The pain was sharp, brief and exquisite.
Kael's fangs pierced the soft flesh of my breast, and for a heartbeat, the shock made my entire body go rigid. My breath hitched, my mouth parting in a wordless cry. But then the pain twisted into something darker, something impossibly erotic. A low moan spilled from my lips as my body arched toward him, surrendering to the violation that no longer felt like one.
I had never imagined that being bitten could feel like this this aching mix of pleasure and pain that made my pulse race and my thighs tremble.
Kael groaned against my skin, drinking deeply, and I could feel each pull of his mouth, each rhythm of his thirst. My blood flowed into him, and with it, I felt something leave me something deeper than warmth or life. It was as though he was drawing out a piece of my soul, taking it for himself, binding it to his own.
His body pressed more firmly against mine now, his hunger making him less restrained. The cool of his skin contrasted wildly with the heat building between my thighs, and every part of me was strung so tight I felt like I might break.
Finally, he pulled away, his lips stained red, his eyes glowing with a raw, animalistic need. A single drop of blood clung to his lip, and he licked it slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the taste.
"You taste, " he said hoarsely, "divine."
I was breathless, my body still humming from the bite, from the wild rush of pleasure that had followed. My skin burned. My core throbbed. I had never been more aroused in my life and it terrified me.
What have you done to me? I asked, my voice trembling.
Kael leaned in, his hand cradling my cheek, his thumb brushing over my lips.
"I've claimed you," he said softly. "You're bound to me now, Seraphina. Your blood sings in my veins. You are mine."
There was a possessiveness in his voice that should have scared me but instead, it ignited something inside me. Something feral. I wanted to push him. To see just how far I could go with this dangerous desire.
I reached up, tangling my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him down into a kiss. He tasted of blood and sin and something ancient. Our tongues tangled in a violent, desperate kiss, our bodies grinding against each other as though we were trying to fuse into one.
He groaned against my mouth, his hands sliding down my sides, gripping my hips hard enough to bruise. Then he was between my legs, pressing against me, his hardness rubbing through the thin barrier of his clothes. I moaned into his kiss, lifting my hips, begging silently for more.
"You want it, " he growled, nipping at my lower lip. "Say it."
"I want you," I gasped. "Please, Kael. I need you."
His eyes blazed, and in one smooth motion, he ripped away the last of his clothes, revealing a body that looked sculpted by something not quite human. He was pale, powerful, carved in lines of shadow and strength. His cock stood thick and rigid, and my eyes widened slightly at the sheer size of him.
He saw the hesitation and smiled wickedly.
"You'll take every inch of me," he said. "You were made for this."
Then he slid into me.
Slowly. Deeply.
My back arched and I cried out, both from the stretch and from the way my body instantly responded wet, ready, desperate. He filled me completely, every inch of him driving the breath from my lungs. Kael grunted, burying himself to the hilt, staying still for a moment as my body adjusted to the overwhelming fullness.
You feel like fire, he rasped into my ear. So tight. So perfect."
Then he began to move slow, grinding thrusts that made the world dissolve around us. The silk sheets twisted beneath my fingers as I held on, every stroke sending jolts of pleasure through me. His mouth found my throat again, his tongue leaving over the mark he had made.
"You're mine," he whispered again, biting down not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to make me cry out.
The rhythm of his thrusts quickened, his body pounding into mine with brutal, possessive intensity. I wrapped my legs around him, clinging to him as he fucked me like he was trying to own every piece of me.
And maybe he already did.
My climax hit fast and hard, tearing through me in waves. I screamed his name, my nails raking down his back, and Kael growled in response, his thrusts becoming erratic. A moment later, he spilled into me with a low, guttural sound that made something primal stir inside me.
He collapsed against me, breathing hard, his body heavy on mine. For a long moment, we lay there tangled together sweat, blood, and something more binding us.
Something permanent.
Something terrifying.
I should be afraid," I whispered, running my fingers through his damp hair. "But I'm not."
"You should be," he said against my skin. "Because I'll never let you go."
And in the quiet that followed, I knew he meant it.
Kael didn't move for a long time.
His breath cooled on my neck, slow and steady, as though he was savoring the moment like fine wine. I could feel the aftershocks still pulsing through me raw, aching, and alive in ways I had never known. My body throbbed where he had been, where he had bitten, and yet
I didn't want to pull away.
He lifted his head at last, eyes glowing with that feral golden light. You've taken me in every way," he said, voice rough, reverent. But it's not over."
His hand slid back down my thigh, teasing the still-sensitive flesh, and my breath hitched. I was already sore, trembling, but my body responded, traitorous and eager.
You're changing, he murmured, pressing a kiss to the mark on my breast. The bond has begun. You'll feel it inside you. A hunger."
I swallowed. A hunger.
Not just for him. For blood. For darkness.
He was right. Something had shifted in me. I could feel it thrumming beneath my skin, blooming like a shadow through my veins.
"What have you made me?" I whispered.
Kael smiled slowly. You are Mine."
And as his fingers slipped between my thighs again, I realized with a trembling moan I didn't care.
I gasped as his fingers slid through the wetness between my legs, still slick from him. My body was hypersensitive, every nerve awakened, yet he touched me with a slow, agonizing precision that only deepened my need.
Kael watched me writhe, his expression darkly pleased. You think I've claimed you once, he murmured, brushing his lips against my ear. "But I haven't even begun."
His fingers circled my clit, coaxing the pressure back to life, making my hips rise against him involuntarily. He moved lower, his mouth replacing his hand, his tongue parting me with wicked expertise. I cried out, legs trembling around his shoulders, the world narrowing to nothing but the wet, obscene sounds of his mouth and my own unraveling pleasure.
My hands gripped the sheets. I was lost floating in sensation, drowning in it.
And then I felt it.
A second bite this time on the inside of my thigh. Sharp. Claiming.
My orgasm hit like lightning, blinding and violent, shaking me apart as he fed again. Pleasure twisted with pain until I couldn't tell where one ended and the other began.
When it was over, he licked the blood from his
lips, eyes glowing.
"You'll crave this," he said. You'll crave me."
And God help me I already did.