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She shuddered, letting out a shaky breath. “Promise?”
I winked, turning around and walking toward the exit. I had a few things I needed to take care of first.
CHAPTER 17
Dannika
Elias’s words rang in my ears.
Everything he’d make me feel would be real.
I pressed my thighs together as another pulse of desire coursed through me. Water sloshed around the sides of the tub, and I dug my fingers into my legs.
He was making me feel things, all right. Too many to list. But the trouble was that my mind was starting to get cloudy, and I couldn’t piece together what thoughts were my own and what was being conjured by the damn universe demanding I screw Markus to complete our bond.
I’d caught Elias stealing glances ever since I’d arrived. Watching me. The subtle way he’d caress his thumb over my hand when he held it, or the random soft kisses when no one was around. That wasn’t for show. I wanted those touches more and more. I found myself looking for time alone with him, even though I shouldn’t have.
I ran my fingers over my wet hair, groaning in frustration. I was about to have time alone with him, and I’d pushed the hard line of where things had to stop.
Another ache at my center, and a flush crept further over my skin.
I meant it. I wasn’t going to go all the way with him. I wanted to. By the gods, I wanted to. But I didn’t know what that meant. I didn’t want to be friends with benefits, no matter what this arrangement entailed. So, was this desire strictly lust? Or was I convincing myself there was something there simply because we were in this for life? A long, completely fabricated existence together as mates? Fake mates who kissed in private. Flirted relentlessly. I was losing track of what was real and what wasn’t.
I didn’t want to complicate things . . . and at the same time, I couldn’t stop imagining what that might look like if I did.
I took a deep breath and dropped beneath the water, submerging my entire body. Then I screamed. Bubbles popped all around me, drowning out the sound, and I came up, sucking in air.
I wanted more time to think, but I knew I was closing in on the finish line. I was in heat, the first of many. There were no two ways about it. The seconds ticked on, each one bringing me closer to a place I wouldn’t be able to escape. I just had to hold out for as long as I could. Trust that Elias could satiate the frenzy my natural instincts would undoubtedly create.
The bathwater cooled, but it was all too sudden. My temperature rose, a literal heat ascending alongside a figurative. A hazy mist settled around me and it consumed my senses.
It was here.
I cursed to myself, climbing out of the tub and not bothering to drain it. I had to find Elias. My legs wobbled in their weakened state, and another throb sent overwhelming need through me. Dropping to the ground, I landed on all fours, trying to steady my breathing. Nova scratched at the bathroom door, pushing it open and coming to my side. She whined, nudging her snout under my arm so I could find it in me to stand. I pulled myself up using her for balance. With every stride across the bedroom, electricity shot through my body. With every moment that passed, my previous thoughts drifted away.
The hunger was staggering. Hazy as my vision was, an energy I didn’t know I had filled me. My skin was on fire, begging to be touched. Itching to be worshiped. Devoured. Bonded. Ravaged. Anything. Everything.
I lifted my head, looking for the one my body was calling to. I walked toward the door with purpose, and Nova surprised me when she threw her head back and howled, long and loud.
I knew what I needed.
I knew what I wanted.
A whisper in my subconscious tried to say a name, but I shook my head, holding my temple and pressing my palm into it. A primal response within drove me forward, and I flung the door open, ready to track the one being kept from me . . . but Elias stood in my way. His hair was disheveled. His jeans hung low on his hips, his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open. A warmth spread through me as his delicious spicy scent filled my nostrils.
He was what I wanted.
Needed.
Elias’s heated gaze studied my naked body, then he moved into my space. I backed up, and he used his foot to kick the door shut. The whirring of a magical lock I didn’t know existed sounded.
The whispering voice got louder. Fuck him.
I stepped forward, grabbing his shirt and pulling him to me. Our mouths met in a hardened kiss, and I inhaled sharply, ripping the fabric down his arms and tossing it to the side.
His hand pressed into my lower back, his other cupping my face as his tongue explored my mouth, sucking on my bottom lip as he let go.
“Touch me,” I breathed, hitching my leg around his waist as I clawed across his back.
