VET Vampire Romance 01 - Covet

to the edge with each passing second.
    “Were you going to shower?” The tremble in her voice along with the agitation in her blood gave away her muddled feelings and when she finally raised her golden eyes to meet his, he could see the edge of hurt in them and knew what she was really asking.
    Was he going to wash away her scent?
    He didn’t want to wash the smell of her off his skin. He wanted to keep it on him until the passing of time rendered it beyond his senses, wanted to lose himself in her so that moment never happened and so he would forever smell of Lilah’s sweet fragrance.
    He needed it with a ferocity that astounded him. He longed for her to belong to him even when it was impossible. Her master would have known the moment he had given up his fight for control and touched her tonight. He had violated the sacred law and sentenced himself, and nothing he did now could save him.
    Nothing he did now could make things worse either.
    Javier stepped aside, holding the door for her. “Come in before someone sees you and wonders what you’re doing here. I’m in enough trouble as it is.”
    Lilah remained standing on the threshold of his room. He sighed, reached out, took her hand and pulled her into the room. He felt her tense when he slammed the door and she remained with her back to him, her wrist held tight in his grip, so fragile beneath his fingers.
    So delicate.
    She was a rare flower and he felt as though she had bloomed for him tonight, had filled his dark world with the scent of her intoxicating fragrance and given it colour for a brief moment.
    He wanted that again.
    Needed it.
    Needed her.
    “Where is your master?” he whispered and turned towards her, his gaze on his hand where it held her wrist. The sight of his fingers locked around her, touching her at last, fascinated him. He had wanted this for so long that he couldn’t deny his desire for her. Even this simple touch was too much for him, filled him with hunger and flooded his veins with the heat of passion.
    He wanted to pull her against him, twist her into his arms, and kiss her. His gaze dropped to her rosy lips and he realised that he hadn’t touched them yet. They were virgin territory, too pure to taint with his. He feared he would ruin them, would lose control of himself and his need and would cut them so he could taste her delicate blood in the kiss. He wasn’t worthy of touching them. He was a beast and no matter how much he desired this beauty, she was beyond his grasp.
    She belonged to another.
    But neither of them were worthy of her.
    Javier fought the desire to fall to his knees before her and beg for her forgiveness, to confess now before her master came to claim his head that he had loved her from afar for these two years, that she had captivated and ruined him to all others from the moment she had walked into his life.
    So innocent.
    So pure.
    So beautiful.
    He needed her to know that he wasn’t a beast, that whatever she thought of his kind, he was different to them and would do all in his power to protect her from the cruelty and darkness in his world. He would free her from it if he could.
    What good could he do for her now though? He had sealed his fate tonight.
    It was over.
    He had killed himself and hurt her in the process. He was a beast.
    Javier’s legs gave out and his knees hit the wooden floor, the force of impact jolting his spine. Lilah gasped and was before him in an instant, crouching close with her hand on his shoulder.
    “Are you sick?”
    A mirthless chuckle escaped him. Perhaps he was. He had been so cruel to her, and he had said that he loved her. A man in love would have thought about her and placed her first, would have protected her even from himself and spared her the pain of his touch.
    Her soft hand shifted to his face, settling against his cheek, and he closed his eyes and leaned into the caress. It was too much to hope that her master was so far away that he wouldn’t have sensed what Javier had done tonight. It was too much to hope that he had more than a few hours left on Earth. If she would let him, he would spend his last hours with her.
    It would hurt her.
    Javier lifted his eyes to hers and the concern in them healed some of the pain in his heart. Could she feel something for him too? It wasn’t possible. Her bond to her master saw to that.
    “I am sorry if I hurt you earlier,” he whispered, voice fractured and hoarse. He ached to raise his hand and cover hers, to hold it to