“Maybethat’syour superpower. Distracting me until I’ve melted into a useless puddle, then having your way with me.”
“Good guess, but nope.”
“What is it, then, Charlotte D’Amico? What is your superpower?”
Charley rose up on her knees and pushed him backward on the bed, pinning his hands above his head and collapsing on top of him. “Iadapt.”
“Hmm.” He lifted his head just enough to bite her lower lip. “I rather like this adaptation.”
Charley let out a soft sigh of pleasure. Dorian was rock-hard beneath her, and she wanted nothing more than to give in to the ocean tide of his impossible magnetism. She wanted to kiss her way down his incredibly sculpted body, take him into her mouth, and suck him until she’d had her fill.
She wanted to make him lose control, all for her.
But she needed to get this off her chest first. Needed him to know what shetrulywanted—and to hear his real answer—before things got all tangled up in the heat of their insatiable cravings.
She wouldn’t blur those lines. Not with this.
It was too damn important.
Charley rolled onto her hip beside him, and he turned to face her, propping his head up on his elbow, patiently waiting for her to continue.
“I told you how Sasha is obsessed with vampires, right?” she said. “But there’s one thing that’s always bothered me about all those books and movies.”
“Only one thing?” Dorian laughed. “I could write a dissertation on the factual errors alone, not to mention the sodding fools they cast in those roles. They wouldn’t last adayagainst a real vampire.”
“Agreed, but more importantly…” She blew out a breath, still trying to find the words to express her desires. “The girl—thehuman—hardly ever gets to choose.”
“Not true! What about that whole kerfuffle between the sparkly vampire and the teen wolf with the abs? It was practically a national sport. Team Sodding Fool or Team Bloody Idiot… I’m certain Aiden had the T-shirt. Utter embarrassment, if you ask me.”
“I’m not talking about choosing a boyfriend, Dorian. I’m talking about choosing whether to become a vampire.”
“But the human neverhasto choose in those stories. Someone always turns her in the end.”
“That’s my point. They turn her because she’s on the brink of death and there’s no other option. Or the enemy turns her against her will. Me? I’d rather have the choice.”
His eyes turned serious, and he threaded a hand into her hair, gently stroking her head. “I won’t let it come to that, love. No one will bring death to your doorstep.”
“How can you make that promise?”
“I… Well, that is to say… I mean…” Dorian opened and closed his mouth a dozen times to answer, but therewasno answer. Not for this.
“I want a choice, Dorian. Not when I’m taking my last breath. Not when I’m being chased by some insane enemy, whether it’s a gray or a demon or even my own flesh and blood. I want the choice rightnow.” Charley rose from the bed, her nervous energy making it impossible for her to stay still. “And I’ve already made it. Adapt or die, right? I’m choosing to adapt. Ialwaysadapt.”
Dorian sat up in bed and met her gaze, but his thoughts were guarded. “Adapt towhat, exactly?”
He knew what she was asking. Hehadto know. But he was going to make her say it out loud.
He was going to make her be brave.
Charley took a deep, steadying breath and got on her knees before him, taking his hands and lacing their fingers together. She knew that once she said the words, she wouldn’t be able to take them back.
Whether he agreed with it or not, her desire would be out there in the ether.
Voiced.
In so many ways, confessing it out loud felt like blowing out the candles on a birthday cake, and both of them held their breath, waiting for it.
I wish, I wish, I wish…
