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“Why do you fight this pull between us, Jade? I refuse to believe you don’t feel it too—not when you respond so hotly to me, without even touching you.”
He took another step closer, and I could feel the brush of his suit, could smell his rosewood scent that haunted me.
“You assume too much, Alexei.” My eyes flared silver, but I couldn’t make myself push him back. “I have enough drama in my life, and I refuse to fight through the long line of females kneeling at your feet, Prince of Pleasure.”
“Stop calling methat.”
“You are the absolute last male I would consider taking for a lover,” I shot back.
Anger simmered beneath his lust. A powerful and dangerous combination.
His bitter laugh filled the space between us. “Oh yes, I quite forgot that you have lived a perfect life and have never made any mistakes or acted in ways that you regret. Jade, you love to dish out heaping piles of judgement but never take any for yourself.” His lips flattened into a hard line. “Your persistence in hiding the truth from yourself is actually quite impressive.”
“Maybe so. But can you blame me for my assessment of you?”I wrapped my fists around the material of his jacket, my fingers tensing as if unsure whether to pull him closer or push him away. “You haven’t exactly proved the rumors wrong. In fact, you exacerbate them.”
His hands ghosted along my forearms until they settled around my wrists, our skin at last touching. It felt like an electric jolt, and by the way his eyes glowed crimson, I knew he felt it too.
“I couldn’t care less about the hordes of females at my feet,” he whispered, his cool breath fanning along my overheated cheeks. “I’m a vampire, a prince. I’ve lived for nearly a century and have made mistakes. But no matter how much I atone or change, I will never be the cool-headed, dull sort of male you think you want. You think anyone could satisfy you like me?”
My breath stuttered. “Is it so wrong to want a partner to be faithful and not completely morally bankrupt? I won’t be just another one of your conquests.”
He tutted, “You would eat a male like that alive, Jade. You may try to hide it, but you’re passionate and filled with a longing to explore the dark side. No matter how much you diminish that part of yourself to fit the mold your grandmother wants. You are not a conquest, Jade. I only want you as you are.”
My anger dwindled away, a vulnerable openness replacing it.
Hands tightening around his lapels, my fingers reached past the material to feel his chest, not quite as cold as I imagined. “How can I not be a conquest to you?” I whispered. “Cold, shrew-like Jade, who spends all her evenings alone like a grandmother. Isn’t that what you always say?”
“You’remyshrew.” His eyes blackened.“I want you to the point of madness. At my side and in my bed. If you want me to stop, Jade, tell me and I will. But don’t lie to yourself any longer about what this is.”
“Oh, please. I’m not an idiot, Alexei.”
He shook his head and wisps of his dark hair fell over his forehead. “Don’t you feel the sizzling current etched between us that comes alive every time we’re together, Jade? I can’t be the only one who feels it. Who craves it.”
Ididfeel it. For months I had fought my intuition—the force guiding me to see what lay beneath the surface of his persona as a ridiculous rake. But never could I imagine he wanted me like I desired him. A drizzling rain that brewed into a torrential storm.
My heart pounded as I focused my gaze slightly over his shoulder, feeling self-conscious in a way I hated. On a shaky exhale, I pleaded, “Promise me this isn’t some joke to you, Alexei.”
He stepped closer until our bodies touched, his hardness meeting my softness. Stooping so our faces were level, his unwavering gaze held me captive. “Never, Jade. I would never disrespect you in such a manner. I’m here with you because I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
Goddess, his words seemed pulled from my hidden fantasies.
When I bit my lip with indecision, he turned his head to catch my wrists against his mouth, his fangs grazing against the flesh. “Aren’t you even slightly curious to explore the way it could be between us?”
“Maybe it’s better not to know.” I sucked in a choked breath as his lips trailed past the fabric of my sweater to lick the sensitive skin along my arm.
“It’s always better to know than wonder. Or worse, regret,” he said, standing to his full height and further caging me into the wall.
“So sure of yourself,vamp?”
He grinned delightedly as his hands dropped to my lower back, reaching down to my ass. Lifting me up into his body, his eyes bled crimson. “I’m more sure of this than anything else. What will it be, Jade? Are you going to explore this with me, or are you too afraid to take what you want?”
With a deep breath, I jumped off the ledge. “I’m not afraid of anything.”
A gravelly groan, filled with the intensity of his want, echoed in my ears as he closed the distance between us, finally capturing my lips in a heated kiss.
Bursts of electricity flowed between us as I surrendered, though giving in had never felt so right. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined it would feel so illicitly delicious.
I gasped at the sensation of his hard length grinding into the juncture of my hips, and he used the opportunity to brush his tongue against mine. Stars swam in my vision at his taste. Minty with a hint of the ale he drank at the pub.
