Chapter 15
Thane reaches forward, snatching my right arm and dragging me out into the hallway. I attempt to turn away from him, but he yanks me back around and continues toward the mahogany doors that I’m positive lead to his room.
“Trust me, I don’t want you anywhere near me right now, but you’re mine to protect, and I need to keep my eyes on you.”
I bark out a laugh.
“Protect? Is that what you call burning my arm and throwing me off the roof?” I shake him off, not na?ve enough to believe I did so without him allowing it. “Say what it really is. You don’t care about protecting me. You just care about being the only one allowed to inflict the pain!”
“You’re wrong!” he snaps, pushing the doors open. Thane storms off, shaking his head as I take in the enormous room.
Unlike the rest of the mansion, his walls are painted black, and the floor is covered in midnight blue rugs.
In the middle lies a California King bed with navy sheets and a black silk comforter.
The polished black headboard almost stretches to the ceiling, etched with intricate carvings.
Along the left side, a row of windows lines the wall, leading out to a balcony overlooking the garden.
The only light in the room comes from the moon and the candelabras sitting on both nightstands, adding to the gothic vampire vibe.
“Come in here,” Thane calls from the bathroom. To no surprise, it’s just as dark and moody as the rest of his space. “Sit,” he orders, pointing to the black clawfoot tub.
“If you think I’m sharing a bed with you tonight, think again,” I warn, positioning myself on the edge of the bathtub.
“I have no intention of sharing a bed with you tonight or any other night for that matter.” He turns to me, tilting my head up to look at the cut in the dim light. “You’ll take the bed, and I’ll sleep in the chair. Now hold still.”
“What are you doing?” I demand, swatting his hand away.
He groans, tossing his head back. “Can you, for once, just do as you’re told?”
“Not when the order is coming from you!” I bite back.
Thane releases a deep breath before turning his attention back to me. “I need to clean your wound. You can see Leo tomorrow, but for tonight, I’m taking care of it.”
The last thing I want is for him to be anywhere near me, but I can tell he’s not going to let this go.
“Fine,” I reluctantly agree.
He concentrates on cleaning the wound with alcohol and some other ointment that he rubs over it before covering it with a bandage that he must’ve had on hand for me, seeing as how I’m the only one around here who can’t heal myself.
“There,” he says, disposing of the used cotton ball. “Now was that so hard?”
“Letting you touch me? Yes, it was.” I stand up to exit the bathroom, but Thane stops me.
“Wait.” He presses a warm washcloth to my face, and I quickly take a step back.
“What the hell?”
“You have dried blood all over your face. Let me clean it off.”
“I can do it myself!” I reach for the washcloth, but he pulls it away before I can grab it.
“I need to do it,” he growls, staring me down.
“Why? Why are you doing any of this?”
“You wouldn’t understand,” he answers dismissively.
“Try me.”
He grunts and rolls his eyes. “I marked you, which means you belong to me.”
“The hell I do!” I spit, before storming out of the bathroom.
A second later, I slam into his rock-hard body when he appears in front of me, wearing a scowl.
“You’re mine whether you like it or not.” My hand is an inch from his face when he catches my wrist and pulls me into him. “Stop fighting me, Grey.”
I crane my neck to look up at him. “I’ll never stop fighting.”
The two of us breathe each other in as we remain in a standoff, caught in a battle of wills. With each second our bodies are pressed against one another, his heat seeps into me, but despite every bone in my body telling me to surrender, I can’t bring myself to do it.
Eventually, Thane releases my wrist and stalks back to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.
After a few seconds, I hear the shower start and turn around to climb into bed, but pause when I see he tossed the washcloth onto it.
The sight of his submission brings a smile to my face, and although it’s a petty victory, it’s one I’ll gladly take.
As my body sinks into the bed, his scent wraps around me. It’s intoxicating and sexy, drawing unwanted thoughts with each breath I take. Every part of me hates the beast who has imprisoned me, and yet his scent is achingly delicious. Almost as if it were created from my darkest desires.
I slap my hands against the comforter like it will somehow clear my mind, but it does no such thing.
Maybe this is because of the mark. Kole had mentioned it carried feelings of lust and possessiveness.
Thane certainly has the latter, so whatever hint of lust I feel toward him has to be coming from this stupid mark.
I’d never actually feel that way about someone who insists on making my life a living hell.
I scrub my face with the washcloth, cleaning off the dried blood as the events of tonight begin to replay in my mind.
Just as my thoughts begin to run away, Thane saunters out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I quickly pull my eyes away, but not before catching a glimpse of the impressively defined V.
While he heads for the dresser, I take the opportunity to return the washcloth to the bathroom. The moment I step through the threshold, heat engulfs me as steam clings to the mirrors. I run the washcloth through warm water, watching the blood race toward the drain as I wring it out.
When I turn to exit, I run straight into Thane’s shirtless body and quickly take a step back, noting he’s replaced the towel with a pair of grey sweats that leave little to the imagination.
“Did you find what you were looking for?” he asks, turning to the side to allow just enough room for me to pass through.
“What are you talking about?” My body brushes against his in the doorway, and my breath catches in my throat.
“My study,” he clarifies. “You were obviously in there looking for something.”
“Maybe I’ve just grown bored of my room,” I dismiss over my shoulder, as I make my way back to the bed. Though the steam has made me hot, the sheets feel cool against my skin as I settle back in.
“Riiiight,” he says sarcastically.
I watch him closely as he makes his way from the bathroom to the far side of the bed, where the candlelight seems to dance across his skin, making the ridges of his muscles look even more defined.
Everything from his sharp jawline to his protruding shoulders depicts unimaginable strength.
Hybrid aside, Thane is the perfect representation of an Alpha.
His brooding face and strained posture only add to his commanding aura.
