Page 18 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

Bellamy walked towards me, stopping just an arm’s length away. He looked at me intently for what felt like years, seemingly fighting an internal battle. It was clear whenever the war within him ended, because he answered, “A queen.”

Then he took the last step and crushed his lips to mine. His right hand tugged my hair, making my head tilt back. When I felt his tongue slide across my lips, begging for entry, I opened my mouth. Soft fingertips grazed my mutilated right ear, sending a shiver down my spine. I had never allowed anyone to touch my ears except for Mia. Even I avoided them at all costs. The way Bellamy caressed them though, it was electric.

Heat pooled low in my stomach, and I gripped his top to tug him closer. His body was solid under my fingers, so strange when paired with his soft facial features. The dimples and freckles living in constant contrast to the strong jaw, high cheekbones, and toned body. My grip tightened, eliciting a low growl from deep in his chest, and then he broke our kiss.

Before I could wonder what I did wrong, I saw him squat down and grip my thighs, lifting me off the ground. He maintained eye contact with me as he quickly took us back into the changing room, where I shut the curtain behind us. My back hit the wall with a thud, and Bellamy’s lips met my own again. There was nothing sweet about the way our mouths connected. It was pure savagery and need.

He ground his erection into me, causing me to let out a small cry. The male took that chance to drag his plump lips up my throat, giving a soft nibble to my chin. Then his mouth was at the crease between my shoulder and neck, sucking and biting. My vision was clouded with ecstasy at the feel of him all over me.

I wanted more. I wanted everything. Anything he would give me. There was an animalistic need to the way my body arched into his, a hunger that could only be satiated with more of him.

More. More. More.

“Do you want me, Princess?” Bellamy asked against my skin. What a stupid question, a ridiculous one. Of course I did. How could I not? With untamed fervor, I nodded. “I need to hear you say it, Asher.”

The way he said my name, like a prayer, should have been outlawed.

“I want you, Bellamy,” I said with a gasp. He moaned, one thumb hooking around the fabric above my breast.

“Ahem.” I heard from behind the curtain. I froze, embarrassment and shock flooding my mind, washing away the arousal Bellamy had brought forth within me. My attempt to push the male only resulted in him gripping me tighter. His face was stern, and I could see that he was not finished with me, and not at all happy with whoever was outside.

“What?” Bellamy snapped, his eyes still on mine.

“As much as I hate to ruin your fun, I am pretty sure Pino will kill you if he finds out you are attempting to have sex in his changing room. On top of that, I have been waiting for you for half an hour. Let’s go, chop chop,” the voice said, clapping in time with the last sentence.

Bellamy rolled his eyes, then leaned in and kissed me softly. The act itself was no more intimate than what had just occurred, but somehow it felt like a different kind. A kiss that said, we have all the time in the world. Though that was the opposite of what we truly had.

Just as I was beginning to come down from the high that was the taste and feel of him, he slowly lowered my body to the ground, making sure to let that bulge in his trousers rub between my legs. I moaned at the contact, my need returning in full force.

He rotated us, his back leaning against the wall now, arms snaked around my waist to keep me against him. We shared a look of mutual want. I could not deny the physical attraction, but there was something else there in his icy eyes. A different kind of want.

I pushed away then, not wanting to see whatever look he offered. Not wanting the vulnerability of his desires when I knew I could never fulfill them. This would be all we had. If we were truly stupid, we might even be able to sneak around together for years to come, and even that small choice could lead to his body hanging from the gallows. Or worse.

A brief image of a charred body and my piercing screams filled my mind, but just as quickly as the scene came, I had pushed it away. Once more numb to it all.

Bending over to pick up my clothes, I felt him. In that strange silent way he moved, Bellamy had come to me. He was there at my back when I jolted upright, mouth against my ear as he whispered, “You are magnificent, Asher. And you will be mine.”

I froze, not sure what to say to such a bold statement. There was no denying the butterflies that swarmed my chest and the fire that ignited in my core, but my mind knew what my body refused to acknowledge, we could never be.

Bellamy was living in a fantasy with a female that has been perfectly curated to be everything the realm desired. I would never live up to it, even if Sterling was not in the way. No part of me was safe or stable, and I knew that.

I moved my head, looking over my shoulder to find our lips only inches apart once more. He stared with a level of intensity that was nearly unsettling.

“I am no one’s but my own,” I said, finality and resolve seeping into the words.

With one last wistful look, I turned to head towards the curtain. Just as my fingertips grazed the cloth, Bellamy spoke.

“We shall see, Princess.”

Chapter Eleven

Outside the curtain was a strikingly beautiful female. She had short straight hair the color of a bright summer sky, and her slightly slanted eyes were brown with golden flecks, almond in shape. Her white teeth were larger than average, but so were her lips, making them rather symmetrical. She radiated strength and grace, and when I reached out to her with my mind, I could sense a spring breeze: an Air.

“Wow, has anyone ever told you that you are hot?” she said, whistling. Her eyes roamed over me from head to toe, and the intensity of her stare made me blush.

“Li, you are scaring her. We will meet you there,” Bellamy said. I turned back just in time to see him roll his eyes at her. I let out a small giggle, enjoying seeing him annoyed. She flashed a toothy grin and stepped closer to me, clearly enjoying Bellamy’s reaction.

“I do not know Bell, I like it here. Especially when your friend finds me so amusing. I am Lian by the way. Lian Youxia.”

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