Every part of Salviana's body responded to him, as though she were suddenly aware of how badly she wanted to close the space between them, to give in to the hunger that had been building between them since the moment they met.
She didn't resist when he leaned in.
Alaric's eyes never left Salviana as he leaned closer, the intensity of the moment growing between them. The space felt charged, taut with anticipation, as though something powerful was about to unfold.
Salviana could feel the subtle shift in the air, the change in his demeanor as he gazed at her. His eyes were darker than usual, pupils dilated in a way that sent a shiver down her spine.
He leaned in, and for a moment, she thought he might kiss her—but instead, he lowered his gaze to the side of her neck.
She didn't resist. She couldn't, she wanted whatever he gave her..
He felt hunger for her, he hadn't fed since he last fed on her and it was making her even more tempting.
Alaric's fingers grazed the soft skin of her throat, his touch light but searing as he traced her pulse. "You're fiery, Salviana," he murmured, his voice thick with desire.
"Even now, I can feel it in you… in your blood." His voice was almost reverent, filled with a strange kind of admiration that sent a surge of warmth through her.
She swallowed, trying to steady her racing heart. She had experienced this before—the bite, the consuming heat that followed—but this time felt different. More intense. More consuming.
His lips brushed against her neck, and she felt that familiar prick of anticipation as his fangs found her pulse. The sensation of him sinking into her again was like a drug—sharp at first, but soon melding into something deeper.
As he drank from her, a low groan escaped his lips, and he paused for a moment, savoring the taste, his eyes fluttering shut in pleasure.
"Your blood, Salviana," he whispered between drinks, "the first time I tasted it, I couldn't get enough. But this…" He pulled back slightly, his eyes meeting hers, filled with something wild and hungry. "This time... it's even more, I fear what I would become without it."
The warmth of his words hit her harder than the bite itself, and she let out a soft breath, her chest tightening with the heat rushing through her.
She could feel his hands grip her a little tighter, a possessive need laced in his touch as he fed, as though he wanted to claim more of her, to take all of her.
Her pulse throbbed in her ears, and though it was impossible to ignore the sharp sting of his fangs, there was something soothing about it this time. The ache faded into a hazy warmth, leaving behind only the soft, heady pull of his presence.
When he pulled back, his lips stained with the evidence of her blood, there was a moment of stillness between them. He licked his lips slowly, his gaze never leaving hers, as if savoring the last traces of her.
"You bring me peace, Salviana," he murmured, his voice rough, raw with need. "And clarity… each time you let me taste you, it's like I'm seeing everything in sharper focus." His fingers curled into her skin again, tracing the line of her jaw with a tenderness that contrasted the intensity of his earlier actions.
She stood still, her breath still shallow, heart racing in her chest. His words, his touch, the connection between them—it was all too much, but somehow, it felt right.
Alaric stepped closer, his body brushing against hers, and there was a strange warmth between them, a magnetic pull she couldn't explain.
It wasn't just the blood. It was the way he looked at her, the way he treated her, the way he made her feel—like she was something more than just a momentary temptation.
His thumb brushed over her lip, and he smiled faintly, his eyes flickering with something dangerous and knowing. "The fire in you, Salviana... it stirs something deep inside of me. You're more than I expected, more than I ever dreamed of."
The words settled between them like a promise, unspoken but understood. There was something undeniable here, something that neither of them could ignore, even if they wanted to.
And Salviana couldn't help but feel a strange sense of power in that moment, as though she, too, had ignited something in him that could not be snuffed out.
"Come, sit," he tapped his thighs and she eagerly took her sit. Her left arm coming to cross his shoulders.
They sit in silence with her playing with hair while resting her head on his shoulders when his fingers trailed her clavicles he went lower and touched her dress. "Can I?" He asked.
She breathed heavier as she glanced at him, "What?"
Instead of replying he started to unbotton her dress since it had buttons on the front. Salviana's stomach did flips and clenched painfully sweet all while he took his time unbottoning her open.
She jerks up when the cold breeze touches her bare skin.
Alaric doesn't glance up to look at what he knew was out now. Her boobs. He hungers for it, had anticipated them between his fingers, circled by his tongue but now he only freezes unable to look up at it because he fears there's no going back.
He knows there's no going back and if he has a taste of her mounds now he would want to come back for more, he would crave it like he craves her presence, her blood and fiery arguments.
"Alaric?" He heard her whisper making him draw a deep breath. He doesn't want to scare her away but he was sure this was normal. He was the one who wasn't normal.
He started to button her back up when she stops him, Salviana's small face is pulled in a frown, Why? Was he stopping? She thought. She was fine. She wanted him to continue.
She lifted her hand and used it to tip his head up, before he would reach her eyes, his black orbs caught the shape of her breast and he shifted with her in his thighs.
"Alaric, are you ok?" She asked but this was the longest Alaric had taken to not give her question or call a reply. It made Salviana think perhaps he was trying to let her be because he thinks she isn't comfortable.