Snow's broad shoulders forced her to spread herself further to accommodate him, exposing her fully. He groaned and glanced up to meet her eyes. She lay before him, rain bouncing off and glistening on her skin in the low evening light, her chest heaving with each hard breath and her thighs trembling against his arms. She ran her tongue over her kiss-swollen lips and a flicker of nerves filled her colourful enchanting eyes.

"You're beautiful." He didn't just say it to alleviate her nerves so he could continue. He meant it.

He had never seen anything as beautiful as she was.

Snow dipped his head and lightly stroked his tongue along the length of her, from her core to her pert nub. She jolted and gasped, the sound drenched in passion, stoking his own. He wanted to make her scream before he was through with her.

He lavished her with attention, flicking his tongue over her nub and delighting in the taste of her and how responsive she was to each little thing he did. He liked it most when she uttered his name in a dark voice, a commanding snarl that threatened immense pain if he stopped before she was ready.

A slave to her, he swirled his tongue, circling her, monitoring her with his senses so he knew what she needed from him before she was even aware.

Lightning struck close again, charging the air around them, and rain ran in cold rivulets over his body. He didn't care. He would make love to Aurora in the snow if she commanded it and he would always be burning for her.

Snow continued to suckle her aroused nub and stroked her with his fingers at the same time. She rocked her hips and he took it as a sign that she was ready to take the next step. He gently eased a single digit into her.

Aurora gasped and raised her hips, pushing herself against his face and his finger deeper into her sheath. So tight. So wet.

Snow growled into her, his cock pulsing, balls tightening at the thought of his hard shaft being where his finger was.

He gently pumped her with one finger, laving her at the same time, drawing out her pleasure. She clutched his head and rocked her hips in time with his thrusts, uttering things that made his head spin. She wanted him inside her.

"Not yet," Snow muttered darkly, grinding his teeth together. He wanted to plunge his body into hers but he couldn't right now. It would hurt her. "Preparing you."

It was hard to speak. Desire ruled him, driving his actions. He withdrew his finger and eased two back into her. It was a tight fit. He was gentle as he stretched her body, enticing it with scissor motions, working her until her desire drenched his fingers and he ached to replace them with his cock.

He shouldn't.

He had already tainted her enough.

"Snow," Aurora moaned, shattering that last thought, driving it far out of his mind.

He pumped her with two fingers and sucked her nub, focusing on the feel of her, trying to judge whether she was ready for him.

She arched her body, her cries hitting a higher pitch, body tightening around his fingers. He kept his pace, thrusting just enough to keep her spiralling towards bliss, taking her higher. He flicked his tongue over her and swirled it, devouring her.

She was close.

And he was selfish.

He wanted her first climax to be with him inside her. He wanted to feel her quiver and know it was because of him.

Snow withdrew his fingers and she moaned, a frustrated and bitter sound. He shoved his underwear down and she quieted, her eyes on his hard length and her teeth nibbling her lower lip. Her hips shifted again, undulating, tempting him. She tilted her head back, her eyes going hooded. Temptress.

He ran his hand down his length and rubbed his thumb over the crown, groaning at the thought of taking her and how wet he was. He was so hard that it hurt.

"Snow," his temptress whispered, eyes imploring him to take her now, telling him how desperately she needed to climax.

He was damned anyway. May as well enjoy it.

He leaned over her, balancing himself on one arm while his other hand gripped his shaft, and lowered his hips. He moaned as he guided the head to her, rubbing it down the slick length of her. She groaned in response, arching her back again and thrusting her breasts towards him.

He lingered, fearing she still wasn't ready.

He could perhaps make things easier. He released himself and ran his hand over her, gathering her moisture. He smothered his length with it and then gripped it again, close to the base so he didn't rub any of her essence away. He stilled right down to his breathing as the head of his cock breached her core and she tensed.

"Relax," he whispered and she swallowed. Seeing she wouldn't be able to do as he instructed while she was thinking about what he was doing, he settled on his elbows and kissed her. She responded instantly, her mouth devouring his, hot and moist against his.

Snow inched into her, his cock throbbing as her tight sheath gloved him, burning him. He kissed her, keeping her focus on her mouth, and grimaced as she grew tighter, her body grasping his. He wanted to explode. Release climbed to the base of his cock.

He growled when she grew too tight and kissed her harder, thumbing her nipples as best as he could at the same time, trying to arouse her so she wouldn't hurt as much. She was going to hurt regardless. She moaned until he pushed deeper and it turned strangled.

"Steady," he murmured against her lips. "It will sting and then I swear it will feel good."

She froze and he kissed her, caressing her lips with his, coaxing her into relaxing again. The moment she did, getting back into the kiss, he pushed forwards and seated himself as deep as he could go. He swallowed her cry of pain and forced himself to withdraw enough that he could reach between them to fondle her bundle of nerves.

