Before she could experience that more, a heavy round of knocking reverberated throughout the manor. A tingle of annoyance shot through her, but she ignored it, just as she ignored the knocking.
Her fingers entangled in his hair, and the kiss deepened. When her fingers brushed over the tips of his ears, he groaned. She loved the feel of the point beneath her fingers, and if his response was any indication, he enjoyed it too.
However, when another round of knocking sounded, she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
She reluctantly tore her mouth away from his, and Cole’s hands tightened on her. Lowering his head, he kissed her neck before sliding lower to her collarbone.
The heat of his mouth caused Lexi to shiver, but another round of knocking dampened her lust. Like a bucket of ice water was dumped on her head, reality returned.
She’d been about to give herself to a dark fae in her library. With the doors open, Sahira could have walked in at any time, and Lexi could end up one of the many mindless, shadow kissed souls if she wasn’t careful.
The hairs on her nape rose at the possibility. She liked him, but not enough to become one of them.
The knocking grew louder and more incessant. The last time someone sounding more than a little annoyed was pounding on her front door, Cole arrived with a half-dead Brokk in his arms.
Now, she had no idea who stood on the other side of her door, but it didn’t sound good.
Releasing his hair, she rested her hands on his shoulders and unlocked her legs from around his waist. She slid down the front of him.
The friction between them created a new firestorm in her body. Her legs wobbled when her toes touched the ground, and she almost jumped back into his arms.
“Ignore them,” he whispered in her ear before he nipped her lobe.
She wanted to do exactly that, but Sahira had to walk past the library doors to answer the door, and her aunt couldn’t find them like this. At the possibility of such a thing happening, her cheeks started to burn.
“I can’t,” she said.
His arms locked around her, and for a second, she didn’t think he was going to release her. Then he let her go and stepped back.
Lexi’s eyes widened as she took him in. His silver eyes burned like hot coals, his fangs were clearly visible behind the lips flattened into a thin, white line, and his shoulders hunched forward in a way that said he was straining to retain control.
She recalled some of the horror stories she’d heard about lycans who lost control. They became beasts that shredded everything in their path and tore through their victims like they were no more than pieces of paper instead of flesh and bone.
She didn’t think he would hurt her, but she didn’t dare move. And then, she spotted that cipher near his temple again.
Something about her rattled not only his control over the lycan part of him but also the dark fae. She didn’t know if she should relish that knowledge or be terrified of it.
Either way, she became aware that the power Cole revealed to the world was only the tip of the iceberg. Far more of it thrummed beneath his surface.
Enthralled by him, Lexi almost jumped when another series of loud knocks bounced off the walls.
“I have to get that,” she said and was happy when her voice didn’t tremble.
Cole stepped further away from her, but when his gaze swung toward the library doors and his lips skimmed back, she worried he might attack whoever had arrived.
Lexi gulped, but she couldn’t let the knock go unanswered, and she couldn’t let Sahira find them like this. They weren’t touching anymore, but her aunt would know something had happened.
Lexi straightened her shirt and threw back her shoulders. He started to reach for her, but his hand stopped and hovered in midair before falling to his side. They stared at each other before Lexi edged away from him and started for the doors.
She almost glanced at the fireplace but stopped herself before she did. It couldn’t be Orin at her door. He was probably growing increasingly angry at her for not returning to him, but he was still safely tucked beneath the manor.
Or she assumed he was. When she hadn’t returned, he might have gotten pissed off enough to leave, but she doubted he would risk capture by coming to her front door afterward. At least she hoped he wasn’t that stupid.
• • •
Cole inhaled a shuddery breath as he strained to regain control of himself. He was no longer just battling the lycan part of himself but also the hungry dark fae. It had been over a week since he last satisfied his dark fae urges.
He hadn’t gone this long since childhood, and he hadn’t realized how ravenous he was until now. However, as he stared at the wall of books and willed his erection away, he tried to recall when he last fed.
He didn’t remember the woman, but that was nothing new; he didn’t remember most of them. The rare few made return appearances in his bed, and it was never because he wanted more of them, but because they ran in the same circles, like Becca.
But as Cole recalled the last time he fed, he realized it was before meeting her. His head swiveled to watch Lexi as she glided toward the doors, and his softening erection stirred again.
Shit, he sucked a breath in through his teeth and fisted his hands. His nails dug into his palms as he willed himself to let her go.
Not only was he hungry, but every part of him craved her, and it was only a matter of time before he had her. He would not be denied much longer.
He rested his hand against the shelf as she vanished into the hall, but another round of knocking, and not being able to see her anymore, spurred him into motion.
She was at the door when he stepped into the hallway. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sahira emerging from the hall leading to the kitchen. She was wiping her hands on a dishtowel as she walked. When her eyes met his, he saw the concern in them as she stopped a few feet away.
Lexi cracked the door open, but she didn’t open it enough for him to see who stood on the other side. However, a familiar scent caused his hackles to rise.
“Elexiandra,” Malakai purred from the other side of the door.
Sahira stiffened, and when he glanced at her again, he saw a hardness that had never been there before. Not even when she was warning him away from Lexi had she looked so tense. Her chin jutted out as her eyes met his again.
She gave a subtle nod of her head toward the door. Cole didn’t need her to tell him to intervene in this, he already planned to do so, but it astounded him that she found him less of a threat to Lexi than Malakai.
He hurried to intervene.