The Wicked Kiss (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #2)(61)

His fingers clenched into fists, and I grew warm from the heat of his anger. There was something in his anxious manner that betrayed his words.

“You know he would.” I reached out to him, needing to feel his cool skin, his power mingling with mine. “He’s not going to let me have you.”

Arys grabbed my hands and pulled me to my feet. His arms went around my waist, pressing me against him. I looked up at him, and he bent his head to capture my lips with his in a breath-stealing kiss. I was sucked into the magnetic draw, falling into him with no resistance. The power we shared sought to control us, and I wanted to allow it. After the torrent of emotions I’d already dealt with tonight, I wasn’t afraid to let the power lead us.

I wanted to feel the freedom and release that only came with surrender.

He paused, despite my insistence. Looking down into my eyes, he placed a hand beneath my chin and forced me to look deeper into him. My heart skipped a beat when he whispered, “You already have me.”

Unmistakable human emotion filled his eyes. Try as I might to deny it, something was there, something more than I had ever expected from my vampire lover. It frightened me; it truly did, even as it excited me. I already held Shaz’ heart in my hands, precariously at that. Could I honestly say that I didn’t love Arys, in some way?

I don’t give myself to any man without reason. Perhaps the power had joined us, but it wasn’t what kept me coming back. Not entirely. Was it possible to be in love with two men, albeit very different ones? I wasn’t sure. All I knew was what I felt when I was with each of them.

It wasn’t the same. What Arys brought out of me was unlike anything I had felt with Shaz and vice versa. They each held a part of me that was all their own.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I admitted, my lips brushing his as I spoke. I paused to nibble the silver ring in his pouty lower lip. He made a sound that was a combination of a sigh and groan. “I don’t know how to love you.”

Arys ran a strong hand through my hair, balling a handful in his fist. The extremely possessive gesture spoke through dominance to the wolf in me. “You don’t know how to admit it.” The room felt alive with energy as our power danced around us. My skin almost burned with the need for release as the pressure built.

He was right. I hated when he was right. His firm hold kept me still as he dipped his tongue into my mouth, tasting of me fully. When his fangs drew blood from my lower lip, it was no accident. Sucking on the tiny wound, he pressed harder against me so there was no mistaking that his need was as great as my own.

The coppery taste of my blood in his mouth was delightful as it stirred the desire building within me. When his fangs grazed my throat, I gasped, and the adrenaline blasted through me.

“My beautiful wolf … you don’t even know what it is you mean to me.” Arys maintained his gentle but firm hold on my long blonde locks as his other hand slipped beneath my top. His cool touch was soothing. I clung to him, desperate to get my hands on any part of him that I could.

The sharp points of his fangs came to rest lightly over my jugular vein, and I could feel the sudden urge to kill rise up in him. He would never do it though. I trusted him completely, only realizing now how deep that trust went. Every time we were in a moment like this, I allowed him the choice to take my life. Dear God, I did love him.

How else could I willingly do something so bold and possibly so stupid?

“Then tell me,” I replied, needing to hear now more than ever what I meant to him.

“Tell me what I mean to you, Arys. I need to hear you say it.”

I didn’t miss his hesitation. Lifting his head to look at me, I was shocked to see that his eyes had gone all wolf, the whites’ now solid blue. Some things about our bond, I would never get used to. The hand that held my hair loosened but didn’t let go. We faced one another with an open, raw emotion that made me feel uncomfortable and exposed.

Arys gently touched the side of my face, stroking it with an affection that stole my breath. His eyes went to my bloodied lip, and he ran his tongue sensually over his fangs.

My own curiosity was piqued. What would Arys taste like? His blood had to be overwhelming, like way too much of a good thing. How bad did I want to find out?

“Alexa, I have never been more alive in the past few centuries than I am right now, with you.” He paused, second-guessing himself, and I turned to plant an encouraging kiss in the palm of his hand where it continued to stroke my cheek. “You are the only light in my dark world. All I see … is you.”

I closed my eyes, the emotion overcoming me in its immensity. His next words came low, barely a whisper. Yet, I heard them as clearly as if they’d been shouted at me.

“I love you. I know it’s wrong, but I do. You have given back to me everything I thought I’d lost forever.” His voice carried the sound of defeat. I opened my eyes to find him staring at the floor, shame evident in his expression.

“How you feel, Arys, it’s not wrong.” I placed my hand over his, drawing it to my chest where my heart beat steadily. “And, it isn’t one sided. Arys, I-,”

“Don’t say it!” He looked up suddenly, his eyes filled with hope and fear. “Don’t say it,” he repeated, placing a finger over my lips. “You love the white wolf.”

Knocking his finger away, I rose up on tiptoes to look him directly in the eyes. “I do.