Velvet Cataclysm (Princes of the Underground 1)

Teslar had long been the nightmare that Saint fought tooth and nail. It suddenly struck him that he hadn’t stood so close to his nemesis in centuries, never had the chance to truly examine his clone. It was like staring into a dark mirror, with one difference. Teslar possessed a jagged scar just above his heart. Saint realized with a shock that he had given his clone that scar a century before with his heartluster during one of their many violent clashes.

Teslar met Saint’s stare, his blue eyes moist. Saint had the uncomfortable impression that Teslar’s calm certitude was entirely genuine. Teslar understood something that was occurring in this moment that Saint didn’t—

“You will conquer me,” Teslar said in his mind. “I would do anything to touch her. She is life. I will gladly die in her fires. I will submit to you if you allow me to love her.”

His clone’s words reverberated around in his brain. Something coalesced, and Saint understood in a blinding flash what Kavya had always meant when he said Teslar and he were one.

Christina became distantly aware that the two males communicated, but their telepathic exchange was so rapid, so precise, that she couldn’t quite capture the content. She only experienced emotion so charged, so subtle, that it raised the fine hairs on the back of her neck and forearms. Saint surprised her by suddenly turning and looking at her.

“I cannot do it,” Saint said out loud through a tight jaw.

“The mandate to contain me has been encoded in your blood. You know that, Saint. I permit you the opportunity to control me,” Teslar replied. “You must allow it.”

A taut silence ensued. A fine tremble began to vibrate Saint’s body, as though he held his muscles so rigidly, he would explode from the strain he placed on them.

Christina read his mind with difficulty—he experienced so much chaotic emotion—but understanding dawned slowly.

“Saint?” she asked warily.

The soul that was about to dawn like a fiery new star shone in his blue eyes. Christina knew the moment that Kavya had alluded to had arrived.

“It is your choice to make, Christina,” Saint said softly.

“But…Teslar was burned when he touched me.”

Saint’s angular jaw moved in a tiny, taut, circular motion as he studied her. The amount of tension she felt rising in him both alarmed and thrilled her.

He spoke to her telepathically.

“Teslar and I are one. If I accept that within myself, I will overcome what he represents. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t know it would work, Christina. That it was right.” He paused, inhaling slowly. “You are my soul. If I acknowledge Teslar, he will be able to touch you. Just as I do. He will place himself und

er my control. I won’t allow him to harm you. You will feel only pleasure.”

Christina licked her upper lip anxiously and tasted salt.

“I’m sorry,” Saint said out loud. “I didn’t understand fully until just now.”

“Does he understand?” she asked him telepathically, referring to Teslar.

“Yes. He chooses to be controlled by me if I allow him to touch you.” He paused and Christina sensed his hesitation. “I tried to explain to you what you represent to beings like Teslar and me. Maybe now…you’ll finally know.”

Christina swallowed. “All…all right.”

Teslar stepped toward them as though her words had released a restraint holding him. Christina wished she could read Saint at that moment, but he just watched her with an impassive expression and fiery eyes.

She came out from behind him and took one step…then two toward Teslar. Her heart felt like it would burst. But suddenly she sensed Saint behind her, his long body ghosting her own, giving her strength. Teslar closed the distance until he stood less than a foot away. Her breath caught when she saw the stark longing in his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid.”

She blinked. Saint had uttered the words in her ear at the same moment that Teslar said them gruffly. Teslar raised his hands. Christina saw how they shook. He placed them on her shoulders, and Saint bracketed her waist with his hands. Saint’s mouth felt hot and urgent on her neck.

“He is me, Stina. If you accept him, then I can,” Saint muttered next to her skin. She stared, transfixed, by the image of Teslar’s lowering his head to her own. Saint whispered next to her ear, sharing the arcane secret. “If you accept him, then I can conquer him once and for all.”

A convulsion of desire went through her when Teslar covered her mouth with his own. She leaned her head back on Saint’s chest while Teslar bent…and devoured her. He tasted much like Saint, with an added hint of bitterness. It inflamed her, that added complexity of flavor to a sensation she loved.

The kiss continued, hot, drugging…delicious. Saint’s mouth became more avid, moving next to the skin of her neck, jaw and cheek. The slide of his hands across the bare skin of her ribs made her moan into Teslar’s consuming mouth.

They moved in perfect synchrony. Teslar broke their kiss and Saint lifted her shirt over her breasts. Teslar’s hands moved to her back. They both stepped back and her bra fell to the floor. She cried out when Saint’s hands slid beneath her breasts, caressing and cradling them, forcing the centers to thrust forward into prominence.