Chapter 25 Julien #2
She is our bond: our equal. She is now a part of that vow.
And Goddesses, she is so beautiful.
Painfully, I release her hand, only so I can move closer. I grip the edge of her seat, feeling the heat of her thighs against my thumbs as I drag her stool closer.
“You seek violence and vengeance, little empath?” I murmur, the old nickname making her heart race.
The sound is so soothing, alluring, my gaze tracks the pulse in her throat before reaching her darkened gaze.
She tilts up her chin, glares at me so defiantly with those burning embers.
Burn me, set me alight.
“Yes,” she says. “And I want you to treat me as your bond.”
I stare at her, let those words stain the air. Your bond.
A memory I will never let perish.
I lean closer, so much closer, enough that when I nod my head in gentle agreement, my lips almost brush her cheek.
“What else do you want?” I whisper, thumbs trailing up and down the outside of her legs, over her hip and back.
“I want…” Her words catch as I keep touching her, soft brushes and nothing more. “I…”
“Anything, mon ame.” I pull back so our lips are level, encouraging her to close the distance.
She shakes her head, making her lips almost brush mine. “I really need…”
She fidgets, her nose coming closer to mine, the skin barely touching, before my eyes lower to her mouth again. Her tongue traces her lower lip, and I consume it like a rabid beast.
“...You to take me to work.” Then she stands.
My hands fall away as I look up at her. She has a wide grin in place, trying so hard to appear unaffected. But I can feel the heat of her body, hear the blood rushing through her veins, and I’m not ready to back down—not just yet.
I rise, and she’s instantly overwhelmed. She’s wearing flat shoes, and I tower over her, consuming all blank space.
That’s it, mon ame. Look at me.
She’s stunned for a moment, tilting her head up and up until she’s having to move backwards. I swipe the stools out of my path, and they clatter to the floor as I stalk towards her.
“Is that all?” I purr, and my rumble is a pleased one.
The back of her legs knock into a side cabinet, she stills, head tilting as far back as she can to see me.
“I… Well…” she tries.
Poor thing.
My darkness roars to life. I am in control, but seeing her struggle like this… like perfect prey…
I close the distance, smiling at her—a wide, full smile.
“It’s awfully hard to hear you down there.” With one arm, I sweep her up, place her upon the cabinet top, and with one hand engulfing her hip, I slide her back against the wall. “Try again for me.”
We’re not eye level, so I lower myself slightly, but she still has to tilt her face up. But this time, her jaw is set, her eyes narrowed into fiery slits.
She glares at me. Another version of her. Another one to obsess over.
“What’s wrong, mon ame?” I don’t bother to hide my mock concern.
“Platonic bonds. Friends,” she says, and she tries so hard to mean it. She raises a hand, points a finger at my chest, then hers. “This—this isn’t very friendly, Julien.”
“Neither is knowing the sounds you make when you come.”
Her eyes go wide. Her mouth opens—then shuts.
She doesn’t speak but her darkness does. It trails all over me, wrapping around my arms, sliding over my chest, whispering sweet promises.
“Neither is the way your darkness is touching me.” My voice is a deep rasp as I fight against the pleasure her tendrils bring.
My head drops, chin upon my chest as I try to keep focused. But when her wisps slide lower, underneath my clothing, slipping in between the dips of my stomach muscles and continuing… I moan.
Everything amplifies.
The Dark Realm is thrust upon us.
I peer up, and Jasmine’s gaze is consumed by the dark as she stares at me.
How is she ours? How is this goddess our bond?
I should ease her out of the realm. I should.
But I don’t want to.
“My knees or above you?”
“What?” Her voice is tinged by the dark, and now flickers of red fight to fracture her blackened gaze.
“Which do you prefer?” I ask in a low lull.
My neck strains when I feel another coil trace up my spine, but I push through, eyes locking with hers.
“Both.” The word is a whisper, and she never looks away.
Her hand raises, fingers trailing something along my chest. I peer down, see the thin chain of silver often hidden beneath my clothes.
She grips it—tugs me closer. I just stop myself from falling onto her, my hands planted on the counter beside her hips, foreheads touching.
“I want this,” she says, commands, curling the chain around her fingers as she reels me in—inch-by-inch.
“What else, mon ame?”
“What does that mean?” she whispers, her voice drenched in darkness, her eyes darting between mine in flickers of black and red. “Mon ame.”
My gaze darkens, my beast surges to life. Hearing her say those words, in that voice, with those eyes…
I wrap one hand around her throat, collaring it in my grasp, admiring for a moment how beautiful her pale skin looks beneath my dark fingers.
“My soul.” Our noses brush. I wet my lips. “Every part of me is yours. My soul, my body, my—”
“Your blood.” More figments of red fracture the darkness of her gaze. Her sudden statement only makes my beast more feral.
I nod eagerly, noses brushing, lips unbearably close.
“My blood…” she murmurs, and I freeze. “Or my lips?”
I.
How can I—
The small curve of her mouth shows she isn’t fully consumed by the dark, and reveals her amusement. I thought I’d taken control, but she’s taken it back.
Goddesses, you honour me with her.
“Choose,” she demands.
“Both—”
She tsks, then tugs the chain, jolting me even closer, and I become unbearably hard.
Tighten it, twist it, make the metal links rip into my skin. Squeeze. I need her to pull the chain harder, like I’m her beast—
“You need to choose one.” Slowly, she places her finger upon my bottom lip and I groan. The sound very nearly a growl.
Then she slides her fingertip over my fang.
“Please.” I’m losing my sanity. She moves to the other fang, ignoring my pleas as I gasp against her palm. “Let me have both, please. I don’t deserve it. I know I don’t. I don’t deserve to ask. But please…”
Logical words trail off until I’m whispering in French against her hand. Soon, I’m begging in every language I know, while she plays, touching my lips, my fangs, keeping a tight hold on my chain.
“You beg so well.” Her praise almost ruins me. She’s barely touched me, I can’t possibly get any harder. “You want both?”
I nod pathetically against her fingers.
“Then you’ll have to work twice as hard.”
She releases me. Dropping my chain, and leaning back until my hand falls from her throat.
The Dark Realm melts away at her will.
I don’t know when I started panting, but I am. Staring at her, I struggle to tear myself away, that devious smile still upon her face.
Without a word, I slip off my chain, and place it over her head. Her triumphant smile falters then, staring down at the dark crystal quartz hanging on the end.
Her fingers carefully examine it, twisting it in the light of the morning sun.
“Your darkness,” she murmurs, studying it still. Her eyes bounce back to mine. “Don’t you need this to stay grounded?”
“Not anymore.” My fingers can’t help but trace her jaw, one final touch before she ends this. “Not now we have you.”
A light flush decorates her cheeks at my internal words. How is this the same being who just had me pleading against her fingers?
She shouldn’t exist. Shouldn’t be ours.
But she does, and she is.
And I have to ensure we never take that for granted. To show her we could deserve her. Be worthy of her.
I’ve lived so many lives, but this is the only one I want to keep.