Page 33

?Awakened

Dorian

The night felt different.

I’d been planning it all day, every movement calculated, every word I said to her designed to pull her in just a little further.

The dinner was perfect, soft lighting, the flicker of candles casting shadows across the table. The room smelled of something rich, savory, warm.

It’s all part of me trying to get her to open up to me. There were times, I could hardly control myself around her because she’s just too damn captivating.

She was sitting across from me, that fire still burning in her eyes. I watched her as she took a bite of the meal I prepared, her eyes flicking to me with a hint of something playful, but there was an edge to her movements tonight.

A tension that’s just beneath the surface. I liked that about her. I liked the way she challenged me, even if it was just with her presence.

“You cooked this?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she took another bite, clearly impressed.

I smiled, leaning back in my chair, my eyes never leaving her. “You didn’t think I was just some animal who could only kill, did you?” My voice was teasing, but the undertone was darker. “I have taste , Ember.”

She smirked, setting her fork down. “Not sure if I believe that. You don’t seem the type to cook.”

“I’m full of surprises,” I murmured, a hint of danger in my tone. Her lips curled in response, but there’s a flicker of something else in her gaze.

A question.

An invitation.

I leaned forward slightly, my eyes tracing her every movement. There’s a pull inside me, an undeniable hunger that had been growing ever since she set foot in my world.

The way her body moved, the way she felt under my touch, she’s mine, and I was going to do my best to show her.

“You look at me like you want to eat me,” she said, the words low, a teasing challenge.

I didn’t respond right away.

Instead, I let my gaze drift over her, lingering a moment too long on the curve of her neck, the way the dim light kissed her skin.

I could practically taste the blood pulsing through her veins. Her scent, her heat, it was driving me insane.

“You have no idea,” I replied softly, my voice thick with something darker than lust. I didn’t need to say more. I didn’t need to explain it.

She felt it. I knew she did.

I stood without another word, the air around us thickening with every step.

She’s watching me, waiting, and I couldn’t help but feel that tiny thrill of power, that I could make her want me, make her crave me without lifting a finger.

I walked over to her, my steps deliberate, and I closed the distance between us, feeling the electricity crackle in the space we share.

She was holding her breath, her eyes wide, unsure of what’s coming next.

I leaned down, close enough to feel the heat of her skin, the rise and fall of her chest. “You’ve always been so good at hiding,” I murmured, my lips brushing the curve of her ear. “Hiding from yourself. From me . But I’m not letting you hide anymore.”

I felt her shudder, a soft gasp escaping her lips, but she didn't pull away. She didn’t want to pull away.

Not now.

Not when she was so close to the edge of what’s about to happen between us.

I kissed her.

Slow at first, tasting her lips like they were the very thing I’d been starving for.

Her hands moved up to my chest, pushing against me, but there’s no resistance. Only the way she leaned into me, the way her body melted against mine, telling me that she wanted this as much as I did.

When I pulled back, her eyes were darker, clouded with desire. “What do you want from me, Dorian?” she breathed, her voice trembling with a mix of need and uncertainty.

I smiled, it was a smile of kindness mixed with something more savage, more primal. “I want you, Ember,” I said, my voice low and rough. “And I’ll show you piece by piece exactly what that means.”

I pulled her closer, pressing her against the table. The wood groaned beneath us as I kissed her again, this time with a ferocity that left no room for doubt.

Her body responded to mine, every inch of her betraying the strength of her resistance. She’s shaking beneath me, but I felt the way she pulled me closer, the way she gave herself up to the moment, to me.

My hands moved down her body, and she gasped as I slid her dress up, my fingers tracing the smoothness of her skin, the heat of her thighs.

I could feel the tension in her body, the way she was holding herself back, and it drove me mad.

I pushed her down onto the table, the cold surface against her skin making her breath catch. I moved over her, feeling the delicate pulse of her body as I kissed my way down, nipping at her neck, her collarbone, her breast.

I sucked a bruise into her soft, brown skin, and she moaned, the sound like music to my ears. “You like this, don’t you?” I growled against her skin. “You like being taken by me.”

She didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

I bit down on her nipple, just enough to make her cry out, and then, as the blood rose, I licked it clean, savoring the taste of her.

She shuddered again, her fingers digging into the table, but I wasn’t done.

Not yet.

I moved lower, my lips trailing down her body, until I reached the apex of her thighs. She gasped when I bit down, her body jerking under me, but I held her steady, sealing the wound with my tongue.

Her blood was like fire, and I couldn’t get enough.

I pulled back, my eyes glowing with something dangerous, something that matches the darkness inside her. “Say you’re mine,” I whispered again, my breath hot against her skin. “Tell me you’re mine, just as I’m yours.”

As I stood above her, she was trembling, her eyes dazed, caught between the pleasure and the reality of what I had just shown her.

I could feel her heart racing in her chest, feel the pulse of desire still coursing through her veins. She was mine just as I was hers, body, heart, soul, and she knew it.

But then, something shifted. Her eyes fluttered closed, and for a moment, she seemed to be somewhere else, somewhere far away.

I watched, my gaze steady as the vision hit her. I feel it, too, the sudden, sharp pain of it, the jagged slice of reality breaking through.

She was seeing it. Seeing them .

Her mother. Her true bloodline.

The Watchers .

I leaned down, pressing my forehead against hers, my voice a low murmur in her ear. “You see it now, don’t you?” I whispered, my voice hoarse with the power of the moment. “The truth about who you are. About what we are.”

Her breath caught again, but she didn't speak. She didn’t need to. I saw the understanding flicker in her eyes, the awakening of something deep inside her.

The Watcher bloodline was never just a myth.

And she had always been one of them.