Page 28 of Reap the Night
“Your job was to be Ezekiel’s watcher,” Hemlock said flatly. “But you can’t do that, not while he has feelings for you. Not while you’re standing in the way of him falling for Ariella.”
“And how can you be so sure that he’ll fall for her once I’m gone? How can you be so sure that he’ll fall for her if he thinks I’m sleeping with someone else, in love with someone else?”
“We can’t,” Ordell said, “but we have to try. Our lives and everyone else’s lives depend on it.”
“Please, Orina,” Hemlock said again.
I closed my eyes on an exhale because there was nothing more to say and only one thing that I could do.
Allow myself to fall in love with Kaster Black.
Chapter 11
Ihad a key to Kaster’s apartment, but I knocked anyway. He answered almost immediately. It was nighttime, after all. The time when he was most active. Soft notes of classical music escaped into the hallway along with the sweet scent of vanilla from one of the candles I’d bought him.
He stared at me with questions in his dark eyes.
I was tired, so tired of all the emotions that churned through me, unsatisfied and unreconciled. Tired of the possibilities that I could never have. Of the loneliness that lived in my heart even though my cup of purpose was full.
I was tired of being the protector. The leader.
Tired of unresolved and incomplete stories.
I’d come to Dracul territory with a disgust for vampires, but two had wormed their way into my affections. One I couldn’t…shouldn’t have, because he already belonged to someone else. But there was no reason that my story with the other should remain unwritten.
I took a breath, stepped closer to Kaster, and tipped my face up to his. “Will you be mine for real? I can’t fully consummate what we have, but I can give you my heart. Will you accept it?” It was selfish of me, but I was too drained to be noble.
He exhaled softly, his dark eyes searching mine for long seconds before his hands came up to cup my face.
A gentle buzz raced over my mind, and then his smooth voice filled it.I’m already yours, Orina, and your heart is more than enough.
He pressed his lips to mine in a kiss that offered acceptance but demanded nothing then gently steered me into the apartment.
You’re freezing. I’ll make some cocoa.
But I didn’t want cocoa. I wanted him. Had been craving him for the longest time.There are other ways to warm me up.
A different kind of heat bloomed in his eyes.You’re right. There are.He scooped me off my feet, and I let out a yelp of surprise that turned into a giggle as he crossed the apartment toward the bedroom.
But he didn’t take me to the bed. He carried me into the bathroom dominated by a huge shower that we’d had fitted with the largest rainfall showerhead.
He set me down on the tiles.
Take off your clothes. He kissed the spot beneath my ear.
I peeled my top over my head and dropped it at my feet. My heart beat hard in my throat with anticipation. It had been too long since I felt skin on skin, too long since a man willingly worshipped my body without expecting culmination. I kicked off my trousers next, standing before him in my underwear.
Kaster tugged off his shirt and pushed down his pants. My pulse skipped at the sight of his arousal. I wanted it.
He followed my gaze, smiling knowingly, then pulled his pants back up.Let’s hide the temptation.
I reached for him.I want to touch you. Taste you.
Next time. Tonight is about you. He traced the seam of my bra, running his fingers along the tops of my breasts before reaching for the clasp and unhooking it with one hand.
His gaze was a caress leaving me aching. I wanted him to touch me, to put his mouth on me, but he didn’t. Instead, he gripped my hips and hooked his thumbs into my panties.May I?
I nodded, biting back a moan as he slowly peeled them down, exposing me to cool air. I kicked them off, naked now. Vulnerable.
