[Music recommendation: PIXIE-T - Moths (Romantic Version)]

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Aliana’s thick lashes fluttered open, only to find that the distance between them had completely vanished.

’This man is dangerous,’ her inner voice warned. ’I have known that since the moment I met him. Things are happening too fast... I should hold back. I should pull the brakes. Yet...’

Her gaze instinctively fell to his lips as he leaned in closer. He reached down, wrapping his fingers over her hand that still clutched the water bottle.

Slowly, he guided it back to her mouth, a simple, quiet command leaving his lips.

"Drink."

’Yet... can I actually hold back before giving in to these desires?’

As the question flickered through her mind, she already knew the answer.

Wordlessly, she parted her lips around the opening of the bottle, letting the cool water flood her mouth once again.

But before the liquid could completely trickle down her throat, Gavriel finally closed the distance and pressed his lips against hers.

Thunder continued to roll more violently as the wind picked up, shrouding the city in a misty haze.

The warm lights illuminating the penthouse were entirely eclipsed by the sound of rain hitting harder against the glass, only this time, the downpour was accompanied by the sound of something shattering against the floor.

But the couple responsible for the scattered glass did not care.

The moment their lips collided, the desire that had been simmering between them for so long finally snapped.

Before Aliana knew it, she was pushed back against the kitchen island.

Gavriel had effortlessly lifted her up in one smooth motion, placing her on the counter without ever breaking the kiss that captured her sweet lips.

The hunger they felt for each other was so palpable that she barely registered the cold surface of the island beneath her.

Her legs parted instinctively as he stepped into the space, positioning himself securely between them. Thanks to the high slit of her ivory dress, her thigh was completely exposed.

Gavriel’s large hand slid possessively up her skin, his grip tightening around her soft, supple thigh before he pulled her roughly toward the edge of the island. A breathless moan ripped from Aliana’s throat at the sudden movement, but his mouth only moved more hungrily against hers.

Still wearing her heels, Aliana instinctively wrapped her legs around his tapered waist while her trembling hands slid from his broad shoulders towards the back of his neck before tangling through the softness of his hair.

A low rumble escaped Gavriel’s chest at her action as his one hand pressed firmly against her back, pulling her impossibly closer against him as though he wanted to merge her body with his own. Meanwhile, his other hand slid upwards to fist a handful of her soft golden locks before tugging gently on them, forcing her head back slightly as he tilted his own to deepen the kiss.

She was so delectable that he could not stop the sensual dance of his tongue against hers.

The more hungrily his mouth moved over her, the more she responded with an equal intensity.

It was a dangerous game, one that threatened to awaken the beast within him. That creature had been in a long slumber, a stretch of dormancy that was rare for... a devil like himself.

Yet her simple surrender was enough to stir it awake.

His mind spiralled with questions he had never had to ask himself before.

’What is this insatiable hunger I feel toward her.... a hunger that only seems to intensify the longer she stays in my proximity? Her voice, her heavenly scent, her body... every breath she takes... I want to mark her as mine. She belongs to no one but me, and I will make sure no one ever dares to even look in her direction.’

As Gavriel’s intense thoughts spiralled, he knew they had been heavily fueled ever since he sensed those filthy desires radiating from that corrupt human toward her.

Toward his woman.

The bloodlust he felt towards that man was nothing compared to the overwhelming desire consuming him to make Aliana his, wholly and completely.

He was drowning in it so deeply that even the simple sight of that lone droplet of water sliding down her throat had been enough to seduce him, of all beings, beyond reason. And before he even realised it himself, he had already claimed her lips once more.

Now, with her warm, soft body pressed flush against his while she responded so willingly to his advances, he did not think he could stop.

Her soft, broken moans and the way her tongue fought his for dominance turned him on so completely that he let the hand pressing against her slender back glide lower, splaying his fingers across the curve of her hip before gripping her tightly.

In the heat of the moment, he failed to realise his own supernatural strength.

His rough grip earned him a sharp, pained whimper from her.

Before he could adjust, Aliana did something no one else in this world would ever dare.

She bit his lower lip, sinking her teeth deep enough to draw blood. His blood.

The sharp sting forced them to momentarily break away from their passionate embrace.

Both of them were gasping heavily for air, their chests heaving as they stared intensely at each other.

Then Gavriel slowly felt it.

A warm droplet of liquid trailing down the corner of his mouth. His intense gaze never once leaving hers as he slowly raised the hand that was resting on her hip and brushed his thumb lightly against the corner of his lips.

Only then did he finally break their heated stare to glance down at the faint streak of red clinging to his thumb.

Aliana watched the blood smear against his skin, her chest heaving heavily.

Her eyes widened in a sudden wave of panic before she forced herself to meet his gaze again. Only to notice his eyes were now dancing with a mix of disbelief, amusement, and a dark hunger so potent that it sent a violent shiver down her spine.

But what he did next left her completely stunned.

Gavriel slowly let his tongue slip out before licking the lone trace of blood from his thumb. Then the tip of his tongue lightly brushed the corner of his mouth.

’Why is that so unbelievably seductive?’ she asked herself dazedly, her thoughts completely derailed.

Before she could process the feeling, Gavriel’s lips curved into a devilishly handsome smirk.

He wrapped his fingers around her jaw, his grip not harsh but not gentle either, holding her in place until his breath fanned against her swollen lips before he clicked his tongue lightly.

"You naughty little thing..." There was a clear tease in his low, husky voice, but the dangerous glint in his eyes only grew sharper.

"It seems like you are..."

His gaze slid back down to her lips. Using the very same thumb he had just licked, he brushed the slight trace of his own blood that was already on her lips.

His voice dropped to a dark, forbidden whisper. "...asking to be punished, Aliana."

The moment those words left his mouth, Gavriel’s thumb gently pressed against her lips, parting them slightly before he slowly slid it inside and commanded.

"Wrap those pretty lips of yours around it."

And Aliana’s brain completely short-circuited.

Instantly, a rush of heat pooled low in her belly, and only one word managed to break through the static of her mind, ’Fuck.’