Page 97 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts

Even through my blood-loss haze, the self-loathing in his voice hurt my soul. I wanted to reach for him, to tell him it was worth it—thathewas worth it—but my tongue felt too heavy to form the words.

The van tilted and swayed around me like a ship in rough seas. My head felt stuffed with cotton wool, thoughts drifting lazily through a fog. Seb was right—he’d taken far too much.

But all I felt was a surge of warmth blooming in my chest as I looked at him. Even through my hazy vision, the raw anguish on his face tugged at something deep inside me. He looked so lost, so broken.My vampire.

With monumental effort, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. The world spun violently, and I had to pause, waiting for the dizziness to subside. When my vision cleared enough, I took in the sight of him—slumped against the van’s side, eyes fixed on the floor, shoulders hunched in defeat. His white shirt was torn and soaked dark crimson, though the wound that had been pouring blood earlier was no longer bleeding.

Moving with the careful deliberation of someone deeply drunk, I shifted forward. My knees found purchase on either side of his thighs as I settled onto his lap. His skinny black tie had somehow survived the chaos relatively intact. My fingers closed around the silk, using it to steady myself.

“What are you—”

I pressed my finger against Seb’s lips, silencing any further spiral of self-recrimination. His eyes widened as they fixed on mine.

“Putting this stupidly pretentious tie to good use.”

I yanked the silk, pulling him towards me, and smashed our mouths together.

There was no preamble, no gentle slide of lips, no tongues easing their way in. The kiss was hard and deep and messy, pulling us both under. Our lips crashed together like waves against rocks, desperate and wild. His tongue swept into my mouth, claiming every inch of it. I met him stroke for stroke, both of us frantic, as if we had mere moments left to live and needed to say everything all at once.

My feverish skin burned wherever it met his cool touch. The weight of darkness pressed around us, making every brush of fingers electric.

And I couldn’t get enough of him.

There was an ocean’s worth of starlight breaking against my ribs. Like high tide rushing in, warmth flooded every hollow space inside me. My heart swelled like a wave before it crashes, and the undertow of desire pulled me deeper.

Seb’s mouth moved against mine with a steady rhythm. Our kisses ebbed and flowed, deep then shallow, urgent then leisurely. I chased the metallic tang of my own blood across his tongue, the taste foreign and thrilling. His cool lips warmed beneath my own, as each kiss felt like falling through velvet darkness.

“Sebastián,” I breathed like a prayer.

“This is what it feels like,” he murmured against my cheek, between kisses.

“What?”

“This is what it feels like to be alive.”

My breath hitched as his hands gripped my hips, anchoring me. I pressed one hand against his chest, over the place where his beating heart once lay.

“Then I’ve been dead until now too.”

A broken noise fell from his lips, and I rocked against him, turning the sound into a deep rumble of a groan. The fog in my head abruptly cleared, like morning mist burning away under the sun. My limbs still felt heavy, but the worst of the dizziness had subsided.

Seb captured my chin. “Are you okay?”

“Very okay.”

Capturing his mouth again, I whimpered around his tongue, desperate for more as I ground my hips down on him, my cock happily hardening again. My fingers itched to tear the clothes from both our bodies—if only we weren’t blood-soaked in the wreckage of a van.

I pulled back, breathing heavily. “When you bit me, you made me…” I half nodded towards my groin, heat rising in my cheeks.

Seb’s eyes widened as understanding dawned. His fingers traced up my inner thigh, stopping at the damp patch on my jeans. Something shifted in his expression—a flash of hunger very different from before.

In one fluid motion, he flipped our positions. My back pressed against the cold metal floor of the van as he loomed over me, his curls falling forward to frame his face. The grace of the movement left me breathless.

His fingers brushed my belt buckle. “May I?”

Well then.Apparently Seb had no qualms about our situation in this wreck of a van. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

With nimble fingers, he undid my belt, and carefully worked my jeans and briefs down just enough. I sprang free, a sticky mess, and Seb’s gaze raked over me appreciatively before meeting my eyes again.

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