Page 154 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

Their movements turned hungry, hands against skin, clothes tugged free and tossed away, mouths roving, tongues clashing. He breathed her in, overcome by her vanilla and floral scent. When he laid her down upon the sheets of their bed, his eyes snagged on the brand at her hip. He froze, staring at it.

“Laurie, it’s all right.” But he couldn’t seem to look away. “Laurie, please.” Lily’s hands found his face, guiding him toward her.

What had he done to her? Using her as bait⁠—

“It’s all right,” she breathed against his lips, as if reading his thoughts.

“The idea of hurting you makes me sick,” he blurted, ashamed.

She allowed him to feel shame, an emotion that was rare and almost impossible to come by. An emotion that most people cowered from, and yet it was an emotion. Her existence gave him the capacity to feel it. That alone made it beautiful.

“I never…” She cleared her throat, staring at him. Something moved in the depths of her gaze. “I never thought I’d forgive you for what happened,” she admitted. “But I do. I don’t like that every time you see the brand, you stare at it with this look of utter self loathing, like you want to punish yourself. Laurie, I forgive you for what happened. It’s in the past. I’ve moved on. You helped me move on.”

The words hit him like a sledgehammer, stealing his breath. He crumbled in on himself, utterly shocked. This woman. She brought him to his knees, quite literally. He found himself in that position, bowed over on the bed, his body curled inward, looking upon her, this magnificent creature. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness and she shouldn’t offer it so freely.

She scrambled up, putting her face level with his. “Laurie, my forgiveness belongs to me. I’m allowed to give it if I choose. But it is your choice whether you accept it or not. I cannot do that for you.”

“How do you know that’s what I’m thinking?”

How the hell did she know?!

A small smile tugged at her lips. “I used to think you were unfeeling and expressionless, but I’ve come to know the subtle movements of your face.” She placed her hands on his cheeks, holding him hostage. His eyes fluttered closed, savoring her touch. It was what he needed most, especially right now. He was terrified to admit just how badly.

He’d spent the last month desperate to touch her, imagining all the ways he would. Now, all he wanted was for her hands to piece him back together. “Touch me,” he begged, caring little how pathetically vulnerable those words sounded. “Please, Lily. Touch me.” She didn’t seem to care either. She repositioned herself onto her knees to match him, facing him. Then she began to run her hands over his body.

Something deep in his chest cracked wide open, flooding him with a feeling he’d never experienced before—complete and utter surrender.

40

It was laughable, my believing I could lock my feelings away and let them fizzle. How could I, when Laurent faced me with such raw vulnerability? The way he begged for my touch, the expression he wore, the wonder, the want, the hope.

This was not a man incapable of love, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

I traced his jaw first, then trailed my fingertips through his hair along his scalp, putting as much comfort into my touch as possible. His eyelids drooped, but didn’t close. I placed a hand on his thigh to brace myself, then leaned in and kissed him. The weight of me pressed him backwards until I was stretched along him. His hands found my bare back, pressing me close, but nothing more. He was allowing me to lead, waiting to see what I would do.

He wanted my touch.

I kept my kisses gentle, running a hand down his chest, tracing the ridges and valleys of his muscles. I found the junction where his thighs met his abdomen and teased his skin, trailing my fingers along the crease. I caressed him but didn’t take ahold of him—not yet. He huffed, the sound amused but laced with frustration.

My kisses traveled along his jaw, down the column of his throat, across his chest. I made myself comfortable between his thighs. My eyes never strayed far from his. He watched my every movement.

I found his length and took him in hand, giving him a firm stroke. He groaned and bowed his hips. His eyes were dark and fathomless as he watched me lean down. I swept my tongue up the length of him, catching the bead of moisture pooling on the tip of his cock, humming in delight at the salty flavor of him. He hissed, a desperate, impatient sound. I chuckled and it reverberated against him. His cock jumped against my tongue.

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?” I loved the sound of his voice, the emotion in his words.

I didn’t answer. Instead, I teased him, licking and sucking every inch of him. Then I took him deep. My eyes watered as he hit the back of my throat but I didn’t stop. Muffled curses fell from his lips. He didn’t take over, didn’t try to lead. His chest rose and fell, his body’s desperate attempt to breathe despite not needing air. His hips flexed, bucking wildly against the forearm I braced over his abdomen. Every sound he made, every movement, made me feel unbelievably powerful.

Laurent might be one of the strongest vampires in the world, but right now I held him completely at my mercy. The realization crashed over me and sent heat licking straight to my core. With him like this, he was mine to do with as I pleased. I could take whatever I wanted. He wouldn’t stop me.

I lifted my gaze to look at him. His expression of absolute adoration made me falter. I licked my lips, already wet and messy. “Would you rather come on my tongue or inside me?”

His eyes turned completely black, the vampire in him close to the surface. He blinked rapidly while I waited. “Fuck,” he breathed. He scrubbed a hand over his face, collecting himself, then lifted onto his elbows. “Inside you.” My stomach swooped. “I want to come inside you. Come here, little flower.”

“All right,” I said. “But in a moment. I’m not done yet.”

I wrapped my mouth around him again and he cried out a rough whisper of my name, collapsing back onto the bed. I knew when he was close, when the movements of his hips became uncoordinated and his cock hardened unbelievably. Only then did I pull my mouth away to the sound of his groan before straddling his hips and lowering myself onto him.

I was already dripping for him. He hummed his contentment as he slid inside my slick warmth with one single thrust. “Little flower,” he cried, taking my hips in his hands. “Look how you destroy me.”