I didn’t see the point in fighting the inevitable. “I want to find a way to make this work,” I told her in a breath, my mouth brushing hers with each word. “We may not have meant to tie our souls together, Aflora, but it already happened. And rather than fight it and each other, I’d like to figure out how to move forward. Together.”
She shook her head. “It’s impossible, Kols. I shouldn’t exist.”
“But you do,” I replied, kissing her again, this time with more force than before. Her lips yielded to mine, her body betraying her mind. “You exist and you’re mine,” I added, then fully claimed her mouth with my tongue. My grip shifted from her neck to her hair, my fingers tangling in her thick blue-black strands and holding her to me as I devoured her.
If she didn’t want to acknowledge my words, then she could listen to my body.
My opposite hand went to her hip to guide her across my lap and encourage her to straddle my thighs. She followed my lead and wrapped her arms around my neck, then began to return my kiss as if to say goodbye.
I saw right through it, felt her magic humming to life to test her resolve, and tugged on her hair to expose her neck. “Try it,” I dared her, my incisors already at her throbbing pulse. “I’ll just bite you again and again, Aflora. And you can’t break our Earth bond unless I allow it, which is never going to happen. Our souls are already welded together.”
At least that was what I understood after talking to Exos and Cyrus. They said something about my essence weaving around hers, similar to how theirs always gravitated to Claire’s in the Spirit Realm.
“Don’t you see that it’s for the best?” she whispered, her body shaking over mine with a convoluted mixture of arousal and resolve.
“You’ll implode,” I warned her before licking the tempting point of her neck. “I’m the one absorbing most of your magic right now, Aflora. If you release me, you’ll detonate.” It wasn’t a lie. I’d absorbed the brunt of her power the other night, my connection to the dark source forcing me to serve as a funnel.
Her fingers threaded through my hair, her grasp tightening as if to yank me away from her neck, but I didn’t budge.
“You’ll have to try harder than that, sweetheart.”
She growled in response. “You’re being impossible.”
“And you’re being unreasonable,” I retorted, nipping her neck. “I won’t make excuses for myself, Aflora. I reacted badly and I’m sorry.” I nibbled my way up her throat to her ear. “Our relationship is forbidden. It breaks all the rules. It’s probably going to cost me my crown. But you know what?”
She swallowed, her nails biting into my scalp. “What?”
“That all only makes me want you more,” I admitted. “And if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I would, even knowing what it would cost in return.” I nuzzled her tender skin, my lips skimming her pulse once more. Her blood called to thepredator within me, urging me to bite, toclaim. But I wouldn’t. Not without her permission.
Unless she tried to unweave our bonds.
In which case, I’d bite her repeatedly until she stopped.
“Why?” she whispered.
“Why what, sweetheart?”
“You’re risking everything, Kolstov.”
“Am I?” I replied, drawing back to meet her gaze.
“You are,” she insisted. “You just praised me for being altruistic by putting my people before myself. What are you doing? You’re putting an abomination before your ascension. You’re going against everything you’ve been working for. I want to know why.”
“Because it’s time for change,” another voice replied on my behalf.
I glanced sideways to find Shade lounging in my favorite recliner chair with his feet propped up on the coffee table. As I hadn’t sensed his presence, I assumed that meant he’d just arrived. Unless he’d been lurking in smoke form.
His Death Blood abilities irked me greatly.
“Change?” Aflora repeated.
“Yep,” he drawled.
“Care to elaborate?” I asked, arching a brow.
His icy blue eyes flashed with knowledge and secrets. “Do you believe all abominations are evil, Kolstov? That they should be exterminated on sight without any trial or cause aside from their mingled blood and powers?”
“Abominations have historically proven problematic,” I pointed out, avoiding his direct questions like he did mine.
