Page 16 of Bloodstained
Though I had seen him—seen the reality of his true identity, his claws and teeth made for nothing but rending—I couldn’t deny I didn’t feel the type of terror I should.
And then there was something else—this pull. This molten throb in my body. A demon from nightmares stood before me, yet every nerve inside me ached for him like he was the only thing left on earth I needed.
Thatwas what terrified me.
Ivan didn’t react to my accusation. In fact, the corner of his mouth curved faintly, an expression that wasn’t quite a smile. His head cocked slightly, the same gesture I’d seen reflected, but here in the flesh, it was slower, deliberate, almost curious.
“You see clearly, then,” he murmured. “I wondered how long it would take.”
The sound of his voice—too smooth, too deep—crawled down my spine and left me trembling. I forced myself to straighten my shoulders and tilt my chin up, though my legs shook.
“You’re… you’re a monster,” I said again, my voice holding more weight to it.
His dark eyes glinted, unreadable in the fire's glow. “You think naming me gives you power.”
“Doesn’t it?” I asked, though even to my ears, it sounded thin.
His smile widened then, revealing a hint of sharp white teeth that belonged to the reflection more than to the man. “No, Clara. It only makes you mine differently.”
I swallowed hard. My throat was so tight the next words almost broke on their way out. “What do you want? Like, what do you really want?”
His gaze raked me slowly, deliberately, and though I hated myself for it, my body warmed even more beneath the weight of his attention. He didn’t need to touch me to strip me bare, I realized, disgusted with myself.
“You already know. You can feel it.”
He wanted me. But for what? I rocked my head, desperate for denial, for something solid to cling to.
Although I looked at the man before me, his monstrous visage stayed rooted in my mind.
I spun away from him and crossed the room, desperate to put space between us. My bare feet slapped the stone, but no matter how far I moved, the oppressive sense of him filled the chamber.
“Stay away from me,” I hissed, my voice breaking, betraying how close I was to sobbing.
“From you?” he said softly, behind me now, though I hadn’t heard him move. “You think I will?” he growled. “You think I could?”
I spun, trying to keep him in front of me, my heart pounding against my ribs. The fire painted shadows across his face, ones that hinted at the demonic visage beneath, the evil I’d seen in the mirror. My chest ached with something I didn’t understand.
I retreated until my back met cold stone. The impact jarred me but also grounded me. I pressed my palms flat to the wall at my sides. “You can terrorize me all you want,” I whispered, my breath shaking, “but I’ll never be what you want. I’ll never be yours.”
Ivan’s expression was one of certainty. “My little one,” he crooned, and the tone of his voice struck something deep inside of me. “You’ve always belonged to me. You just didn’t realize it.”
I bit back the sharp retort on my tongue. I didn’t want to anger him. I didn’t know what he was capable of. He stepped forward, slowly, purposefully, until the space between us hummed with his presence. My body betrayed me again, shivering not with fear or from the cold stone I was pressed against but with an arousal that disgusted me.
He inhaled deeply, nostrils flaring as if to savor the scent of my shame. Oh, God… Ivan could smell what he did to me.
“There it is,” he whispered. “The truth you try to hide.” He smirked. I hated how handsome he was. “You can lie with your lips, but your body will always betray you.”
My face felt like it was on fire, and I turned my head to the side, desperate not to meet his gaze. It was powerful. But he caught my chin with a thumb and forefinger, his touch both gentle and unyielding. Ivan tilted my face back toward his, and I saw again, over his shoulder, the reflection of his true self overlaying his beauty. Both the man and the monster. Each wanting every part of me.
A tear slid down my cheek before I realized it had happened. He leaned closer, lips brushing just beside my ear, his breath raising the hairs on my neck. Ivan licked that salty drop from my skin. “Cry if you must. And fight me if that’s what you need to feel in control. But I won’t let you go, not now that I finally have you here, Clara.”
The words sank into me, heavy as cement. And yet when he let go of my chin, I felt a sudden chill, and my knees almost buckled from his absence. He stepped back then, granting me the distance I so desperately needed.
Ivan moved to the fire, standing tall against its light. For a moment, he looked every inch a man. Broad shoulders outlined in the firelight glow, a wide, powerful back that tapered down to a masculine waist, and his hand braced against the mantel as if deep in thought.
But I knew the truth now. His reflection had shown me what lay beneath. I wanted to say this was a dream. I wanted to say that monsters, demons, or the very devil himself were not real, but I’d seen the truth reflected at me. Literally.
Of course, I’d heard superstitious stories from my grandmother. Vampires. Evil spirits. She believed in the unbelievable.
