Page 205 of Eternal Ruin

He trailed kisses along her cheek and down to her throat, creating small fires everywhere. It was like falling backward from a cliff. Everything a heady rush.

“Think about it. There are many advantages to living your life as a vampire.” He sucked at the base of her neck, making her lips part. “Everything is clear. Intoxicating. Your scent, your skin, even your little gasp you think I can’t hear, your eyes when they darken for me, and this, your heartbeat racing so fast with each word I say, nearly tearing out of your chest that I’d worry you were in danger if you weren’t safe in my arms.”

Her chest rose and fell rapidly against his, fighting the lure in his voice. “I like being human.”

She didn’t know how true it was until it came out of her mouth. Her eyes creased at the revelation. She was afraid the part of her that craved power would obliterate everything she was, like an object that could be shattered and remade stronger. And she felt brave for choosing to not break.

GK’s prediction of her death snaked into her mind.Twenty-one.But Kidan wasn’t worried. She had set a deadline for her death before and lived past it.

Susenyos gave a mock sigh, leaning back. “I’ll win you over.”

“You can try.”

She smiled against his throat, licking his Adam’s apple so he shuddered.

That night, before the house gave her black rot, they’d come so close… She reached for his waistband, but he stopped her.

“You and I can’t be intimate in that way.” He sounded truly regretful. “I can’t afford to lose control.”

Kidan had almost forgotten. She thought of Adane House. The rooms that had stolen his immortality, something she’d cursed over and over again. Who knew they’d been a blessing in disguise. They’d both been human. Free. Now the one place they could have truly connected in was lost.

“What are you thinking?” he asked, brushing aside her braids.

“That we really shouldn’t have stopped when we were in my room.” Her eyes widened slightly after at her own confession.

Pure surprise sparked in his pupils.

His grin became wolfish. “I’m afraid you had no choice, love. You were dying.”

Genuine frustration stirred inside her. It was cruel that when she finally wanted to be with him, she couldn’t.

“I don’t want to talk anymore,” she mumbled.

“Keep telling me what you want. Don’t stop now.” There was an urgency to his tone, a glint to his eyes. As if her words more than mattered, they affected him as easily as any artifact. It made her feel bold. Let her words spill out of her without fear.

She shifted forward, rolling her hips, delighting when he clamped down a hiss.

“I want you,” Kidan warned him, offering him the three words he had always wanted to hear. She fell forward by the shell of his ear, her voice like sin. “But youhave to stop teasing me. My control isn’t as great as you think it is. In fact, my hunger might be worse than yours.”

Susenyos made a sound, a groaned whimper, shooting a delicious energy through her. She leaned back, eyes blazing with her victory.

She tried to leave but he stopped her, standing to tower over her height.

“I think you misunderstood.Ican’t indulge carelessly. But you? You can receive any pleasure. All the pleasure. Especially after that last comment.”

He guided her into the wide seat and lowered himself to his knees. Swiftly, he unbuttoned her pants, launching her heart into a race. She shifted to the edge of the seat, letting him slip her pants free. Susenyos slowed his urgent movements, studying her bare thighs. Her flesh felt supple under his firm, exploring hands.

A soft gasp left her when his fingers hooked into her underwear.

He paused his advance, waiting.

She bit her lip. “Aren’t you going to be tempted to…”

She couldn’t quite finish the word.

A ghost of a smile crossed his lip.

“Not here.” He kissed her where she was most nervous, making her back arch. “This is where I go to be gentle, to be kind, to be good.”