Chapter 19
C assia
My mouth dropped open. Crawl?
A waver of uncertainty flickered in his gaze, so quick it was gone before I could fully process it. But the impression remained. He waited to see what I would do, if I would listen to him.
My thoughts warred in my head, one side wanting to yell at him for asking me to bow but the other, that side that found his request hot even though maybe I shouldn’t have, was jumping up and down asking to see what would happen.
That side won.
I lowered myself, gingerly placing my palms on the soft rug.
My feet got caught in my skirt, the garment having more sense than I, apparently.
I yanked on it and held it out of the way with my fist. Infuriatingly, I swear Lukas smothered a laugh.
If the twitch in the corner of his lip was any indication.
The closer I got to him, the darker his gaze turned. He walked over to the bed and glanced over his shoulder, expecting me to follow on my hands and knees. My heart started thumping behind my ribs, knowing exactly what he had planned.
Flashes of our kiss sparked in my mind, reminding me of what it felt like to be the subject of his affection. The ghost of his hand on my waist, the press of his palm on my lower back. The memories of these not-so-small moments sent flashes of heat swirling through my body.
It didn’t help, the way he was staring at me. It was as if I was the sexiest and most sacred creature he’d ever seen, combined with a dark and delicious desire to consume me.
Every part of me.
I didn’t know if I should get up and run screaming from the room or will my sliding knees to move faster.
Once I reached his feet, he loomed over me, staring straight down. “Good girl.”
Air slammed into my lungs while my blood rushed southward. I sat back on my legs and waited, not knowing what to do.
Whichever action I took, be it running away or throwing myself into his arms, it would likely change everything.
“Stand up,” he ordered, keeping his voice low. I did.
My skin seemed like it was vibrating, straining, reaching for the man in front of me while my rational self had something else entirely in mind.
“Look at me,” he said.
Lifting my gaze, my breath caught in the middle of my throat again.
None of this felt real. This was more than simple, terrible lust. There was something else between us, dragging us toward the other like colliding planets.
We were either set for mutual destruction, or something completely new would be built.
It terrified me as much as it excited me. What if he went out one day and never came back, some crazy tragedy having taken him away from me? What if he got bored and tired of me, treating me like one of the overlooked candlesticks on top of the dresser? I wouldn’t be able to bear it.
But what if he was as constant and faithful to me as he was with everything else in his life. Maybe if I just gave him...
He cupped my cheek with one hand and brought my face to his with the other, tearing me away from my thoughts.
He pressed his mouth to mine, gently prodding my lips with his tongue.
The edge of the mattress hit the back of my legs, and I held his waist, my fingers pressing into his warmth through his shirt.
For the so-called “undead”, he was very hot. In every way.
“I’m going to taste every inch of you,” he said, his mouth just a millimeter away from my own. “All of you, every cell of your precious body, is mine.”
Before I knew what happened, my head was on the edge of the pillow. Leaning up on my elbows, I watched as the mattress dipped under his weight. The candles snuffed out all around us, leaving only two with gently wavering flames on the table. They shed a soft, amber light while he moved toward me.
His arms caged me, and he trailed his nose down the side of my face while his hair tumbled like a curtain around my head. “I’m going to find every spot that makes you sigh, every corner that makes you tremble, and every vein that makes you gasp.”
My head fell back on the pillow as the word “vein” echoed in my head.
He leaned backward, allowing me a close-up view of his nails as they grew.
They looked like glass—just as shiny and almost as clear.
They had a quartz-like quality I couldn’t describe with words other than to say they were lethally beautiful.
Then he slowly slid his index finger down from the neck of my dress, all the way to the hem, moving down my body with precision. The material fell away before he flicked the front of my bra, exposing my chest.
His lips separated slightly and his eyes drank me in.
His pupils expanded, almost as wide as the night he entered my apartment, and then suddenly, his lips were closed around my nipple.
A sharp gasp left me as pleasure shot straight down to my core.
His tongue lapped and circled my sensitive flesh, and I grabbed his hair, needing to hold onto something.
