Dark Seduction (Vampire Royals of New York #2) - Sarah Piper Page 0,47

he’d covered her body in kisses and caresses, exploring every inch. He’d lingered on the scar before, undoubtedly curious about its origins, but he never pushed for the story.

Now, he knew the story. It was all part of her life, part of who she was—who she’d grown up to become. Yes, she’d lived at the mercy of monsters. And nothing he could say could make it any less terrible and brutal.

But she’d lived. Wasn’t that the point? She’d survived. That was worth something, right?

His touch lingered, and Dorian closed his eyes, the muscles in his jaw tensing.

Charley didn’t have the words to make it okay—not for either of them. So instead, she found his hand beneath her T-shirt and squeezed.

He brought her hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm, the warm touch of his lips searing her cool skin.

His eyelids drifted closed as he breathed her in, blazing a trail of soft, fluttery kisses from her wrist to the inside of her elbow, his stubble scratching the sensitive skin. With her free hand, she ran her fingers through his hair, urging him closer, the feel of his soft, thick mane as familiar to her as his touch, his kiss, his scent.

The ice packs slid from her shoulders, but Dorian’s tender kisses were a better balm, brushing her injured flesh with no more than a whisper of lips and breath. Slowly, he worked his way up her neck to her chin, across the line of her jaw, up to her ear.

With a soft but possessive growl, he breathed the words she’d been aching to hear for an eternity. “It wasn’t a dream, Charlotte. It wasn’t a lapse in judgment. And try as I might, I can’t promise you it won’t happen again.”

Charley’s heart banged wildly, her chest heaving with desperate breaths as the current of Dorian’s electric touch flowed throughout her body.

He pressed a kiss to her temple, tracing a delicate pattern across her forehead and down her nose, slipping his fingers through her hair, cradling her head in his strong, protective hands. All of her pain and regret melted away at his touch.

His lips hovered teasingly, so close to her own that Charley could taste him. She wanted so badly to take him, to press her mouth to his, to welcome the hot, wet slide of his tongue.

“I can’t control myself around you,” he whispered. “You unseat me at every turn.”

“Then let go. Just for tonight.”

Unblinking, Dorian considered her words, his gaze soulful and passionate and so vulnerable it made her heart hurt. Looking into his eyes was like getting a glimpse into a parallel world—the life she could’ve had if only she’d made a right turn instead of a left.

Dorian leaned forward, the barest brush of his lips flooding her core with heat and desire. Her thighs clenched, every nerve tingling with anticipation. She parted her lips, seeking the familiar warmth of his kiss, no longer caring what it meant—if it even meant anything at all.

Forever, for a night, for one single minute—she just wanted to taste him again.

But at the last possible second, Dorian pulled away, his face going blank as he reined in his emotions, shoring up those walls again.

The room turned as cold as the icepacks sliding down her chest.

Rising from the floor, he ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “You should get some sleep. We’ll talk again in the morning.”

Charley pressed her fingers to her lips, still on fire from the near kiss. She ached for him, her body wound tight, every need unfulfilled, her heart tearing in two. “Dorian, please don’t—”

“No,” he said firmly. Edged in anger, the sudden resolve in his tone startled her. “It can’t happen again. Ever. I mean that, Charlotte. We’ve got enemies in common, and because of that, I’m willing to help you—to keep you and your sister safe.”

“So that’s it?” Her head spun, the floor dropping out from under her. “You’re only helping me because we’ve got enemies in common? Are you listening to yourself?”

His only response was a glare.

“That’s bullshit, Dorian. I know you don’t trust me, okay? I know I fucked up. But you can’t look at me the way you do, and say the things you say, and touch me like that, and nearly kiss me, and set my whole body on fucking fire, and expect me to believe you don’t care about me.”

“What you believe is irrelevant.” Dorian’s eyes blazed with fresh anger.