Kaelen slowly pulled away, his movements uncharacteristically clumsy. He didn't move far; he immediately gathered me into his arms, pulling me against his chest as if he were afraid I would vanish if he let go. He was covered in me—in my release, in my blood—and he looked down at me with a gaze that was so filled with a bittersweet, crushing love that I felt my own heart ache.
"You're so expressive," he whispered, his voice a shattered ruin. He reached up, his thumb tracing the line of my lower lip, which was swollen and red from his kisses. "The way you begged... the sounds you made... I've never felt so fucking alive, Seraphina."
I leaned my head against his shoulder, the yearning in him finally silenced. My voice was gone, a raspy whisper that barely carried. "I meant it... every bit... I want all of it... the monster, the man... everything."
