Page 94 of A Drop of Anguish
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. ‘Hot Demon Bitches,’ after all…”
Jarron raises a brow then grins. “That’s not exactly my type of woman.”
“But certainly fits your brand.”
He shakes his head in mock disapproval. The silence settles around us and somehow makes every touch stand out more. My heart pounds. There’s fear somewhere in my chest, but it’s buried beneath layers and layers of other, much more important feelings.
Jarron’s lips graze gently over my collarbone. I allow my head to loll back, taking in the incredible sensation. Then, I gasp when two sharp points press into the lingering marks of my wolf bite.
I wait, expecting the pain to increase. Wanting it.
My muscles tense, anticipating his fangs carving into the mark and erasing the pain of that moment, replacing it with him. I hadn’t considered wanting that before, but it’s all I can think about now. I need it.
A moment later, Jarron lifts his head without so much as scraping my skin.
My heart hammers. “Do it.”
Jarron flinches.
“I mean it,” I say breathlessly, suddenly desperate. Certain beyond words that is what I want. What I need. I need that mark gone. Even with the wolf dead, it won’t fade for weeks or months—unless a stronger being covers it. “I don’t want that douchebag’s mark on me. I want yours.”
A rumble of a growl escapes Jarron’s chest as he examines me, but he doesn’t move, not an inch. He watches me for what feels like hours. When he responds, his voice rumbles with alien power.
“Do you wish for me to claim you, bright one?”
I jerk back. “What?” I squeak. “I—that’s not the same thing, is it?”
His dark smile sends a thrill all the way to my spine. A bite and a claiming mark are very different. From the outside, they’re similar. The marks will warn off other supernaturals from bothering me because it’s a symbol that I’m of interest to someone powerful. But a bite will fade quickly. Laithe feeds from different people weekly, he told me. He does not claim them.
A bite is a casual hookup. A claiming mark is a commitment, the first step in a true bonding.
“He claimed you.” The demon studies the puncture marks on my neck. “He had no right, and he did so without permission, so it holds little power, but that is what you ask me to cover. To replace.”
I swallow. “You can’t get rid of it without claiming me?”
“I can,” he purrs and then leans in to nuzzle his nose against my neck.
I suck in a desperate breath.
His voice eases to his normal tone. “But you should be very clear what you’re asking of me, sunshine.”
“Do it, please. Bite me. Make it go away.”
Jarron pulls away to look me in the eye, and he sighs. “No.”
My heart plummets. My mind spins, unable to understand the rejection. I stand, and this time, he doesn’t stop me. My heart aches as I face the empty room. “Why?”
Slowly, Jarron stands. I don’t move as he maneuvers himself to face me, our chests inches apart. He gently places two fingers under my chin and lifts it until my gaze meets his. “I can tell you with absolute certainty there is nothing in the universe that I want more than to cover that mark with my own.”
“Then, wh—”
“Because I want more than now. More than tonight. I am playing the long game, Candice.”
Something flutters in my chest, but my tension has not alleviated.
“If you wake up in the morning, after all the potions have left your system, and you can look me in the eye and tell me you want this, I will not hesitate. But not now. I can’t right now.”
I close my eyes against a rush of emotion, then I lean my forehead against his chest. He curls his arms around me, and we stand like that for several minutes.
