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“Vas,” I stuttered a breath and he shifted his body closer to mine. I inhaled sharply and summoned all my willpower to keep from losing complete control. “I don’t know where you’re getting this praise thing from, but you’re wrong. I don’t care about compliments and praise.”
“Oh really?” His eyes gleamed, his hand still on my jaw. His thumb moved back and forth in a tantalising rhythm. I hated how he was toying with me yet I didn’t want him to stop. “What if I told you how pretty you are, even here with the soot and the dirt and the heat? How I sometimes get lost staring at your eyes and your mouth? How I think about the time you sank your fangs into me and how incredible you looked doing it? How I might’ve willingly handed over my life just to feel the sweet ecstasy of your bite for a moment longer?”
I shuddered, words failing me. Closing my eyes, I focused on my breathing and tried not to fixate on how much I did relish his praise. How it turned me on so much and it was something I never knew about myself yet he figured it out so easily.
“You win,” I said, defeated, my eyes still closed. “You can stop now.”
As soon as I said it, his hand fell away and he lay back. I turned over, facing away from him. Vas exhaled and before I realised what was happening his arm came around my body and pulled me close. This wasn’t like before when his hand merely rested on me. This was a full on hug and I trembled because I’d needed it. I needed some form of physical affection because I was barely holding it together. His body curled around mine, spooning me completely. This was so much more comfortable than the way we’d slept last night. He held me in his arms, cushioning the hard floor of the pod. I turned my head and inhaled his smoky scent, hoping he didn’t notice.
His arms tightened around me and the mark started to glow. A sense of utter calm came over me and moments later I fell into the most peaceful sleep I’d had in weeks. No nightmares plagued me, only dreamless slumber.
13.
When I woke I immediately became aware that I’d moved around in my sleep. I was lying on top of Vasilios like he was my own person-shaped bed. My face rested against his shoulder, my legs nestled between his legs. Unable to resist the impulse, I turned my nose to his neck and inhaled. I could hear his heart beating, could hear his blood pulsing in his veins like it was singing to me.
Between one moment and the next my hunger awoke from a deep, deep place and I couldn’t seem to get a handle on it. Losing control, my fangs descended. I pressed my nose into Vas’ neck again, scenting him like I could taste him.
Beneath me, he stirred. Then, a strained, “Darya,” escaped his lips. He quieted and I became aware of the hard length of him against my stomach. “What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry,” I whimpered, trying to get a handle on my blood lust. I was still plastered to him, this close to biting into his neck without consent.
“Fuck, stop,” he growled when I took another deep inhale.
“I’m t-trying,” I replied shakily.
“Well, try harder or just fucking bite me because this is torture,” he growled, his hands hovering at my lower back, like he worried if he touched me I’d pounce.
I scraped my fangs along his neck and he physically shuddered beneath me. Then I closed my eyes and swallowed, summoning the last dregs of my willpower to pull away from him. I managed to drag my body from his. I leaned against the wall on the far side of the sleeping pod, trying to catch my breath. I was certain my pupils were dilated.
“I’m sorry,” I said again, self-consciousness trickling in now that I had better control over my faculties. Damn, my cheeks were bright red. I could feel them.
Vas stared at me, his eyes hooded. I couldn’t tell if he was sleepy or aroused. His gaze dipped, heating at whatever he saw. I glanced down and discovered my nipples were rock hard, visible even through my T-shirt and bra. Oh, hell. This was so freaking embarrassing. Hastily, I covered my breasts with my arm. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just woke up and…”
“You were hungry?” he finished in a raspy voice.
I nodded. “I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Discomfort wasn’t the issue.” Vas reached out and I gasped when he touched the tip of his finger to my fang, eyes glittering like he was enthralled. I couldn’t speak, too mesmerised by what he was doing. His gaze flicked to mine and there was something heated there, something curious. I barely noticed when he pressed his finger harder against my fang, pricking the skin.
