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“Some day you are going to let me touch you in all the ways I am longing to, Tessa,” he said, his voice as dark as the shadows continuing to caress her breasts, drag along her ribs, across her torso. A tendril of darkness glided across her throat, another brushing along her bottom lip. “Some day you are going to ask me to touch you.” A small whimper came from her, and Theon’s eyes somehow went even darker at the sound. His mouth moved a fraction of an inch closer to her ear but still did not touch her, just as he’d promised. “You will beg me for it, Tessa, and I will enjoy every second of your pleading before I finally take everything that is mine to have. Because someday you will realize this is far more than a simple Source bond.”

A sound somewhere between want and dread came from her as those hands of darkness slid over her hips and down her thighs. She couldn’t think around it all. All she could do was feel. Then he drew that darkness right over her center, and she cried out, tension building and pooling low in her belly.

“We have always been more,” he continued. “From the moment I saw you slip into that alcove with stolen chocolate, I knew you were mine. The Fates always have their way, Tessa, and this will be no different.”

She could feel him all over her, his shadows coating every inch of her flesh. It was too much and not enough all at once. And when that darkness pressed on that bundle of sensitive nerves, she gasped again.

Theon moved as though he was going to swallow the sound with his mouth, but he stilled. His features twisted, as if it physically pained him not to have his lips on her right now. He didn’t say anything else. He just watched her, holding her gaze, as his shadows and darkness brought her to ruin. She was writhing. Her hips bucking and searching for more as his power played with her, pulsing against her clit. Every time her eyes fluttered, he would pull his magic back and shake his head, reminding her to keep her eyes on him.

It didn’t take long to find herself at the edge, and she didn’t want it to end. She knew what this was. A temporary distraction from her life, but godsdamnit, she would cling to this distraction with all that she was.

The bond that connected them was going wild. Each stroke of his dark power electrified every nerve of her being. She gasped again, her entire body beginning to tremble as his magic intensified. Tendrils of shadows trailed along her ribs. Working her breasts. Pressing at her center. Stroking her cheek. Winding through her hair. They were everywhere.

He was everywhere.

“Give it to me, little storm,” Theon demanded. Darkness wrapped around her throat, forcing her chin up. His hands were braced on the wall on either side of her head, holding him a breath away from touching her. “They’re all mine anyway.”

She shook her head in denial at his comment, and his magic stilled.

She nearly sobbed at the loss, her entire body shaking with want and need.

“Hear me well, Tessa. Everything you are is mine. Everything you have to give, I will take, including your pleasure.”

Then his magic pressed in on her, that darkness going icy cold as it circled and worked those nerves between her thighs, hurling her over the edge before she could brace herself for it. She cried out, but it was quickly muffled by Theon’s hand slipping over her mouth.

“Shh, little storm. Axel is just below us,” he whispered, but the thought of his brother hearing them somehow only intensified the orgasm. She was falling into nothing as release tore through her, spreading out sweet and sharp from the center of her body. Her eyes finally fluttered closed, and waves of pleasure pulled her under.

As she drowned in it.

And when she surfaced from the ecstasy, she was leaning against Theon, his arm wrapped around her waist, clutching her tightly, while his other hand wound into her hair. She could feel his length pressing against her stomach, and she was curled into his bare chest, her nails digging into his flesh. She slowly raised her eyes to his. He brought a hand up to smooth back hair from her brow. His fingers and palm were stained red, his hand still bloody from the vampyres he’d killed. Somehow, she didn’t care. Not right now. Not as she clung to the weightless feeling in her limbs, to the weightless feeling in her soul.

He dipped his head so he could speak into her ear once more. “You are absolutely stunning, Tessa. I could watch you come for me a thousand times over and never grow tired of it. Just imagine what I will do when you let me have all of you.”

She was still trying to catch her breath, but it caught in her throat at his words. Her achingly empty core clenched weakly again, and she forced herself to inhale deeply before she did something truly stupid. She couldn’t let him have all of her. Not now. Not ever. Because if it was anything like what he’d just done to her with his power, she couldn’t wrap her mind around what that would be like.

But it was never going to happen.

The bond hissed at the thought, but she was still too high on her release to register its dismay. This high was better than alcohol ever was. It’s why she desperately sought out mortals after assessments. But sex with mortals had never been like that. And what Theon had done to her wasn’t even sex. It was…

It was only like that because of this fucking bond. That’s what she was going to tell herself until she believed it.

Theon’s hands slid to her hips, and he took a step back. He still held her steady, his eyes sliding over her. She could swear he let his shadows follow his gaze, ghosting over her one final time.

“Can you stand?” he finally asked after several moments of silence. His voice was hoarse and gravelly.

“Yeah. Yes,” she rasped, clearing her throat. “I need to wash up.”

Theon nodded, releasing her from his hold and taking another step back. To her credit, she only stumbled a bit as she pushed off the wall behind her.

She made her way to the bathroom, feeling Theon’s gaze follow her the entire way before she shut the door. Bracing her hands on the counter, she let her head fall forward.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

She looked up, staring back at her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were still flushed. Her limbs were still heavy. She wasn’t entirely sure how her legs were holding her up. That was definitely blood smeared across her face and throat. There were streaks of red down her hair where Theon had touched it.

How had she just let that happen? What had she been thinking?

And why the fuck was she contemplating asking him for more?