My breath catches on a slow inhale.
“I’ve been simultaneously looking forward to and fearing being here,” I say softly, lifting my eyes to meet his.
Riven’s gaze lingers on mine, then dips briefly to trace the flutter of my pulse at my throat before returning–steady, unblinking, and all-consuming.
Despite the fear spiking within me and my mind telling me the vampires around us would bleed me dry in a split second, it’s his focus that makes my body shake. The unyielding thought within my mind that he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt any of them who dared to touch me.
That he thinks of me ashis.
“You’re trembling,” he observes.
“I’m not afraid of you,” I murmur, and I mean it.
He studies me in that intensely quiet way he always does, like he’s peeling back every layer.
“No,” he says quietly, “you’re afraid of what it means to want me.”
Heat flushes my skin, though the air around us stays cool.
It’s not his fangs I fear, nor his power over this nest. It’s the way he looks like I could push him to his knees on the street and tell him to worship me for all of these vampires to witness.
And the worst part? A piece of me wants that.
He steps closer, erasing any distance between us, and I have to tip my head back just to keep his gaze. I feel the material of his pants brush lightly against my thigh.
My breath stalls, yet my body presses closer to his. The heady feeling of anticipation curls through me.
His hand lifts slowly until his thumb grazes the curve of my cheek with a touch so gentle it feels like reverence. I lean into it without thinking, drawn by something deeper than reason.
He tilts his head down toward mine, and my world tilts with him.
Desire blooms within me and the insatiable need to feel his lips follows.
His mouth lingers just above mine, and thewaiting nearly undoes me. The tension, thick and thrumming, coils in my core, desperate to be released. I can feel the faint whisper of his breath against my lips.
Every part of me aches with the pull of him and the way his hand cradles my face like I’m precious to him.
His thumb lingers just beneath my cheekbone, and for a moment, I think he might kiss me.
Then quietly, he murmurs, “I wonder which of us will fall to ruin first in your time here.”
Chapter 23
Wren
The silence still stretches between us, thick with tension neither of us moves to break.
Then my stomach growls.
Loudly.
The sound echoes in the quiet like a betrayal, and I blink up at him, embarrassed heat rushing to my cheeks.
Riven doesn’t laugh outwardly, but his lips twitch, and the gleam in his eyes shifts from hunger to a softer, understanding one.
“Well,” he murmurs, voice low and rumbling, “I suppose we’ll have to take care of that hunger before I take care of anything else you may need.”
I narrow my eyes. “Was that supposed to sound suggestive?”
