BLOODBOUND

Chapter Five - Dangerous Attraction

The scratching beneath the walls stopped.

Silence filled the mansion.

I was still pressed against Alexander, his arms firmly around my waist.

Neither of us moved.

His heartbeat was steady beneath his shirt.

Mine was anything but.

“Alexander…”

“Stay still.”

His voice was low.

I looked up at him.

His eyes were already on mine.

For a moment, the darkness around us disappeared.

There was only him.

His hand slowly moved from my waist to my back, pulling me closer.

I swallowed.

“You’re staring at me.”

“So are you.”

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

“You make it difficult not to.”

My breath caught.

This wasn’t the cold, intimidating billionaire I had met on campus.

This was something different.

Something far more dangerous.

I placed my hand against his chest.

“Why do you keep protecting me?”

His gaze dropped to my lips.

“Because I can’t seem to stop.”

The words sent a shiver through me.

He leaned closer.

I should have moved away.

Instead, I stayed.

His forehead almost touched mine.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

I couldn’t.

His fingers gently lifted my chin.

Then his lips brushed against mine.

Softly.

Carefully.

Like he was giving me every chance to change my mind.

I didn’t.

I kissed him back.

For one breathless moment, everything else disappeared.

The blood oath.

The monsters.

The secrets.

His hand tightened around my waist as the kiss deepened, and my fingers curled into the front of his shirt.

Then the mark on my wrist suddenly burned.

I gasped and pulled away.

Alexander immediately stopped.

“Are you hurt?”

I looked down.

The red symbol was glowing brighter than before.

Alexander stared at it.

Then his expression changed.

“What?”

He looked toward the dark hallway.

“We need to leave.”

“Why?”

“Because the house knows we’re together.”

My heart pounded.

“What does that mean?”

A deep rumble travelled through the walls.

Alexander took my hand.

His fingers locked around mine.

“It means the blood oath has recognized you.”

“And you?”

His eyes met mine.

“I’ve been fighting it since the moment I saw you.”

I stared at him.

“Why?”

His voice dropped.

“Because every part of me wants you closer.”

My cheeks warmed.

“And what happens if you stop fighting it?”

He stepped closer.

His lips hovered near my ear.

“Then you’ll discover exactly how dangerous I can be.”

A crash echoed from upstairs.

Alexander immediately pulled me behind him.

The moment was gone.

The darkness had returned.

But something had changed between us.

Something neither of us could pretend wasn’t there.

And as the mansion began to shake again, I realized the most terrifying part wasn’t the creature hiding beneath the house.

It was the attraction growing between us.

Because somehow, the man I was supposed to fear…

was becoming the man I wanted most.