The first thing that registered in my mind was that I was warm. Very, very, very warm. Like I had somehow stepped off a train and ended up dead smack next to the equator. In fact, my entire body was covered in a small sheen of sweat.

The next thing was that there was someone on top of me.

I opened my eyes and yelped. My heart rate increased dramatically when I realized the situation I was currently in. Or rather, the situation I was currently stuck under.

"Shhh..." Lucian mumbled in his sleep. He was laying on top of me. I could feel every part of his body on mine. His legs were longer and hung off the edge of the bed. His face was buried into the crook of my neck, hands on either side which caged me in. The weight wasn't enough to cause my breathing to leave me but enough to cause incredible discomfort. Not to mention, every touch of his skin set mine on fire.

And his hair smelled like coconuts.

Also, he had no shirt on.

"Lucian, get off me!" I shrieked. Sleep was completely erased from my mind as I struggled to get out from under him. I didn't even know werewolves could sleep. I figured he was like Edward Cullen. Stayed up all night and watched me sleep like a stalker. Lucian growled incoherently under his breath but made no move to release me. His muscles were taut on my fingers when I pushed. They felt kind of squishy but held a certain kind of hardness underneath. Is that was muscles were even supposed to feel like? 

Well, I had no freaking clue.

"No." He replied stubbornly. Lucian turned his head, his lips brushing over the bite mark ever so briefly. I gasped as a tingle emanated from that single spot, filling my stomach with a wonderful warmth. He kissed my shoulder and promptly relaxed, once again in his slumber with no thought of how I might feel.

"Lucian!" I whined, tugging his ears. He swatted my fingers away tiredly and moved his face once again so that I felt his rough stubble scratch my cheek. Talk about uncomfortable. And horribly sexy. After a moment of thinking, I decided that desperation would be motive enough. With a sigh, I turned my head and began trailing small kisses along his shoulder.

That definitely got a reaction.

Lucian pushed himself up, smirking. His hair was messy but it looked as though he had just styled it to look like that. Strands fell across his grey eyes, which were half shut with sleep but twinkled with mischief. The muscles on his chest and arms were tan and perfectly sculpted. A black necklace made of leather hung in the air from his neck as he leaned over me. It had a pendant of some sort of fossil tooth with a black anchor beside it.

To summarize: He was gorgeous but not the sight I wanted to see first thing in the morning. A large part of that reason was because of the sinful feelings that curled in my stomach when I looked at him.

"Good morning, Victoria." He smiled, showing perfect white teeth. Why oh why did he have to be so perfect? Lucian brushed away the hair from my face with one finger, leaving a trail of tingles burning in his wake. Heat ran through my face at the intimate gesture. Lucian was above me now, his hands on either side of my face so that I was surrounded by his warmth. And it bought me a comfort that I utterly despised. Genie would never feel like this again.

Lucian suddenly shifted so that we were side by side facing each other. I found myself unable to speak for a few seconds. 

"Hello." I finally replied. Well, at least I didn't say something completely idiotic. Lucian smiled again at some secret joke between the air and himself. I stared straight at the ceiling, stiff as a board. We had stayed the night at Riverwells, too tired to drive back home. Lucian made me walk all the way to the top floor of the school to avoid running into any teachers, where all the empty bedrooms were. Lucian cleared his throat. Then, he proceeded to give me a strange look when I stared.

"Yes?"

"Nothing." I blushed. "You cleared your throat. I assumed you had something to say. That is usually what happens after someone clears their throat. Usually, it is a hint that a speech or a short sentence or two may follow. Usually-"

"What the hell is wrong with you, Victoria?" The humorous part was that Lucian actually meant it as a real question. I sighed and turned back to stare at the blank ceiling, until the fact that we had been sleeping in the same bed for one whole night crashed into my head like a brick. And he was naked. With the girlish scream of Flora, I tumbled out of the bed and landed on my butt on the floor. Lucian's laughter filled the whole room.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to notice." Lucian ducked under the sheets and peeked at me, where I still lay on the floor in shock, like a playful puppy. It made my heart go 'awww.' Not that I would ever say that. He rested his chin on the edge of the bed, the sheets crinkled on top of his head. "And it really should not come as a surprise, Victoria. The mating bond is like a type of marriage. Think of us as husband and wife. Sleeping in the same bed is a natural thing to do."

Blushing furiously, I stood up and dusted myself off. "Husband and wife?" I scoffed. "Honey, please. Don't even go there."

"Did you just call me honey?"

"Oh my God, is that seriously the only thing you took from that?"

He shrugged. 

"Put a shirt on." I mumbled. The shirt he was previously wearing was strewn on the carpet. Trying to act disgusted, I picked it up and threw it with the aim for his face. Lucian caught it with no effort whatsoever. It annoyed me that he was like the perfect athlete with squishy muscles and I was like the nerdy klutz who couldn't even catch a balloon. 

Seriously, I could not catch a balloon.

"Do you really want me to?" Without a sound, Lucian was behind me. The only clue that he had moved was the voice that spoke in my ear and the breath of air that followed him like a breeze. I gasped, my heart thrumming. Lucian wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me back so that the front of his chest, which I might add was bare as ever, was against my shoulder blades. The black shirt was clutched in his hand. "You know you like it when I wear nothing. And you cannot deny it, Victoria. The bond never lies." He flicked my ear with his tongue in the most seductive, horribly wonderful but aggravating way. "And you can try to hide how I make you feel, but I'll always know it, Victoria."

Is there such a thing as hormone overload?

