Page 84 of A Heart Of Bitter Poison
I sit up and swing my leg over Ashen’s body so that I’m straddling his waist. His warm palms land on my thighs and the skin beneath the satin of my nightgown pebbles with gooseflesh. My heart is jumping in my chest and I bet he can hear it, which only makes the blush already climbing through my skin even brighter. Just as I start to thank all holy fucks that the lights are off, Ashen whacks the switch for the lamp on the nightstand and I drag my hands down my face with a dramatic sigh.
I lean forward and switch the light off.
Ashen turns it back on.
I hiss but it sounds desperate rather than fierce. I move to hit it again or maybe smash the lamp right off the nightstand but Ashen catches my wrist. When I try to swipe it with my other arm he catches that one too.
“Vampire,” he says through an uncertain laugh. “What has gotten into you?”
“Lightsoff, Reaper.”
“No. You’re blushing and I like it.”
I hiss and he laughs again, melting some of my frustration with that warm, rich sound.
“Quit deflecting your energy on the lamp. It’s done nothing to earn your ire. Tell me what’s going on.”
I take a deep breath and try to gather my wits. Cassian’s voice is in my head now too.To love is an act of bravery.The courage he seemed to think lives in my heart has definitely jumped out the little window and run away to live a long and happy life without me in the Romanian countryside.
“You’re vibrating,” Ashen says. The concern is starting to ratchet up again in his voice. His gaze travels over my shoulders and sure enough, I’m actually shaking. I’ve fought more battles than I even care to count, and here I am, quivering in his grip like a lost little mouse.Christ. I almost roll my eyes at myself. “Lu, what in the hell-”
“I want to mate,” I blurt out. So fucking eloquent. I just chucked it right out there into the night.
And now there’s silence.
“With you,” I clarify. “Like, right now.”
More silence.
Dear God. Someone please kill me. The blush is burning so hot now that I’m pretty sure my skin has caught fire. You know what? I wish it was true. Iwishvampires were allergic to sunlight. Fuck rocking a tan, I’d like to go outside right now and wait until morning and then burn like an overcooked burger on a grill.
I groan, my body deflating like a sad balloon at a run-down carnival as I try to crawl off Ashen and find a place to die of embarrassment, but his grip tightens on my wrists.
“Lu,” he says, drawing my name out long. I can hear the surprise in just those two letters. His voice is barely more than a whisper. “Are you serious?”
“No, not serious, just a terrible joke, epically bad timing-”
“Lu-”
“Go back to sleep, this is all a horrible dream-”
“Lu-”
“Just a half-hybrid spell, nothing to worry about, it’s only a pitiful mirage-”
In less than a heartbeat, I’m flipped onto my back. Ashen’s lips are on mine. His tongue slips into my mouth and his hands flow down my sides and he devours all my words with his touch. He kisses me deeply until the tension eases enough in my body that he seems confident I won’t continue trying to dig myself out of whatever grave I’ve just created.
Not that it stops me.
“Let’s just not-”
Ashen’s hand folds over my mouth. “Stop… talking…” he says, his eyes bouncing between mine. Sparks ignite within his pupils. The scent of unsmoked tobacco and ink floods my nostrils from the edge of his hand. “You want to mate with me?”
He doesn’t let his hand off my mouth, so I take a minute before I finally give a shaky nod.
“Not while you are swept away by a moment? You actually want this? With me?”
I nod again. I feel tears sting at my eyes but I force them away.
