“What are you doing?”

He ignored me, his other hand joining the first in caressing my stomach, then my ribs. His hands glided down my bare sides, a dark, delicious heat trailing in their wake. It warmed my cold skin and had me breathing heavily. The small pricks of pain from the sparks of white magick almost felt good.

“T–Thad . . . ”

The hand went higher, skipping over my breasts to rest on my neck and wind its way slowly and carefully into my hair.

“Benedict will murder you, let alone what I’ll do—” I cut myself off, shocked as his eyes went completely white, none of his obsidian gaze left. His skin twitched as if it were alive on its own volition, separate from his human body. All along his body his tanned skin turned black, smoke unfurling from his fingertips.

He lowered his face to mine, and my lips parted to scream, to yell, to do anything. Too quickly his teeth scraped against mine as our lips met, and strangely enough I didn’t fight back. A tortured, longing moan left his mouth. It was as if he’d finally been given food after months of starving. The latent white magick swirling around us heated the air, and my inner draken roared to life, sensing the power in him, and meeting him with greedy need.

I fought back against my instincts and bit down on his bottom lip, not letting go when he tried to pull away. I spat out his blood when I did let him go, not trusting my instincts to not do something stupid like drink it. I thought the bite would deter him, but he leapt onto the stone slate with me, the lust in his eyes a tangible force I could feel, I could taste. His body was caught half-way between a transformation, black skin with white eyes, as white and black magick fought each other for dominance over him.

“Get ahold of yourself,” I spat at Thad. “Or can you only get it when I’m tied down?”

I was terrified yet enthralled. In the darkness I could barely see him, a shadow upon shadows, his eyes glowing with power. I certainly felt him and the hardness that pressed eagerly against me, even as my traitorous hips pushed upwards to meet his. I growled, knowing I had to keep talking, that I had to keep him and myself distracted because if I didn’t, all I’d think about was how heady his power felt wafting over me, or how sinful his lips looked, parted in arousal as his black eyes flicked in and out, fighting to regain control. His lips parted, his voice a low, raspy growl.

“You like it. I see it in your head. I smell it.”

My head whipped back and forth frantically. No. “I have mates. I love them. I don’t even know you.”

His hands gripped my thighs, his fingers digging into my muscles in a rhythm. Clench and unclench. I wished I could squeeze my thighs together to hide the growing slickness at my core, but it was too late. Oh gods, he could smell me. His nose nuzzled against my neck, and my breathing hitched.