Page 180 of Shadowblood Souls
Resolve twines with the longing in my heart. But one more thing holds me back—a concern that’s not for me but for the man who’s wrapped me in his embrace.
Andreas’s words when he checked with me about the risks of our hookup rise in the back of my mind.
The guardians arranged it. I think they figured we needed some kind of outlet. It… didn’t go so well.
I don’t want to do this if it’s going to stir up horrors from Dominic’s past too.
“Dom,” I venture. “Andreas told me that the guardians—that after I was gone, they brought a woman…”
That’s all I need to say for him to know what I mean. I can feel his understanding in the tensing of his body against mine.
“It was sick. But I guess they figured that out too pretty quickly.”
I nestle my head deeper into the crook of his neck, grappling with the clamoring of my desire. I didn’t check with Andreas before— I didn’t know it mattered. I need to be sure.
“You’re not—Doing this isn’t bringing up any bad memories?”
Dominic lets out a shaky sigh. “There isn’t much to remember about that part. She took Andreas into another room, and then after…”
He stops, awkward around the thing Andreas didn’t want to talk about either.
Something awful happened that day. But I’m not going to demand it from him if he isn’t ready to talk about it.
“She never got to me,” he goes on finally. “So I never had to… do anything. After that, they stuck to broadcasting porn onto the screens in our cells for a half hour a day to encourage us to get any hormones out of our system or something.”
I wince. “That sounds incredibly horribly uncomfortable.”
Dom manages a laugh that’s only mildly strained, light enough to soothe my worries. “Better than their original plan. At least it might have given me some basic idea of what I’m doing.”
He eases back just enough to meet my eyes. “Not that I’m assuming we’re going to— I’d never want you to do anything you’re unsure about.”
I wet my lips, renewed longing flaring beneath my skin at the hunger in his gaze and the way it tracks the movement of my tongue. “Doyouwant to?”
He tips his forehead against mine. “Riva, right now I don’t think there’s anything I’ve wanted more in my entire life.”
My heart hitches with exhilaration. Maybe, just maybe… we could both be okay.
Maybe it could be something as beautiful as making love is meant to be.
I tip my head and nudge myself upward, and he meets the kiss I’m offering. The hunger thrums through my veins again, melding our lips together with our kindling passion.
I grip him tighter, my fingers sliding into his soft hair. The elastic holding his short ponytail dislodges so the strands slide free across my knuckles, but he gives no sign of minding.
His mouth sears into mine. Our lips part, our tongues dancing against each other with a giddy thrill.
My hands drift down the front of Dominic’s shirt to grasp the hem. Without speaking, he raises his arms—and adjusts his tentacles—so I can peel the fabric off him.
A starker heat washes over me at the sight of his slimly toned torso laid bare in front of me. Then one of Dominic’s tentacles traces along my waist, and my skin turns outright scorching.
Would other girls run screaming in terror? Let the idiots flee.
This man has two extra limbs to caress me with. To love me with.
A lump rises in my throat. I haven’t said it yet.
I raise my head and gaze straight into Dominic’s smoldering eyes. “I love you.”
Something like awe flickers across his expression, and then his mouth is crashing into mine again.
