I am lost. Time doesn’t exist. Space doesn’t exist.
Nothing existsbuthim.
He groans.The most delicious sound I have ever heard.
My hands find his hair, holding him to me, needing him closer, closer,closer.
I want you. I need you.My thoughts are a whisper in my mind as our tongues continue to battle, rough and unyielding.
He makes a noise that sounds more animal than man.
I have no idea what I’m doing, but I let instinct drive me,fuel me,and control me.
“Nova,” he moans, the nickname pulling me back to what he said before, about what that name means to him, why he calls me it, but then he grabs my wrists and forces my hands from his hair.
His fingers lace with mine as he presses them ever so gently on either side of my head.
He’s panting. I’m panting. But then he gives me a look that makes my whole chest heave.
No.
No.
“We can’t do this.”
His words slice through me, and I feel an ache in my heart that rivals the pain that came with wielding my flames.
We can’t…
“Don’t do that,” he says, gripping my chin between two of his rough fingers. “Don’t you dare think I don’t want this.” His eyes land on my waist, his hips grinding into me, making it clear exactly what he’s talking about and exactly what hewants. “I want this. I wantyou,” he emphasizes, his eyes finding mine again. “But wecan’tdo this.”
He is the prince.
He is the prince.
And I cannot have him.
So, of course, we cannot do this.
I allow my legs to fall, leaving his hips and touching the floor.
He releases me, his hands no longer on my body, the places they left feeling cold and empty.
He turns to leave, and my eyes sting in a way they never have before.
My heart hammers because this isn’t right, this isn’t—
“Wait,” I say, my words surprising even myself, “you called me Nova only days after we had met.” A shining light, changing him forever…How could he possibly—
“I did.” He doesn’t look at me, but his fingers flex, and the tears that had been stinging my eyes start to fall.
“So…even then?” My voice breaks.
“Even then.” He takes another step toward the door, and my heart shatters at his admission.
Even then…he’s felt all these things, had all these thoughts…
“And, Nova?” he says, turning his head just barely. “You don’tneedanyone.”