“Why do you have a file on me?”
He pauses next to the nightstand, half of his face shadowed as he turns to look at me.
“What kind of Alpha would I be if I didn’t do my due diligence?”
“What did you think you were going to find?” I press, turning on my side and propping my head in my palm.
“Answers,” he mutters quietly, before blowing out the flames with one huff. “Something that would explain how a five-foot-two, little girl could’ve survived the past three years in a world run by vampires and werewolves.”
I huff out a humorless laugh, watching his dark figure prowl over to the candelabra on the nightstand next to me. “I’ve survived my whole life surrounded by monsters. The past three years were no different.”
He doesn’t say anything to that, and I don’t want him to. Instead, he heads for the large, cushioned chair stationed next to the bathroom and sinks down into it.
In the dark, his silhouette is even more ominous, and when his eyes flicker to me, the oxygen deflates from my lungs. In the pitch black, they seem to glow just as brightly as the moon itself, remaining locked on me from across the room like I’ll disappear if they drift for only a moment.
The intensity of his gaze is unsettling to say the least, so I roll over, turning my back to him. I can still feel his eyes on me, but I do my best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of being watched and close my eyes.
It’s not long before tears slip from the corners of my eyes, soaking into the pillow as my mind and body fight to forget the horrors of what happened.
The memory of Troy’s touch burns into my skin like an invisible tattoo, and I hug my knees to my chest, trying to quiet the sobs fighting their way out of me.
I’d give anything to be alone right now.
To be able to process the night in solitude, without a hybrid who has vampire hearing eyeing me from across the room.
But of course, life continues to show me no mercy.
When I hear Thane stir in his chair behind me, my heart stops for a moment.
I don’t want him to know how much tonight affected me.
It was already stupid of me to tell him in the woods that I have hidden scars.
Letting him see the weakest parts of me is something I can’t afford. No doubt he’ll take advantage of it.
I’m not sure what time it is when I wake, but the room is still cast in darkness as I carefully make my way to the bathroom.
Though Thane is asleep, my pulse still races as I grow closer to him.
I quickly slip into the bathroom and quietly shut the door, releasing the deep breath I had been holding.
As I finish up, the cologne bottle next to the sink catches my attention.
It’s black with a gold label that I can’t quite make out in the dim light of the flickering candle.
I take off the cap and breathe in the masculine aroma.
I’m not even sure why I felt compelled to do it, but the scent of it is like a drug I can’t get enough of.
It’s almost painful to put it down, and I wonder if that’s another side effect of the mark.
Either way, the obsession I seem to have over his scent is one I don’t need to feed.
Before I give in to the compulsion again, I slip back out of the bathroom, but just as I turn around, Thane grabs my wrist and tugs me onto his lap so fast I hardly have time to process how I got there.
My mind is telling me to pull away, but my body continues to straddle his lap like it has no intention of getting up.
A low growl rumbles deep within his muscular chest while his hands grip my waist, forcing me further on top of him.
The hard length of him presses against his sweats beneath me, and I gasp as heat crawls up my thighs, claiming every inch of my flesh.
Thane buries his face into my neck, breathing me in while his hands slip beneath my nightgown.
They slowly draw up my back, igniting a fire of desire within me as words fail to form on my lips.
I shouldn’t want this, but I can’t help it.
The feeling of his touch is electrifying, and I need more of it. More of him.
His tongue begins tracing circles over the place he marked me, sending a shiver through my entire body while his hands fall to my ass, pulling me into him so that there’s no more space between us.
Without overthinking it, I grind my hips against him, needing to release the tension that has now consumed my lower half, but it’s not enough, and it’s as if he feels the same way.
Thane’s lips crash into mine, his tongue demanding access to my mouth, which I gladly give.
He tastes better than I could’ve ever imagined as his tongue dances around mine with quick teases.
Every part of me now aches for him, and I trail my hand down his bare chest, stopping at his waistband.
For a moment, I pull away from his kiss to find his glowing golden-white eyes drinking me in.
Two of his fingers slip beneath the thin strap, slowly dragging it off my shoulder as he follows the movement with soft kisses.
My head falls back just as my nightgown falls to the side, and he claims my aching breast with his mouth, releasing a deep groan that makes me arch my back.
In a swift movement, Thane picks me up and settles me onto the enormous chair, kneeling before me with a hunger in his eyes.
His gaze quickly drops to the part of me that is pulsing with uncontrollable need, and he tosses both of my legs over his shoulders, pulling me into him like a ravenous animal ready to go in for the kill.
My nails dig into the cushioned arms of the chair as he rips the black lace underwear off of me with his teeth like a complete savage, but before he continues, he looks up at me with a smirk that makes my heart stop beating. His sharp fangs snap out and…
“Wake up, Grey.”
A cool breeze brushes over my legs when Thane tosses the comforter off me, wearing a look of determination.
Any lingering feelings of lust quickly fade as loathing rises in their place, reminding me of my true feelings for the man standing over me.
I try to sit up, but a sharp pain shoots through my shoulders.
“What the fuck?”
I turn to find both of my wrists shackled to a set of chains that have been bolted to the wall on each side of his headboard.
“You didn’t really think I was going to let you get away with breaking into my study, did you?” His voice is laced with evil satisfaction.
I attempt to sit up again, but notice my ankles are bound too.
“I didn’t break in. The door was unlocked,” I say through gritted teeth.
Thane wraps his hands around my ankles, pulling me forward until my arms stretch as far back as they can go. Heat flares when his gaze drops to where my nightgown has bunched at the top of my thighs.
“You’ve continued to disobey me despite my generosity.”
“Generosity?” I scoff, glaring down my body at him. “You and I have very different definitions of the word.”
He releases my ankles, taking a few steps toward the door. “When I’m done with you, you’re going to miss my definition.”