Chapter 25
Volik
She takes a step back.
I leave the door open behind me.
Her hands are still clutched in front of her chest. Her pupils—the beautiful blackness—are blown wide.
She’s… tense.
Anxious or scared?
I take a step forward.
Nix leans toward me, like the bond is literally pulling us together.
Because we are tied together. We were always meant to be.
There is no use fighting it. And I never planned to. Would never dare to deny the fates.
But Nix… She’s human.
Our hearts beat as one.
She’s human-ish.
Her eyes move up and down my body.
She desires me. She proved it before, with how she kissed me.
Our heartbeat jumps.
But she’s nervous.
She might not be ready.
Internally, I lock down my grasp on my amped-up power. And then I take one step.
Nix leans forward even more and has to move her feet to catch her balance, leaving just an arm’s length between us.
“Wh—” She looks up at me, wide-eyed. “What is happening?”
In one final step, I close the distance between us.
I will explain it all to her.
But then Nix places her hands on my bare stomach, and the connection feels like biting down on a live wire. Everything that was sparking around us in her classroom explodes outward, then crashes back. Violently snapping into place.
I grunt at the impact of power.
Nix starts to blink as her knees buckle, but I have her in my arms before her blink finishes.
Her legs spread as I pull her against me.
I am going to explain—
Nix slides her hands to the back of my neck while tightening her legs around my waist. And she groans.
I feel the pulse of gravito move between us, flowing out of my chest and into hers.
We hold each other tighter.
I want to throw her onto the couch and claim her. I want to fill her so full she cannot remember the word scared.
But I need her to know that she can delay this. That we can wait on this part until she’s ready.
Nix arches up, her lips an inch from mine.
And I kiss her.
I am a vampire, not a saint.
I press my lips to hers and push my tongue into her mouth.
Nix clings to me.
Water drips off my hair, evaporating off my shoulders in little puffs of condensation.
Her body radiates heat back at me.
It has been a hundred years, maybe more, since I have hugged someone. Truly hugged them. But it’s never been like this.
An embrace.
And the person I hugged never felt like this.
So warm. So soft. So perfectly molded to me.
I hug her tighter, tilting my head and pushing my tongue deeper into her mouth.
My fangs scrape along the sides of my tongue, reminding me that they are longer than they used to be. That I need to be careful.
Her eyes are shut.
She’s lost in the moment. The kiss. In me.
But I need to give her the option.
I need to be the responsible one.
Adjusting her in my hold, I maneuver Nix until I have her seated on my forearm. Tucked against my side, her thighs still on either side of my body.
The arm not holding my mate reaches out toward the kitchen.
I open my fingers, and when a smooth wooden handle slams against my palm, I close them.