[Music recommendation: Lana Del Rey ft. The Weeknd - Late Night Sin]

.

.

"Wrap those pretty lips of yours around it."

That was all he said, yet if anyone could see Aliana at that moment, they would practically see smoke rising from her ears from how devastatingly seductive that simple command sounded coming from him.

Her heart continued to hammer violently inside her chest. But what completely threw her off balance was the sudden, overwhelming rush of heat pooling low in her belly. It made her want to close her legs instinctively.

Except she couldn’t.

Because Gavriel was already standing firmly between them, his body caging her in completely.

And so, the only thing Aliana managed to do was subconsciously tighten her legs around his waist instead. Pulling him even closer to the centre of an ache that was demanding to be satisfied like never before.

The dark spell woven through his voice wrapped itself tightly around her senses, making Aliana’s eyes grow heavy as she wordlessly closed her lips around his thumb that rested against her tongue.

As she obeyed, she kept her gaze locked onto his gorgeous face, watching his eyes darken the moment she followed his simple command.

Wanting to see even more of his reaction.... wanting to throw him off balance for once, Aliana did not stop there.

Slowly, teasingly, she swirled her tongue around his thumb and noticed the way his eyes widened slightly at her unexpected boldness. She untangled her trembling fingers from his soft hair and gently wrapped them around his hand that was pressed against her mouth.

Then, ever so slowly, she hollowed her cheeks as she sucked softly on his thumb, catching the faint metallic taste of his blood against her tongue.

The second the taste of his blood seeped into her system, Aliana’s world tilted. One moment she was seducing him, and the very next, she felt completely intoxicated.

It made no sense to feel so deeply under the influence when she had not consumed even a single drop of alcohol, nor any other substance that could make her feel this light-headed and intensely aroused all at once.

Her fingers tightened around his wrist unknowingly as her heavy-lidded eyes peered up into his.

In that split second, Gavriel caught it once again... a sudden flash of bright red cutting through her beguiling light grey irises before her eyelids fluttered shut, completely throwing Gavriel off balance.

A slight frown settled across Gavriel’s face as the thought crossed his mind,

’Did her eyes just change...?’

But he did not even get the chance to fully complete the thought as the scene unfolding in front of him completely stole his attention away. Aliana suddenly arched her back, her eyes closed as if she had fallen into a state of pure, overwhelming ecstasy.

The sight nearly snapped the last thread of restraint holding Gavriel together. His own lips parted instinctively as a low, restrained breath escaped him while he watched her.

Slowly, Aliana’s eyes fluttered open, revealing those same light grey hues beneath her heavy lashes. Keeping her head tilted slightly downward, her swollen lips glided smoothly off his thumb as she peered up at him from beneath the dark fringe of her lashes.

Gavriel’s pupils constricted as he watched Aliana transform into a seductive succubus right before his eyes. With her face flushed crimson, and without once breaking eye contact, she slowly guided his hand downward.

As if he were under her spell, Gavriel allowed his hand to be led.

His fingers dragged lazily along her jaw, traced the elegant curve of her neck, following the exact path of that lone drop of water from earlier until they stopped just above the swell of her breasts.

There, beneath his palm, he could feel her heart drumming frantically against her skin, like a trapped bird desperate to escape.

His eyes followed where his fingers paused, and he heard her quivering voice filled with need, "Gav..."

The sound of his name falling so helplessly from her lips, Gavriel’s icy blue eyes slowly lifted back towards her enticing face.

He leaned closer towards her while the hand resting against her back slid upwards to curl possessively behind her neck.

A low, husky whisper slipped from his lips as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"Are you trying to seduce this devil, little rose?"

Yet Aliana did not shrink under his intense gaze. Instead, she leaned into him, her lips parting to murmur, "I... I feel so hot, Gav."

She swallowed hard, forcing her eyes back to his as she whispered, "You did this..."

One of the hands that was clutching his over her racing heart slowly released him before gliding upwards across his chest, only to curl loosely around his neck. While her eyes silently demanded that he take responsibility for what he had awakened inside her.

Gavriel did not know where this sudden transformation had come from, nor what had fueled the sudden boldness of her actions.

But one thing he knew for certain... he needed to make her fully aware of just how dangerous her game truly was.

Thunder rumbled outside once more while flashes of lightning illuminated the penthouse in brief bursts of silver light. Yet neither of them flinched or broke the heavy spell between them.

"I must warn you, Aliana," Gavriel whispered, his fingers tightening slightly behind her neck as he pulled her closer.

"What you are asking for is dangerous..."

He dragged his nose slowly from her cheek down to her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "...because if I start, I won’t stop."

His dark promise made her eyes roll back, and a breathy moan escaped her throat the moment his teeth nipped the shell of her ear.

Her fingers tightened around him instinctively before she rasped softly against his skin, "Just make it stop."

As soon as Gavriel heard her words, he slowly leaned back just enough to meet her eyes, which did not waver in the slightest.

His hand slipped away from her neck before moving to cup her chin. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Tilting her face up until his lips brushed against hers, his voice dropped to a low murmur. "Where’s the bedroom?"

Aliana’s eyes widened instantly at the question.

Yet at that moment, her mind could focus on only one thing and one thing alone. Stopping the unbearable ache consuming her body while every nerve inside her reacted as though she were burning alive from within.

When she did not answer immediately, his fingers lightly pinched her chin, forcing her attention fully back onto him before he prompted again in a deep whisper, "Answer me."

Aliana blinked through the haze. "Upstairs."

"Hold on to me," he commanded.

The command had barely left his lips before a soft gasp escaped her as Gavriel effortlessly lifted her off the kitchen island.

Instinctively, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as though her life depended on it, while he held her against him with effortless ease.

His hands firmly supported her bottom as he began walking towards the staircase leading up to the first floor, where her bedroom was located.