Crave to feel you

Crave to feel you

Did I really want to kill him? No. That would’ve been cruel. All I wanted to do was put him to sleep, at least for a while so I could run free from him because I didn’t see any other option. I wasn’t that cruel. Maybe a little.

The longer I stared at the wooden stake, the more conflicted I became. The sharp end of it poked against my palm but didn’t pierce through as there was no pressure applied. I squirmed further on my stomach and slipped the piece of wood underneath the bed before turning around.

If Lucien even got a hint of my plan, he would’ve used every ounce of his power to prevent it. He was far stronger than me and cunning. I needed to be cautious and strategic if I was going to go through with this.

I tilted over the bed and lay down on my back. It was late at night and all I had been doing was contemplating over the past few hours.

The walls of the room felt like they were getting closer and closer to me. I had to make a decision before the night ended. I was certain I wanted to run from here, as far as I could go away from Lucien. He wasn’t only cruel but also far too dangerous for me to handle on my own.

There was no assurance of what life was going to be like if I stayed here any longer. Just the thought alone filled me with dread.

I thought it would be different, that he could actually be someone nice from within, but he wasn’t. He was as evil as one could get. The emotions from my heat no longer blurred my judgment.

I saw Lucien for who he truly was and after hearing him speak with Estella earlier, about my mother, I was sure he was nothing but a cruel monster.

I had to run.

I snapped out of my thoughts the moment the door to the room opened. It was ironic how the devil appeared just when his name crossed your mind, as if he had been lurking in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to make his presence known.

His eyes locked on mine, a twisted sneer playing on his lips as he clicked into the room without a warning.

I sat up straight on the bed and painted my face with innocence, as if there wasn’t a piece of sharp wood under the bed waiting to meet with its doom.

He flicked the door shut behind him and began circling around the bed. My eyes moved with his movements and I tried to understand him again.

“The score’s settled,” he said.

I scoffed, immediately understanding his unwavering facade of guilt. “It’s not.” It would’ve been if I hadn’t heard him talk about my mother and the fact that it didn’t matter if she was dead or alive.

Lucien walked closer to me, his attention fixated on me.

“The score is very much settled.”

“It’s not,” I repeated. “And it’s not going to be settled until I say so.”

“Settle it.”

“No.” My response came out quickly, laced with a hint of anger that I was sure he didn’t recognize.

His eyes narrowed and silence followed. I could see him trying to read my face or my mind. I wasn’t quite sure. With his abilities, one could easily read someone’s intentions and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. He couldn’t know what I had been planning for him.

So, I looked away.

He reached forward and held my face in his hand, tilting my head. I didn’t meet his gaze.

“What is it going to take for you to settle it?” he demanded to know.

I continued to avoid his gaze, but his grip on my face tightened. “Nothing from you,” I responded a moment later.

“Nothing?” His response was both a question and a statement. “Is that so?”

“Yes,” I answered, lifting my chin and staring back into his icy gaze.

“I’ll settle it myself then.”

Without a warning, he pulled my face before his lips descended onto mine, not brutal but raw and powerful. His lips were softer than I imagined, firm and warm against my own, but his kiss wasn’t. They demanded a response I was helpless to deny. My eyes instinctively closed, surrendering to the heated sensation.

His fingers dug into my skin, a desperate grasp to hold my face as he ravished my mouth. His other hand threaded through my hair, tugging lightly, and in response, a shiver ran down my spine.

The world tilted and spun like it never had. It was wild, his mouth. His kiss drowned out everything else in my mind.

His lips parted mine with a demand I couldn’t refuse and as I parted my mouth, his tongue delved into the depths of my mouth, meeting mine in a dance. The taste of him was intoxicating and somewhat bitter.

I barely moved my hands from where they were resting, over my lap. His sharp canines brushed over my lips, reminding me of who he still was. But as I pulled apart, gasping for air, he leaned in closer and closer, with nothing but possession in his eyes.

Even when I wanted to break away, I found myself unable to move under him. The force—it was inevitable.

His scent, his taste still lingered, clouding my senses and erasing any traces of what had happened.

“I—” I began to protest, but my words hung in the air, unfinished and unheard.

Before I could complete my sentence, he was moving. His fingers returned to my jaw and his lips met mine once more, a second wave of strike that was more possessive, more demanding than before.

It was rough, his mouth on mine.

It was a primal claim.

I hung on the edge as my back pressed against the soft mattress beneath me. There was a soft growl, a sound that vibrated through his chest, filling the silence of the night. His hands, rough, roamed my body. Each touch marked me as his.

As a heated path formed, my legs tangled around his. I couldn’t stop myself anymore. My wolf stirred to life, needing him. It was impossible to keep her caged anymore. She craved his touch, his claim, as much as I did—if not more.

She recognized her mate, the instinct to breed and mark, and she urged me on.

My doubts blurred, almost as if they didn’t exist in this moment of heat. I was left bare, every instinct screaming at me to surrender to this man, to this wolf who had claimed me as his mate.

Our lips parted once more and our breaths mingled. I turned my head away from him and breathed heavily, my chest rising and falling. There was a stake under the bed waiting for him.

I couldn’t.

“Aurora,” he murmured, his voice low, a dark caress. “Look at me.”

Fear enveloped me. I didn’t know what to do anymore. But how could I refuse him? At the same time, I couldn’t let him see what was on my mind.

When his hand came around my jaw, I was forced to look at him, unwillingly. For a split moment, I believed I was doomed—but that was only until he spoke.

“Aurora,” he said softly, his thumb tracing the curve of my cheek. “I want to be inside you. I want to feel you and only you.” He whispered, his words a confession that tightened the knot in my stomach.

I blinked, staring at him, stunned. My eyes lowered to my hand that was pressed against his chest. I could feel the heat of his body searing into mine, a reminder of what he was offering, of what we could be.

“You drank from her,” I whispered, my voice as low as it could get.

“I was thirsty, out of control, but now I’m not. I’m in my control, and I want you. I cannot bear the thought of not having you right now,” his voice held a tinge of regret, a hint of apology. “There’s a hunger in your eyes that matches my own, Aurora. I’ve never craved to feel anyone as much as I crave to feel you. Let me have you.”