Page 10 of Our Sins in Shadows (Coven of Sin 2)

At least with the cell bars separating them, they couldn’t tear out each other’s throats while I tried to mediate. If I was really going to be the bridge between these two, I needed to pull out the big guns. Something I had learned about my vampire side tonight was that she—I—could be a total badass...So long as I checked my inhibitions at the door. If I possessed the ability to bring a male like Feral to his knees, I could sure as shit get these two to make amends.

It was all about incentives.

When I demanded Vincent apologize to Eros, he said nothing. His jaw ticked, and his dark gaze burned into me, making my skin flush. His nostrils flared, and his tongue flicked out as if to taste the air. Eros shifted behind the bars, the suck of breath he took audible as his attention fell to the section of my chest visible where the blanket failed to cover.

All three of us sat in the festering silence.

Keeping my taut grin fixed on Vincent, I let the blanket flutter to the ground. Since Erik had ripped my hoodie, I only wore a see-through lace bralette. Both of their eyes bled bright red as they watched me reach around and undo the clasp. When it fell to the ground, my hand dropped to my jeans, and Vincent grabbed my wrist.

“What are you doing?”

Shaking him off, I kicked my boots across the cell floor, then stripped out of my jeans and panties. I was well aware that there were probably cameras in here. And I couldn’t seem to make myself care.

Eros clung to the bars and released a low groan that made my sex stir with a rush of prickling warmth. “Fuck me, doll. The shit I’d do to be the one in that cell with you.”

My other mate stood just a couple of feet away from me, but his voice sounded like it was coming from miles away. It was as if I’d been sucked into a place that existed only in the world of Vincent Feral’s affections.

What a hell of a place it was to be.

Here, in this space of time that belonged only to us, it was hard to breathe. The weight of his hungry eyes dragged over my naked body as heavy as an anvil.

His need for me was so palpable I could almost taste it. And I could nearly taste him, like a magical storm of terrifying proportions, with thunder made of a thousand beats of my own heart.

He stepped closer, that pesky distance between us shrinking. My breath caught in my throat as he raised his fingers to the edge of my jaw, stroking me with a touch so tender I had to do a double-take to make sure it was my dark knight attached to it.

Here we were again, where all our walls had come toppling down, and we were just suspended in the moment.

Completely exposed.

Stripped back to nothing but bare bone.

I was completely in the buff, and while Vincent still wore his gym shorts, there was nothing else between us. No shields, no armor, and no walls. We had fallen into that delicate juncture that existed between our hatred and our carnal obsession for one another. It was a vulnerable place where I felt safe with him, where honesty and trust managed to exist, and I had to take advantage of it before he ripped it away as fast as it had come.

I stepped into his arms, and like two pieces of a machine snapping together, I folded into him perfectly.

A guttural sound rattled from his chest. It was almost purr-like and sunk straight between the apex of my thighs.

“I want to tell you something.”

“What is it?” he murmured, a far-off look in his expression as if he was completely mesmerized by the sensation of my bare flesh against his.

“When I met Sterling, there was an instant connection between us. The moment I saw my father’s mark on his throat, I had this deep urge to cover it with my own. Now that I have, the feeling has eased, but I still have this clawing desperation to carry his mark in return. It almost hurts not having it.”

Vincent’s thick brows scrunched together. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that it hurts to not carry his mark. I don’t know why. There’s some primitive instinct screaming at me to cement our bond, and without it, I’m incomplete. I feel the same way about you. Only, with Sterling it was instant pain. With you, the pain has been a slow build. It started small, like a little ache under my skin that I couldn’t itch. It’s built over time, and now it’s so agonizing.” I pressed my breasts against the swell of his pectorals so he could feel the mad hammer of my heart. “I want your mark, Feral.”

Vincent’s Adam’s apple made a tantalizing descent down his throat, causing his singed raven tattoos to twitch as if taking flight. “I want that too.”

He arched to kiss me, but I caught his jaw in my hand, keeping him from getting any closer.

“Let me kiss you,” he hissed, his rough baritone tickling my palm.

“Not until you accept that being my mate means you accept that I will be Eros’ too. And Corry’s and Sterling’s. I want you so damn bad it hurts, but it hurts more seeing two people I love fight like this. I can’t carry your mark until you’ve made peace with the fact that Eros’ will always be as important to me as yours.”

Vincent’s attention dropped to the scar where Eros had bitten me. The heat in his eyes turned from wanton to caustic.

I smoothed my hand over his cheek, and the edge in the way he regarded me settled back into a warm, gentle smolder. “We’re so close to making this work. Don’t let your obsession with this pointless anger burn the bridge, just as we’re about to meet in the middle. Settle this shit with him, now. And if you can’t do it for your sake...” I began, my tone dropping to a whisper that made his pupils dilate, “do it for mine.”

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