"No." I kissed her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose. "You're perfect."
She surged up onto her toes without warning, her mouth crashing into mine with a ferocity that stole my breath. The kiss was desperate, hungry, like we'd both been drowning and this was our first gasp of air. I groaned low in my throat, the sound vibrating against her lips as I hauled her up against me, my body responding instantly, hardening with a need that bordered on pain.
Her fingers twisted into my hair, yanking hard enough to send a delicious sting through my scalp, holding me to her as if I might suddenly vanish into the night. I gripped her hips, my hands clamping down on the rough denim of her jeans, thumbs pressing into the fabric like I could will it away and feel the warmth of her skin beneath. But I didn't dare push further. Not yet.
Inside me, the vampire roared to life, a white-hot blaze ripping through my veins. My fangs throbbed, descending without my permission, scraping against her lower lip as I fought to keep them sheathed. Every instinct screamed at me to pin her down, to sink my teeth into that soft curve of her neck and claim what was mine. The scent of her skin was driving me mad, my muscles coiling tighter and tighter like a predator ready to strike.
With some effort, I managed to think of other things until the pressure ached, forcing myself to pull back from the edge. No. I wouldn't overwhelm her. Not like this.
Instead, I softened the kiss, easing the wild rhythm into something slower, more deliberate. My lips trailed along her jaw, ghosting over the heated skin until I reached the frantic pulse at her throat. It hammered against my mouth, a siren call that made my fangs pulse with agony, begging to pierce that delicate barrier and drink deep of the sweet blood racing through her veins.
"Elias." My name escaped her on a ragged breath, part moan, part desperate plea that only fueled the beast inside me.
I pressed my forehead to hers for a moment, eyes squeezed shut as I battled the urge ripping at my control. My hands trembled on her hips, fingers flexing and releasing, each movement a war against the instinct to tear through every barrier between us. "Tell me what you want," I murmured, my voice rough, barely holding onto its edges.
"I don't know." Her hands slid from my hair to clutch at my shoulders, nails digging in through my shirt, sending pleasurable pain sparking down my spine. I welcomed it, used it to ground myself, to keep from giving in. "I want... I want you. But I'm scared."
Her admission punched me right in the gut, and I lifted my head, meeting her eyes even as my body screamed in protest. "Of me?"
"Of me." Tears welled up again, spilling over her cheeks in silent tracks that gleamed in the low light. "Of what you'll think when you see—" She broke off, sinking her teeth into her lower lip, hard enough that a bead of blood welled up, dark and tempting.
The scent slammed into me. Rich, potent, laced with her power and the raw edge of her fear. It flooded my senses, making my head spin and my throat tighten with a thirst that burned like fire. I leaned in before I could stop myself, my tongue darting out to lap at the tiny wound. The taste exploded on my tongue, a rush of emotions and magic surging through my blood like lightning. My entire body shuddered, muscles locking as I fought the overwhelming pull to take more, to drink until she was part of me forever. Gods, it was everything. And it took every ounce of my iron will not to give in.
"When I see what, little witch?"
She disentangled herself from my arms, putting some distance between us, before she wrapped her arms around herself like she could hold the truth inside.
I clenched my hands into fists at my side, tracking her as I forced myself to stay where I was, to not crowd her. "Talin. Whatever it is, it won't change how I feel about you."
"You don't know that."
"Yes, I do." Unable to stop myself this time, I took a step toward her, giving her time to tell me to stop. When she didn't, I closed the distance until I was directly in front of her. "Do you want to know what this thing feels like from my side?"
After a moment, she nodded.
"It feels like someone smashed through the bone and muscle in my chest and seized my heart in an unyielding grip. Like every single breath I draw is laced with your scent, pulling me inexorably toward you, no matter the distance or the danger. Like nothing in this world—or any other—could ever sever that bond, could ever keep me from claiming what's mine."
My voice came out rougher than I intended, laced with the raw need surging through my veins. I reached out, my shaking fingers brushing her cheek with a gentleness I barely recognized in myself, even as my fangs ached to descend, to mark her, to taste more of that intoxicating blood that called to me like a siren's song.
Talin's green eyes flickered with unshed tears, her slim frame trembling. She hugged herself tighter, her pierced eyebrow twitching as she continued to chew on her lower lip, distress carving deep lines into her usually defiant expression. Gods, it gutted me to see her like this, so vulnerable, so convinced she was somehow less, when to me, she was everything.
"Whatever you're hiding," I murmured, my hand lightly circling the side of her throat, feeling the rapid flutter of her pulse beneath my touch, "it's part of you. And that means it's part of me now. Mine. Just like you."
Her breath hitched, a soft, anguished sound escaping her as she shook her head, those eerie green eyes dropping to the floor. "It's ugly," she whispered, her voice breaking on the word, like admitting it cost her a piece of her soul. "Deformed. Not... not something anyone would want."
"Impossible," I countered, my own chest tightening at the pain in her tone. I needed her to understand, needed her to see herself through my eyes. The mate bond thrummed inside me, a living thing demanding I pull her close, erase every doubt with my touch, my fangs, my very being.
"You haven't seen it," she pressed, her arms squeezing tighter around her middle, as if she could physically shield herself from the rejection she feared. A tear slipped free, tracing a glistening path down her cheek, and she swiped at it angrily, her sarcasm nowhere in sight now—just raw, aching distress that made me want to tear apart whatever had planted those seeds of doubt in her.
I leaned in closer, my dark eyes locking onto hers, willing her to feel the depth of my need, the way it clawed at my control, urging me to claim her fully. "Then show me," I said, my voice a low rasp, laced with the hunger I could no longer hide. "Let me prove it to you, little witch. Because I need you—all of you—more than I've ever needed anything in my long life."
Chapter 12
Talin
My heart hammered against my ribs so hard I thought it might crack bone. Elias stood in front of me, taking up way too much space in my small apartment to ignore, his broad chest rising and falling with quick breaths, but those dark eyes steady and patient, waiting for me to trust him with the truth I'd hidden from everyone but those closest to me.
"Okay," I whispered. Then louder, "Okay."
