Page 51 of Dark Sold Mate

“Elle,” Silas said gently. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do.”

“No, you don’t. We will have to work out another method of tracing the operation. We shall take the information you have already provided us with. But I do not intend to sleep with you just because your power demands it.”

Elle sat up, her eyes hardening. “What if I want to?”

Silas’s breath hitched. “What?”

“What if I want my powers to manifest properly? What if I want to stop these traffickers? Don’t I get a say in this?”

“Of course you do. But I must know you’re making this decision for the right reasons.”

“The right reasons? What are the right reasons, Silas? Because wanting to save women who will be sold and tortured sounds like a damn good reason for me.”

“It is. But not at the cost of forcing yourself to have sex with a person you hate.”

Elle went quiet.

“I don’t hate you,” she said it so softly that Silas almost didn’t hear it.

His heart stuttered. “You don’t?”

“I want to. God, I want to hate you so badly. Everything would be much easier if I did.” Elle bit down on her lower lip. “But I don’t. I hate that you have deprived me of my choices and freedom. But, no. I don’t hate you.”

Silas did not know what to make of this. His heart was beating so fast that he thought he was having a heart attack.

“It has always been there,” Elle went on, her voice more steady. “Between us. Even when we were teenagers. I experienced it, that attraction, and I have been struggling with it all along because admitting it felt like betraying myself.

“Elle—”

“Let me finish.” She held up a hand. “I am not saying that I have forgiven you or that I am pleased to be forced into this relationship. But I am telling you that it is my choice whether we sleep together or not. I’m the one asking this choice.”

Silas stared at her to see whether she had doubts or hesitation. But her jaw was set, and there was a determined look in her eyes.

“Okay,” he nodded. “But I want you to know something. My wolf will desire to possess you. Mark you. Ensure you know you are mine in all the possible ways.”

Elle shivered. “I can handle your wolf.”

“But can you handle me?”

The question hung between them, loaded with meaning. Elle’s breathing quickened, her pupils dilating as she held his gaze.

“There’s only one way to find out.”

Silas moved closer, close enough for him to feel her breath on his face. “Tell me you’re sure. Tell me this is what you want.”

“I’m sure.” Elle’s voice was steady. “I want this. I want my powers and I—” she swallowed. “I want you. Even though I shouldn’t, it makes it all more complicated. I want you.”

That was all Silas needed to hear.

He bridged the gap between them and crashed his mouth against her. The kiss was rough, needy, and filled with tension. Elle kissed him as passionately as he had kissed her, her hands grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards her. When Silas tried to make the kiss softer and slower, Elle bit his bottom lip hard enough that it stung.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed against his mouth. “I am not a weak object that is going to shatter into pieces.”

Silas growled, grabbed her by the waist, and pushed her up the bed, making sure that he was hovering above her. Elle wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed herself against his hard length.

“Fuck,” Silas breathed. “Elle.”