And he’d claimed she was his.
She dared a peek at him. He was leaning against the closed door, his perfectly sculpted arms crossed over his chest as he watched her. She allowed her eyes to travel down his lean torso, admiring the muscles in his legs before moving back up.
How was she supposed to have any appropriate thoughts when he looked that good, just standing there?
His posture tensed and for the second time that night, she wondered if he somehow knew what she was thinking. He’d said before that he wanted her, but she didn’t know if he meant the same kind of want that she felt at that moment.
Vera’s entire life had consisted of men making decisions for her, choosing what was best, and telling her what she needed. Every single one of them wanted to control her. Even Trey hadn’t cared about what she wanted. Not truly.
And right now, she wanted Jaren. She wanted to touch him and feel the heat of his skin against hers. She wanted to experience a kiss and the kind of bliss she’d only heard about. She wanted to lose herself in pleasure and forget how chaotic and messy her life had become.
She wanted to feel, and she wanted it to be with him.
Gliding forward, Vera didn’t hide her intentions from her eyes. After tonight, they would travel hard toward the coast, and then they’d be gone. Nothing would ever be the same again. Tonight, she just wanted to forget it all.
“You said we’re bonded, that our souls are connected.” She reached up, placing a hand on his chest, hoping it wasn’t obvious how nervous she was. “I don’t know what that means yet, and right now, I don’t care. You were right, I want you.”
The muscles along his jaw spasmed. He hesitated only a moment before dropping his arms to his sides. Butterflies erupted in her stomach, and she prepared herself for him to pull her close and kiss her.
She let her eyes flutter closed, feeling the heat that had begun to tease her, spread through her body.
After a beat, when he still hadn’t touched her and the silence began to grow heavy, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.
“I’m not going to fuck you, little star.”
Chapter 22
VERA
She stepped back, wrenching her arm off his chest like he’d struck her. She felt her entire face go up in flames, the rejection stabbing her in the gut and twisting.
“I didn’t mean—”
Jaren moved away from the door, but she took another step back, desperately trying to keep both her distance and what little remained of her pride, intact.
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. I just got the wrong idea. Not surprising since I’ve—You know what, never mind. We should probably get some sleep.” Gods, she was rambling.
It was like her entire body was awake. The fire she’d felt building now felt like it was going to suffocate her. She needed fresh air and possibly a long soak in freezing water.
She tried to walk away, but she only made it an inch before his hand whipped out, snatching her arm and spinning them until it was her back against the door. He caged her in with a hand on either side of her head, leaning so close his breath tickled against her flushed skin.
“You have no idea, do you?” His eyes had darkened, and she was unable to look away, a shudder coursing through her body.
She swallowed hard. “About what?”
Her voice came out throaty, and his expression turned positively devious. She got the barest glimpse of his canines. Gods, what she would give to feel them against her skin, her lips, her—
A dark rumble echoed from his chest, and his nostrils flared. Like an unwelcome epiphany, she had the sudden realization he could smell her arousal. That he’d been able to every damn time. If she thought she couldn’t have been more embarrassed than she already was, she’d been painfully and irrevocably wrong.
She opened her mouth to say something else she’d probably regret, but his hand reached down and grabbed her own, pressing her palm to the hard length straining against his pants.
Her eyes felt like they might fall out of her head. Her breathing was erratic, her heart smashing against her chest. Instinctively, her fingers curled to cup him more fully, but faster than she could process, he’d snagged both her wrists and pressed them against the door, pinning them above her head.
He grazed his nose along her throat, inhaling deeply. “Did that feel like you got the wrong idea?”
She shook her head, unable to form coherent words.
“If you’d been taught how to focus your senses, you’d be able to tell by my scent alone.” His body was flush against hers and she lifted her hips, desperate for the smallest amount of friction to ease the ache overwhelming her body—her fucking soul.
His grip on her wrists tightened, his pupils dilating. Pushing forward, he pinned her hips to the wall, stilling her. “I will not fuck you for two reasons, Veralie.”
She felt a pang in her chest, the rejection hurting more the second time. But before she could spiral further into mortification, he brushed his lips against hers, so softly she might have imagined it.
“Reason number one being that we’re in a small room that is severely lacking in both space and creativity. I would need a gods damn palace for everything I want to do to you and all the surfaces I want to do them on. And somehow I doubt even that will be enough to sate this uncontrollable hunger I have for you.”
Her entire body was shaking now, throbbing with need. Jaren was telling her why he wouldn’t fuck her, but all it did was make her want him to even more.
“And two?” It came out as nothing more than a breathy whisper, and his eyes dropped to her mouth as she bit her bottom lip. Leaning forward, he licked the seam of her mouth causing her to gasp and release it.
“And two, you don’t understand enough about Magyki mates or soul bonds to understand the implications of it. It would not mean the same to you as it would to me.”
She opened her mouth to deny it but closed it when she met his eyes. He was right, she didn’t remember their history like he did. He’d told her they were mates, but it was just a word to her, it didn’t hold meaning like it clearly did for him. And she wouldn’t invalidate his feelings to argue it.
“Okay.”
She whispered, trying to push down her crushing disappointment. She was still on fire, still burning for him, and it left her feeling both heavy and empty at the same time. She lowered her eyes and tried to pull her wrists out of his grip, but he only thrust his hips forward, grinding into her.
She gasped, looking up at him to discover his eyes devouring her. “Oh, my little star. I said I wouldn’t fuck you. I never said I didn’t plan on touching you.”