Adrik (Titans #1)

Chapter 16

Pacing the confines of the luxurious quarters she’d been locked in, Ember was confused. Days had passed, and Adrik had been by to check on her each evening, bringing her nourishment even though there were plenty of stores in the quarters. Food wasn’t the only thing he’d brought. Once, he brought her another thicker blanket for the sleeping platform. Another time, he’d brought her some packets that he explained were specifically for the washing of her clothes. Gruffly, he’d apologized for not being able to provide alternate clothing for her, but explained such items didn’t exist on the station and there was no place nearby to dock to procure such items. It was confusing. He was confusing. With each visit, his demeanor had been harsh, bordering on angry, but his actions belied his disposition. He wasn’t just caring for her; it seemed as though he were catering to her. Each time he came, she demanded to see her sisters, and each time, his response was a weighty sigh that tapered into a snarl. Still, he didn’t stop coming. And with each visit, the confines of the room grew suffocating with the dominance of his presence. It was terrifying and oddly comforting. When he was there, oddly, she felt safe. The emotion was confusing up until this last visit.

Today, Adrik had arrived with more nourishment; this time, it was something he’d informed her was sweet, something her sisters seemed to enjoy. Instead of pleasing her, the information had her spine snapping straight in agitation. She’d demanded, again, to see her sisters, and when he’d huffed and turned to leave, she lunged for him.

Her hand couldn’t even fully grip his massive forearm, and attempting to do so had been a mistake.

Before she could anticipate it, he spun and had her up off her feet and pinned against the wall. Legs spread wide; her hips were wrapped around him. Pressed nose-to-nose, there was no space between their bodies. Ember glared into Adrik’s flashing neon-green eyes, their color made brighter by the severe contrast of his impossibly dark complexion. He had her arms pinned above her head, and with each heaving breath she took, her chest pressed tighter into his. She was so enraged that it took her a moment before she felt the fully erect proof of his arousal where it pressed into the sensitive flesh between her thighs.

Holy hell!

She’d thought his expression was filled with fury but realized it was something else entirely when he shifted his hips. The friction on her clit had a soft gasp leaving her parted lips as something molten started forming low in her belly. Suddenly, deliriously, she wondered if they were sexually compatible. The thought had heat staining her cheeks. A coloring that Adrik noticed as his eyes dipped and took in her flush. In response, she swore the sharp incisors hanging from his mouth grew longer.

Flustered and confused, she couldn’t understand her body’s response to him. It was primal, visceral. It was unlike anything she’d ever experienced and did little to quell the desperate need to know if their bodies were companionable.

Panting, her gaze locked with his when his beautiful eyes shifted back to hers. She realized now that the ticking in his jaw wasn’t rage; it was restraint and good on him because her response wasn’t so controlled. Wet and hot, her sex was slickening in yearning. Her brain screamed at her to shove him away, it shrieked that this was some insane response to him slowly building up trust and plying her with gifts, but her body didn’t buy it. Her body was lost in the heady excitement of having a beast like him pressed up against her so intimately. Having him want her made her feel powerful like nothing had before. She was trying to remind herself that she hated him but couldn’t help lowering her eyes to his mouth as she wondered how they’d manage a kiss around those wicked fangs. Just the thought of him opening to accept her tongue had a punch of lust shooting through her as her arousal heightened.

***

The sense of predatory lust plaguing Adrik was so foreign that he didn’t know how to control it. He didn’t even know if he should or if he even wanted to. Just the scent of Ember had the blood boiling in his veins. That was nothing compared to touching her, his hard body pressed up against the supple cushion of hers. By the Gods, she was unbelievably soft…delicate. Heat was rising in him like an unstoppable inferno. Foolishly, for an instant, he imagined powering into her slick heat in shuttling thrusts. The image had him slamming his eyes closed, his head falling back as his cock jerked and a growl rattled its way up his throat.

Ember shifted in his arms, and the inadvertent rub of her sex against his had his head snapping down as he growled, “Stop moving, Ember, or I won’t be able to stop what comes next!”

He could hear her heart rate kick up and feel her breathing hitch. He was just as affected, maybe more so. His mouth had flooded with mating nectar, and it had him feeling light-headed with the never before experienced need to not just fuck but to claim. He understood now why his brethren referred to the nectar as venom. It had the power to end him.

Staring down at Ember, she slowly lowered her gaze. Her little pink tongue darted to lick her lips quickly before she breathed huskily, “S-sorry. I won’t move.”

It was disappointing. He’d wanted her to challenge him, to push him into acting on what he desired. Instead, she offered him rare submission. Something he’d previously thought her incapable of. It had him instantly lowering her and quickly backing away. Was her submission the result of fear? Was she afraid of him, of his reaction to her? No. He’d scented the unmistakable perfume of her desire. She wanted him like he wanted her.

Ember stumbled as she regained her feet. Arms wrapping around herself protectively, she angled her head away from him and focused on the floor.

Eyes lowering to the delicate column of her exposed throat, Adrik knew she was naively unaware of how baring your throat while standing before a Titan was an invitation for his marking, his claiming bite. Every ounce of his being, every strand of his symbiotix demanded he accept the offering. But he knew that Ember didn’t know what she was doing, therefore honor demanded he ignore it.

With a snarl, his hand shot out and gripped her arm, his grip instantly loosening a fraction in consideration of her scarred flesh. The instantaneous modification enraged him further. She was messing with his head, his protocols, his very control.

“Come!” He dragged Ember through his quarters and out into the hallway without further thought. He didn’t stop when Ember’s scent transitioned from sweet need to the acrid smell of fear. He didn’t stall when she stammered with false bravado, “Wh-where are you taking me?”

He needed her away from him. She was compromising him. She was making him feel things, and feeling was dangerous. She was dangerous.

In the lift, he commanded aloud, “Tyrate, Level Second!”

“Wait.” Ember pleaded. “I’m sorry, I’m…”

Adrik slammed his eyes closed and raised his chin, physically attempting to steel himself against Ember and his reaction to her. She was a plant, a spy, an enemy. She had to be. There was no other explanation for the way he was reacting to her. Clenching his jaw, he refused to look down at her. Breathing through his mouth to prevent himself from scenting her dread, Adrik fought the overwhelming urge to soothe her. It’d be easy to offer a few words to let her know he wouldn’t hurt her, but speaking right now was a near impossibility. Never had he felt the need to placate, but he was feeling it now, and it pissed him off. What was Ember doing to him? He needed her away from him; he needed her gone now!