Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 122

His tail wraps lightly around mine, the touch both grounding and electric. The air thickens; the candles flicker. He studies me for a long moment, as though he searching for permission he already has. When his hand finally lifts to my cheek, it’s trembling just slightly. “Tell me to stop,” he says, voice so low it almost disappears into the steam.

I don’t, and he takes that as an answer enough. He stands then, towering over me, and I watch as he slowly undoes is pants and lets them drop to his feet. And holy…hell…is that a sight. It’s my turn to swallow now, because as sure as I am…I am very unsure if that, will ever fit inside of me. The water shifts as he steps in slowly, until he’s sitting across from me, close enough that the edge of his knee brushes mine. The contact is small, but it sends ripples through the entire bath. When he finally reaches for me, it’s to tuck a wet strand of hair behind my ear. His claws don’t scrape; they trace, careful and deliberate, like he’s memorising every inch of me, and I lean into the touch. The tension in his shoulders eases, and something fragile and tender flickers between us.

“I have imagined this,” he admits quietly. “Not like this perhaps. Not so… human.”

I laugh under my breath. “Human’s not so bad.”

“No,” he agrees, voice barely more than a hum. “It isn’t

The heat between us coils tighter, slow and inevitable. My heartbeat echoes in my throat, too loud in the silence. He leans in, stopping just shy of my lips, his breath cool against my skin.

“May I?”

His question hangs in the air, laced with centuries of self-imposed chains. My pulse thunders in my ears, drowning out the soft lap of water against porcelain. I meet his gaze and nod, the motion small but deliberate. “You don’t need to ask.”

The words shatter whatever invisible barrier he’s built. haziel’s eyes darken, the midnight in them igniting like a storm about to break. His hand slides from my cheek to the nape of my neck, fingers threading through my wet hair with a gentleness that belies the tremor running through him. He pulls me closer, our breaths mingling in the steam, and then his ips claim mine. It’s not soft. Not at first. It’s a collision of need and restraint, his mouth cool and insistent against my warmth, tasting of smoke and unspoken promises. I gasp into the kiss, and he deepens it, his tongue tracing the seam of my lips until I

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The Water Between Us

part for him. A low growl rumbles from his chest, vibrating through me, and his tail tightens around mine underwater, coiling possessively. His free hand finds my waist, claws grazing my skin just enough to send sparks racing along my nerves, a delicious edge that makes me arch toward him. I press closer, my hands exploring the hard planes of his chest, feeling the pulse of that ethereal blue glow beneath his skin. It flares brighter where I touch, as if I’m awakening something ancient and wild within him. “Rhaziel,” I murmur against his lips, my voice husky, urging him on

He pulls back just enough to look at me, his breath ragged, eyes wild with a hunger that steals my air. “You have no idea what you’re unleashing,” he warns, his voice a velvet rasp, his claws digging in ever so slightly now, drawing a shiver from me.

“I do,” I counter, sliding my hands lower, tracing the ridges of his abdomen until I feel him tense. “And I

want it. All of it.”

A shudder runs through him, and for the first time, I see the king-the demon-crack through the facade. His horns seem to sharpen in the candlelight, his tail yanking me flush against him, the water sloshing over the tub’s edge. He kisses me again, fiercer, one hand cupping my breast while the other lifts me effortlessly onto his lap. The contact is electric, his arousal pressing against me, hot and unyielding despite the coolness of his skin. I rock against him instinctively, eliciting another growl, deeper this time, primal. But then he freezes, muscles coiling like a predator about to pounce. His eyes lock on mine, glowing with an intensity that borders on madness. “Last chance,” he whispers, his voice strained, claws pricking my hips. “Tell me to stop, Allison, or I will claim you until there’s nothing left but us.”

I don’t stop him. Instead, I lean in, nipping at his lower lip, “Unleash it,” I challenge.

And with a roar that shakes the very air, he does.

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