Page 42 of Euphoria

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His gaze met mine, and all at once, I began to melt.

“Jane, what is the matter?” he asked, rising to his feet.

“You wish for me to be with you?” I asked directly, leaning my back against the door.

His gaze fixed on mine, burning a hole through my flesh and exposing my soul. He crossed the room, standing before me with all the power he had mustered, and reached past my waist. There was a click as he turned the key in the lock, and I was caged.

“I do not play games, Jane,” he murmured, remaining firm in his stance. “I would not have touched you if it were. I can be a sour man, I know this, but I wouldn’t treat you so.”

“You regard this…”

“Sacred.”

“And what of Blanche?” I asked cordially.

His eyes narrowed, giving away his annoyance. “What of her?”

“Everyone expects you to marry before the year is out,” I replied, disliking myself immediately for my jealousy.

“Jealousy becomes you, Jane,” he said, pressing against me. “But don’t worry yourself over her.”

My back flattened against the door as his body melded against mine. “I cannot help it. She singles me out for torment. She knows I…”

“Even if I were destitute, I would not stoop to marry Blanche. Not even if she were the richest woman in the world.” I stilled at his words, trying to formulate a response, but he wasn’t done yet. “You said to me that money was of little consequence, Jane. You said many things that surprised me and took me off guard. Someone of your position… You value thoughts and feelings. Enrichment of the soul. Blanche values vanity and greed and delights in tormenting those she deems as below her. How could I give myself to someone like her?”

“I…”

“Jane, you hesitate still,” he said. “You must tell me what you’re thinking. All your thoughts and dreams. Every last shred, no matter how wild and inconceivable, I must know them.”

I was uncertain, lost in a heaving ocean of overwhelming desire. “You want me and only me?”

“Yes.”

It was a simple answer, but it didn’t tell me the whole story. Trusting another human being, a man I’d given the greatest gift of all to—my love—was not a simple task. Not for I, who had been alone and solitary all my life. Opening my heart and soul to this man was the greatest battle I’d ever fought with myself.

“I still don’t understand,” I muttered as his lips brushed against my neck. “You were so abrupt that night in the library.”

“I was at war with myself,” he stated like it was a given.

“And who has won?”

“You are not plain,” he said, avoiding my question with the skill of a master. “You are little, but I wouldn’t use that word. You are delicate…”

A shudder flowed through my body as his teeth grazed the crook of my neck. “Edward…”

He fisted his hands in my hair and urged my head to the side. “And wild.”

“Men who are attracted to wildness usually want to tame it,” I retorted, curling his shirt in my fingers and tugging it from his trousers.

His teeth bit softly into my skin, and his lips soothed the flesh—pain, then pleasure. Tiny amounts.

“Why would I tame you, Jane?” he asked, his breath hot against my neck. “I would cherish your spirit and allow it to grow unhindered.”

“So I’m not a trophy?”

“No, you are not. You’re a treasure.My treasure.” So he desired to own me and exert his power.

“But I am a secret?” I argued, attempting to stay afloat before the raging current of our desire dragged me under.