CHAPTER 136
Lucian didn't pull away from Isabella; instead, he seemed to cave inward, his massive frame collapsing toward her as his arms tightened around her waist with crushing strength that stole the air from her lungs.
He moved as if possessed by a force older than his own memory, taking a deep, shuddering inhale against the sensitive crook of her neck.
He held her there, his nose brushing the delicate, heated skin where her pulse hammered frantically.
It was a fatal mistake—a momentary lapse in his iron-clad discipline. The scent of her sweetness that was uniquely hers, hit his heightened senses.
In an instant, the dull aching in his gums intensified. The ache in his fangs, pushed by an ancient instinct far beyond his ability to command, slid downward with lethal precision.
He no longer seemed to care about the weeping silver-burn wound in his chest or the dampness of his fresh shirt.
