Her quiet moan rattled his insides like the shake of a rusty chain. Perhaps the very chain that had held the beast separate from him, and who now was so much a part of him. Just like that, he and Revol were the same as they had been; a flaming pair of unlikely lovers. Up until he stepped back, that is.
She dismantled their embrace as equally as he had. It stung somehow, that she would be so quick to pull away when all she'd ever done was reach and grab for him. He'd felt.. wanted. Something clearly not felt in his lengthy isolation. Desired. And powerful. She made him feel powerful. Every touch had fueled her just as much as it had fueled him. To know he could do that to her made him want to try more, explore more of her and find all her little quirks that drove her wild.
"Good. Because you can't just-" she cut herself short. Her voice was soft, but grew sharper. It gave him hope, in a cruel way. Hope that maybe she was hurting, felt the distance between them as he had. Hope that he'd meant something to her. Maybe she'd want him to mean something more. Ah, but he couldn't be such a fool. There was still a man lingering about her. Had she suddenly gone social-butterfly? He didn't think so. Oh well, she wasn't his. She didn't owe him anything.
"You were right. I can't be with someone who thinks what's between us is nothing. Who thinks I'm nothing." Why the hell did that hurt so much? Of course what they had was meaningless. Sort of. It felt damn good, sure. And ok, maybe he seemed to crave it every hour since. But that didn't mean it was something real. It definitely didn't mean she had to agree with him. She never agreed with him. And she certainly wasn't nothing.
His brows tightened and his hard eyes watched her like the prey she'd once been. This cold shell was not the warm-blooded creature he'd enjoyed so many nights ago. She felt foreign now, even smelled a little foreign, and he found he only wanted her back. The one he'd grown a bit fond of. The one that could set his heartbeat soaring. He'd seen a hint of her just before, with a sensual moan that made his mouth water, and he would have her back again.
All his plans of being strangers and working their way up seemed to be tossed out. If this was what she became in that world, he didn't want it. So distant, so cold. Where did her fire go? The fire of passion, or of anger. He'd take either. But not this carefully chill version of her. This dry remnant of her heated glory.
With a face set in determination, he prowled to her again. There was hunger in his eyes, but wasn't there always when she was near? So he ignored it. He boldly returned to his place at her neck, nosing the base of her mane lightly and ruffling her hair with a hot breath. Sweet caresses and teasing warmth. "C'mon, little one," he growled low. His velvet lowered to lip slowly at the curve of muscle in her neck, ignoring the stranger's ghostly fragrance. She could take whoever she wanted, but he would be the one she ached for.
"Where did your fire go?" he taunted her. His teeth clamped down on her skin, pinching hard in a brutal grip. Wake up, my Revol. Don't be so cold.