I found myself lifting from the comforter, offering myself as a living sacrifice to this alien god.
Alternating between gentle suckles and dragging the tip of my nipples between his teeth, he worshipped my body, leaving me burning with want. His mouth left hot trails across my skin that cooled in the air, just to be warmed again under his fingers.
My own fingers threaded through his hair, letting the soft strands weave between my fingers while I held him to my chest. My caress wandered to his shoulders, exploring the feel of his body beneath the linen shirt that so frustratingly blocked me from touching what I really wanted to.
He was exploring every inch of my skin, and I wanted to return the favor.
A ping of embarrassment tickled at me, remembering how soundly I’d rejected him and the moment I’d walked away. I shoved the thought down and then I felt it, the razor-sharp pain and sting of his fangs breaching my skin.
My pulse rushed through my veins as mortal fear filled me. Would he punish me for screaming at him that day? Was he seducing me into compliance so he could end my life with a feast? Everybody knew vampires drained all your blood—they couldn’t help the urge.
Carefully, I untangled my hand from his blond strands and raised it over my head. As best I could, I reached under my pillow, stretching until I felt the cool handle of the stiletto I’d hidden there weeks ago.
As subtly as possible, I started dragging my arm back down. Lukas was sweeping his tongue along the side of my breast with a long stroke, and he tucked his arm under my lower back. The movement helped me bring my arm down to my side.
I paused for a moment, falling under his spell again, and I let my eyes flutter closed, reveling in his ministrations. The arm he had lowered was gripping my hip, massaging my flesh. The heat of his body mingled with mine deliciously, making me languid and slow.
Then I felt the scrape of his teeth once again. Who was he to think he could just consume me? He’d left me alone for ages, acting like I didn’t exist, and then he pranced in expecting a meal.
Next thing I knew, I had the weapon pressed in the center of his chest. My heart stuttered when he stopped and lifted his gaze to my face. Multiple emotions skittered through his black gaze. Fury, bewilderment, disbelief, and finally hurt.
My brain came to a screeching halt, like a record skipping and playing the same notes over and over again. I fucked up .
Two choices were in front of me. I could either push the blade in, or I could run. There was a strong possibility, a very strong possibility, neither of those options would work out in my favor.
Guilt prickled up my spine, leaving a hollow feeling behind deep within my chest over the utter look of dejection I had witnessed. Never did I imagine he cared that much. Or had I just been blind to it?
Lukas moved a fraction of an inch closer, lowering his torso and letting the needle-like tip break his skin. A rivulet of blood bloomed around the tiny wound, beading into the shape of a raindrop. Then it fell, staining my skin red with a small dot.
“What are you going to do?” He asked, his voice softer than I expected.
My gaze stayed focused on the ball of liquid.
It wobbled gently with each of my exhalations.
My hand slid from his shoulder, where it had remained clutching onto him this whole time.
My finger hovered over the blood and then I swiped it up, smearing crimson on the pad of my index finger.
Then, I stuck my finger in my mouth and sucked the blood off.
He stared at me with a look of wonder on his face before that all-consuming heat reentered his gaze. The stiletto dropped to the floor as I set my head on the pillow again.
The whole room went dark before the flames on the candles jumped.
The crackling of their wicks was the only sound before I gasped.
Somehow, some way, Lukas was suddenly naked and the blankets were turned down on the bed.
My bare thigh was tucked between his, sandwiched against his soft skin and solid flesh.
My own clothes, all of them, had also mysteriously disappeared.
Lukas snared my wrists and pushed them back against the pillow.
His mouth was open just a fraction, enough to give me a glimpse of his dangerous fangs up close.
They were pearlescent from this vantage point.
All of his teeth were. His canines came to such a sharp point it hurt my eyes trying to focus on their taper.
He didn’t release his hold on me, and I could have sworn I felt a slight tremor in his grip.
His chest pressed against mine, his heart pounding against my skin.
I wasn’t the only one vulnerable, not if I had this effect on him.
It made me feel powerful, that a being such as him would let down his guard to this degree.