“Am…” I rubbed the tender skin on my collarbone and there was barely any pain. “Am I still human?”
“Yes. With benefits.”
My hands balled into fists, and my nostrils flared as I battled the forming tears. He would not see me cry. “You tricked me. Again!”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Well, undo it!”
Astaroth grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me against him. “I will do no such thing. I have made all your wishes come true, waited to claim you, dealt with your tantrums, saved your life—twice now—tasted your essence, and been inside you. I did it all with kindness and patience, which you didn’t afford me. But that is thinning.” He cupped the sides of my head and wove his fingers through my hair. Voice softening, he said, “You are mine. And as much as you despise me, I am yours. We are eternally bound. There is no undoing that.”
I shook my head. “There has to be a way.”
“Death. That is your only escape.”
The tears I refused to shed rebelled and trickled down my cheeks. I could never go home. I was trapped. Tethered to him with an invisible leash.
“Is being with me so horrible you’d want to die?”
The version of me I knew was already dying. The part of me that thrived wasn’t happy about it but was relieved that Ididn’t have to live on eggshells any longer. And the part that was already dying wanted to explore what Astaroth offered. How many times did a person get presented with immortality?
“The jury’s still out,” I answered weakly.
Astaroth pressed a soft, beseeching kiss to my lips. It spoke of promises I couldn’t fathom, and that part of me that wanted to explore our connection roared to life. I gripped the front of his shirt as his lips got stronger and harder. I would never find another as passionate and who set me afire like he did. Could I live without that? I wasn’t sure.
With a lightning-fast maneuver, he gripped the outsides of my thighs and lifted me. I squeaked when my back thumped against the wall and wrapped my legs around him, but he swallowed it down and ground his pelvis against me. The bricks and vines dug into my spine when he pressed me into the wall, hands roaming up my shirt and squeezing my breasts.
I tore my lips away and panted. “What are you doing?”
Astaroth kissed up my jaw to my ear. He nipped my lobe and pinched my nipples. “Persuading the jury.”
My back arched into his touch. “This won’t work.”
I whimpered when he slipped his hands from my shirt and pinned my wrists to the wall. “Won’t it?”
Vines wrapped around my arms holding me tight. “Astaroth,” I drew out, panicking and struggling to get free from the ravenous plants.
The look he gave sent tremors through me. “What did I tell you?” he asked as he unbuttoned my pants.
Brow furrowed, I shook my head as I watched the creepy crawlies entangling me. An excited bloodsuckle sneaked out and kissed my arm. I shook it off, and it disappeared. “You say a lot.”
“You will call me Roth.”
I jerked my attention back to him. “In the bedroom,” I iterated.
He paused, fingers pinching my zipper. “Consider anywhere I take you to be our bedroom.”
“Roth,” I gritted out, checking the vines again to make sure they wouldn’t bleed me dry.
He pressed a finger to my lips. “If you’re not wet with need, I will let you down.”
My eyes widened as I did a mental pat down of my body. It was a traitor. I tightened my inner walls begging my body to hide any evidence and suck it back up. What did guys think about? Sports? Weather? Their mom? Ugh. That should do it.
Astaroth flattened his hand on my stomach and slid it ever so slowly down the front of my pants. The bastard. He knew that would help him get what he wanted. His brow raised when he brushed the damp fabric.
“Sweat,” I said quickly. “It’s sweat.”
His fingers slipped along my seam, and a devious smile spread over his face. I sucked air between my clenched teeth to keep from gasping when he swirled around my sensitive clit. But when he pushed inside, my lips formed an O, and I moaned when he rubbed the spot that pushed me over the edge.