I tried to swallow but my throat felt dry. I turned to face him, which proved to be much harder than I would have thought. He pulled his shirt on while I blindly searched the empty air for the right words to speak. "Lucian, I..." Why was it so hard to say? Didn't the mere fact that he made my heart beat faster mean that I was falling for him? So why did the words seem to reluctant to float away? "I love you." I forced them out of my mouth. "I could never say that enough. You've been more than kind to both Flora and me since we got here, and I feel like I don't appreciate this enough-"

Lucian sighed, cutting off my words with the wave of his hand. His blue eyes flickered to me, then to the ground. "Please, Victoria, do not suck up-"

"I'm not." I frowned. "I'm not sucking up to you because I want something, Lucian. Why would you ever think that way? This is me. I am telling you how I feel. How I sincerely feel. I am sorry, okay?"

Lucian was in my face so fast that it startled me. A feeling of uncertainty curled in the pit of my stomach. He looked furious yet I could not fathom what I had said to make him angry. Werewolf bipolar feelings was so not my forte.

"Do not ever apologize to me, Victoria, is that clear? You've done nothing wrong, and regret is something I will not stand for. I don't ever want you to feel bad about being yourself. I love your stubbornness, your fiery attitude, and that opinionated mouth of yours. There are very few creatures who would stand against me like you have done." He tapped my lower lip with one finger. "And I love a good challenge."

His words just added to the guilt building in my stomach. When Lucian bent down to kiss me, I purposely turned my head so that his lips brushed against my cheek. If there was one thing I learned both people and monsters hate, it was rejection. And I was right. Lucian's eyes turned dark.

"But that's not right, Lucian." I stepped back so I could say everything without losing my barely there courage. "You cannot treat me like a queen when I'm nothing but rude to you. That may work in your strange world, but my human emotions doesn't work like that. I have a guilty conscience right now and it's not going to go away anytime soon unless you accept my apology."

"Fine. Apology accepted."

"Lucian."

"You said everything you needed to, Victoria." His words sounded rough. "So please, if you have nothing more to say, get changed. Have you forgotten? We have a funeral to attend."

What hurt him hurt me. And I was tired of feeling incomplete. When Lucian turned to leave, I grabbed his hand. Warmth ran through me when his large hand wrapped tightly around mine. Anger was never a wolf's strength when it came to mates. That much I understood. And I also understood that for the crawling, raw bitterness in my heart to go away, we had something to do. I was tired of waiting for it. Without hesitating, I pushed myself against him and kissed his lips with every feeling that was floating around.

Lucian's hands rested gently against my waist as we kissed, but then gently pushed after a moment. I refused to budge, though. It scared me, what I was about to do. I had never so willingly made myself this vulnerable, nor demanded such a thing from anyone. My body was my own, but I wanted nothing more than to let Lucian take me.

"Victoria-" he mumbled against my lips. It sounded like a warning, but a weak one.

"I need this." I moved back, my voice shaking. "Please, Lucian. Don't say no. I can't do this anymore."

"Please, I'll hurt you." He said quietly but kissed down my neck nonetheless. Vulnerable and desperate, I took a leap of faith and slipped my hands under his shirt and to his torso. Hard muscles brushed underneath my fingertips. Lucian's eyes were a tranquil blue but I could see desire and desperation swimming underneath. He wanted this for so long but remained patient all this time. I'd be damned if anything stopped me now.

"What are you so afraid of, Lucian?" I whispered angrily. I was getting tired of holding back. I wanted to forget everything and give in to the darkest corner of my mind where all the terrible, carnal desires collected dust.

"Myself, Victoria." he growled softly. "I don't want to lose control and hurt you. You are a delicate human being with blood running through your veins and a heart pumping steady. What if I hurt you? What if I can't control myself?"

"I want you to hurt me." 

"Victoria, your body could never accept the amount of pain I'd inflict." Lucian's voice was dark with skepticism, as if everything he said before, all those things about hurting me, making me beg...like he couldn't believe I'd actually want that. I was begging now, all sense of dignity and self-respect gone. We'd held off long enough. The ache in my stomach was getting worse with each passing day. He was just too afraid of hurting me to comply with what we both wanted. What we both needed. 

He thought I couldn't handle it.

Handle him.

Two words and I'd shatter every wall I'd built for the past seventeen years. I didn't back down from the challenge. "Try me."

I consented.

Lucian's hands grabbed my own two wrists, stopping me from brushing my fingertips up his skin any further. His lips forced on my own, not asking for anything. He was going to do what he wanted...and I was okay with that. I wanted to be dominated. The gentle kisses from before were erased. Now, all I felt was hard nicks of teeth and his tongue invading my own. Our lips memorized each trace with a rough push that left my mouth burning with pain. He had a little scar on his upper lip that I never noticed before. 

A sharp curl of hurt ran down my spine. Lucian's teeth had aggravated the bite mark on my neck. He kissed his way up my neck, the bite now turning into a gentle brush of lips. Lucian pushed me down on the bed, his arms supporting his weight above me until he gave up and let me feel every trace of his skin against my own, every touch that pushed us further into carnal pleasure.

I couldn't move.

I didn't want to.

His eyes flashed with ribbons of gold that became imprinted in my mind. It felt like surrender to me. With those two words, I gave him everything. I went into this knowing I'd have no control. Lucian could make me do anything. Perhaps my innocence was never there in the first place, erased with Draycottlike everything else. A good girl wouldn't kiss with such lust or writhe in the sheets with a monster. I felt like I had been waiting for that one euphoric moment my entire life. If that was what happiness felt like, then I was okay to die knowing my life was complete.