Bloodless Desire

Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Searing Friction

The library doors remained firmly closed, but the space inside felt entirely altered. The air was thick, charged with the lingering perfume of expensive roses that Urelia had left behind, mingled with the sharp, metallic cold of Alejandro’s suppressed fury. He remained backed against the mahogany bookshelves, his arms crossed over his chest, his knuckles pale beneath the rolled up sleeves of his shirt. His short, straight jet black hair fell across his brow, casting his glowing crimson eyes into shadow.

Analaya stood completely rooted, her heart hammering a wild, erratic rhythm against her ribs. The jealousy that had scorched her throat only minutes before had mutated into a heavy, liquid ache that settled deep behind her pelvis. She could still see the phantom image of Urelia’s long, pale fingers sliding over his shoulder, and the sheer audacity of it made her skin burn with an unyielding possessiveness.

"She left her scent all over your room," Analaya whispered, her voice dropping into a low, breathless pitch that cut cleanly through the dead silence.

Alejandro lifted his head, his crimson eyes locking onto her green ones with an intensity that made the temperature in the library drop another degree. "She is gone, Analaya. Her presence means nothing to this house anymore."

"But you remembered the dress," she countered, stepping forward, her bare feet hitting the marble floorboards as she closed the distance between them. Her long, dark wavy hair tumbled wildly over her shoulders, her green eyes flashing with an unapologetic, dangerous defiance. "You pointed it out right in front of me. Centuries old, and you knew exactly what it was."

Alejandro let out a low, gravelly sigh, his plush lips thinning into a hard line. He didn't move an inch, yet the physical presence radiating off his towering frame felt like an invisible wall pressing against her chest. "I remembered the betrayal, little bird. Not the garment. When an immortal is scarred, the details of the day are burned into his memory forever. Do not confuse a reminder of rot with a lingering affection."

"I'm not confusing anything," Analaya gasped out, stopping mere inches from him. The distance between them had vanished entirely. She could feel the cool air rolling off his skin, contrasting sharply with the hot, frantic pulse fluttering in her own throat. She looked up at his flawless jawline, his sharp angles, and his cruel mouth, her mind completely consumed by a shameless wave of desire. "I just hated the way she touched you."

A sudden, dark turbulence flared within Alejandro’s crimson eyes. He watched her face, his hyper acute senses tracking the deep flush creeping up her neck and the frantic, messy appetite of her breathing. A faint, captivated smirk played at the corner of his lips, realizing exactly how deeply she was unraveling under the weight of her own jealousy.

Slowly, without warning, he leaned his head down until his sharp black bob brushed against her temple. His breath was a cool draft against her ear as he spoke, his deep velvet voice rich with that warm, rhythmic Caribbean lilt. "You are an incredibly territorial creature for a fragile mortal, Analaya. You stand in front of a king, demanding accounts of his past, while your body trembles with a heat you cannot even hide."

"I am not hiding anything," she whispered, her hands instinctively rising to press flat against the hard, cool muscle of his chest. The contact sent an electric shiver straight down her spine, pooling heavy and tight in her stomach. She tilted her chin up, her green eyes locking onto his mouth, completely past the point of resisting him.

Alejandro’s chest rose and fell heavily beneath her palms. His large hands twitched at his sides, his fangs prickling against his lower lip as the intoxicating scent of her desire filled his senses. For a fraction of a second, the fragile boundaries between them threatened to shatter completely, the heavy s****l tension pulling them toward a volatile explosion. But with a supreme, agonizing effort of immortal control, he anchored himself against the shelving, his eyes burning down into hers like twin fires.

"Go back to your chambers, little bird," he murmured, his velvet purr dropping into a low, warning growl that vibrated straight through her fingers. "Before the scholar yields to the predator, and I take what you are so shamelessly offering."

Analaya stood frozen, her breathing shallow, her skin completely scorched by the proximity of his mouth. She didn't want to leave, every cell in her body screamed at her to stay and let the danger consume her, but the unyielding gravity of his command forced her steps backward. Locking her green gaze onto his for one last lingering heartbeat, she turned on her heel and walked out of the library, the heavy wood doors clicking shut behind her as she left him alone in the freezing shadows of his empty empire.