She began to relax then, a moan even leaving her lips as she kissed him. Her body throbbed around his, drawing him deeper, and he took his hand away and eased back in as gently as he could manage. It was killing him. He wanted to pump hard, taking her and making her scream.

He wanted to be gentle too, reverent and tender, making love to her so she would know how much this meant to him. He drew back onto his elbows again and stared down into her eyes.

The storm raged overhead and she didn't seem to notice. Rain spotted her skin and turned her hair into tangled black ribbons even though his body partly shielded hers. Water ran from the ends of his white hair, dripping moisture onto her cheeks, beads that quivered and then rolled down her pale creamy skin.

Her striking eyes locked on his, still dark with desire, and her rosy lips parted on a sigh. She looked as lost in the moment as he felt and her beauty struck him hard, combining with her innocence to fill him with a potent need to savour her and do all in his power to keep her with him.

He gently rocked his hips, shallow at first, moving only a little so she could grow used to having him inside her. She moaned, her cheeks darkening and pupils expanding. Her teeth nibbled her lower lip, reddening it. Snow withdrew further and groaned as he eased into her, feeling all of her. His pelvis brushed her and she groaned and squeezed her eyes shut.

His gaze slid to her throat and his fangs itched to taste her again, to take her blood as he took her body. He shut down that hunger, fearing what would happen if he gave in to it. He had hurt her before. He didn't want to hurt her like that again, no matter how fiercely he craved it.

Her hands sank into his hair and drew him down, and he kissed her again, moving into her with long unhurried thrusts of his hips, teasing her towards her first climax. His wouldn't be far behind. Already his semen was rising and his balls tightening again, signalling an impending release. She felt too good and it had been far too long, and it had never been like this.

He felt deeply connected to her, one with her, lost in her as he made love with her in the rain, uncaring of the world around them or the storm raging above.

She arched into him, her body tightening around his, and he thrust deeper, plunging his cock into her core, giving her what she needed. She moaned, clutched at his shoulders, and kissed him fiercely, biting his lip. The sting of pain made his hips jerk, roughly slamming his erection as deep as it would go inside her, until the head struck her womb.

Aurora shattered, crying out his name in the darkness, her body violently quivering around his, clutching at him and pulling him deeper still. Snow grunted and moved faster, kissing her breathless as he took her, claiming her body completely. She moaned with each thrust, pliant and sated beneath him, her hot sheath grasping him.

He wanted to bring her to climax again but his body had other ideas, the feel of being inside a woman again after countless centuries too much for him to handle.

Snow arched his back and roared as his climax rushed through him, his cock throbbing madly as he pumped his seed into her hot core. He braced himself above her on his hands, fire blazing through his veins, his heart thundering against his chest and his legs shaking.

Aurora lay beneath him, her rapid breathing at odds to his own, and her heart rushing in his ears. Her bliss ran through him, adding to his and combining with it to make him feel as though he was floating, surrounded by heat and light, not cold rain and darkness.

He slowly opened his eyes and looked down to find her smiling lazily, a contented expression on her face that only made her more beautiful. His female.

Snow lowered himself and kissed her, their bodies still intimately entwined, both still quivering with pleasure that he felt sure would rock him for hours to come.

Aurora kissed him softly, murmuring in her throat, her hands playing in his wet hair.

The rain continued to hammer against his back and his legs and his growing awareness of it brought the chill of it to his attention.

As much as he wanted to stay here like this forever, one with Aurora, he would have to move soon for her sake. He brushed his knuckles down her arm, feeling how cold she was already, her skin chilled and gooseflesh forming on it. Could she get sick from exposure to such dire weather? He didn't want to find out.

Snow reluctantly withdrew from her, pulled his underwear up and carefully slipped hers back over her feet and up her thighs.

He stood, took her hand and helped her onto her feet. She stood still as he fixed her dress for her, and then smiled at him when he lifted her into his arms, cradling her under her knees and around her back.

She looped her arms around his neck, brought her lips to his and kissed him.

He paused to savour the softness of it and the reassurance it gave him, chasing the fearful thoughts from the back of his mind. He kissed her briefly and then pulled back. She smiled and settled her head against his shoulder, and didn't ask where he was taking her as he turned. She trusted him and it touched him, but not as much as what they had just done. She had given herself to him, even though he didn't deserve her. She had given him her innocence and he would give her everything in return.

He would take care of her, starting with warming her in the shower and then giving her dry clothes to wear. He would show her that he could be good to her.

Because she belonged to him now.

CHAPTER 13.

Aurora lay in Snow's arms, tucked in the midnight covers of his four-poster bed, trying to ignore the feeling gnawing away at her happiness.

She couldn't bring herself to leave, even when she knew that she should. Snow gently stroked her arm, the fingers of his right hand trailing up and down its length. The steady motion soothed her and foolishly made her feel as though everything was right in the world when she knew it was worse than ever, crumbling faster around her now.

