“I am thinking about how I will fashion a throne from Ravena’s bones.”

The corners of Adrian’s lips curled, and he leaned closer, his breath on my lips as he spoke. “If that is your wish, I shall build it myself.”

Then his warm mouth was on mine, and his arm tightened around my waist. He was an anchor I grasped in the darkness of my grief, the only thing that brought feeling, and I craved this—his heat, our madness, the distraction.

I clung to him, my fingers digging into his biceps as his mouth left mine, lips trailing over my jaw and neck, his tongue caressing my skin, and I ceased to breathe when I felt the scrape of his teeth there. He seemed to notice and pulled away.

“I do not have to feed,” he said, his hand lifting to brush my cheek. “But I do want you.”

Adrian had not taken my blood since the night he had first fed from me. When I asked him, he said, “I need you strong.” And yet when dawn broke in a few hours, he would leave once more to hunt for the last two rebels—his former noblesse, Gesalac and Julian.

I needed him strong for that.

“I am well enough,” I said.

“You aren’t sleeping,” he said.

“Who needs sleep,” I said, rising on the tips of my toes and lacing my arms around his neck, “when there is so much we could do?”

His hands were on my hips, but he was still.

“Adrian,” I said, his name a breathless whisper, and my eyes fell to his lips once more, my fingers trailing his cheek. “Please.”

It wasn’t until I looked into his eyes that he caved, and his mouth collided with mine. I basked in the way my mind went blank, the horror and the anger of these last few days replaced by a blissful heat that seemed to swell, filling me to bursting, but making me aware of how much I needed this, needed him.

Adrian’s fingers dug into my skin, and he guided me until my back hit the wall where he pinned my wrists so he could kiss me uninhibited, lips tracing a path to my breasts, which he lavished with attention. Even through the fabric of my nightdress, the teasing was exquisite, and my hands were soon free to rake through his hair and drag his mouth back to mine.

Between us, Adrian untied his robe and hiked my shift up before lifting my leg, cradling the back of my knee over his arm, his erection pressed into my heat. I sucked in a sharp breath, my head falling back on a moan, exposing my neck, where he kissed and nipped at my skin, his voice a heady rumble.

“I love the way you taste,” he said, grinding into me until I felt too hollow, too empty.