“It goes both ways, Rose,” he whispered. “I feel it, too. And when I touch you, it’s even stronger. I will be honest and tell you that’s not something that’s totally typical of my kind. Visata saw fit to give me the gift to see into the minds of someone if I’m touching them. I mean, I can’treada person’s mind,” he corrected quickly. “I just get vague feelings or images. My uncle’s mind has been full of darkness for some time now.”
“And my mind?” Rose’s voice quivered as she spoke. “What do you see in my mind?”
He shifted even closer on the couch until her bare arm rubbed against his. Rose trembled, her pulse kicking into overdrive. She should definitely move away, keep things PG until they were officially mated and had known one anotherlonger than it took for a hot dog to be cooked in the microwave. But some reckless impulse made her stay put.
Talbot trailed his fingers down her wrist, raising goose bumps. “I won’t cross lines, but I can’t hide what you make me feel.” His eyes seared into hers. “Touching you ignites me. I know it’s the same for you because your mind is clouded in red, the color of desire.”
Rose gasped as his fingertips glided along her skin. Her emotions were in chaos, her sensible side warring with a yearning for him. She needed to stop this, but, oh, she desperately didn’t want him to stop. Everywhere they touched felt electric. She looked down and saw that he was tracing the snake tattoo, and the skin shimmered like iridescent scales. “Holy snapple babies,” she breathed out. Rose wasn’t cold anymore, and neither was his touch. She was hot. Everywhere.
“Talbot…” she managed weakly, body arched toward him against her will. They were so playing with fire right now.
His fingers stilled, though his gaze stayed locked on her. “Forgive me, Little Flower. I got carried away.” He moved carefully away again, leaving Rose’s whole body feeling sensitive and restless.
Their mutual longing still crackled in the air between them. One touch would break their control again.
“Why do people keep calling me flower?” she asked, realizing her voice still sounded breathless.
Talbot’s eyes narrowed, and a dangerous gleam filled them. “Who else has called you that?”
“Nico,” she said slowly, wondering if she’d just gotten the Chaos Shaman in some sort of trouble.
“He won’t do it again.” Talbot’s voice deepened.
“Don’t hurt him,” she implored quickly, worried that Talbot was going to jump up and run out that instant and attack the shaman.
“Remember I told you Damarian males are territorial?”
She nodded.
“You have a name, and other males will use that name.” His voice was calm, but there was a tempest building in his eyes. “Anything else is reserved for me, and me alone. Would you be okay with another female giving me a pet name?”
Rose tried to imagine hearing a feminine voice, not her own, calling Talbot something like “Babe,” “Sweetheart,” or some other endearment. Suddenly, she felt a different kind of heat, not the kind that made her stomach dance. This heat made her want to burn the imaginary female who dared have some sort of intimacy with Talbot. “Nope.” She gave a definitive shake of her head.
Talbot seemed to find this amusing, and the irritation that had been on his face fled, replaced with that lusty longing. “Is it hot in here?” Rose pulled at the neck of her shirt.
“I’m burning up,” Talbot said with absolutely no embarrassment whatsoever.
He stared at her, unabashedly, his eyes roaming over her face then down her neck to stop on her tattoo. “It’s odd to see my mark, a perfect replica, on you. But I find it very satisfying.”
“Where’s yours?” She looked at his forearms where the sleeves of his shirt had been pushed up. Neither arm bore a tattoo.
Talbot grabbed the hem of his shirt and lifted it until she could see his full torso.My, my, my.Her inner thoughts hummed with pleasure at the sight. Aside from the fact that he was chiseled like a statue, the same snake on her arm was tattooed on the left side of his chest, just over his heart.
Rose had no memory of making the choice to lift her arm, but before she knew it, her finger traced the lines of the snake, and, just like hers, the scales illuminated and shimmered. It was beautiful.
A deep hum rumbled from Talbot, and Rose’s eyes lifted to find that he’d closed his eyes, and his face had relaxed. “Your touch is going to be addictive.” His voice held no shame.
“Why are you so comfortable with expressing your…” She paused, searching for the word.
“Desire, yearning, need,” he offered.
“Mm-hmm.” Her lips were tightly pressed because she was pretty sure she was going to squeal like a girl over his blatant want for her.Her. How could someone who looked like Talbot, was about to be the king of his species, and could have probably any woman he desired, be interested in her? Rose wasn’t usually a self-depreciating person, but as she’d told Nico, she’d never been in a relationship, and she’d certainly had no one as hot as Talbot interested in her.
“Whatever it is you’re thinking”—Talbot wrapped a hand around her wrist and lowered his shirt—“stop. I don’t like the way it’s making you feel.” He didn’t release his grip on her, and when she looked down at his hand, she noticed it was covered in scales. Green, black, and brown, all mixed and yet distinct. He gave her wrist a little squeeze. “Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.”
“Will you tell me what made you feel like that?”
