She might have managed to make him surrender to his desire, but there was no way she could defeat the demons that held his heart captive. She didn’t want a hollow affair with him. If she couldn’t have all of him, she would rather have nothing at all.
Sera stood, walked to her clothes and slipped into her underwear. Her plan to dress completely before calmly taking her leave became impossible to fulfil when Antoine’s icy gaze slid to her, tracking her every move. She grabbed the rest of her clothes, bundling them up in her arms, and flicked a dark glare his way before striding up the aisle towards one of the rear exits.
She made it halfway to the doors before turning around and storming back down to him.
“I just want to know why you shut me out again? Were you just out to use me or was this really just an audition?” Her voice hitched. It hurt to say that. She laughed bitterly at herself. “Forget it. I was stupid to think that someone like you could ever care about anyone but yourself. I’ve learned my lesson. Goodbye, Antoine.”
Brave words. She congratulated herself on them as she stalked towards the exits, swiftly now despite her trembling legs and the adrenaline pumping through her veins, determined to escape before her nerve failed. It was better this way. Antoine would never give her what she wanted from him, what she needed, so there was no point in torturing herself by trying to win him over.
Sera was close to the doors, could almost taste her freedom, when she looked up to find Antoine blocking the exit ahead of her.
“Move,” she said on a snarl.
He didn’t.
She turned at the end of the rows of red velvet seats, aiming for the other exit further along the back wall of the theatre. Antoine was there again before she could reach it. He had moved faster than she had been able to see. She stopped, a touch of fear in her blood now. She had heard that aristocrats, those of pure vampire blood, were more powerful than elites, and Antoine’s age only added to the strength of his abilities.
He growled and stalked towards her, his eyebrows knitted into a scowl and darkness in his eyes.
No anger hit her senses but she wasn’t going to hang around to ask what he was feeling behind his violent expression or place herself within striking distance.
Sera backed off, keeping pace with him. She bumped into the seats on one side of the aisle that led down into the stalls and threw a glance at the exit doors to her left. Antoine was there again, stopping her mid-lunge, and forcing her down the aisle. She kept her eyes locked on him, her senses zeroed there too, and kept backing away.
Her attempt to flee hit an obstacle a short time later. Namely, the stage.
She pressed back against it, her senses sweeping the theatre, searching for another avenue of escape. The doors to her right and left were out of the question. Antoine would easily reach them before she could. Her strength couldn’t compare with his, so fighting and subduing him wasn’t going to happen either.
The only place that might offer her a chance of escape was the stage. She knew from the shows that there were doors to the left and right of it. They led backstage, which was a danger all in itself. God only knew who was back there, waiting in the wings. She had no desire to run into Victor again, not when she was only wearing her underwear.
“Sera,” Antoine growled and she swallowed.
He shot towards her and she vaulted onto the stage. He slammed chest first into the wooden stage and unleashed a feral and vicious growl. Sera dropped her clothes and went for the heavy red curtain that covered the rear half of the stage, intent on making it to the doors there.
Antoine tackled her just as she reached the velvet curtain, sending them both flying through it to the other side. She rolled painfully, legs tangling with his, and grunted when she hit something hard. One of the couches. Pain shot through her left shoulder and then she was on her back with both of her hands pinned above her head.
His cool breath washed over her face. “Why are you running from me, Sera?”
Why not? The look of cold disdain that had been in his eyes was reason enough as far as she was concerned. The fact that she had brought him to climax and he had shut her out the moment he had found release was another. To top off those two, she added a third.
“You’re scaring me.”
Sera looked up at him, feeling the weight of his body against hers. His open silver shirt draped over her and tickled her bare sides and his trousers were soft against her legs. He released one wrist and trailed his fingers over her cheek, and her eyes rose to meet his. Her fear of seeing the coldness in them melted under the warmth of his expression and the heat of the hunger in his blue eyes.
She didn’t know how to react when he lowered his head and kissed her, hard and dominant, forcing her mouth open with his tongue. It tangled with hers, cool and teasing, luring her into submission. She surrendered willingly, melting beneath him into the scuffed black stage, letting him lead as the kiss turned heated and passionate, a rough clashing of lips and teeth. Before she could think about what she was doing, she was raising her head off the stage, leaning into the kiss, seeking more from him.