Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110809 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
I’m on my couch. Valen sits beside me, his arm around me. My head is on his shoulder.
I pull back and instantly regret it as vertigo crashes through me. I put my head back where it was, the disorientation receding slightly.
“How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to know you talk in your sleep.” His voice is low, smooth.
I close my eyes and realize the pleasant scent was him. “What did I say?” My words slur slightly, and a tiny giggle bubbles from my throat.
“Nothing earth-shattering, I’m afraid. Something about a kitten.”
“Orange kittens.” I sigh. “So cute.” I press closer to him, my nose at his throat. He’s so damn warm.
He shifts and pulls me into his lap easily, draping me across him. I should protest, but I don’t. It feels good. Actually, it feels amazing to simply be hugged, to be touched by someone. Even if it comes with strings. Even if it’s by a monster. God, I miss touch. How could I have forgotten how good this feels?
“Injured?” I mumble, my mind sparking with memories of how he often arrives half-gutted.
“Not tonight. It was more of a fair fight than I’m used to. Only a dozen or so at once.”
Another giggle skips from my lips. “Lies.”
“Afraid not.” He tucks my head under his chin.
If I could purr, I would. But I can’t, so I don’t. I simply sink into him, letting myself go when I should be on my guard.
“What is this?”
“Existential questions at this juncture? Seems a bit much.” He rests one hand on my thigh, the other at my hip. His embrace is as delicious as it is poisonous. I want more. “No, I mean this.” I breathe out against his neck.
He tenses beneath me, his grip on my thigh growing wonderfully tight. “Careful, Doctor.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be careful.”
“Careful,” he says again, his voice low and husky. “I’m not the sort who’ll walk away and leave you sleeping, untouched.”
“Because you’re bad.” I hiccup.
“Very.” His hand slides higher, rounding to my inner thigh. “The worst.”
“You don’t have to convince me.” I shudder, pleasure licking along my skin like flames.
“I wouldn’t mind trying.” His fingers dip along my leg, rubbing circles on my skin, only the fabric of my pajama bottoms separating us.
My eyelids flutter closed. I want his touch higher, I want it deeper. God, I want, I want, I want. But why does it have to be him? Why is he the one that sets me on fire, that makes my breath hitch and my mind go blank?
“Because we’re bound,” he murmurs.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You did.” His fingers venture even higher, so close to my core.
A low rumble in his throat sends goosebumps along my flesh, my nipples hard, my skin damp and sensitive.
“Look at me.” His voice is a river, rolling over me, washing away my rough edges until I’m smooth beneath his touch.
I tilt my head back, my eyes opening and meeting his blue gaze. With the quickness of a striking snake, he kisses me. His mouth sears me, taking my breath away as I cling to his neck. He gives me no quarter, his tongue claiming mine as he turns my head and slants his mouth over me. It’s everything. I can’t think of anything but him, of the heat rising inside me until I’m certain I’ll be blackened and charred from the inside out.
A moan rises in my throat, and he grips me harder, his body so tight and strong beneath me. I’m lost to him, to this kiss. The vertigo is back, but this time it’s complete. I’m falling. I don’t know which way is up.
When he pulls away, I gasp in air even as I reach for him again. As if I need him more than oxygen. A craving.
“I told you, Doctor. I won’t stop.” He grips my hair, pulling the strands until my neck is exposed to him.
When he kisses me there, I arch into the heat of his lips. But then I remember. Through the haze of lust and alcohol. I remember what he is.
“Don’t!” I yelp.
He freezes.
Slowly, he pulls me upright until our eyes meet. Coldness lives in his now. The scorching inferno from only moments ago is gone.
“You think I’d hurt you?” he asks, his voice low and silky.
“I-I don’t know.”
He releases me, placing me on the couch as he stands. Looking down at me, he’s all angles and darkness. Not even his eyes have their feline glow.
“When you want my bite—and you will—I won’t go easy on you.”
I’m at a complete loss of how to respond to him. My head is spinning, and I almost regret stopping him now that I’m sitting here alone, cold seeping into me. “I don’t know what that means,” I offer weakly, my head beginning to pound.
He smirks, a glint of teeth in the dark. “You will.”