Page 51 of Palingenesis

His lids flutter shut and his nostrils flare. The groan that follows is nothing short of sinful and the tight buds beneath my shirt tingle.

“In the flesh, my beloved. Seems you’ve found me after all.”

It takes everything in me not to tremble at the smooth, sultry tone of his voice, warm enough to turn me into a puddle right there on the shining floors.

The pull to him is so strong that I can’t resist inching closer, even as I scowl at him. “What are you?”

That incinerating gaze tracks every step I take, no matter how small they are, a hunger hidden in the glow of his irises.

“Not like you,” he answers.

Snorting, I find myself closer still. Only a few feet separate us—a distance that my legs seem to want to close of their own accord. “Obviously.”

“You don’t accept this answer.”

“Ha!” I throw my arms up. “I do not. So what the fuck are you? What do you want with someone like me?”

His brows scrunch, pulling that scar taut across his face. “Someone like you?”

“Now who’s got all the fucking questions.” It comes out weak. Breathless. Barely audible for me, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s heard it. “I want you to leave me alone.”

A smirk tips up his lips. “Do you now?”

It’s like I’m under a spell, drawn to him in a way I’ve never felt before. A magnetic pull deep in my core that reaches out for him no matter how hard I attempt to fight it.

“What have you done to me?” I whisper, the heat radiating off him almost too much to bear.

“Shown you the truth, beloved.”

One clawed hand flattens against my chest, right over where my heart pounds wildly, the other caressing my jaw, sharp tips scraping tender skin.

“What truth?”

His eyes flare, shining back at me like flames flicking against the night sky, and I find myself falling into it. Ensnared by it.

There’s an answer in his words but they’re too warbled for my brain to interpret as the room around us spins and transforms, but I can’t seem to tear my gaze away from his. It takes him using his taloned fingers to turn my head for me to scan our surroundings.

“What the fuck is this?”

Smoke swirls around us, fogging over the floor and walls, encompassing the both of us, pushing us closer. His chest touches mine, brushing me with each of his long breaths.

It’s hypnotic.

Disorienting.

I hate it and love it simultaneously.

He rotates me by my shoulders until my back is to his front, and I suppress a shiver at the feeling of his talons gripping my hips.

It’s not gentle when he yanks me back against him, the ridge of his erection pinned between us.

Teeth sink into my neck next, the sting radiating from the bite straight to my cock, and I hiss. My hands instinctively drop to cover his, but instead of tearing away from him, I hold him tighter.

“What are you doing to me, Ilios?”

The hum on his breath warms my entire back with its intensity, sharp fingers teasing below the hem of my shirt. He goes for my waistband next, dipping below it with a scorching touch.

A touch that feels familiar. Real.