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Perfect.

I’m unable to stop myself from lifting a shaking hand and pressing it to his cheek. The moment I make contact, his eyes close. I know the trust he must put in me to do that. His eyes are his everything. To close off his awareness of the world around him opens him up to danger.

But he must know I would rip out my own throat before letting anything hurt him.

“Luca,” I say aloud.

He doesn’t respond. He keeps leaning in until his nose is pressed against the crook of my neck. He’s on his tiptoes now, and I’ve bent down without realizing it—accommodating him on instinct.

The need to hold my human, to take him, to taste him, to savor each second is far too powerful. I should not be doing this, but I’m helpless at the sound of his spontaneous, unchecked moan.

His face turns into my neck and his lips part, tongue darting out. He licks along the tendon of my neck, and perhaps he’s unaware that he’s scenting me, but he is. He’s ensuring that any Vyastil that comes within a hundred feet of me will know he’s been here.

That I am his.

I can’t allow it. I have not taken a companion since Kori was ripped from me. I’m allowed to attend the clinic once a month—if I should choose to partake. And I have, in the past.

But it’s been some time.

And never now that I’ve had Luca. I will likely meet my end weaker than the others, but it will be worth it. My lips will not part for another.

“My Luca,” I murmur.

This time he must feel the vibration of my voice because he pulls back, eyes searching mine. His own are red—not from crying. He smells like human herbs that are used to combat pain and anxiety. They do not work well enough—I know this much.

But he is less angry now, so that must mean something.

I lift my hand again, fingers brushing over his lips, which are shiny with his spit. He parts them, tongue darting out to taste me there, and I allow him to pull them all the way into his mouth.

He swirls his tongue around the tips, then in between. My cocks stir inside my body, and my hunger rises. I can smell him…his want for me making the first spurts of his human seed dribble into his clothing.

It’s heady, tempting me in a way that I don’t think I can resist. I have tasted him before, and it has made me yearn for him ever since.

Glancing left to right, I see no one, and Luca gives the smallest laugh.

‘Nervous-you?’

I bare my teeth with a growl. ‘No, little human.’

His eyes widen in offense. ‘Little?’

I straighten up, towering over him, and when he lets out his own growl, that’s when everything snaps. My predator drive takes over, my need to claim overwhelming me. With one hand, I rip the car door open; with the other, I take him by the throat. At the barest pressure, he goes pliant for me just like I knew he would.

I hold back the trill, though it wants nothing but to fill the night sky with his name. Instead, I back him into the seat, laying him against the console. It can’t be comfortable, but he doesn’t seem to care.

When I put the slightest pressure against his knees, they spread, and I see the thick outline of his cock against his tight pants. Dropping to a crouch, I bend down, breathing heavily over where I want to taste him. He lets out a loud moan before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Yes. We cannot be found.

This is too dangerous. If human authorities found us, he would be arrested for indecency, and I would be under scrutiny for taking what does not belong to me.

Because I would not be able to go before the council and explain this.

But I want him and will not wait any longer. This must be the last time—I cannot let myself indulge anymore. If it means locking myself in my office and never setting foot outside again, I will do it.

But for now, I will have him. One last time.

‘Unzip,’ I tell him in a sharp downward gesture.