Page 23 of Blood Queen

He watches me carefully, his expression unreadable. “I don’t want her.”

My stomach twists, but I force a smirk, brittle and hollow. “She looked pretty convinced.”

His mouth tightens. “You disappeared that winter. For a year! Then, out of the blue you call me. You beg to see me. I let you back in. And now six years of this cat-and-mouse game where you don’t call. You don’t text. You hold me at arm’s length only appearing when you need me. I get what’s in it for you…but what about me? I’ve made it clear over and over again that I want you. All of you, however, you’ll give yourself to me. But Christ…” he trails off, frustrated.

He sighs and scrubs a hand down his handsome face. “I was trying to forget you.”

A painful beat of silence.

I swallow hard, my nails digging into my palms. “Did it work?”

His gaze darkens. “Not even a little.”

I nod, even though it feels like my heart is being stripped away inside my chest, ragged edge by ragged edge. “I never meant to drag you into this,” I say softly, barely above a whisper. “That’s why I leave. That’s why I disappear. To protect you.”

His eyes flash like lightning in a storm. “Protect me? From what?”

“Me.” The word sticks in my throat like broken glass.

He shakes his head, disbelief etched across his features. “You don’t get to decide that. Not for me.” He takes a step forward, eyes boring into mine with the intensity of a wildfire. “I’m not some lost puppy you need to shelter from a hurricane. You act like you’re saving me by leaving, but you have no idea what it’s like on this end.

Emotion shivers through me—a potent mix of longing and terror. I waver on my feet but hold my ground, fists clenched tight with the urge to touch him.

He moves closer, until he’s a breath away and his presence is all around me—hot and demanding and impossible to ignore. He kisses me, and all of the fear and guilt and longing I’ve been holding inside erupts, shattering the dam I’ve kept so carefully in place.

I kiss him back with reckless abandon, letting it all bleed out. My hands find his hair, his shoulders, grasping desperately, like if I just hold on tight enough, maybe I can keep this, keep him.

For a moment, nothing else exists but him—his touch scorching away everything else. I forget who I have to be. I let go.

We break apart, ragged and breathless. His forehead rests against mine, and he’s watching me with those eyes that see everything.

“Stay,” he murmurs, low and rough—a quiet plea that twists my heart.

“I…” My voice is hoarse, torn between hope and despair.

He brushes a thumb across my lower lip, a soft promise that makes me ache in ways that are almost unbearable. “What do you want?”

“Your mouth,” I breathe out.

He grins at our inside joke.

“Where?”

I point to my neck, then drag my finger lower, over my collarbone, down my sternum over my black silk dress, over my belly and stop between my legs.

He makes a low sound in his throat, one that vibrates straight through me. He dips low, his fingers find the hem of my dress, brushing my thighs—teasing as he lifts it, and I’m dizzy with how much I need him.

His name is a gasp.

He slides the fabric higher, trailing kisses over every inch of exposed skin until the dress slides up and over my arms, gets tossed on the floor. His lips burn like fire, and I arch into him, my body a live wire. He pauses, just shy of where I want him most, hooded eyes meeting mine.

His mouth moves lower, and the world fades to white hot bliss.

“Fuck,” he growls, his voice low and rough. He presses a single, deliberate kiss right there. My thighs clamp around his head instinctively, my hips grinding against his face, but he pulls back just enough to drive me insane.

I bite my lip hard enough to taste blood, my heart pounding so loud I’m sure he can hear it. He spreads my legs wider and lowers his mouth to me, I swear I see stars. His tongue flicks against my clit, and I nearly come undone.

I wake a few hours later in tangled sheets, sleep clinging to the edges of me. His arm is heavy across my waist—a warm weight that lulls me back toward unconsciousness.

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