“Except the others weren’t chosen by two mentors.” His fingers went up to her temple, rubbing it softly, soothingly. He was so close that Sophie could feel his breath on her forehead.
“Yeah…” She was completely lost in his touch and the depths of his eyes. It was incredible how both the cambions and The Alluring Ones could do that to people. It was close to hypnosis. She tried to snap out of it and reclaim some dignity. “Why did you choose me, Kain? You’ve only met me once.”
“And that was enough for me to make up my mind.” His body inched closer to hers. Even though she was wearing high-heels, he was still taller than her. He could rest his chin on the top of her head if he wanted. “I was, and still am, intrigued by your innocence.”
“You can’t know how innocent I am.” She tried to keep her voice even. The heat his body was giving off was almost driving her insane. He was so close.
“I do, actually. I can see it in your eyes, notice it in your gestures, hear it in your trembling voice. What I don’t understand is how you still have it when your demon is so close to the surface.”
“Is it?”
“Yes. It’s weird, you see.” He sounded genuinely interested in the matter. He wasn’t just talking to charm her into picking him over Alexi. “I can feel it in your aura. It burns brighter than the auras of any other new cambions I’ve seen. It’s like your magic can’t wait to burst out of your body. It just needs a… nudge. The right kind of nudge.” He smiled wickedly, and pressed his body to hers.
She felt the hardness of his cock against her stomach, the scent of his skin invaded her nostrils, and the sheer heat of his intense aura enveloped her completely. Fresh air and bloody poppies; it felt like summer in January. And she knew. In that fraction of a second, she knew. That was the unique signature of his inner demon, of his magic and power. It was overwhelming. It was maddening.
Kain captured her lips in a tender kiss. One of his hands had taken possession of her waist, and the other was holding her chin tipped up to make sure she wouldn’t pull back. As if she could. She responded to his kiss, and the tip of his tongue teased at her lips, urging her to open up for him. Sophie let him in, and he ravished her mouth with his tongue and teeth, biting at her plump lips. She moaned deep in her throat, and his cock twitched in his black jeans, his balls painfully hard, and the tip releasing pre-cum that left a damp spot on his boxers. Confusing, chaotic thoughts were going through his head, making it impossible for him to focus his powers on her. Damn, she was hot. And she was fighting back, he could feel it. She had no experience with her own magic, but her instinct was sharp. Her demon was stirring incredibly close to the surface, and Kain knew that when it was finally released, it would be a sight worth seeing.
Sophie pulled back to take a couple of deep breaths. She felt like Kain had been sucking the life out of her. If he could do that with a kiss, she wondered what he could do with his whole body. She’d be completely at his mercy, she knew it.
“Maybe we should go back inside,” she said, her voice hoarse and insecure. She cleared her throat and cursed herself for not sounding convincing.
“Are you sure?” His hand moved from her waist around her hip to squeeze her ass in a firm, possessive grip. “There are so many things we could do right now.” He rubbed his rock-hard cock against her stomach to emphasize his point.
“I’m sure.” As hot, sexy, and demanding as he was, Sophie knew that Kain was just trying to win her over, make her choose him over his roommate. If she hadn’t met Alexi two hours before and seen how awesome and kind he was, then her choice would have been made in Kain’s favor ages ago. However, as things were right now, she couldn’t make up her mind that easily. She placed her palms on his muscular, yet lean chest, and pushed softly. “It’s getting cold anyway.”
“I can warm you up, Sophie.” His voice was pure sin. It was what temptation would sound like if it could speak.
She struggled to find her way out of his overpowering aura. It wasn’t a matter of getting out of his arms. That was the easy part. Regaining control over her own mind and desires was the tricky part. She had no idea what she was doing, but she focused her thoughts on that one thing inside her, that one thing which throbbed somewhere in her stomach and which she felt so strange and foreign, like it wasn’t entirely part of her. Or, maybe it was, but she didn’t know how to assimilate it yet.
Kain let go of her ass and took a step back. Curiosity danced in his beautiful, unreal eyes.
“Shall we go back inside?” asked Sophie.
“Of course, my lady.”
?
Alexi had seen Kain leave the ball room to follow Sophie and Lamia outside, then had spotted Lamia returning alone. If there hadn’t been so many people around, he would have smacked himself over the head. Of course Kain would make
a move to try and gain Sophie’s attention. He drank his wine in a single breath, left the empty glass on a nearby table and grabbed another one. “Why do I even care so much?” he asked himself. He tried to convince himself that the only reason he had made the decision to offer Sophie his claim ring was that he had seen her so vulnerable and frightened on that chair up on the stage. A girl who had been thrust into a world she couldn’t yet understand and forced to keep up with it. He couldn’t just leave her there. “Who am I bullshitting?” He sighed and took a sip of wine. Alexi had felt the strong presence of her inner demon outside, in front of Septentrio, and he had wanted that power and passion the moment he touched her chin and wiped her tears off. “All right, I can live with that,” he reasoned. It was difficult for him to accept that he truly wanted someone after so long. “But why Kain? Why does he always have to compete with me?” He saw Sophie coming back from outside, shivering slightly, her eyes searching for Lamia. Alexi grabbed another glass of wine and made his way towards her.
“Wine?”
Sophie jumped in surprise. She had expected Kain to be right behind her, but she knew that deep, soothing voice and it didn’t belong to the blond.
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re looking for your friend.”
“Yes, have you seen her?”
“She’s right over there.” Alexi pointed towards a table where Lamia was chatting with a tall, brown-haired guy who was three times bigger than her. “That’s her mentor.”
“Oh. Then I probably shouldn’t bother them.”
Alexi smiled. That was the reaction he had been aiming for. He didn’t want to give Sophie the impression that he was holding her there, to chat with him. He wanted her to believe it was her own choice.
“You’re still cold. Here, let me give you my jacket.” He set his glass on the nearest table and made to take off his jacket. He didn’t add what he was actually thinking: “It’s obvious that jackass Kain didn’t offer you his.”