Page 44 of Desecrated Saints
I collapse on the bench seat next to him, bumping our shoulders together. “Come on, don’t shut me out. We’ve played that game before.”
“You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”
I scoff. “Are you only just realising that?”
Lifting his head, golden-caramel eyes pierce my skin. He has this unique ability to slip deep into my veins and poison my thoughts. There’s barely a breath between us and the air is charged with sudden anticipation. Seven licks his lips, watching me intently.
When he dares to brush the back of his knuckles against my cheek, a tiny sigh of pleasure escapes my lips. His dark smile widens. I should be ashamed, but I’m quivering with need at his touch. I want more.
“Sadie—”
“I don’t want to talk about her,” he snaps.
“What do you want to talk about?”
“Are you screwing all four of them?”
His question takes me aback. I feel the instinctive need to hide my unusual relationship with the guys. Love is weakness, but I don’t need to protect them from Seven. He isn’t the enemy, even if he seems like it at times.
“Yeah, I am.”
“And they’re okay with that?”
“Depends who you ask.”
His thumb glides over my bottom lip, tender and gentle. This person is unlike the violent monster that lives within his human shell, a terrifying beast that matches my own. I bury the urge to bite his finger, knowing it will only encourage this thing growing between us.
There’s something burning low in my belly, a carnal need I can’t ignore. It’s been there for a while, smouldering into a roaring inferno. I just wasn’t ready to acknowledge it until now.
“What if I told you that I can’t stop thinking about kissing you?” Seven’s voice is dangerously soft. “Every time I close my eyes, I picture myself tracing every last mark on your body with my tongue, and making you fall apart with my cock buried deep inside of you.”
Clenching my thighs, I fight to take an even breath.
“I’ll have you screaming my name for the world to hear,” he adds darkly.
“Which name?”
Seven grins, full of promise. “My name isn’t Jude anymore.”
“Then I’d happily scream for you and the whole world to hear, Sev.”
“Even your boyfriends?”
Narrowing my eyes, I level a challenge. “Even them.”
With the sound of voices playing behind the plastic sheet, this isn’t the moment to delve into things. But as I inhale Seven’s scent, still unfamiliar after all our time spent separated in the basement, I struggle to maintain my grip on the situation. I shouldn’t, but I want him. Just like I want all of them.
“This is a bad idea,” I breathe.
“Most definitely.”
“Someone will get hurt.”
Seven smirks. “I’ll do all the hurting. You’d look better naked and stained with fresh blood when we fuck, princess.”
“I’ve warned you about killing the guys approximately nine times now.”
His little eye roll makes my heart flip, the traitorous organ. Cupping my cheek, Seven strokes my skin, and I try to remember every reason why I can’t do this. None of them stop me from staring into his pained eyes, begging him to take the final step that I’m too cowardly to make myself.