Page 38 of A Touch of Madness

He shakes his head, his hands curling into fists on the table. “You don’t understand. Feeding... it’s intimate. It’s not just about the blood—it’s about the connection. The bond.”

“Good,” I whisper, my voice trembling but resolute. There’s another thing I’ve been wanting to tell him, to share with him. I’ve never said it to anyone in my life—aside from my family. But I’m certain I want to say it to him. It’s not because of our bond, my previous life…or anything else. It’s because of him. Who he is. Who he is to me.

“I want to because I’m in love with you, Lucian.”

His head snaps up, his eyes locking onto mine. For a moment, the world around us fades, the noise of the club falling away. He stares at me like I’ve just unraveled some age-old secret, his expression a mixture of awe and disbelief.

“Sylvie,” he breathes, reaching across the table to take my hand. “You have no idea what you mean to me. What you’ve always meant to me.” He looks so intensely into my eyes I swear he can see into the very depths of my soul. “You have no idea what that means to hear that from your lips.”

“Then show me what it means,” I say, leaning closer as he brings my hand to his mouth and kisses each knuckle. “Let me be the one to make you stronger. Let me give you what you need.”

His resolve crumbles, his shoulders sagging as he exhales deeply. “If this is what you truly want,” he murmurs, his voice tinged with both longing and fear. “I would love nothing more than to taste you like that, more deeply, more intimately. In such a way that I am claiming every inch of you.” He pauses and once again looks around the room as if he’s looking for someone. “But I must put fail-safes in place. I’ll get two guards to stand nearby. If I show any sign of losing control, they’ll intervene.” As he says it, he looks to two different men and beckons them without so much as a word.

“Whatever you need to be comfortable,” I tell him.

My heart pounds as he stands and offers me his hand. “Let’s go somewhere more quiet,” he says.

Lucian leads me deeper into Midnight Delight, past the velvet curtains and the low bustle of murmured conversations, past the quiet, darkened alcoves where others indulge in their own desires. The air is thick with something heady and electric—a pulse of magic, of want, of something far older than I can name. The warmth of the dimly lit space wraps around us like silk, the glow of crimson sconces casting flickering shadows along the stone walls.

He doesn’t speak as we walk, but I feel the shift in him—the barely restrained energy twisting beneath his skin, the quiet war raging behind his dark eyes. He’s holding himself in check, and yet, with each step, the space between us feels thinner, the air charged with something unspoken.

At the end of the hall, he opens a door and gestures for me to enter.

The room is unlike anything I expected. It’s more opulent, more intimate than I thought a place like this could be. The walls are draped in deep garnet fabric, the ceiling arched high above us, giving the impression of being tucked away in some ancient, forbidden temple. A plush, dark velvet chaise sits in the center, its frame carved with intricate details that catch the light. It’s everything sensual and controlled and moody.

Above us, a balcony with gold railings encircles the space. I know that people could watch if they wanted—some undoubtedly will—but for me, for Lucian, this moment feels like ours alone.

My pulse flutters wildly as I turn to face him.

His expression is unreadable, but his eyes… his damnable, haunting eyes hold me captive. There’s an intensity in them, something almost reverent, and it sends a shiver down my spine.

Lucian moves toward me with slow, deliberate steps, as if approaching something sacred. He reaches out, fingers barely ghosting over my wrist before he takes my hand in his, lifting it gently to his lips.

“Are you certain about this?” Lucian’s voice is low, roughened with something I can’t quite place—concern, desire, fear.

I turn to face him, lifting my chin. “I’m sure,” I say, though my voice trembles slightly. “I trust you.”

He steps closer, his dark eyes searching mine for any trace of doubt. When he finds none, a muscle in his jaw ticks, and he exhales sharply, as though resigning himself to the inevitable. “You don’t understand what you’re offering, Sylvie,” he says softly. “This isn’t just an act of necessity. I am a different person entirely when I partake in feeding from a human. It’s why I don’t do it. Feeding… it’s raw, primal. Everything will change after I feed from you. I will be an even more obsessed man.”

“Good,” I reply, holding his gaze. “Because I don’t want things to stay the same. I want this, Lucian. I want you.”

Something in him fractures, and he closes the distance between us with a suddenness that steals my breath. His hands settle on my arms, firm but not forceful, his touch sending shivers racing down my spine. His lips a whisper away from my temple, he whispers, “Promise me this is what you want.”

“I promise,” I breathe, though I’m not sure I could ever stop him. Not when I want this more than I’ve wanted anything. Not when the magnetic pull between us feels as inevitable as gravity.

He bends down again, pressing a kiss to my neck. His mouth is warm against my skin, and the kiss he presses there is softer than I expect, more restrained. I exhale shakily, my entire body already attuned to him.

"Your heart is racing, love," he murmurs against my palm. "Are you nervous? I would never ask this of you, and I don’t want you to ever feel forced. Like it’s a duty."

I swallow, trying to steady myself. "Not nervous."

He lifts a brow.

"Maybe a little," I admit.

Lucian smirks, the corner of his lips tilting in amusement, but there’s something else in his gaze. Something darker, something utterly devotional.

“Not because I don’t want this,” I clarify quickly. “Please trust me when I tell you I do.” My fingers tighten slightly in his grasp. “I just… I don’t know what it will feel like. It’s like first day of school jitters,” I say, and then feel like an idiot for comparing it to school.

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