Then, the music starts. It’s coming from an open area where drums and strings are set up, and couples are already dancing together, bodies moving in time with the rhythm.
Kieran stops. Stares. Then, he looks down at me. “Dance with me.”
My heart kicks against my ribs. “I—I’ve never danced before.”
“Neither have I.” A smile tugs at his lips. “But the humans make it look fun.”
Before I can protest, he’s dragging me into the crowd. People make space for us, and then he pulls me close, one hand on my waist, the other hand catching one of mine.
“Just follow my lead,” he says.
“That’s what blind people say before they fall off cliffs.”
He laughs again, and we start to sway. It’s awkward at first—I step on his feet twice—but then, it clicks. Our bodies find a rhythm, moving together like we were made for this. For each other.
I look up at him, this man who was a stranger just weeks ago. Now, he is everything. The stirring in my chest intensifies, becomes an ache. “I’m doing a lot of things I’ve never done before today.”
He smiles at me. “Good.”
He twirls me suddenly, and I let out a surprised laugh. When he pulls me back, it’s into his chest, and I’m completely surrounded by him. His scent, his heat, his strength.
“I’ll give you the life you never thought you could have,” he murmurs against my hair. “Everything you’ve been denied. I swear it.”
I tilt my head back to meet his eyes. “Promises, promises.”
The kiss he plants on the tip of my nose is feather light. “I always keep my promises.” Out of the blue, his expression darkens, clouding over like a storm rolling in. His grip on me tightens, almost painfully. “Most of them, anyway,” he adds, his voice becoming hollow.
No. Not now. Not when we’re supposed to be happy.
I reach up and force him to look at me, my hands on either side of his face. “Hey. I have no plans of being killed. Not in this life.”
His jaw hardens, teeth grinding slowly. He nods, but I can see the fear in his eyes. The desperate, clawing terror that he’s going to lose me like he lost them.
I wind my arms around his neck and pull him down to me. Our lips meet, and it’s like striking a match. Everything ignites.
He kisses me like I’m the only thing keeping him tethered to this world. His hand slides into my hair, angling my head so he can deepen the kiss, and his other hand grips my hip so hard, I know I’ll have bruises.
Good. I want them. I want to carry the marks of his desperation, his fear, his need.
The kiss turns frantic. Hungry. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and I moan, pressing myself against him. I can feel how hard he is, feel the tremor running down his powerful body.
I sense it then—the fear coursing through him like poison. The desperation of a man who has loved and lost so many times and can’t bear to do it again. So, when he gets aggressive, when his teeth catch my bottom lip hard enough to sting, I let him. I give him what he needs.
Because loving Kieran is so easy, it terrifies me. This man who is willing to do anything for me, who puts me first, who makes me feel cherished, which I’ve never felt before.
But the middle of a dance floor isn’t where we need to be right now.
I break the kiss, and both of us are panting. His eyes are wild, pupils blown so wide there’s barely any gray left.
“Come with me,” I say, and I grab his hand.
I pull him through the crowd, away from the music and lights. People blur past us. The sounds of the festival start to fade. I lead him into the woods just beyond the edge of the town—far enough that we’re out of sight but close enough that I can still hear the distant drums.
The moment we’re hidden by trees, Kieran has me backed up against one. His mouth crashes into mine, all control abandoned. His hands slide up my sides, thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts before cupping them fully. Each touch brands me.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” His voice is gravelly and low. He doesn’t wait for an answer before his mouth finds my neck, teeth scraping terrifyingly close to the mating mark.
“Kieran—” My breath hitches as his hands slide beneath my shirt, palms hot against my bare skin.
