“Yes?” I asked softly, unsure if he even heard me over the water pouring from the showerhead just a few paces away.
He pulled back just enough to stare into my eyes. I noticed the tick in his jaw as he left me hanging in suspense, unsure of what direction this was about to take. “I can’t control myself around you.”
So hedidwant this. My mind whirled with questions about the sudden shift in energy.
My shoulders relaxed and I smiled coyly, looking up at him from beneath my lashes. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
On instinct, my lips parted as his hand raised to grip my chin lightly between his fingers. His thumb brushed against my lower lip as the tension began to build again, and my tongue darted out to flick against it.
A dark laugh fell from him as he pressed his thumb deeper into my mouth. My lips closed around it, sucking and licking the tip, loving the way his eyes rolled back. Hopefully, he got the hint of what I wanted to do to another part of his body. I was tired of waiting.
“I can’t tell if you’re going to guide me to Heaven or Hell, Little Star," he growled out.
My lips popped dramatically on the tip of his finger when releasing it.
“Tell me which direction you want to go,” I teased, reaching up to pull his head back down, “and I’ll take you there.”
He resisted my pull, shaking his head before smiling down at me. While it wasn’t sexual in nature, a new warmth began to spread through me at being the object of his undivided attention. I wanted to see that smile over and over again. The fact that I was the one to bring it out of him? Yeah, I was acompletegoner.
“Maybe this sounds fucking crazy, but now that we’re both here,” he breathed out before he closed his eyes, leaving us in silence for a few beats. Snapping them open, the intensity was back but there was…more to it than just a lust-filled gaze now. “We have time to learn more about each other’s bodies. Would you think less of me if I said I wanted to get to know what’s in here first?” He pressed his hand against my wildly thumping heart as my eyes burned. My throat felt tight as the weight of his words bore into me. “Kind of like a do-over, now that we have a chance at forever.”
A chance at forever.
I liked the sound of that.
His hands moved to cup my face tenderly as I nodded in answer.
“I don’t want you to think it’s because I don’t want to absolutely devour every inch of your body. I just…I don’t want to fuck this up. I want to do it right this time.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip, suddenly feeling more shy and unsure of what to do now that we were in the land of actual emotions and not just physical touches.
My voice sounded hoarse as I dropped my eyes to his chest and stumbled over my words. “I…I want to explore that as well. Can you just…promise to be patient? It won’t be easy for me to open up that way.”
His response was instantaneous as he lifted my chin back up. “I told you I’ll always find you, Kieran. I mean that more than just in the physical sense. No matter how much time you need, or the bumps in the road we are likely going to face, I’ll be there to find you when you feel lost or uncertain. Never doubt that.”
I blinked at him, infatuated with the sweet words coming from him.
Now that the lust had subsided and logic began to flow back into my brain, I was relieved he stopped us. Ronan flashed through my mind, and guilt flowed through me. I had to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do with my innate draw to these men.
More than that, I knew I needed to bite the bullet and be honest with Gabe.
“I know it didn’t escape you that Ronan’s hand was on me earlier—plus there was that kiss on my forehead…He and his wyvern chose to leave Alfemir with me. There’s something between us emotionally, just like there is with you and me, Gabe.” My voice hitched as panic set in at the thought of hurting either one of them. “I…I don’t know what to do about it, and I just?—”
He cut me off with a sweet, tender kiss. I hadn’t thought he was capable of being so gentle, but it quickly stopped the spiral I was heading down. His touch was gone before I could even sink into it.
“I’m not going to tell you that I love the idea of you being invested emotionally in someone else,” he admitted with a shrug before continuing, “but I also know that a future for us didn’t even seem possible until today, and I understand that you might have seen one with him in Alfemir. I also know feelings can’t just be turned off. I’ve tried.”
My mouth popped open and my hand flew to my chest before I asked with mock anger, “You’ve tried to turn off your feelings for me?”
He laughed good-naturedly, backing away from me and reclining against the far wall. It allowed me the space to slide from the counter and back onto the ground as he answered, “Yes, Little Star. When my missions were at risk and I couldn’t get you out of my fucking head, placing everything in jeopardy. When I had to leave Alfemir both times after seeing you, thinking it would be the last time I’d ever see you and knowing I was only hurting myself clinging to the thought of a relationship between us.” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me a devilish-smirk. “It never seemed to work, though.Unfortunately.”
I closed the distance between us, smacking him on the chest playfully as our laughter filled the space.
“How unfortunate!” I remarked, swatting him one more time as he lifted his hands in surrender.
“Mercy!” he cried, backing toward the bathroom door. “Mercy, Little Star!”
My chest shook with real laughter, and I grinned at him. “Fine. Consider yourself lucky that I’m feeling gracious right now. Don’t let it happen again, though!”
