“It’s my life, Peri, not a blasted book,” Cyn interrupted.
“I knew that.” Peri shrugged. “I totally knew that.”
“Good. Let’s try not to forget it again. Now, where was I?” Cyn asked, tapping her chin with a finger.
Alina tried to be helpful. “He wanted to know if you felt the same thing he did.”
“Right.” Cyn nodded. “So he said…” And the fae carried on, telling them the memories that, at times, did seem more like a story than her real life.
“Answer me,” Thalion said again.
Cyn wanted to scream, ‘No!’ But she would have been lying. She didn’t like to lie if she could help it. She attempted once again to put space between them, but Thalion’s strong arms held her in place. “Fine.” She huffed. “Yes, I feel a pull toward you.”
“And?”
She frowned at him. “And what?”
“You want me,” he said with a sly smile and a boyish spark in his eyes.
“That’s your over-inflated ego speaking, prince. I admitted to a pull and nothing more.”
“So my touch doesn’t affect you?” he asked, as the hand that wasn’t rubbing her back trailed a finger from below her collarbone up to her cheek.
“Maybe a little.” She panted like a girl with no ability to control her wayward emotions. Since when had she become such a jumbled mess of emotional chaos?
“A little?” Thalion chuckled, his disbelief plastered on his handsome face. “I think it affects you a great deal more than a little.” He paused and then grinned with a wicked gleam in his eyes. “Would you like to know how your touch affects me?”
“No,” she said quickly, shaking her head. “Definitely not. No. Not needed.”
Thalion ignored her as he took her hand and placed it to his cheek. He closed his eyes and groaned as he pressed her tighter against him. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to her palm, allowing his lips to linger.
“You bring me to my knees,” he said softly. “Your skin calls to me, begs me to caress it. Your scent surrounds me, claiming me. Your taste melds itself to my lips, ensuring that nothing else will ever taste as good as you do. You leave me breathless with need, consumed with desire, and unwilling to settle for anyone else.”
“My—” Cyn stopped to clear her throat and then attempted to continue. “My touch causes all of that?”
He waggled his eyebrows at her and nodded. “And that’s just when you touch my cheek. Want to find out what it does to me when you touch me elsewhere?”
Cyn’s eyes widened to what she was sure was a comical size. “I do not think that would be appropriate.” She swallowed painfully and said again, “I need your answer.”
Thalion considered her, narrowing his eyes on her face. No, not her face—her lips. “I will give you my answer, for something in return.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What something?”
“A proper taste of you. I want a kiss, my lips to yours.”
He was clever, this elf prince. He’d made sure that the kiss wouldn’t be anywhere but on the mouth. Cyn would have been more than happy to make it less intimate.
“Fine. What’s your answer?”
He shook a finger at her. “Ah, ah, ah, Cyn. Kiss first. Answer second.”
Cyn expected him to immediately press his lips to hers to ensure that he received his end of the bargain, but he didn’t. No, Thalion wouldn’t have made it that easy. He took her face in both his palms, gently pulling her closer. His breath was warm as it swept across her skin. He hovered there momentarily. His eyes roamed over her face as though memorizing her features. Cyn sucked in a breath of air when she felt his thumb slowly begin to stroke her cheek. Her knees grew weak as she watched him run his tongue across his bottom lip. He looked as though he was about to devour his favorite meal for the last time.
Thalion pressed his body closer to her until they touched from thigh to chest. The heat emanating from his body flowed into her, causing her blood to warm and her skin to become more sensitive. No one’s touch had ever affected her that way. And she wasn’t sure whether she welcomed it. Enjoyed it? Yes. But welcomed it? She didn’t know how she felt about that. He wasn’t even of her race. There had never been a cross-species mating that she was aware of, at least not in the centuries that she’d been alive.
“Stop overthinking this,” Thalion whispered, causing his lips to brush against hers.
Surprised by the touch, she tried to pull away but he anticipated her intentions before she could move. He slipped his hand to the back of her neck, holding her in place, just before she felt the sweep of his tongue across her lips. She noticed that he’d pulled her to him as he lowered his head. He’d made her meet him halfway. His tongue swept across her lips again, pressing more firmly, demanding that she yield to him. Cyn yielded to no one. Well, not until now. Her mouth opened before she could stop herself, and Thalion took quick advantage. His mouth covered hers and his tongue pushed inward, brushing against her own. He explored every inch of her mouth, pushing and pulling as he sucked her tongue into his. He nipped her lips with his teeth, causing a sting that was much more pleasurable than she wanted to admit. Thalion never gave her time to seal her lips. For those few moments, he consumed her. He demanded her response, and she gave it with just as much passion as he shared with her.