The urge to warn him that he had less than three days to prove he was able to live in this realm without endangering innocent lives burned through her again, forcing words to rise to the tip of her tongue. She bit them back, not because she feared her master would believe her compromised but because she feared that Snow would be angry with her if she told him that she would have to judge him soon, and it might end in his death.

He may have embraced that idea once, not so long ago. She had a feeling, a hope, he would despise the thought of going to his death now that he was getting better.

Now that she was in his life.

Snow had taken good care of her after they had made love in the rain on the rooftop, carrying her back into the warmer and certainly drier air of the theatre. Thankfully, no one had seen them as they had made their way back to his apartment. She wasn't sure what someone crossing their path would have made of not only the fact Snow was carrying her, but the fact that they were both soaking wet and Snow was barely dressed.

Whenever she thought of their moment in the storm, her body warmed and trembled, aching to experience it again.

Her legs had still been shaking when Snow had set her down in the black-tiled bathroom and stripped her off, and she had felt disappointed when he had showered with her without intimately touching her again. She had sensed his nerves though and believed them to be a product of doubt. He was back to believing he was able to taint her.

It was too late for that.

With all of her feathers turned black, she was as tainted as they came. All she had to do was lose her soul to complete her fall from grace, and that might be inevitable now that she had given herself to Snow.

After their shower, Snow had carefully dried every inch of her, and had then washed her dress and hung it on the front of his ebony wardrobe to dry. He had led her to the bed and they had been here ever since, bodies bare and pressed against each other.

Aurora caressed his pectorals, busying herself with tracing the contours of his powerful muscles, feeling his heart beating hard beneath her fingers.

"It has been a very long time since you have committed a sin," she said to break the comfortable silence, and because she wanted to hear his deliciously deep voice.

"I sinned no more than a few hours ago, on the roof, with you."

She smiled and playfully slapped his chest. "You know what I meant. Many centuries have passed."

"You sound almost proud of me." He craned his head, as though trying to see her face and gauge whether she was. She stayed where she was, too entranced by the feel of his soft skin and hard muscles to lift her gaze to his. "Was that meant to be praise?"

There was an amused edge to his voice but it had disappeared when he next spoke.

"I went off the idea of wandering around committing sins after I killed my family."

Aurora felt his mood shift, turning towards sombre and angry, two emotions he often seemed to experience together. His heart picked up pace against her ear and she sensed the pain that cut him deeply even after all the years that had passed since that night.

She smoothed her palm over his chest, trying to comfort him and show him that he wasn't alone. She was here with him, and she had told him many times now that she believed in him, and that there was good in him.

"You are a different man now. You are learning to control your bloodlust." She tilted her head back and looked up at him. He averted his frosty blue eyes, fixing them on the ceiling. Couldn't he bring himself to look at her and see her belief in her eyes?

Did he want to cling to feeling wretched about himself that much?

She wanted to point out that constantly punishing himself was probably only making his bloodlust worse but held her tongue, knowing he would retaliate if she raised it and likely kick her out of his bed. She was comfortable here. Too comfortable.

"I am not," he whispered and took his hand away from her arm. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, frowning. The dry lengths of his silver-white hair fanned out across the black pillows. "It still rules me more times than I manage to control it. I think it is your blood that is keeping me sane for so long. Maybe I need to keep you around and drink your blood exclusively, and then I can be my old evil self again."

Aurora saw through the words he had said in jest to the truth beneath.

Snow despised his bloodlust and how it made him feel.

"If you keep fighting, you might perhaps be free of it one day, and able to enjoy life as your brother can," she said and shifted onto her front, so her breasts pressed against the side of his chest.

He heaved a sigh, opened his eyes and lowered his hand to her hair as his gaze met hers. He combed his fingers through the black waves, staring at her with deep tangled emotions in his eyes, ones she wished she could decipher.

She had never felt like an angel until now. The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful and precious, and as though he believed she was pure and good, wonderful because she was here with him and she let him hold her like this.

She wished he would never let go.

A touch of sadness clouded her heart. It wasn't possible.

She was getting in too deep with Snow, and already part of her feared she wouldn't be able to carry out her duty and judge him with clear eyes and heart. Or her master would make a case to their superiors that she couldn't and have her removed from the mission, taking her place so he could finally watch Snow die.

Snow's expression hardened, his pale eyes filling with sorrow and darkness.

"I will never be free of my bloodlust."

Those words hit her hard, forcing her to see that he would never be free of his affliction because he didn't want to be free of it.

Snow still longed for death, and if he couldn't have it, he would have eternal torment.

Aurora hated him for it.

She dropped her gaze, unable to look into his beautiful eyes when all they showed her was a terrible sense of finality, the eyes of a man waiting for his death, shut in a windowless room that felt like a tomb.