“You have been sedated. The tether is hurting you, and Rhen has just torn apart what remained of your control.”
“I know.”
“This will not cure the tether.”
“I know.”
“It may not stop the pain.”
“I know that too.”
Dax held her gaze.
“Tell me where you are.”
Her expression tightened with irritation.
“In the eastern guest suite.”
“Who am I?”
“Dax.”
“What happened in Rhen’s room?”
“He told me I was useful to him and nothing more.”
The words hurt her again, but her attention did not drift.
Dax continued.
“What do you want from me?”
Veya shifted closer until her knees reached the edge of the bed.
“I want you to touch me because I chose you. I wanted you before I entered his room, before the sedative, and before the library. I wanted you in Leena’s garden when you made me laugh and treated my answer as though it mattered.”
Heat moved through Dax with enough force to tighten every muscle in his body.
“If you tell me to stop, I stop.”
“Yes.”
“If you become confused or lose focus, I stop.”
Her eyes flashed.
“Yes.”
“And if this makes nothing better?”
“Then at least one thing that happens to me tonight will have been my decision.”
That broke the final thread of his restraint.
Veya reached him first.
Her mouth met his without softness, carrying anger, humiliation, and hunger that had nothing to do with blood. She caught his shirt in both fists and pulled him closer until Dax’s hands closed around her waist.
