Chapter 8

Chapter 8

He began to hear her blood more clearly, the rhythmic flow running beneath her skin, calling to him. A low, hypnotic sound. Resisting was becoming increasingly difficult. Elena was like the air he needed to exist, and she was there, so close, offering herself without even realizing how much.

She felt it too. Seduction hovered between them like a living, pulsing force.

No longer caring, Vlad took two steps to close the distance between them. He took her hand and pulled her gently, alert to any sign of retreat. There was none. His other hand settled at her waist, warm, possessive, while his fingers slid up to the nape of her neck.

Elena clutched his clothes, her fingers gripping the fabric tightly, as if she needed that to stay upright. Her mind was too tense to think clearly. For a moment, she even wondered whether all of it was real… or a dangerous dream she didn’t want to wake from.

They stared at each other.

Vlad’s pupils dilated, deep, hungry. Elena met his gaze without restraint, so consumed by the moment that nothing existed beyond the narrow space between their bodies.

She felt the world change. It was like passing through a warm mist. The air around them seemed to transform, carrying a salty, fresh scent. When she blinked, she realized it: they were no longer in the mansion.

There was sea air all around.

The distant sound of waves filled the silence, and the soft moonlight streamed through a wide window open to the night. White curtains danced in the breeze, brushing lightly against her skin. They were in a bedroom where everything seemed frozen in time.

“Vlad…?” she murmured, confused.

He let out a low laugh.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said, stepping closer. “Just… let it happen.”

For a brief second, his eyes changed.

The deep black gave way to an intense, living red, like glowing embers in the shadows. As quickly as it appeared, the glow vanished.

Elena held her breath.

“What is this place…?” she whispered.

Vlad touched her face, his thumb grazing her soft skin.

“Where everything I feel… becomes harder to contain.”

The breeze grew stronger through the window, making the curtains swirl around them, wrapping them in a white veil.

Slowly and provocatively, his gaze dropped to her slightly parted lips. Before touching her, he murmured:

“You have no idea how much I want you…” His voice echoed like an ancient whisper, reverberating inside her. “One day, you will still be mine.”

When his mouth finally met hers, Elena felt as if the entire world had vanished. The kiss was intense, deep, filled with a frightening perfection. Her legs weakened, and she clung to him.

“Vlad…” she managed to murmur against his lips.

He answered by deepening the kiss, enveloping her completely, as if he wanted to brand her into memory and beyond it.

His tongue met hers in a slow, enveloping touch, with an intimacy that made her body respond beyond her control. The kiss was deep, awakening something burning inside her.

Heat spread through her body, starting in her chest and flowing downward in slow waves. Her breathing became uneven. She pressed herself against him, overtaken by an intense, forbidden desire she had never felt before.

Vlad noticed.

The kiss subtly changed, becoming more restrained, as if he were fighting the effect he had on her and on himself. Even so, he continued, less intense, but still burning within her.

She made him lose control when she slid her hands over his chest and up his back in an urgent gesture. A low sound escaped his lips, betraying how consumed he was by the moment.

Vlad responded instantly, deepening the kiss again. His hand traveled up her neck to her chin, lifting her face gently. He pulled back just enough to brush his nose against her skin and inhale, as if absorbing every trace of that silent surrender.

“Elena…” he murmured, his voice heavy with fevered desire.

The kiss returned, more intense, more burning. He pulled her closer by the waist, and the contact stole her breath as she felt his erection, firm, against her stomach. Elena gasped, feeling her body answer.

The sea breeze swept through the room, stirring the curtains more fiercely. Vlad wrapped himself around her completely, and Elena felt her feet leave the ground. They only stopped when the softness of the mattress received their bodies, his weight settling over hers.

Vlad’s desire was palpable. He positioned himself between her open legs, and she felt his firm, insistent erection rubbing with deliberate pressure against her entrance, separated only by the thin layers of fabric between them. The friction, even through their clothes, was electrifying. A low moan slipped from her throat.

Hearing her, Vlad shuddered. His hips pressed against hers more forcefully, an instinctive, circular motion seeking relief from the growing desire.

He buried his face in the curve of her neck, where her skin still bore a faint trace of his teeth.

“Do you feel what you do to me?” His voice was a muffled growl against her skin, rough with desire. “It’s like hunger,” he said as his fangs pushed forward. “Like thirst,” he whispered. “And only you can satisfy it.”

His hand slid down between their bodies to the zipper of her pants, a gesture of possession and promise. He didn’t open it. Not yet. He only pressed his palm firmly against her, conveying all the heat and intent he carried through the fabric.

Elena gasped, her hips lifting involuntarily to meet that pressure.

His lips found hers again. His fingers, still pressing firmly against her center through the fabric, promised more, promised everything. For a few seconds, that touch was her entire horizon.

Then he pulled his hand away.

The absence of his touch was abrupt, almost painful. Before she could protest, everything went dark.