“No.” She turned from him and exhaled roughly. “You need to go, Declan.” Her skin was on fire and the beast that was below the surface threatened. She would never forgive herself if she hurt him.
“What are you afraid of, Ana?”
Dammit, he’d cleared the last step and the heat of his body was at her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and fought for control but it was no use. Her fangs were now fully extended.
“Don’t touch me.” She barely managed to get the words out.
“You want me to touch you.”
His hands were on her, his touch burning. Ana’s eyes flew open and she whirled around, knocking his hand from her body as she did so.
“No.” Her chest was heaving, her hands clenched into fists. “I don’t want your touch, Declan, let’s be honest here. I want to eat you.” Ana said every word carefully as she glared at him. “There’s a huge difference between the two.”
She needed him to understand. She was not all puppies and rainbows. She was hard-edged and bad, with insatiable appetites that came with a price.
“Why is it so hard for you to admit that there’s something between us?” He took another step, but this time Ana refused to back away. “That there’s always been something there?”
She inhaled deeply, which was the wrong thing to do. Declan O’Hara smelled like decadence, passion, and life. Would it be so bad to take just a nibble?
The crow cawed as it swept by once more, swooping low, inches from their heads. Its sharp cry cut through their “moment” with the effective strike of a blade and Ana hissed in anger.
“There’s never been anything between us, Declan. I don’t know what fantasy world you were living in. I don’t do men like you.”
“You did Diego.” His voice was harsh. “Many times, in fact.”
I knew he could never break me the way you can.
“Seriously, Declan, this is getting old. There’s something pathetic about a man who begs for sex.” She laughed harshly. “And let’s be honest here. That is what we’re talking about, isn’t it? Sex?” She took a step back. “I can spread my legs and we can go at it. Get it over with once and for all.”
His face hardened at her words, his dark eyes narrowed into twin slits of ebony.
She reached for the waistband of her jeans and started to undo the clasp. “Is that what you want? A quick fuck in the cemetery?”
Declan cursed and she felt a hot sting of energy surround her tightly. It tingled along her arms and spread over her abdomen. She glanced up at him in surprise. She couldn’t move. Ana struggled but there was no budging. What the hell?
Declan’s hand slid around her neck and he bent low, his breath sizzling along her neck to tickle her in places that were hidden.
“When I finally have you”—his warm mouth was just below her ear—“it will be no quick fuck in a cemetery.” She shuddered at the sensations that slid across her skin. “It will be a slow and thorough loving and I will taste every inch of you.” His tongue flicked across her flesh. “I’ll make sure I’m hungry.”
Invisible fingers swept across her chest and her nipples hardened instantly. What the hell was he doing?
His hand slid along her jaw until he cupped her chin and forced her to look up at him. The raw emotion that hung in the depths of his eyes stirred something deep within her.
The man was dead serious. If she let go, let her desires have free rein, he would die. She wouldn’t be able to stop at a taste, she wasn’t strong enough. There would blood and sex and she would claim him.
How could she not? It’s what her heart wanted, which ironically was the one thing she couldn’t have.
The elders on council would hunt Declan until he fell. It didn’t matter that he was now Seraph—that he served a higher order and was considered immortal.
She knew the truth. Immortality was a myth. Everyone had an Achilles’ heel.
“Please, let me go.” Ana closed her eyes. There was no more fight in her.
Their lips were separated by a whisper and the hunger she felt was painful.
She licked her lips. “Declan, I—”
She was suddenly released and nearly fell as Declan moved away from her. He nodded toward the mausoleum. “Living in the past is a mistake. The ghosts that linger there will not keep you sane or feed the hunger you feel. You taught me that.” He paused. “I’ll see you back at the house.”