We stare at each other. A beat passes between us. And then we cross the distance to collide in the middle, a mix of mouths and limbs. His cold is calming, soothing, reassuring, and I want to surround myself in it.
I meant it about leaving Midnight, but I planned to take Kai with me. One night without him, and everything turned to shit. Not just because my step-monsters attacked me, but because I wanted him by my side. I want those stupid fucking nicknames he doles out. I want to make sure he doesn’t feel alone in a crowded room.
This time there aren’t any games. My dress was already practically pulled apart at the seams, and Kai dismantles the rest. He’s perfectly dressed, but I waste no time pulling off his coat, ripping off his shirt, and dragging my tongue up his abs.
“Fuck, Cinder,” he hisses.
I need him, I need him so bad, I’m fucking molten between my legs. Still, I pull down his pants so I can take him into my mouth. The feel of his velvet flesh and cold piercings raking against my tongue and the roof of my mouth only drive me wilder. When I gag a little on his reverse Prince Albert, he lets out a feral groan, hands tangled in my hair.
“Please baby, please. . . fuck. . . let me taste you,” he begs. He tugs my hair, gently pulling me away from his cock. With a sweep of his arm, he clears the dresser of all my little spooky pumpkin spice tchotchkes.
“Hey,” I protest.
“I’ll buy you more,” he reassures me before pushing my knees apart and dropping down. Sliding two fingers into me, he attacks my clit with his mouth. A gasp slips from my lips, and I grip the edge of the dresser, rocking into him.
“Say it again,” he mumbles into me, a raw vulnerability in his tone.
“I love you.”
“With my name, say it with my name.” He’s desperate, a cross between a feral beast who is claiming me and a lost little boy who needs me to give him something he’s never had before. And I can’t help but give it to him.
“I love you, Kai.”
Whatever he does next can only be described as supernatural. The speed at which he licks, sucks, and thrusts into me has me coming in seconds. I scream even as my nails dig into the wood.
I barely blink before I find myself on the bed.
“Been hiding your vampire speed much?” I ask breathlessly.
“What can I say? I’ve wanted to take my time with you.” He covers my body and engulfs one of my breasts in his hand, squeezing and pinching me into a higher fervor.
“Fuck me, Kai,” I tell him, grasping his shoulders.
“Thought you’d never ask, my unholy hottie.” He gives me a lopsided grin that makes my heart skip two beats then somersault.
He slides into me and for the umpteenth time I’m overwhelmed by his girth, and the piercings I am now climbing, pulling him into me. My blunt nails bite into his shoulders, trying to gain purchase as Prince Kaison fucking Charming claims me from the inside. All my parts. All of my black shriveled soul. All of my broken pieces and my ugly past. He wants it all.
And I want all of him.
“Cinder.” My name escapes him in a pained, pleading moan. “I’ve never wanted anything, anyone more than you. I’ve always wanted you.”
A bubble swells in my chest, creating a confusingly full pressure against my ribcage. If it pops, I'll explode in a gory mess.
His words penetrate the haze. “What?”
He licks his lips as if in preparation. “I used to follow you to the cliffs. I’d watch you paint for hours and I wished you knew me. I wished we could be friends because I was certain you were the only one who would truly understand me. I loved the way your eyes got serious whenever you were lost in drawing. I used to wish you’d draw me.”
Each vulnerable confession is punctuated by a long drive in and out of me, making it hard to focus.
Is this for real? The bright heat inside me swirls and tightens, pushing me toward a feeling that could shatter me.
“I think I’ve always loved you,” he says. Fingers tangle in my hair, angling me to look at him.
“Kai,” I arch my back, thrusting up into him, needing more. He’s so deep, he fills me so much but it’s not enough. “Bite me.”
He stills. I want to squirm and force him to move again, but I hold his gaze.
“You said it can be good for me. I want to feel it. I want to feel it with you.”
