A KISS THAT BURNS

Chapter 4

A Kiss That Burns

The wind howled against the glass as I stood at the edge of Damien's penthouse, staring down at the city below. My mind was chaos, my body worse. The bond pulsed through me like a living thing, demanding, craving.

I needed to get out.

I needed to be free.

Damien was asleep—if vampires even slept—and I wasn't going to waste my chance.

I slipped into the hall, my bare feet silent against the marble floor. My heart pounded as I reached the door.

I turned the handle.

It wouldn't budge.

Panic surged through me. I twisted harder, but an invisible force shoved me back, sending me stumbling.

The bond.

I gritted my teeth, my breath ragged. The connection between us was iron-clad. I could feel him even now—his power, his heat, his need.

Damn him.

I wasn't going to let some vampire dictate my life. I just needed to break the bond. I needed—

A hand closed around my wrist.

"You're not going anywhere."

I gasped, spinning around to find Damien watching me, his dark eyes glinting with amusement.

My pulse thundered. "Let me go."

His grip tightened, pulling me closer. "You don't want me to let you go."

Anger burned through me. "You don't control me."

His lips curved, but there was fire beneath his calm. "Then why are you still here?"

I hated how my body reacted to him. The way my skin burned where he touched me, the way my breath hitched when his scent filled my lungs.

The bond was winning.

But I wasn't ready to surrender.

I tore my wrist free and stepped back. "One way or another, I will break this bond."

His jaw tensed, but before he could respond, a sudden crash shattered the air.

The window exploded.

Glass rained down as figures swarmed into the room—fast, brutal, fangs gleaming in the darkness.

Rogue vampires.

I barely had time to scream before one grabbed me, yanking me against his chest.

"Found her," he snarled.

Damien moved.

In a blur, he ripped through the first attacker, his claws slicing through flesh like butter. The vampire's scream was cut short as Damien ripped his heart out.

But there were too many.

Strong arms locked around me, dragging me toward the window. I thrashed, kicked, fought, but it was useless.

Damien's roar shook the room. "If you take her, you die screaming."

A sharp pain struck my neck. A needle, cold and burning at once.

Everything went black.

I woke to the stench of blood.

My wrists were bound, my body slumped against cold concrete.

Darkness surrounded me, the only sound the slow drip of water in the distance.

"She's awake," a voice hissed.

Footsteps. A figure emerged from the shadows—a vampire, his grin wicked.

"Such a rare treat," he mused, crouching before me. "A human bound to Damien Valerius. Do you know how much power your blood holds?"

I glared at him, my pulse steady despite the fear curling inside me. "Go to hell."

His laughter was sharp. "I intend to. But not before I drain you dry."

He grabbed my chin, tilting my head to expose my neck. "Let's see if the great Damien comes to save you before it's too late."

I clenched my teeth. "He'll kill you all."

The vampire smirked. "I hope so."

A knife flashed in his hand, its tip trailing down my throat. "Because when he does, he'll finally be vulnerable. And he will be next."

A chill shot through me.

They didn't just want me.

They wanted him.

The knife pressed against my skin. I braced for pain—

And then chaos exploded.

The room shook as something crashed through the walls.

A storm of fury and darkness.

Damien.

He didn't speak. He didn't warn. He slaughtered.

Fangs ripped through throats. Bones snapped. Blood painted the walls in violent streaks.

He was death incarnate.

And when he finally reached me, his hands breaking the chains that held me, his rage was still a living, breathing thing.

I looked up at him, my breath shallow. "Damien—"

His mouth crushed mine.

It wasn't a kiss. It was possession. A claim. A punishment and a reward all at once.

His hands tore at my clothes, his body pressing me into the cold stone. The bond burned between us, stronger, unstoppable.

"Mine," he growled against my throat. "Say it."

I gasped as his fingers slid down, teasing, torturing. "I—"

"Say it," he demanded, his voice a razor's edge.

Pleasure wrecked me, my body arching into his. The fight left me, burned away by the force of him.

"Yours," I whispered.

His growl sent a shiver down my spine.

Then he took me.

Hard. Deep. Unrelenting.

My moans filled the cavernous space, my nails digging into his back as he claimed me in the most primal way.

The bond roared to life, sealing us tighter than before, locking me to him in a way that could never be undone.

And as my body shattered around him, as his name tore from my lips, I realized the truth—

I would never escape him.

I would never want to.

The bodies of the rogues lay in ruins around us, but one, barely alive, choked out a final, bloodied whisper—

"He knows now... your brother..."

Damien went still.

A cold, deadly silence settled between us.

Then he whispered one word, his voice filled with something I had never heard before.

Dread.

"Impossible."