bChapter /bb151 /b

I don’t know why the intonation of thatst word makes my cheeks flush a deep red. The heat spreads across my whole face. He seems to notice, narrowing his eyes and drawing a mischievous smile on his lips. I can’t say anything in response, so I just nod and keep eating in silence. During the time it takes me to finish my te, Ciro watches me with interest and a hint of amusement. When Iy my fork on the te and dere dinner finished, I wipe my lips with the napkin and look at him again, hoping my cheeks are no longer an rming shade of

red.

“I think I’ll go to sleep now. I’m a bit tired from today’s outing.”

I try to make my words sound t, so nothing reveals the excitement coursing through me at the thought that maybe I’ll encounter Cassian.

The mere possibility of seeing him through the strange bond between us makes my fingers tingle with anticipation.

“Of course.” He mimics me, wiping his lips.

He scrapes the chair back, stands, and offers me his hand. I take it, once again surprised not to feel the same cold I used to when touching a vampire’s skin. For a moment I worry–has my body temperature dropped enough for him to notice? However, he says nothing and walks me to the door of my chambers, where, as he has before, he kisses my knuckles and wishes me sweet dreams.

I watch him walk away, noting the way the muscles in his back shift as he moves. I wonder if, in another reality–where Cassian didn’t exist

and I wasn’t the key to the survival of a race, nor torn from my family–there would be an ra capable of falling in love with Ciro Amery. Not for his beauty, but for the wounded, broken heart hiding behind his vests,

When I wake, I know I’m not in my room and that everything happening will be real. I look down at my feet, sinking into the fur of the magnificent rugs covering Cassian’s bedroom floor, and slowly raise my gaze until I see him. He’s in bed, shirt unbuttoned, hair tousled, face looking tired. Still, when he realizes I’m standing in front of him, the corners of his mouth pull into a daring smile.

“You came.”

“You asked me to find you.” I stay where I am and tilt my head curiously. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

“Sometimes I find it hard to believe you don’t hate me.”

“I don’t hate you?” Now it’s my lips that curve into a yful smile. “Then what do you think I feel?”

He leans back further into the pillows, settling himself. Except for the night I gave myself to him physically, I’ve never seen him rxed. He’s always seemed inessible, as if constantly burdened by something, though his smiles try to distract from it.

“Judging by the scent I pick up in the air, you definitely desire me.”

Contrary to what might be expected, I don’t blush or show any sign of embarrassment. At least not with him.

“I could say the same about you,” I reply. “You’ve got the eyes of a hungry man.”

“Maybe I am.”

The blue of his gaze darkens until I can no longer distinguish his irises from his pupils. His hunger bes palpable, charging the air with an electric current. I notice the whiteness of his knuckles gripping the sheets, as if he’s holding himself back from lunging at me. I don’t know why I find that so attractive and erotic.

“You have many feeders–surely one of them has kept your desires well satisfied.”

I try bwith /bball /bmy might to keep my voice casual, unaffected. Cassian clicks his tongue while flexing one knee and resting a hand on it. Every part of his body seems deliberately ced so he can’t be ignored. He’s a predator calling his prey. However, I no longer y that role. I’ve realized I have fangsb, /bws, gifts. I’m as lethal as he is. We’re two predators in the same room, dancing what seems to be a dance of

seduction.

b“/bIf by desires you mean drinking just enough of their tasteless blood to survive while I waited for your return, then yes, my desires have been

satisfied.”

“How the mighty fall.” I don’t bother to hide how my gaze roams over his body. “I was under the impression your thirst was insatiable.”

“Believe me, it is.”

He wets his lips, and that slight motion adds more fuel to the fire that’s been burning in me since I saw him. My body isn’t immune to his

charms–1 fear it never has been.

“What stopped you, then?”

His deepugh rumbles against the walls of the room, filling everything with warmth. His eyes shine when he looks at me, and my heart begins to race. My mouth goes dry, thirsty for whatever his lips are about to say next.

“You always stopped me.” He removes his shirt, revealing every inch of his muscled body. Nature blessed him with a dangerous kind of beauty. “Ever since I saw you at that auction, I haven’t been able to think about anything but you. Your blood is the only thing that now nourishes me; the rest has lost its taste. I can’t see colors if you’re not near, music only ys if ites in the form of yourughter. You’ve

turned me into something I never wanted to be: weak.”

“And do you hate me for it?” I ask, holding my breath.

“Do you think I do? I thought you’d already figured out how I feel.”

“I know you desire me. I know you want to possess me.”

“And will you let me?”

“No.” I take another step toward his bed, contradicting my words. “I want to be your equal.”

“You are.”

“How can’`l be sure what you say is true?”

“You can’t. All I know is that I am yours, even if you refuse to be mine.” He rises higher on the bed, burning me with his gaze. “And you are my

equal.”

“Even if I were still human?”

“Even then.”

“Good, because I wouldn’te back here to be a prisoner, Cassian. I’d kill you before going back to that.”

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14:08 Sat Aug