Page 25 of Elegy of Twilight
Titus faced me. “He warned you that I’d kill you.”
Avoiding his gaze, I focused on the fire, my words sour before they left my tongue. “Yes.”
“And what do you believe about me?”
“I’m not sure, it’s. . .may I speak plainly with you?” I blurted out.
“I would accept nothing less.”
“The truth is, Titus, I don’t know who you are. You walk the night, your music controls the vampires, and you awaken desires within me I didn’t know I had. You can teach me how to use magic, but my soul warns against you and your ways. I don’t think you’re a good person, but I also doubt you are purely evil. When we first met, I believed you were the vampire king, but you were tight-lipped, withholding, and now I think the other man might be the vampire king. But if so, I don’t understand why he didn’t kill me.”
Titus scrubbed his face with his hand, sending water droplets from his wet hair dancing. I had to lean forward to hear his next words. “Because he’s not a killer, not like me.”
A cold fear bolted through me, and I glanced at the door, wondering how fast I’d be able to run before he caught me. Titus had just admitted to being a killer, and I believed him.
Agony crossed his face. “Now you know the truth, you fear me.”
I pressed my lips together. “The seeds of doubt have been planted, and it brings me to more questions. If you intended on killing me, why wait? Why not now? Or perhaps that’s why you brought mehere, forced me to undress so I’d be naked and vulnerable with no choice but to accept?—”
He lunged for me, knocking me backward. I screamed, losing the grip on the blanket, and it fell open. He trapped me with his thighs and leaned over me, hands circling my wrists, keeping me pinned to the floor while his eyes traveled every inch of my exposed skin.
His eyes were wide, almost feral, and he leaned close.
“Please don’t,” I begged as his lips touched mine.
11
LUCIA
Titus kissed me with lips still wet from the summer storm. His mouth was warm and insistent, his tongue thrusting in my mouth, devouring me, taking me. Teeth raked across my lips, then released, punishing, bruising. And I welcomed it.
My entire body ached with desire and my conflicting emotions faded, leaving me with an intense need to be close to him. He released one of my wrists and ran his hand down my side, his touch awakening exquisite sensations.
I moaned into his mouth, and he released my other wrist, cupping my face roughly with a hand and forcing me to look at him. “How could you think that after all this, I’d want to kill you?”
And the look on his face was like a dagger to the heart. He was right. How could I believe that he was so twisted and wicked he’d trick me into falling in love with him, only to kill me? His kisses were no lie, and the way he made my body sing was a sweet truth in itself. Only a blurry reminder told me that he hadn’t explained the other man. He’d admitted to being a killer, yet, heavens, the way he kissed me left me feeling like water in his hands. He could do whatever he wanted with me, and I’d still crave him.
My runes glittered to life, a soft glow as he kissed me again, twisting fingers through my wet hair while his other arm slid down my belly. I went rigid, suddenly frantic about the trajectory of his hands. In response, he paused, then took my hand and guided it to his chest where his heart drummed fast with excitement. I ran my hands over his shoulders and down his back while he groaned into my mouth.
“Your touch is like heaven. I could thrive on this and this alone if only you touch me like this.”
“Titus,” I gasped, wanting to explain what I desired from him.
Instead, I let my fingers do the talking for me until at last he sat up, hovering over me.
“Look at you, my moon goddess,” he rasped. “Laid out like a sacrifice, your light shining justfor me, to guide me back. I was so lost, and now I have a way to find myself, but I don’t want to consume your light with my darkness. I want you to shine, to burn bright like an inferno and purge me from this weight, this guilt, this curse I carry.”
I wanted to say something, but it was impossible for words to leave my lips. The feelings he aroused in me left me breathless.
He bent over me until our foreheads nearly touched. “This is your first time, isn’t it?”
I groaned as confusion muddled my thoughts.
“Yes,” I panted.
“Do you want me to continue?”
“Yes,” I said again.
