Page 33 of Yearning For Her

He brushed the backs of his claws along her jaw before cupping her cheek. “What must I do, Willow? What must I do to have you again?”

Willow turned her face away from him. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. “I don’t want meaningless sex.”

Kian withdrew his leg from between hers, lowering it, and stroked her cheekbone with his thumb. “Rapture isn’t meaningless. And what’s wrong with being selfish, Willow? What’s wrong with taking pleasure for yourself and not worrying about anyone else for a little while?”

“Because it’s hollow. Lust sparks bright and hot, and then it fizzles out. In the end…you’re left alone. Left with nothing.” A tear escaped her eye, trickling down her cheek. “I want love. The kind of love that doesn’t die. That keeps burning, on and on, and is so much bigger and brighter than any flame. The kind of love that only happens when two souls see each other and know they can’t exist without one another.”

Kian’s frown deepened as he wiped away her tear. “Ah, little mortal. I’ve never been drawn to people. Only their desire, their lust, their pleasure. I’ve only ever been driven to fuck and feed.” He guided her face back toward him, making her meet his gaze. “It’s different with you. I felt it the moment I saw you. I don’t know what you’ve awoken inside me, Willow, but I want you. I crave your pleasure, crave your lust, but gods, those desires are completely eclipsed by how strongly I crave you.”

She didn’t push him away when he moved closer, when he again pinned her against the wall with his body. There was something so right about it. Something so right about him. The way his fingers felt on her skin, the heat he emitted, his scent, his eyes…

“Give me a chance,” he whispered before brushing his lips over her forehead. “Show me. Teach me about mortal love. Teach me how to love you.”

Willow’s heart leapt, and her pulse pounded. He couldn’t be serious. He was an…an incubus! And he wanted her to teach him how to love? To…love her?

She pushed against his chest, coaxing him to ease back so she could look up at him. “Stop. You’re just saying this to seduce me. You’re trying to make me lower my guard, to butter me up so that I’ll have sex with you.”

His voice was husky as he said, “Make no mistake, Willow. I will have you again. It’s inevitable. But I’m not trying to manipulate you.” His features softened, and he flattened a hand over her racing heart. “This feeling is new to me. I can’t pretend to understand it. All I ask is that you let me prove to you that it is real.”

“How?”

“What is it you humans do? Date?” He chuckled. “I shall date you.”

The way he’d said date almost made it seem like the word was foreign to him, though that notion was belied by the utter confidence with which he’d made his declaration. Willow couldn’t hold back a laugh.

The ghost of a smile crept onto his face, and his eyes grew more vibrant. “I do enjoy that sound, Willow.”

Willow sobered. “My laugh?”

“Yes. It’s almost as enjoyable as your cries of pleasure.”

A flush spread over her cheeks.

“Now”—Kian grinned, braced his hands on the wall to either side of her, and lowered his face until their lips were a breath apart—“shall we seal our accord with a kiss?”

“Hold on.” She ducked beneath his arm to escape his advance, snatched her bag off the ground, and retreated a step. “I didn’t agree to anything.”

He dropped his arms and turned toward her, his mouth taking on a wicked slant. “You can’t hide your desire from me, Willow. You want this as much as I do.”

Her skin heated further. “Can you…can you sense all my emotions?”

“Yes, but none more clearly than your longing.”

That was such an unfair advantage.

Why an incubus wanted to date Willow was beyond her understanding, but the greater mystery was why she wanted it so, so much. Why she was about to agree when it would put her heart at such great risk? And she still knew so little about him despite this revelation. How old was he? Surely, Kian was far older than he appeared. Would he remain eternally youthful while she grew old?

And yet… She felt something with him. There was that spark of lust, of course, more intense than any she’d ever experienced, but it went beyond that. From the moment she’d first looked into his eyes, there’d been an undeniable, indefinable connection between them. An attraction that had nothing to do with appearances or desire.

Something within this man—this supernatural being—called to her heart, and something in her soul called right back to him.

He has you bewitched, Willow. He’s an incubus!

All the more reason for her to hightail it out of there.

Willow turned, giving him her back, and walked toward the street. “Nope. Not happening.”

Kian’s laughter followed her. “We’ll see, Violet. No one can resist their desire forever.”

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