Page 91 of Our Sins in Blood (Coven of Sin 1)

It was like there was something written in the fabric of my very being designating me as Sterling’s mate. As if his name was stamped into my soul, and all he had to do was sign on the line to claim what was his.

But something held the vampire back, even though I could see his body reacting to my call. Every muscle in his lithe frame was coiled tight, his fists clenched into balls at his sides. His chest rose and fell in heavy succession, and his eyes… Before, they had been serene and calm like the rest of the tower, but now they were filled with something wild that called to the monster inside me.

Not to mention that cock, hard as a rock, pressing against his sweats like it was about to bust through at any second.

I moved with speed I didn’t even know I was capable of. This time, I could see him beginning to dodge me. His body shifted to the left, and I recalibrated my path, slamming into him just as he swerved to avoid me. I moved to bite him, but his hand snapped out, catching my jaw, my fangs gnashing nothing but air.

I whined, pushing out another sultry purr that came from a place inside me I hadn’t even known existed, a depraved stream of desires that had awoken from an ancient sleep the second Sterling came into my orbit.

I wanted to press my body into his, but he held me at arm’s length, keeping a frustrating amount of distance between us.

“Sterling,” I whispered on a seductive purr, as soft as a prayer but as sinful as a whore’s confession. “Claim me.”

Holy fuck.

The expression his face made at my invitation was almost enough to make me come right then and there. A vein twitched in his jaw, his brows knitted together, and his eyes banked with a heat that could keep a girl warm all night long.

His skin on mine was like fire and ice. I was melting beneath him into a pool of wet need. He couldn’t see me, but damn, it felt like he could by the way his steel-cold eyes sliced into me, stripping back all my layers to expose my deepest parts.

My body ached for him, making me purr and growl and thrash in his arms, curving my hips to press into his. With how he held me, I could barely touch him. It was a mean way to tease me, so close yet so far. My gaze flicked down to see his generous hunger, oh-so-faintly kissing my thigh.

There was a tiny wet spot in the fabric where his pre-cum had bled through, and fuck me, seeing his dick thirst for me was one of the most erotic things I’d ever seen.

Then there was the matter of his scent. His aroma was still reminiscent of salty ocean air, cashmere, and paper, but now there was another quality to it. It was like his body was already releasing some kind of delicious fragrance to entice me, perfectly male and perfectly mine. He smelled so damn good, it hurt.

That’s what he was doing. He was hurting me by inciting this ache between my thighs and torturing me by refusing to sate it.

It was so frustrating I felt like I could shatter apart in his grip.

Whatever was happening between us went way beyond physical attraction and basic chemistry. There was something profoundly terrifying about the way our bodies were being pulled toward one another. It was something neither of us could control or see. But by God, we could feel it.

So why the fuck was he holding back?

We should’ve both been naked by now, our sweaty limbs tangled together, consummating our mating bond.

“Sterling, touch me.” This time I wasn’t asking. I was demanding.

His nostrils flared again. He licked his lips, and I watched, enraptured as his tongue seemed to slide over his flesh in slow-motion. My mouth went dry, and another feminine growl bled from me.

Normally I wasn’t this demanding, this desperate. With the other guys, I’d been coyer and more dignified. Well, sort of. But with Sterling, all my inhibitions seemed to fall away with the rest of my humanity.

His fingers quivered where they held my jaw. “Miss Baxter…”

My brows arched, and I let out a gravelly chuckle. “Given the circumstances, you can call me Ruby.”

His features pinched in frustration, his brow carved with a disapproving scowl. “That would be inappropriate.”

I blinked. Nothing about this situation wasappropriate.I had come up here to ask him to turn me into a vampire, but my vagina had other plans, and now, here I was, my body literally begging for him to mate me.

“Sterling, I don’t know shit about the whole vampire instincts thing or how it works. But whatever is happening between us, it has to mean that you’re supposed to be my mate. My king.”

I reached to touch his stomach, feeling the tight cluster of his abdominal muscles beneath the fabric of his sweater. I watched his reaction to me carefully, enjoying the way his breath hitched as my fingers hooked the elastic of his sweats. His arm went slack, allowing me to step closer.

As I slipped my hand inside his pants, his teeth clenched, and he let out a hiss when I made contact with the velvety skin of his erection. I moved to pull him out, but his other hand caught my wrist, stopping me.

“What are you doing?” I snapped, my voice practically shaking with a volatile mixture of frustration and anticipation.

He squeezed his eyes shut, releasing a shaky exhale. “No. We can’t do this.”

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