“I don’t know how…How do I do that?”
His eyes darkened “Relax and let me in. Remember me, Leela. Remember me as me…”
A fist closed around my heart and squeezed as he uttered those words. Araz’s words, said to me after he’d kissed me in the labyrinth.
Heat bloomed behind my sternum, and my breath snagged in my throat. My eyes welled, spilling over as I stared at…Araz…Iblees…Whoever he was. The warmth intensified, spreading through my torso and pulsing softly like the first note of a song.
“Do you feel that, Leela?” he asked. “That heat, that pulse, is us. Our flame. Our fire. Our bond.”
He was connected to me. Deep in my chest and low in my belly. The pulse was longing and home. Memories stirred in the dark caverns of my mind.
The balcony. Blood-soaked sands. Topaz eyes filled with heat and desire boring into me as we joined.
I bit back a gasp, pulling away from him and shutting down the connection.
He exhaled sharply, his expression momentarily dazed. “It’s all there, Leela,” he said softly. “If you choose to claim it. If you chooseme again in this life.”
“Is that why you brought me here? Because you believe that I’m your twin flame?”
His brows drew together. “You are. And you cannot lie to me and say you do not feel our connection.”
“My connection is to Araz, the shakti?—”
He grabbed my nape and brought his face close to mine. I sucked in a breath, my pulse racing as his warm breath kissed my lips.
“The shakti bound you to Araz, yes, but answer me this…Has your connection ever been this intense?” His mouth brushed mine, and I forgot how to breathe. “Like flame,” he said, lips moving against mine. “Like liquid fire.”
Searing heat flooded my veins. Oh gods, I wanted him to kiss me. I needed it. My eyes fluttered closed, my body humming with strange power as I waited for full contact, for the delicious pressure that would allow me to breathe in his intoxicating cranberry scent.
His fingers tightened on my nape, thumb massaging the delicate spot beneath my ear. A soft moan slipped from my lips, a plea that he replied to with a sharp inhalation, his chest vibrating in a low growl that echoed through me, down to the apex of my thighs, where it settled against my throbbing pulse.
My skin hummed, a symphony only Araz could arouse. I opened my eyes, looking up at him from beneath heavy lids. His dark pupils reflected my face. My lips parted in invitation, and when his gaze dropped to them, my stomach flipped. Hard.
He closed his eyes for a beat before releasing me gently. I sat back, icy fingers of rejection gripping my throat as he stood and looked down his nose at me with the same expression that I’d seen on the night that we’d finally consummated.
The night before he was taken from me.
In that moment, he was my Araz, and yet…he wasn’t. The connection was real. Familiar. And yet it was new and terrifying.
“I am here, Leela. Your Araz. I am still me but more. And I hope that in time you will adjust to that.” His shoulders dropped. “You asked me why I brought you here. Yes?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“My main reason was a selfish one. I wanted you back. But I cannot force you to stay. I cannot force you to choose me. I merely ask that you give me a chance. C’ael will show you back to your quarters now.”
“Wait, you said that yourmainreason was a selfish one? What is the other reason? And what about the devouring force? You say you want to protect people, but your force has been attacking innocents for centuries.”
He pressed his lips together as if torn between holding his peace or responding. “I have given you plenty to digest for tonight. Join me for dinner tomorrow night, and I will answer the rest of your questions then.” He inclined his head and then walked off into the shadows on the other side of the cavern.
I felt the absence of him acutely, gooseflesh climbing up my arms.
C’ael appeared beside me. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get you back to your room.”
C’ael ledme back to my quarters, taking a completely different route than before, and my gut told me it was deliberate. A ploy to prevent me from building a mental map of the place. I didn’t bother to tell him that his efforts were wasted. Maps were not my thing, printed or otherwise.
Back in my rooms, the table had been arranged with several domed dishes.
“Ah, good, supper has been delivered.” C’ael rubbed his hands together. “Shall we?”
