Page 41 of This Blood that Bonds Us

He pulled away, holding me so tight his fingers imprinted my cheeks.

“You want me to?” The words tumbled out slowly as the light left his irises a soft, warm honey smothered by shadow.

I did. I craved his closeness. I’d tried not to think of that moment in the car, but I couldn’t get it out of my head because I’d wanted to give him more.

I nodded as he towered over me.

His jaw tensed like he might protest again. I thought back to that boy in the forest last spring. He was still him, but he’d had to fight to be the sweet, caring person I knew him to be. He was at war with himself again, weighing his options, but there was desperation in his eyes, and I wondered what it must feel like to have Her blood swirling around with his and tainting his every thought and feeling.

There was one thing I knew for sure: it created a much deeper hunger in him.

A hunger I wanted to fill.

When his lips met mine again, they were greedier. Rushed and hurried.

My back hit the wall, and a feral growl ripped from his throat. This time, I hadn’t imagined it. I was pinned with no way to escape. My lip was caught between his teeth, harder than ever before, but it didn’t hurt.

He bit into my neck. His venom cooled any bite and left me with gentle pressure, but everywhere else, pressure grew. His knee parted my legs, and I whimpered at the sensation of him digging into me. Sweet and slow, he took his time. A gentle tingling ran down my arms and into my fingertips, and it was far from unpleasant. I savored the feeling of his lips on my skin, longing for me. I wanted to bond with him in a way we could have never done before I changed.

When he pulled away, I knew this time would be different than any time we’d ever been alone.

He wouldn’t stop, and neither would I.

“Aaron . . .”

Did my heartbeat give me away? Or was it the flush in my cheeks? My whole body was on fire, and my pulse drummed loudly in my ears. Could he tell how badly I needed him in that moment? Could he tell I wasn’t scared?

I gasped as he snapped the buttons on my flannel, exposing my chest.

“Say it again.” He kissed my skin, lightly sucking along my collarbone.

My core ached. Burned. I needed him closer. With hands in his hair, I pulled him tight to my chest, and his fangs entered my skin again.

I obliged his request and moaned his name again. He groaned, taking in more of me. It hurt more than the bite on my neck but not enough to stop. The warmth of his lips against my cool skin made me shudder. I felt lighter. Almost like being intoxicated but better.

I’d never felt safer in my entire life.

Everything slowed. All that existed was him, and I fell into his glorious rhythm and the feel of his body grinding into me. The rocking of his hips pulled pleasure from me in waves.

“Are you okay?” His voice was soft against my ear.

Where he’d bitten me was a slight wetness. The wound was closing, and my body was slower, but I wasn’t focused on every little sound anymore. My head was finally empty.

I didn’t mind the feeling of emptiness if Aaron was there to fill the void.

“I feel . . . human. But I’m glad I’m not.”

His lips curled in a smile. “Right now, me too.”

With warm hands on my face, he pulled me in for a kiss. Slowly, he came back to himself. And that was good too. Still desperate and full of yearning but less rushed.

How long had I wanted this?

It seemed like forever. The fruition of yearning I hadn’t even known I had. All those longing stares. When he’d touched me, and I’d begged him not to stop.

His fingers coiled in my hair as he lay me back on the bed and pulled off what was left of my shirt. With two arms pinning me to the bed, he leaned in close to my lips.

“We could stop.”