Chapter 174

• I had never felt such a deep, all-consuming embarrassment in my life. It was one thing to be overtaken by desire, to feel it coursing through every inch of me, but it was something else entirely to have it laid bare for someone else to see—especially in a way I couldn’t control. I had always assumed that the most obvious physical sign of my arousal was the tightening of my nipples, but now this? A mortifying heat rushed through me, and for a fleeting moment, I wondered if it would have been less humiliating to simply throw myself at Hadrian rather than let him witness my need so raw, so undeniable. It felt as if I had been stripped bare, every vulnerable part of me exposed.
• "Don't hide them," Hadrian murmured, his voice a hypnotic caress against my skin.
• My breath hitched as I slowly lifted my hand, pressing my index finger against my lips before slipping it inside to confirm what I already suspected. My fangs had emerged. My fingertip grazed the smooth surface, trailing to the pointed edge, and just as I reached the sharp tip, my teeth instinctively retracted. But not before the razor-like edge nicked my skin. A sting bloomed across my fingertip, followed by the slow emergence of a single crimson droplet.