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“All right,” I said, stepping towards him.“It’s all right—what do you need?Just tell me what?—”

But at that point, it seemed that Saint couldn’t hold back any longer.

Reaching for me, he yanked off my school blazer and tossed it on the floor.

“Hey!”I began to protest but Saint wasn’t listening.

He grabbed the collar of my white dress shirt and ripped it open.Buttons flew everywhere, pinging off the floor and furniture, and then he was yanking the shirt off me as well, leaving me bare-chested and shivering before him.

“Saint!”I began again, taking a step back from him, but he was already undressing himself as quickly and roughly as he had undressed me.When he was bare-chested too—and he had a much broader and more muscular chest than I did—he pushed me back onto my bed.

“Saint!”I exclaimed as I landed.I rolled to my side and held up a hand to stop him.“Wait!What are you doing?”

“Holding you!”His voice was deep and urgent and there was just a tinge of the double echo in it that meant his Drake was very near the surface.

He wrapped long, muscular arms around me and pulled me close to him, so that we were chest-to-chest—so close I could almost feel his heart beating against mine.Then he rolled me under him, pinning me to the mattress.His fingers entwined with mine and he brought my hands over my head, making me feel utterly helpless.

By now I was genuinely frightened.What was he doing?What was hegoingto do?Was I about to have my first sexual experience with another guy right here and now?If so, I couldn’t imagine it was going to be very gentle—there was too much urgency in his actions for that—too much rawneed.

I wanted to be with someone I cared for and Ididcare for Saint, I admitted to myself—cared for him a lot more than was probably wise.But I didn’t want it to be like this—rough and hard and too much to handle all at once.He was much too strong for me to fight him off, though, and I was afraid if I tried to get away from him, his Drake would come out.What was I going to do?

“Saint!”I said, my voice tight with fear and apprehension.“Saint, please—please don’t!I don’t want it like this—not likethis.”

“I’m just holding you,mi Corazon.”His voice was still low and urgent but at least it was his again.His hands roamed over my arms and body and his chest was still pressed to mine, but I thought I could feel some of the tension leaving the long, hard form on top of mine.“Never going to hurt you—just holding you,” he said again and rubbed his face in my hair, inhaling deeply, as though he was trying to breathe me in.

Slowly it occurred to me that, though we both had our shirts off, we were still dressed below the waist.I could feel his hardness rubbing and pressing against my own—(because despite how scared I was, Mr.Happy down there was apparently very into this whole encounter)—but there were layers of fabric between us.

It’s all right,I told myself, trying to get my heart to slow down.Everything is going to be all right—he’s not going to hurt you—not going to force you.

At least, I hoped not.

Saint was still all over me—literally.He was rubbing against me, running his hands over my bare skin and through my hair, sniffing the side of my neck as though he couldn’t get enough of me—as though he couldn’t get close enough.

And then he said,

“Avery, this isn’t enough—I needmore—my Drake needs more.We need to be closer to you.”

“You…you do?”I gasped as I felt him fumbling with the fastening of my uniform trousers.

“I need to surround you…need to beinyou,” he told me.

My heart picked up speed again as he pulled open my trousers leaving only my underwear in the way.

“Saint, we can’t do this!”I protested in a low voice as he palmed me.“We can’t—I’m not…not ready!And not like this—please!”

“But Ineedyou!”he growled in my ear.“Dios,Avery, been needing you all day!”

Then I felt his mouth on the side of my neck—not just his mouth though, histeeth.Oh Goddess of Light and Shadows!I stifled a gasp.

“Saint,” I begged, trying to scrunch down my neck and push him away with just my head, since he still had my hands pinned above the pillow.“Saint,please!”

“Submit,”he growled in my ear and it was his Drake’s voice again.They kept going back and forth—it was as though Saint would get control for a minute and then his Drake would take it back again.

I stiffened against him—his bare skin against mine was furnace-hot—a sure sign the cursed entity inside him was close to coming out.Oh Goddess, if he did…

“Wha…what did you say?”My voice trembled.

“Submit!”his Drake ordered again, his mouth moving against the side of my neck.“You are the l’lorna.You must submit and be claimed!”