bChapter /bb152 /b

He nods, distracted by my fingers moving toward one of the straps of my nightgown.

“Now, if we’ve made things clear, let me return the favor.”

Under his attentive gaze, I slip one strap down and then do the same with the other, letting the fabric fall’and pool around my hips. My breasts are exposed to his hungry eyes. For a few seconds, neither of us moves or speaks. We just stare at each other, our breathing ragged. I

bcan /bfeel the heat in my chest.

“Are you sure?”

I tilt my neck slightly, a silent invitation for him to take from me what we both need. He keeps waiting for my answer, the hunger etched

across his face.

“Completely.”

My confirmation makes him rise from the bed, and in the blink of an eye, he’s in front of me, his hands gently gripping my shoulders. He locks eyes with mine, brushes his lips softly over my mouth, then trails slowly down my jawline, nibbles on my earlobe, and reaches the hollow of

my throat where my pulse is racing wildly.

My fingers don’t know what to do; I cling to his hips as Cassian pulls me against him and my breasts press against his chest. I hold my breath as I feel his warm breath against me and close my eyes the very moment he pierces my skin. The pain is fleeting, quickly reced by a warm

sensation that floods my veins and spreads to every inch of me.

“Cassian…”

thear his moan against my skin. His fingers trail down my sides, raising goosebumps, until they reach the nightgown bunched at my hips and

rip it open abruptly. He tears it from my body, leaving mepletely naked and at the mercy of his hands.

Every caress sends shivers through my system, and every pull of his mouth over my skin sets my blood on fire, fueling the ze that’s been building low in my abdomen. I dig my nails into his shoulders just as his fangs withdraw from my skin.

There’s no time to recover before his mouth is on mine, kissing me with hunger, without restraint. The taste of wild berries curls around my

tongue.

His hands wander down to grab my thighs and lift me effortlessly to the bed, where his body covers every inch of mine. He lowers his lips

down the line of my throat, across my corbone, and then kisses the curve of my right breast.

This time the bite doesn’t even hurt a little–I think I’m too drunk on pleasure.

“More,” I demand.

His growls fill the room, just like his bites cover my body. Right nowi, /ithere’s no worry in my mind–only the ecstasy he awakens in me. He releases my breast from his teeth and gently licks the wound, slowly trailing down my sternum and stomach.

When he circles my belly button with his tongue, a shiver tiptoes down my spine. I’m not wearing underwear, so my arousal is in to see. My

thighs are wet.

“Looking at you is the greatest privilege of my life… and the least deserved, ra.”

“I want you to look at me.” My fingers sink into his hair. “Only you look at me and know what I am.”

b“/bbI /bcouldn’t stop looking at you even if you begged me to.”

14:08 bSat/bb, /bb9 /bbAug /b

bG60/bb% /b

A smallugh escapes my chest, but it’s quickly silenced when his fangs scrape the skin of my thighs and then he bitesb–/bbright /bwhere I need bit /bmost. It sends me straight into a spiral of climax.

I writhe bin /bhis sheets, a trembling mess. When I finally settle, his mouth leaves my body. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me bto /bhis chest. bI /bcan feel the hardness beneath his pants, but when I reach down to ease it, he stops me.

b“/bNot yetb./bb” /b

Seeing the confusion on my face, he exins, “When I’m inside you, I don’t want to be afraid that you’ll vanish at any moment. I want to savor every second. I want to be so hungry for your body that leaving this bed will be impossible.b” /b

“Twenty–three days, Cassian.”

“Twenty–three days and you and I will be unstoppable together.”

He kisses my forehead, and I fall asleep soon afterb, /bknowing that when I open my eyes again, I won’t be with him.