Page 48 of Beast

I love the way he kisses me. No one kisses on my plane. Iallow my mouth to flower open under his. His tongue caresses my own, and Isigh. I am pressed between the hard bark of the tree and his body, but I do notwant to be anywhere else. When he kisses me, we are the only two people in theworld.

Of course, when he bites me, when my blood flows into hisbody, it feels as if we are one person. I love that above all else.

He presses in, his erection shoving against my pussy. Hiships move as though they cannot help themselves. “Gods, I want you. I want youall the fucking time. How can I want you so much?”

He kisses me, his mouth dominating mine. One hand finds mybreast, and he cups me, playing with my nipples. His mouth runs down the sideof my neck. There are still tiny holes from where he fed this morning. Theyseem to close quickly, but the healing bumps are still there. He licks at them,seeming to find them endlessly fascinating.

My whole body threatens to light up when he touches my neck.I never thought of my neck as being particularly sensitive, but now I squirmevery time he touches me there. When he licks my neck, I feel it in my pussy.

“Please.” I am well aware I am begging. I want that bite. Iwant to feel him. “Please don’t shut the door between us. Please.”

His head comes up. “You feel it, too?”

I clutch his shoulder, staring into his eyes. The irises arewider, but the green hasn’t totally taken over. “I need it. I need to feel it.I’ve never felt so good as when I feel those flashes of you. I don’t know whatit is, but I need it, Dante.”

“It scares the fuck out of me,” he mutters.

Maybe my soul isn’t as nice as his. If I catch glimpses ofhim, then he most likely sees my past. It isn’t nice to be me. It is ugly andlonely. I am being selfish.

I let my legs drop.

“Kaja?”

“Just kiss me. You can teach me later how to keep our mindsapart.”

His hands soften, cupping my cheeks. “What’s wrong? Why didyou shut down?”

“I was not thinking,” I admit. “I believed I was the onlyone who felt our joining in my mind. I understand. I do not want you to seethose parts of me. I am so sorry.”

His fangs suddenly seem larger than before. “You want tohide yourself from me, consort?”

Yep, that other part of Dante has come out. His eyes arehuge green orbs now. “You cannot wish to see me. It’s ugly. I didn’tunderstand. I will learn to shut it off, as you do. You can teach me.”

His hands tightens around my arms. “I will not teach you tohide yourself from me. You’ll be open. You’ll give me everything. You look atme.”

I get caught in those eyes. I feel my whole body relax. Iknow I should fight him, but it feels far too good to let Dante take control. Itrust him not to harm me physically. My heart is another manner entirely.

“It makes no sense, Kaj.” He sounds more like Dante now. “Itscares the crap out of me, but the minute you start talking about putting upbarriers and walls between us, I go a little crazy. Baby, you’re making me socrazy, but I can’t help myself. I fucking need you, too. Gods, you taste likesunshine.”

He grips my hair and pulls my head back, exposing the lineof my throat. My heart skips as he strikes.

And there it is. I feel him, his soul and being brushing andmingling with mine. They tangle together.

He is beloved. His parents, his sister, his teachers. No oneis able to resist him as a child or even a teen. He is smart, so smart. He islike a magnet. Popular with everyone because everyone wants to be near him.

When did it change? When did his boyish charm become merechildishness?

He has his insecurities, too. What is he worth? Money? Thatcan go away. He has seen it a million times. What will he be left with? Hisintellect did not get him far. He is lost, adrift without any real thing thatmatters.

My mind is assaulted with sex. Dante began young and neverstopped. He loves to fuck, and he is good at it. But he does not take itseriously. He makes sure that none of the women he takes to bed are seriouseither, until he meets a wolf.

I reach for those feelings. I am there in his soul, but myplace is so uncertain. He wants me, but he does not want to want me.

I am beautiful to him.

I feel his fangs in my neck, my body going languid underhis, and I am assaulted with a single memory.

“What do you mean she’s dead?” I speak the words, but it isDante’s voice that comes from my mouth. I am inside his body looking at hiscousin. Cian. It is Cian, and he is so pale and thin. My heart, Dante’s heart,is sick at the sight of his cousin.