Page 44 of Fated In Ruin
I didn’t want to move.
I wanted to stay crushed against Malachi, one arm around his neck, logy from feeding and more comfortable than I had a right to be, but…he was right. I really should be going.
“I can walk.” I blinked up at him, shivers erupting at how close he was. “Really. Just give me a minute to get my bearings.”
“You can barely even speak.” The faintest smile curved his soft lips, barely inches away from mine. “I’m taking you to your room, tucking you into bed and you’re sleeping this off.”
His blood was like putting a match to rocket fuel—something I knew quite a lot about—the power roaring through my veins at odds with this half-drunk feeling that fogged my head and turned my limbs heavy. But if this power kept growing, after a few hours of sleep, I’d be ready to take on Ravok.
Malachi gathered me against him, and I nuzzled my nose into the side of his throat, taking a deep inhale of his delicious scent. I’d never smelled anything like him. Ancient and forbidden and tantalizing.
I really needed to put some space between us, because this was theotherside effect of drinking from someone as old as Malachi, the one I hadn’t fully taken into account when I’d practically begged him to let me sink my fangs into him.
I wanted the male, and this time, I couldn’t even blame his muted power, or even his powerful blood. Because this was…something else. Something ordained and forbidden and deep, a tangle of rightness and curiosity that combined, made me want to press my lips to his.
To taste.
To take.
To wallow in this heat building between us. To explore this urgent, forbidden want I’d shoved deep inside of myself and tried to pretend didn’t exist.
I craved him so badly, logic was some far-off whisper, and my hands were wound in his shirt so tight, all it would take was one flick of my wrist to lay him bare before me, to skim my mouth down over his chest, and even lower until I…
“Vicious, I need you to get ahold of yourself,” he growled, but his hand kneaded the curve of my ass as I pressed myself against him until his cock was trapped against my thigh, hard and thick and my core clenched with wanting.
“You’re the one who put the ideas into my head in the first place,” I teased, something dark and dangerous curling through me. “Making me get on my knees. Calling me a bad girl.”
“That was…before.” He closed his eyes like he was trying to get himself together. “A mistake, on my part.”
Outside, rain lashed the windows, and a bolt of lightning turned Malachi’s face into a black and white rendering, so beautiful I doubted there was an artist alive who could capture the yearning in his expression.
“It didn’t seem like a mistake.” My blood was humming with lust right now, and being this close to him was making everything so much worse. Waves of heat flooded my body, every nerve sensitive and raw, every wanting breath making his skin rub against mine with heated friction. This was worse than last time, and from the way his nose kept flaring, he’d caught the scent of my arousal.
So. Fucking. Embarrassing.
But there was no denying he was seriously beautiful, for an Ancient who had to be over fifteen hundred years old. Like out of this world beautiful, and maybe it was the blood coursing through my system, but every perfect feature seemed to be outlined by a faint halo of golden light.
“You can’t be in here,” he muttered, picking me up like I weighed nothing. “I’m taking you back to your room and you’re sleeping this off.”
Of course, to make matters worse, Malachi carried me like I weighed nothing, his hold firm but careful, as if I were something fragile. Something to be treasured. The scent of him—clean cedar, icy winter winds and all musky male—filled my senses until my head was swimming. I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm as he powered down the hallway.
My bedroom door creaked open, and he stepped inside, placing me gently on the bed, his arms slipping away. Blackness closed in around me, the fire had gone out, everything was cold. He turned to leave and I gripped his arm. “I have to ask you a question.”
This is a mistake.
Be smart and just let him go before you do something you’ll regret.
But that was Rational-Evie, the one who was far, far away, while the rest of me was riding the rolling crest of lust lapping between my legs.
Every inhale fed me more of his heavenly scent and my fingers were banded so tightly around his tan skin, they turned the skin pale.I should tell him to leave.I was asking for something I had no right to ask for, but I was, for the first time in my life, feeling completely adrift.
And Malachi was right here, in front of me, his lips parted, only inches away.
Malachi’s golden eyes flickered toward the door. “Evangeline…”
“The roses. Why did you bring me roses?”
His lazy smile was intoxicating, eyes flaring with that ring of fire before they dropped, hooded in mystery once more. “Because you hate flowers. Or so I heard. I was torturing you.”
