Page 84 of A Kiss From Death
He snaps his hand out, wrapping it fully around my neck and applying just the right amount of pressure without taking my breath away. His thumb strokes softly back and forth over the dip of my neck, making me swallow harshly against it.
I gasp as his mesmerizing eyes finally lay claim to mine, my heart lurching to a halt. They promise ruining, and every time I’m ensnared by them, my body begs to give in to his every command, even at the mercy of corrupting my soul.
“You. Are. Perfection,” he growls, and it echoes off the walls around us.
He’s breaking right before me, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I want to dig my nails under his skin until all that’s left is the feeling of me etched deep within his soul. It’s intoxicating and addictive. There are no words to describe the string tethering us together.
Our breaths heave in time with each other as a million emotions crash through his eyes, painting a vivid story. I can physically taste his lust against my tongue, but there’s also questioning. There’s plea and restraint. He’s not quite sure what this is between us, or if it’s okay. I know this because I feel all those emotions pushing against my heart as well.
I wash my thoughts away and lean into his touch. A low rumble trembles from his throat, making me drag my bottom lip between my teeth while a soft breath leaves my throat. I stare the beast down in front of me as my body hums with anticipation.
“You make me want to do verybadthings, Nyxi,” he says in a strained tone.
I reach out and drag my nail up his chiseled torso until it lands at the base of his neck. “What happened to flowers first? Chivalry is dead,” I say in a teasingly seductive purr.
He flicks his wrist, and a thorny rose appears in the air, made from his black shadow magic. It floats between us, bobbing softlyas it spins slowly. My eyes widen in surprise, and I can’t help my smile.
He plucks the rose with a dark gleam in his eyes. I pout as he grips the rose instead of handing it over to me. The magic seems to purr in his grasp, recognizing him as its maker.
“How am I supposed to admire the pretty offering if you won’t hand it over?” I pout dramatically.
A shit-eating grin makes the side of his lips kick up, and my pulse rises with it. “Who said flowers were only good for looking pretty?”
Leaning forward, he brings the rose between us so it sits just below my nose. I inhale deeply, making some of the magic flow into my nose. My head floats and my body hums like a drug is racing through my veins. I’m nothing and everything at the same time as I feel his magic work through my body, carving out a chasm deep within me.
“Hade,” I moan, my eyes closed as his magic settles deep in my core. I could combust just from the feel of his magic coiling through my body like a claiming.
My eyes spring open when I feel a soft caress of something dragging across my chest. I tremble as he runs the top of the black rose across my skin like a feather, leaving electricity behind where it connects with my heated skin. It feels familiar but also a little denser than his usual magic, as if real rose petals were made from fluffy clouds.
One of the thorns drags across my hardened nipple, and I gasp—not in pain, but pleasure. The thorn pushes against my skin but doesn’t cut me, leaving behind a delicious sting that turns heated.
He continues his pursuit of my body, dragging the head of the rose down my stomach, feather light, coating my body in chills. It’s a delicious, heady feeling, and I never want it to stop. I wouldhappily love to receive flowers from Hade every day if this is the outcome.
I flinch as I feel the rose press right above the sensitive nerves between my thighs. He teases me, dragging it in circles across my lower stomach but never lower, driving me to insanity as I thrash in the grip of the tendril of magic around my upper body.
“Tell me to stop,” he breathes, tortured.
“Don’t….stop,” I chant the words.
The feral moan that leaves his lips makes me feel things that shouldn’t be possible, and I’m wound into a tight ball of need and wanting from his teasing, addicting touch.
“I…” I pant, trying to make my brain work through the fog.
“What,beautiful?” he taunts as he continues his torture on my body.
“Need,” I drag out in a breath, the only word my tongue is capable of making.
“Tell me what you need, Nyxi.” His voice drops dangerously low. “Use your words and tell me exactly what that pretty head of yours is thinking.”
“You,” I sputter as he swipes the rose dangerously close to my center. I freeze for a second as the realization of my words come crashing in. I can see the hesitancy in his eyes as he tracks my movements.
Hade is myinevitableand always has been. I feel it deep in my bones, to my very soul, that our paths were always meant to cross. This chaos between us is bigger than the two of us, and there is no escaping it, only forging through the madness. I can’t walk away any more than he can right now.
The fates do not care about our pasts, only our futures and fulfilling our destinies. In this exact moment, I finally realize Hade is mydestiny. He is the answer to it all, no matter how complicated our pasts may be, and I’m learning to give myself grace. Therecan be a then, and there can be a now. Both are equally important without replacing each other.
Hade drags his thumb across my bottom lip slowly, pulling my mind back to him and out of this endless cycle of self-criticism. I look up at him with big, emotional pits for eyes as he drags his thumb down, making my lip bounce.
“You’re so tense, Nyxi,” he says softly. “Stressed, tired, and emotionally drained from the past few weeks.” He drags his thumb across my cheek, making me sigh and lean into it. He’s pulling me from my head once again, like he knows every self-deprecating thought. My body relaxes as his touch brings a calmness without him even trying, like it recognizes him as part of itself.
