I want to taste the warm blood flowing through her veins.

I want my mark on her neck every day, from this day forward. Visible to everyone, so they know.

She.

Belongs.

To.

Me.

I’m sick. I’ve turned into a fucking animal.

With effort, I release her soft skin.

“Seleme.” I hold her against me, her naked body flushed and soft as her eyelids flutter and she looks at me with something akin to shock.

“You bit me...” Her hand flies to the deep purple mark already forming on her neck.

“I’m sorry.” I shake my head and let out a long breath. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just…I couldn’t stop.”

“It’s okay.” Her voice is soft and breathless, and I can tell she means what she says, even though she has every right to knee me in the nuts. “It was just a shock to have a hu—— To have someone like you do a thing like that. I…sort of liked it.”

“Me, too.”

I lean in close and brush my lips against hers, sliding my tongue into her mouth. Having her naked, this close to me, gives me something I didn’t know I needed. It settles something inside of me that’s been unsettled for far too long, and I don’t know how I’m going to survive ever being away from her again.

Not after this.

Her breathing quickens and I release her mouth, pressing my forehead to hers as I take a deep breath through my nose, her scent filling my lungs. Becoming a part of me.

Having her naked like this is almost more than I can bear. I’ve never had this desire for a woman before. Sure, I’ve appreciated women. How they look. Their softness, their femininity.

But this.

This is different.

So different I wonder now how I’ve lived without this feeling my entire life. Because I won’t be able to live without it any longer. Won't be able to live without her.

“You should know…” She licks her lips. “I’ve never kissed anyone before.” Her eyes flit downward, then back to mine. “I’ve never done anything before.”

My world explodes with light, and in one swoop I’ve got her cradled in my arms, legs dangling over my forearm, spinning and laying her on the closest soft surface I can find, a red velvet sofa in front of the blazing fireplace, feeling the warm fabric on the backs of my hands as I do.

“And you need to know.” I brace my arms on either side of her hips, leaning down, my face just above hers as she looks up at me, blonde hair still damp as her red lips part. “Neither have I.”

Her pupils expand, turning her pale eyes to blue halos surrounding the black centers. There is a question there; maybe she wonders if I’m telling the truth.

Maybe she thinks it’s a joke.

Or I’m a joke.

“Does that bother you?” I ask, not because it will make a difference to how I feel about her, but because I want to know what she’s thinking all the time.

She shakes her head, a slow smile spreading from her lips to her eyes. “It’s perfect.”

“Good, because it never bothered me. And now, now that I’ve found you, I can’t imagine the horror I would be feeling if I’d ever done anything with someone else. I can’t imagine my fingers…my mouth…my cock…ever touching someone else.”

“You know what’s odd?”