CHAPTER 6: A DEAL WITH DESIRE

Seraphina's breath came in ragged gasps, her body betraying her despite every ounce of willpower she clung to. The air around her was thick—too thick—like molten silk wrapping around her limbs, making her skin feverish with an ache she didn't understand, a dark, forbidden heat that spread through her veins.

And Rael stood before her, watching with the kind of patience that only something inhuman could possess, a predatory gleam in his golden eyes.

Unlike Kier, he didn't force. He didn't overpower. He didn't demand. He lured, a master of seduction, a whisper of sin in the shadows.

Everything about him was a slow, torturous descent into madness—his smirk, the lazy flick of his fingers, the way his violet eyes glowed with hunger yet remained infuriatingly unreadable, a tantalizing glimpse of hidden secrets. He was temptation made flesh, standing there in nothing but sin and arrogance, a walking embodiment of forbidden desires.

"Fighting it won't save you, little queen," he murmured, stepping closer, his voice a low, seductive purr that made her skin prickle. "The hunger doesn't fade. It only festers, growing stronger with each passing moment."

Seraphina gritted her teeth, nails digging into her palms, a desperate attempt to regain control. "I don't need your help."

He hummed, circling her like a predator, his movements slow, deliberate. The heat of his body ghosted over her skin, close but not touching, and it was unbearable—the absence of contact, the way he made her crave without even laying a finger on her. A teasing torment that made her want to scream and beg all at once.

"No?" His voice was velvet, a purr that slithered down her spine, igniting a dark, forbidden desire. "You've been reborn in darkness, Seraphina. You are desire incarnate. A creature meant to be worshipped, adored…" His lips curled. "devoured."

A shiver crawled up her back, unwanted and undeniable, a primal awareness of something predatory.

Rael chuckled, a dark, knowing sound that echoed in the charged silence of the chamber. "You don't even understand what you are, do you?"

She clenched her jaw, refusing to react, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing her weaken, but he saw through it. Of course, he did, his golden eyes gleaming with amusement.

With a slow, deliberate movement, he lifted a hand, and the moment his fingertips brushed her arm, white-hot pleasure shot through her like lightning, a jolt of pure, raw energy that made her breath catch in her throat.

Seraphina choked back a gasp, staggering backward, but it was useless. The moment of contact sent something spiraling inside her, a wildfire raging through her veins, igniting a dark, forbidden desire. Her pulse slammed against her ribs, her thighs clenched together involuntarily, a desperate, primal response that she couldn't control.

Oh, gods.

Rael's grin was wicked, a flash of white teeth in the shadows. "One touch." He tsked, a sound of mock disappointment. "And you're already falling apart."

"Go to hell," she snapped, but her voice shook, her breath uneven, a traitorous whisper that echoed in the chamber.

His smirk widened, a predatory gleam in his golden eyes. "Sweet thing, I am hell."

With a flick of his fingers, the air around them shifted, thickening like heated honey, a suffocating embrace that made her senses reel, and suddenly her knees felt weak, a wave of dizziness washing over her. This isn't normal.

Rael was inside her mind, inside her body, a phantom presence that made her skin burn. The sensation hit her in waves—phantom hands tracing her skin, soft kisses dragging along her throat, warm lips parting against her own, a teasing torment that made her want to scream and surrender all at once. It wasn't real, but gods, it felt real, a dark, forbidden illusion that ignited a raw, animalistic desire within her.

Her breath hitched, a mix of fear and fascination gripping her. He was showing her exactly what he could do to her. What he would do to her if she let him in, a seductive dance of the senses that made her want to beg for more.

She staggered, digging her heels into the ground, a desperate attempt to regain control. "Stop it," she hissed, her voice laced with venom.

"You stopped breathing for a moment," he mused. "Do you know what that means?"

Seraphina sucked in a breath. "That you're a fucking menace?"

His laughter was soft, indulgent. "It means you liked it."

She snarled. "Like hell I did."

"Mm." He tilted his head. "You say that, but…" His gaze dragged over her. "I wonder how wet you are right now."

Heat surged to her face. "You're disgusting."

"And you're still trembling," he pointed out, eyes gleaming. "Tell me, Seraphina—do you always react this way when you're disgusted?"

Her hands clenched into fists.

He had her trapped, playing a game she couldn't win. And the worst part? He knew it.

Rael took a slow step forward, and her body betrayed her again, locking in place instead of retreating. He reached out, fingers grazing a loose strand of her hair, curling it around his knuckles.

His voice dropped, low and coaxing. "Would it be so bad?"

She swallowed hard. "Would what be so bad?"

"Giving in." His fingers slid lower, barely skimming her jaw before dropping away. "Letting me show you what you are."

She forced herself to exhale. "I already know what I am."

"Do you?" His gaze flickered with something unreadable. "Then why are you still fighting it?"

Seraphina took a step back, needing distance. "Because I don't trust you."

Rael sighed, feigning disappointment. "Trust is such a fragile, human thing."

"And I'm still human," she bit out.

His smirk returned. "Not for much longer."

Before she could snap at him, he was there—close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. Close enough that if she swayed just an inch, her body would press against his.

Rael's lips brushed her ear, even though he stood feet away, a phantom touch that made her skin prickle. "Say the word, little queen, and I'll make it real," he whispered, his voice a low, seductive growl.

Her body throbbed, her mind swimming in a haze of hunger, a dark, forbidden desire that made her restless, needy, desperate. She had never felt anything like this before—this deep, gnawing ache that made her want to surrender to the dark, forbidden desires that he ignited within her.

She hated him for it, hated him for making her feel like this, for making her want to fall into his touch. "Never," she snarled, her voice laced with venomous amusement.

Rael chuckled darkly, finally pulling back, the phantom touches vanishing all at once, leaving her cold, trembling with frustration, a raw, animalistic energy that made her want to claw and bite and tear. But Rael just tilted his head, watching her like he had already won, a predatory gleam in his golden eyes.

"You'll beg for me," he murmured, his voice a low, seductive taunt. "Eventually."

Then he turned, disappearing into the shadows, leaving her standing there alone, pulse hammering, body burning, and hunger clawing at her insides, a dark, forbidden desire that made her want to scream and surrender all at once.

And worst of all? She wasn't sure if he was wrong.

END OF CHAPTER 6