Beauty in Red | NaNoWriMo 2021

Chapter Ten: Marie

 Ian's mouth pressed to mine, and my eyes widened for a moment before snapping shut on instinct. His lips were soft, and so, so warm as they moved against mine. It was a shock to my system, a reminder that some of the information I'd been taught about Elites was utterly incorrect.

He pressed against me, and I let him push me until my back was against the brick wall behind me. I opened for him, and he growled, deep in his throat, stoking the fire already burning inside me.

This was absolutely inappropriate, let alone the last thing I should be doing with someone like him. But why did it feel so right, if it was the worst possible thing I could be doing?

His fang dragged across my bottom lip, and the sound that came out of me was unlike anything I'd ever heard before. A raspy moan that Ian seemed to like far too much, as he pulled my bottom lip between his teeth and tugged until it popped free and I made the sound again.

The arm wrapped around my waist pulled me impossibly closer, as his other hand came up and tangled itself in my hair, angling my head back so he could kiss me deeper. He kissed me hard and fast, as if we were running out of time.

And we were.

Reality would not wait forever--I knew that. I was the daughter of the Light Bringer, and Ian was my most natural enemy. Still, even as his mouth left mine and he trailed bruising kisses down my throat and onto my shoulder, all I could think was how I could do this forever.

But it was the feel of his mouth, his fangs scraping delicately against the skin of my throat, that threatened to bring reality crashing down on our heads. What was I doing, allowing this male to kiss me like this?

"Ian?" I asked, my voice ragged and raw from the sensations he was dragging out of me.

"Yes, moila iericeia?" He responded, nipping at my throat once more. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to send molten heat rushing through me, a reaction I had no claim to. My body was not my own in this moment, and my head was spinning as I tried to get control over this entire situation.

"I don't--" My words ended on a gasp as he bit down a little harder. There was no piercing of flesh, and his fangs seemed to have...vanished, though that had to be a trick of my imagination.

He was marking me. Though I'd been kissed before--in dark alleys much like this one, a fact my father would be incredibly angry about if he learned of it--no one I'd been with had ever left such a mark upon my skin. There was a strange mix of lust and fury at the realization; I enjoyed the feeling of this way too much, and I knew that meant our time was up.

Moving quickly, I grasped the dagger from inside my cloak and brought it up until the blade pressed against Ian's throat. His mouth left my neck, but he did not immediately pull away from me. In fact, it seemed he was smiling against my neck, and that only infuriated me more.

"Get off," I snarled, pushing the blade harder until it cut into his skin. Not enough to cause serious damage, but enough that he finally, finally took the hint.

Ian chuckled, pulling away from me, stepping out of reach of my blade. He pulled his mask up in one swift movement, once again hiding his exquisite jawline and freckled cheeks from view. "Sorry, moila iericeia. I got a little carried away."

I wanted to reach up and cover the mark with my hand, but I knew that would just make his smile grow wider. I leveled my dagger at him. "This is been--"

"Fun?" He interrupted. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I agree. But I really must be going."

I wanted to punch him. No, scratch that, I wanted to stab him. I gripped the dagger until my knuckles bleached white, but still, I could not bring myself to actually move towards him, to start that fight.