Page 14 of Love and Death
My body goes rigid. His tongue moves hot and rough over my skin, licking up the side of my throat to the edge of my jaw. He pauses, the tip of his nose brushing against my ear as he breathes me in, a low, guttural sound of pleasure rumbling through him.
If I couldn’t see him with my own two eyes, I’d swear he’d shifted into his hellhound form in order to devour me whole.
I balk at the utter strangeness of the moment and am nearly returned to my senses in disgust. But, before I can open my mouth to demand that he release me, a searing pain suddenly erupts from my neck.
I inhale sharply through clenched teeth. My mind spins, but I have no time to understand what he’s done—no time to register the agony threading through my veins before his mouth is on mine again.
A low, inhuman growl rumbles through his chest as he deepens the kiss. His body hardens as he presses into me, crushing me flat against the cold wall as the hand behind my head drops to trace down my waist, over my hip, and along my thigh.
Another helpless whimper manages to escape me just as my mouth fills with the smoky tang of him, mingled with something else that’s both sweet … and all too dangerous.
And, entirely wrong.
I can hardly tell where the pain ends and the pleasure begins. The warmth of his mouth on mine blurs the lines, twisting and tangling them together until I’m almost certain they’re one and the same.
It’s as if a fire has been kindled, igniting a far more primal desire within me than I ever knew existed. The tension between us crackles and sparks, and I find myself responding to him despite something …somethingtugging at the very edges of my soul.
I reach up to run my fingers through the dark locks of his hair while my other hand, still pressed to his chest, takes its time memorizing the hard lines of his chest as a shiver of delight runs across his skin.
And yet … I frown, discomfort and uncertainty welling up within me over thewrongnessof my actions.
What am I doing?
Thick fog swirls through my mind as I try to remember, try to cling to any semblance of right and wrong.
Each kiss draws me closer to the edge. Closer to losing myself. Closer to losing ...
Why can’t I remember?
It isn’t until Cerberus’ hand hooks behind my thigh and lifts it high up over his hip to grind himself against me, with nothing but a few thin layers of fabric between us, that I am jolted back to my senses … And I finally remember what my body has been so desperate to make me forget, much to my shame.
Death.
Clarity returns to me as my thoughts fill with him,and though my body continues to fight me, I know my heart still belongs to him.
It willalwaysbelong to him.
I am not so weak that I will allow myself to continue to dishonor his memory. I will not give in to whatever hellish power this is. Not here, not like this, and certainly not with the likes of Cerberus.
I drop my hand from his hair and push hard against the hellhound’s chest, struggling to free myself before I can succumb to another lapse in judgment … but he’s far too heavy, his hold on me too tight.
I dig my nails into Cerberus’ chest with newfound resolve and forcefully break the kiss, tilting my head to the side in an effort to escape him.
“Tell me you would have me.”
“No,” I gasp through agonizing pain, even as his fingers tighten around my thigh to pull me closer. “I don’t want this.”
“Liar,” he whispers gruffly, his voice raw as his lips brush against my jaw, and I shudder as the sharp lines of pain blur once more into pleasure.
No.
This isn’t right.
“Cerberus, stop!” I hiss, a fresh wave of rage and disgust tearing through me, new and raw like an open wound.
Almost instantly, his body goes rigid.
Cerberus blinks several times, his lips still hovering precariously close to mine as he stares down at me.
