Jasper kissed her deeply, desperately like he had been holding himself back for far too long. His hands roamed her sides with need and want, grounding himself in the warmth of her body, in her. For a brief moment, Nicole melted into him, fingers curling into his coat as the bond flared bright and aching.
But beneath it all… something hurt.
Not physical pain something deeper. A pressure in her chest, tight and wrong, like the veins beneath her skin were burning.
Jasper felt it.
The instant he did, his body went rigid.
He pulled back abruptly, breath uneven, his forehead resting against hers as if holding himself in place required every ounce of control he had left. Nicole's eyes fluttered open—and what she saw made her heart skip.
Dark mana curled around him, thick and restless, bleeding into the air like smoke. His eyes had gone fully black again, pupils dilated , fixed not on her face but on her throat.
