The heat radiating off him seared through Elijah's pores, and shamefully, he liked it.
The way Alexei's weight crushed him, the way it made his lungs constrict without leaving the bitterness clawing at his throat, it made him feel alive.
Warm breath rained down on his ear, and an involuntary shudder racked his spine.
"You really okay?" Alexei raised his head from the crook of his shoulder, looking down at him with his furrowed eyes.
"Yes," Elijah said. "It usually stops on its own, so..."
So don't look at me with those worry-filled eyes like I am someone fragile you need to care for.
"So what? Leave you nailing your skin? Not on my watch, priestling."
There was not a shred of guilt on Alexei's face. In fact, he looked pleased that he had pinned Elijah under him.
"My hands," Elijah said again, twisting his wrists, which were most likely red now.
"Not so fast," Alexei smirked.
The gleam in his blue eyes didn't sit well with Elijah.
