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“Tessa? Are you?—”

But she was crossing the small distance between them. She reached up, wrapping her hand around his neck, and pushed up onto her toes, pressing her lips to his as he bent to meet her. The bond made things too unbearable ever since that night, and she was done fighting it when giving in didn’t mean anything but a momentary reprieve from this life she’d been fated with. For weeks she’d resisted his advances after the initial Source Mark had been given, and for what? She thought she’d lose herself completely, but nothing had changed when she’d finally given in, even though at that point, losing herself was exactly what she’d wanted. No, the only thing that had changed was the intensity of the physical need for him, and if he was going to use her for her power, she was going to use him right back. She was done denying herself one of the few things that quieted the chaos. This was nothing but physical needs being satisfied so the bond would ease up and let her breathe for a godsdamn minute.

An arm wrapped around her waist, and her feet were moving, the warmth of their room wrapping around her as he tugged her back inside. At some point he’d set his mug down and had taken hers from her hand. Her hands slipped beneath that unbuttoned shirt, fingers sliding over muscle as they moved lower, his stomach caving beneath her touch. How had she not realized how much control she had in this? Even when his hand came up to grip her throat so he could take control of the kiss, the groan that came from him when she licked into his mouth told her she still held more control than he did.

She let him nudge her backwards. Let him lay her down on the bed. Let her knees fall apart so he could step between them, his hard length pressing against her aching center. Her hips rose to meet his when he rolled against her. His hand slid beneath her shirt, finding his way to her breast, and she pushed at his shirt, wanting bare skin.

“Say it,” he growled against her lips. “Say it, and I’ll give you what I know you want from me. The only thing you want from me.”

“No,” she gasped as he rocked against her again, her nails raking down his back.

“Tessa, just?—”

But he broke off into another groan when she brought her mouth back to his. Anything to keep him from asking for more of her. Always more. Never enough.

“Godsdammit, Tessa,” he cursed, his lips sliding along her jaw before they stopped completely, his brow falling against hers.

She could feel his heart beating as fast as her own. More than that, her magic was thrashing, trying to get to his darkness that had appeared, hovering around him like a mist of midnight. They reached for her before they were yanked back. She was so close to begging. So close to asking him to use those shadowslike he’d done before. But she knew he wouldn’t. She knew he’d torment her even in this until he got what he wanted.

Instead, her eyes fell closed as she tried to regulate her breathing. The bond was sated for now, and while she wanted more, this was enough.

It had to be enough.

He wanted everything from her, and she had nothing left to give.

Theon rolled off her, lying on his back beside her. She fisted her hands in the comforter, inhaling another deep breath and going through song lyrics in her head.

She felt the bed shift after a minute or two, then his hand cupped her cheek, gently turning her face towards him.

“Look at me, little storm,” he murmured.

His thumb swept across her cheekbone, and it took everything in her not to lean into the touch.

With one last ragged breath, she pushed down the want. She shoved every bit of self back down, becoming nothing once more. Then she opened her eyes and met his.

Nothing was said for a long moment until Theon finally spoke again. “Are you all right?”

She almost let out the broken laugh that formed in her throat, but instead she said, “I’m fine.”

His lips pursed in obvious frustration. It was the same answer she always gave whenever he asked that question. She slowly unclenched her fists, hissing as the bands clamped down on her surging power. Theon’s eyes darted to her wrists.

“How bad is it?”

“How bad is what?” she sighed, pushing up and off the bed to retrieve her coffee mug. Which was now cold. Great.

Theon was there, taking the mug from her hand and setting it aside before pouring her a fresh cup from the heated pot. Ford must have brought up breakfast while she still slept.

Ford was the Fae male who had replaced Pen. Everyone was on edge with the new Fae in the townhouse. Theon, Axel, and Luka clearly didn’t trust him, not that Tessa could blame them. Theon’s father, Valter, had chosen the male himself after he’d murdered Pen in front of all of them to prove a point. Then again, Axel had done the actual murdering. His father had just pushed him to a breaking point.

Axel had been different since that night. In fact, Tessa rarely saw him. He would bring her back to the townhouse after her training with Luka every day, and then she’d only see him if his presence was required for something or other.

Or if Katya was around. But even that wasn’t very often. The female was staying at the townhouse, but Tessa still scarcely saw her too.

Katya was still going through all the trainings with the other Fae, despite already having been claimed and assigned to the Arius Kingdom. Axel had claimed her himself, and Tessa still hadn’t figured out why. She didn’t know Katya well. Kat had come to the Celeste Estate only a few months before they’d all been herded to the Acropolis for the Selection. It had been odd that she’d been moved at all. It had seemed pointless, but Tessa’s friend Brecken had been smitten with her from the moment she’d arrived at the estate. Now Kat was here, nearly as trapped as Tessa was. Kat may not have been a Source to a Legacy, but she did have the fire element. The Anala Kingdom never let any other kingdom have fire Fae, so the fact that Kat could control flames was nearly as big of a scandal as Tessa not being Fae.

Theon’s fingers brushed along one of the bands, and Tessa sucked in another sharp hiss. It wasn’t that they hurt her physically, but her magic writhed as if it were dying.

“Why didn’t you tell me it was getting this bad?” he asked.