She remembered my name. That simple fact shouldn’thave made me ridiculously happy, but it did. I was a no one, expendable, but this woman,this princess, knew who I was.
“Izzy, glad I found you,” I said. “What are you doing out here? Did they release you? No, wait, it doesn’t matter. I… we should talk.” But I didn’t want to talk. As soon as I’d seen her again, the bond had raged, my desire spiked. I needed to be closer, pressed against her, inside her.
Her pupils dilated, nostrils flaring, breath coming quick. She felt it too: the pull. My sensitive ears even picked up the pounding of her heart. That made me hungry in an entirely different way. The pulse at her neck sang to me.
No. I couldn’t drink from her. An aberrant shifter taking blood from a princess, that was wrong on so many levels.
I also couldn’t let the bond take over.
We had to talk.
She gave a breathy laugh.
“Finally, someone who’s willing to tell me what’s going on.”
I took a step closer, dangerous but necessary. “There’s so much you need to know,” I breathed.
“Tell me about it!” she said, throwing up her hands, eyes wide. She too stepped in.
Damn.
This wasn’t going to work.
Her intoxicating scent of apples and cinnamon, made even sweeter by her arousal, nearly overwhelmed me.
One step closer and the two of us would forget about words. That couldn’t happen out in the open. Luckily, the massive tree trunks which formed the wall of Dryada Hall had some nice, secluded spots.
I raised my arm, hand out.
Whether she felt the pull or not, she stepped in and slidher hand into mine. As our flesh touched, a new jolt of power surged between us.
Oh yeah, we were seconds away from being naked, my entire body searing with desire to know hers.
“Whoa,” she breathed. “What?—?”
She had no clue what the bond was doing to her.
Yet another thing I needed to explain, and if we came crashing together — like we were about to — that would give me even less time to do it.
“Strange question…” she began, voice breathy.
I bet.
“A moment ago, I was freaking out about… everything, but now… why do I feel like it would be the best thing in the world to kiss you?”
Because it would be, for both of us.
“I’ll explain everything,” I said, pulling her toward Dryada Hall. She followed easily, drawn by our bond. I found a hidden nook between the high, jutting roots of the massive building where no one would see us and pinned her to the rough bark. “After.”
“After wha?—?”
I pressed my lips to hers, stopping her words. She instantly melted into my embrace, her body coming alive in my arms, shifting and pressing against me in ways which made my body do the same.
Here we go.
“Why does this feel so natural, even though I don’t know you?” she breathed between deep kisses.
It took every ounce of willpower I had to pull back. “Do you want to know, or do you want to continue? I swear I’ll explain everything later, but I don’t know if I can stop myself for much longer.”
