Kelia was still when Drew pulled her into his arms the way he had so recently. His lips touched hers, and it was as though he woke something inside of her that had been switched off, something she didn’t realize she even had. The spark within herself was set aflame.

Her wrists locked around his neck, pulling her to him so they were even closer than before. Her heart hammered in her chest, but instead of being afraid of the feelings that coursed through her body, they propelled her forward, urged her to explore, to indulge, to really experience what it was like. There was nowhere she needed to be, no one expecting them at any given time. Within the confine of his quarters, both of them had permission to be free.

There was no first tentative kiss, waiting for her to get used to the sensation. The minute his lips touched hers, his hand found the back of her head and he tipped her back so his tongue could get reacquainted with her mouth, the way it had been mere moments ago. Her hands gripped his face before she reached up with one hand to run her fingers through his dark tresses. They felt like silk sheets.

He stepped forward once, and then again, pushing Kelia back until her knees hit the back of his bed. Her legs weakened, forcing her into a sitting position on the soft mattress. Drew gently urged her back so that she was lying down as he crawled on top of her. His hands planted next to each side of her face, and he straddled her waist without placing too much of his weight on her body.

There was nowhere for her to go. If she wanted to get away from this, she would have to get Drew off her.

Except she didn’t want to get away from this.

And the thought of him being in control sent a thrill through her body. She had always been the one in control. She preferred it that way because it meant responsibility would fall squarely on her shoulders. With the way Drew was positioned over her, however, the moment was completely out of her hands. And that thought made her heart race.

He released her lips so she could breathe, only for his lips to find her jaw bone and then move down her neck. They paused over her pulse, and Kelia’s heart skipped with both excitement and fear. If Drew wanted to, he could pierce her flesh and sink his fangs into her throat. Part of her—a small, dark part of her—wanted him to do just that. She had heard how good it felt, so good it was banned, it was judged. So good the person who experienced the wicked pleasure derived from the gesture was damned to the depths of hell.

But what a way to go.

She wasn’t thinking the way she would normally be, yet she couldn’t bring herself to care.

"I can hear your heartbeat," Drew murmured, his lips still on her pulse. "It beats in time with my own."

He kissed her again, and she could not help but close her eyes and let out a moan.

He pressed himself against her so she could feel every part of his hard body—feel his desire against her thigh—and her breathing quickened.

She had never been in this position before. She didn’t know what she was doing, and it scared her. She liked to be perfect, she liked to ensure that she was good at whatever task she took part in. But she had never even thought about sex before now; she assumed it was something that would happen in the future. Now, she wished she had prepared for it.

"We don't have to," Drew said, his voice low.

Kelia lifted her gaze from his broad shoulder so she could lock her eyes with his. The sincerity in them sent a hot shiver up her spine. He was much more compassionate than she realized. Or perhaps it was just now, in this moment, that made the compassion a special circumstance.

"You are nervous," he said. His hand continued to caress her hip in soothing circles. "I can feel it. I would never want to make you do something you are uncomfortable with."

The problem was, everything he made her feel was not safe. And yet, she wasn’t comfortable with anyone else. She did not know the right words to adequately describe her conflicting emotions. After all, how could someone make her feel both safe and unsafe at the same time?

"Will something happen to me?" she asked. Her voice came out rough and ragged, and she paused to swallow, hoping to moisten her throat. "In the breeding program, Shadows said they could smell my purity. If we...if we did this, what would change?"

“Shadows can smell innocence, Kelia,” he said. “They would be able to pick up my scent on you. It is almost like—”

"Like you are marking your territory?" she guessed. A frown touched her lips at the thought that she could be nothing more than property.

"I suppose," he agreed. "However, that is not always the intent. It's just because Shadows have a strong sense of smell and we can easily pick up the scent of other Shadows. If you were not innocent, I would be able to pick up the scent of whomever it was you did this with before."

Kelia played with his dark hair, pushing the tresses from his face before running her fingers through them, and nodded. Her hand dropped to his face where she touched his cheekbone with her thumb. She was surprised to see him close his eyes and lean into her touch. The light that filled the room flickered across his face, and she decided she had never seen him look more beautiful than he appeared right now.

"What do you want?" she found herself asking, staring at his closed eyes, at his gentle lips that had been kissing her like it was their last night together.

Drew slowly opened his eyes, and the corner of his lips flickered up. He reached out and curled an errant strand of hair behind her ear.

"You, Kelia Starling," he said.

