If anyone had reasons to be upset about his life, parentage, or even the curse he’d been given, it should be Cassius.
And he was comforting me.
An outcast from birt
h.
The first of his race.
With two powerful races up in arms—over his tiny existence.
His being born, caused centuries of continual unrest between immortals and humans—it caused a giant tear in the balance of life, of exiting.
One that has never been fixed.
One life.
One life did that.
One choice did that.
“Your thoughts are heavy,” Cassius whispered, his mouth was warm, the complete opposite of the way our cold bodies pressed against one another. His tongue grazed mine and in an effort to keep him close, I grabbed onto his hair, pulling his body onto mine.
“You’re heavy,” I fired back.
His full lips spread into a grin. “You could lift me with one hand.”
“Maybe two.” I nodded. “For sure two.”
He ran his fingers through my hair, bringing it to his nose only to close his eyes and exhale as his eyes turned white, his lips the same color. “I wish to look upon you for an eternity. I would watch… if it were my job to watch you.” He kissed my lips softly. “I would never close my eyes.”
My heart swelled. “Who knew Dark Ones could be so romantic?”
“Romance,” he answered quickly, “is inherent in everyone—like a treasure that is opened only when you find the one worthy of its words, sonnets, its adoration.”
His hands slinked down my body, bracing my hips grazing my bare skin near my stomach as he raised my shirt and brought his lips to my belly button. “Let me kiss you…”
“Please.” I whimpered. “Please kiss me.”
“Only because you begged,” he teased, assaulting me with his mouth, with his lips, making me yearn for more of him as my body twisted and arched in every direction, needing him, only him.
My mate.
Eyes a blazing white, I felt him, not just physically but mentally, pushing me, almost like there was this invisible wall he was trying to break.
I pushed back.
His eyes blazed whiter. “Let me through.”
“No.” Where had that response come from? It didn’t sound like my voice. I wasn’t even thinking of saying no, it just came out through my lips, guttural, evil.
“Stephanie,” Cassius tried again, rocking his body into mine. “I need all of you, not just a piece. Give me everything… I need your trust. I need the essence of who you are.”
I shook my head and slammed my hands against his chest, sending him flying in the air, he barely stopped himself from hitting the wall. With a snarl he stood to his full height and started stripping.
“What?” I shook my head as my vision clouded. “What are you doing?”
His smile was lethal—beautiful. “Distracting you.”