Chapter 6: The Taste of Temptation

The Blackwood Estate pulsed with something ancient, something unseen.

Lena felt it the moment she crossed the threshold—a presence thick as fog, pressing against her skin like an invisible touch.

She wasn’t supposed to notice it.

Most people wouldn’t.

But it was there, whispering beneath her skin, curling at the edges of her thoughts.

She glanced at Adrian. He walked beside her, his movements graceful and deliberate, but there was a tension in his posture, a sharpness in his gaze.

Like he was waiting for something.

Or someone.

A shiver ran down her spine. Not from the cold—but from him.

She tried to tell herself it was fear. That was the logical choice.

But the part of her that still burned where his fingers had brushed hers knew better.

It wasn’t just fear.

It was something else.

Something darker.

Something hungry.

Adrian led her deeper into the estate, past towering portraits and flickering candlelight. The chandeliers overhead glowed dimly, their weak golden light barely holding back the deep shadows curling at the edges of the hall.

The air smelled of aged wood, fire, and something richer.

Something metallic.

Lena’s pulse quickened.

“This place feels… alive.”

Adrian smirked, but it wasn’t a playful expression. It was knowing.

Like he understood something she hadn’t figured out yet.

“That’s because it is.”

His voice was smooth as velvet, but there was something in it—a quiet warning.

Before she could press him further, he stopped in front of a massive wooden door.

He pushed it open effortlessly, revealing a bedroom unlike anything Lena had ever seen.

The space was both inviting and ominous.

The bed was too large, covered in black silk sheets that gleamed under the firelight. The fireplace roared, casting flickering golden light across the dark stone walls. The windows stretched so high that she couldn’t see where they ended. The curtains were drawn open, revealing nothing but endless black sky.

A storm was coming.

She could feel it in her bones.

Adrian turned to her, his expression unreadable.

“So, this is where you lock away your prize?” she asked, folding her arms, forcing herself to look unimpressed.

Adrian didn’t move.

Then—he was suddenly in front of her.

Too fast. Too smooth.

She barely had time to breathe before he was close, his fingers brushing against her wrist.

A sharp jolt shot through her veins.

Lena gasped, pulling her hand back as her skin burned where he touched her.

That feeling again.

Adrian stilled, silver eyes darkening.

“You feel it too.”

Lena pressed her palm to her chest, her heartbeat pounding beneath her ribs.

“What the hell are you not telling me?”

For a long moment, Adrian said nothing. He simply watched her.

Then, finally, he reached out, his fingers tilting her chin up—gently, but firmly.

“You have no idea what you are, do you?”

His voice was soft, but it wasn’t a question.

It was an observation.

A truth he already knew.

Lena swallowed hard.

“I’m just a girl who made a stupid deal.”

Adrian’s thumb brushed over her bottom lip, slow and deliberate.

“No.” His voice was almost reverent. “You are something else entirely.”

The words wrapped around her like a spell, sinking into her skin.

Lena’s breath caught as he leaned in.

Not touching, but close enough that she could feel it.

The weight of him. The raw intensity behind his silver eyes.

His breath ghosted over her lips, and suddenly, she felt it—hunger.

Not just his.

Hers.

Her entire body reacted before she could stop it, a pull so deep it made her dizzy.

Adrian’s fingers tightened—just slightly.

“If I kiss you,” he murmured, voice like smoke, “I won’t stop.”

Lena’s pulse roared in her ears.

She should pull away.

She should be afraid.

But she wasn’t.

She wasn’t sure if she ever had been.

“Then don’t.”

Adrian inhaled sharply, his restraint cracking just enough for her to see it—the raw, primal need he was barely holding back.

His fingers curled against her skin, tightening—

And then—

A knock echoed through the hall.

Lena flinched.

Adrian froze.

His entire body went rigid.

The knock came again.

Louder.

This time, the door shuddered.

Lena barely had time to process what was happening before Adrian moved, stepping in front of her, his expression suddenly dangerous.

For the first time since she had met him, she saw something in his eyes.

Fear.

The knock came a third time.

Not just loud—thundering.

Like something was trying to break through.

Adrian didn’t hesitate. “Stay behind me.”

Lena’s heart slammed against her ribs, but she obeyed, stepping back toward the fireplace as the door creaked—then burst open.

The flames flickered wildly, the air thick with something unseen.

And standing in the threshold…

Was a man.

Tall.

Shadowed.

His eyes black as death.

Lena’s blood turned to ice.

Adrian didn’t move.

The man’s lips curled into a slow, cruel smile.

“It’s been a long time, Adrian.”

His voice was smooth—too smooth.

Like silk hiding the edge of a blade.

And the moment Lena met his gaze—

Something inside her stirred.

Something old.

Something hungry.