Her name coming out of his mouth and sent shocks like little bolts of lightning straight to her pelvis. The hairs on her arms stood erect, and her nipples hardened.

"I want you in whatever way you will give me. I do know I don’t want to be your friend. I want to be able to touch your body. I want to be able to kiss your mouth. I want to be able to protect you with my life and to make you moan and to do things to you that will make you melt in my hands and scream my name and beg me to do them over and over again until you are incapable of rendering a single word, let alone standing on your own two feet.”

Kelia pulled him to her. Her whole body was on fire, and she needed to kiss him before he caused a painful sort of pleasure to pulse even more in her pelvis. But the way his body rubbed against hers, it felt as though the sensation would only get more intense.

He met her kiss with the same ferociousness that she possessed. One hand gripped her waist with rough fingers, and the other cupped her cheek so his thumb, placed gently on her chin, could control her head. He pushed it back so he could deepen their kiss, his tongue already probing the depths of her mouth.

Kelia's legs came up and wrapped around his waist. She had no idea what she was doing or why, but she knew she didn’t want his body away from hers.

His mouth dropped from hers to her chin, down her neck. These were not innocent kisses any longer. His tongue traced the line of her throat. His lips sucked on the skin gently, and Kelia moaned a sound had never heard from herself before. She didn’t realize kissing could elicit such pleasure to take hold of her body and reduce her to little more than putty.

He lowered his mouth to her collarbone and ran his tongue along the line down her chest before he stopped at the valley between her breasts.

He lifted his head and trailed his hand across her chest, slowly pushing the tunic open so the material fell off her shoulders. His hand was rough, blistered, and it scratched her soft skin, but the contrasting sensation gave her another jolt. Soon, the material fell off her body and he moved so he could tug the sleeves, leaving her in nothing but a corset.

Without waiting for her to turn so he could unlace the contraption himself, he reached to his boot and grabbed a small dagger hidden within its confines. In a blink, he slid it down her torso, shredding the corset in two. Quickly, he removed it so it fell off his bed and onto the floor, exposing her breasts to the cool room.

She could not help but feel nervous. Her fingers began to bury themselves in the blankets beneath her, and her eyes latched onto Drew, hoping to pick up any sort of sign that would indicate what he was thinking, what he was feeling.

He reached and flattened his hand in the space just above her body. He did not touch her though, not yet, and that seemed to get more of a reaction out of her than if he actually did place his hand on her.

She let a moan, and his eyes snapped into hers. Desire clouded the sincerity, and she bit bottom lip, anticipating what he planned to do next. His eyes left hers only to drop to that bottom lip, and he lowered his head until his lips were just before hers.

"Tell me to stop, and I will," he promised, his voice a ghost of a whisper.

Kelia's eyes closed, and a shudder ripped across her body. Her nipples hardened more. It amazed her that something as innocuous as Drew's voice had such power over her. She shook her head, unable to form the words just yet. After a pause that lingered, she opened her eyes. Drew continued to look down at her, his gaze dark and heavy.

"I," she said, her voice coming out jagged and sharp, like the points of Drew's fangs. "I don't want you to stop."

She didn’t know how it was possible, but his eyes got even darker until they resembled the ink on his fingertips, the sky at night. The way his gaze roamed over her body, Kelia was certain they would haunt her dreams and send her body into a tizzy, even if he wasn't physically present.

He leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. His hands went back to her hips, his grip solid, teasing on possessive. Her legs were locked around him, and he pushed his pelvis so it grinded against her mound. A startled gasp fell from her lips, and her eyes sprung open. She had not expected that

His mouth went to her neck once more. This time, she could feel the edge of his teeth caress her skin. At any moment, he could bite her, he could rip off her skin and drink from her. The thought both terrified and thrilled her.

"I can smell your desire for me," he said in a low whisper.

His hand dropped from her waist, his fingers dragging across her stomach and down to the curls of her mound. Her breathing quickened, her heart pounded against her chest, but she could not—would not—tell him to stop. He pushed farther and farther until his rough fingers grazed her lips, and she inhaled sharply, finding his eyes. He looked at her with such fierce adoration that she blinked, thinking she was seeing things.

But no.

That look was still on his face.

"You are mine, Kelia Starling. No man will ever be able to touch you, to kiss you, to please you, the way I am about to," he said, his promises coating her body with heat. "Are you certain you don’t want me to stop?”

Kelia could only nod.

“What say you?" he asked.

Kelia took a breath. "I am yours," she replied. "Do what you will to me. I long to feel everything you can offer."