Vyvyan that night, would he have harmed her?
Or would that have come after the invasion when the witches no longer stood between him and his revenge?
“Leigh needs your mom’s vampire cure. She’s going to trade it for peace.”
A chill settles deep in my bones.
“But Mom has no cure,” I whisper.
Vane’s brows dip.
I swallow.
“Earlier tonight, I went to find Mom, and when she wouldn’t see me, I—” The words catch in my throat.
If I tell Vane the truth, he will think less of me.
But as I meet his gaze, I see only love—love I want to believe is unconditional.
“I lost control,” I admit.
“I destroyed Mom’s research.”
Vane pulls me close.
I rest my head against his chest; his slow, but steady heartbeat contrasts my racing one.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I stiffen.
“I should have been there for you. You must’ve felt so alone. But I promise we will figure out how to get your mom what she needs to redo her research, even if I have to fund the project personally. I’ll go to Vyvyan. I’ll demand the money.”
“You don’t need to do that,” I say.
Vyvyan would never agree.
Vane holds me tighter.
“I want to help.”
Tears crease my eyelids.
Vane has sacrificed so much of himself to help others.
Vyvyan used him for centuries.
His parents used him before that.
I won’t use him like the others.
I made this mess.
I’ll clean it up.
“There is another way,” I mutter.
I take a steadying breath.
“Mom’s cure might not have worked, anyway. If we tell her about me, she could fashion a cure for Alden with my blood.”
“You would share your secret?” Vane asks.
His heart thumps faster against my ear.
“Yes.”
“You are amazing,” he says.
I sigh.
I’m sure seeing my mom after what I did to her lab won’t feel so amazing, but it is time for Mom and me to talk.
We are years overdue.
Though I love her, my palms grow clammy.
“You are tense.” Vane’s voice comes out as a seductive purr.
My thighs tighten around him.
“We should ease some of that tension.”
I smile.
“You said they’re in Aurora already?” I ask.
He nods.
“Then there’s no time.” I sit up, straddling his lap.
Vane slowly tugs my towel.
His heated gaze slides over my naked body, his pupils dilating.
I splay my hands on his stomach.
Beneath my touch, his muscles tense.
“We should go.” Vane flicks his eyes to meet mine, his hardness pressing into me.
I roll my hips.
“We should.”
His hands slide up my waist to thumb the underside of my breasts.
I lean into his feverish touch.
“Then get dressed,” he commands, brushing my nipples.
I rub myself against him, torturing us both.
Breathy sighs escape my mouth, and he watches me in awe, his eyes now black.
The heat in my belly coils tighter.
“Stop,” I pant, quickening my movements.
“Please. We need to go . . .”
My head falls back as euphoria builds within me, wave after punishing wave.
Even with the sheet, I feel him.
He’s so hard and impossibly big .
Desperate, my nails scrape his skin.
" Heavens , you’re magnificent," Vane growls.
With each grind, the throbbing intensifies, a coil of pleasure.
My clit pulses, sharp and agonizing, and tears flood my eyes.
I’m so close.
Vane covers my breast with his mouth.
His tongue swirls around my hardened peaks, sending electric shocks straight to my core.
I gasp his name.
“Vane . . .”
And then I’m coming.
My body convulses as waves of pure bliss crash over me, washing away all coherent thoughts.
Vane crushes me to him until the room stops spinning.
“Okay, it’s really time to go,” I mutter between gulps of air.
Vane’s laughter vibrates beneath me.
Reluctantly, I pull away from his embrace, my legs wobble as I gather my clothes.
Vane steals one of my brother’s shirts without looking away from me.
His clothes are still wet from the freezing rain.
“I will spend eternity watching you,” he says while I yank on my jeans.
“Creeper.” I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
Once dressed, we head toward the hospital.
Several Blade vehicles line the streets, and a chilling silence lingers in the air as if the entire country is holding its breath.
Whatever is happening in Aurora, the aftershocks are being felt here.
I grab Vane’s hand.
“Let’s hurry.”