“Because I can’t lose you,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Because the thought of his hands on you, of him hurting you—” His thumb brushed across my bottom lip. “It’s going to destroy me.”
My breath caught. Everything I’d been holding back, the feelings I’d been burying beneath survival and rage, clawed their way up my throat.
“Varyth—”
“I know.” His forehead pressed against mine, our breaths mingling in the space between us. “I know it’s selfish. I know you did what you had to do. But gods, you’re spending the night with that piece of shit?—”
The wordscut off, his entire bodybracingas though he couldn’t evensay it out loudwithoutchoking on it.
“I can’t stand it,” he finally said,softer now, but no less lethal. “Ican’tstand it, Isara.”
I swallowed. Hard.
Forone long, unbearable moment, Varythdidn’t move. His body vibrated with rage, the heat of himradiating through every inchwhere we weren’t quite touching. Hishand was braced against the wall, his knuckles white from the force of it.
I saw the moment his control—whatever threads had been holding him together—snapped. He surged forward. One moment we were facing off, the next his mouth crashed against mine with bruising force.
The kiss was pure savagery. Teeth clashed, his breath was hot and desperate against my lips. Igasped, but hisother hand was already tangling in my hair,angling my head back, takingmore, more, more.
Somewhere behind us, someone choked.
Someone muttered a curse.
But Varyth didn’t care.
Hepressed closer, his bodyshoving mine harder into the stone, the weight of himdemanding. Hisfingers dug into my waist, hisgrip fierce, like if he let go, he’dlose himself. BecauseI was kissing him back. I shouldn’t have.But myhands were already gripping his shoulders, myfingers already curling into his shirt,pulling him closer, pulling him deeper.
And for a moment?—
Forone single, blinding moment?—
There was nothing else.
Varyth kissed me like he coulderase everything through touch alone. The kiss sought toconsume me, undo the nightmare of this place, wipe Ashterion’s name from my lips, and make sure that Ionly ever belonged to him.
I let him.
Gods help me, I let him.
Iarched into him, my fingerstangling in his hair, pulling himcloser, closer, needingmore, needing everything.
The kissdeepened, heat spilling down my spine as histongue met mine.
Somewhere, distantly, I knew the others were watching.
Ibroke the kiss long enoughto mutter, “The others.”
“They’re lucky,” Varyth’s voicewas all gravel and sin, “that all I’m doing is kissing you.”
His mouth slanted back onto mine.
I lost myself.
BecauseVaryth was already lost, too.
“Gods-fucking-damn it,” Linc muttered from somewhere behind us. “Are you serious right now?”
Varyth ignored him, his mouth trailing fire down my throat, teeth scraping against my pulse point. An involuntary sound escaped me before I could bite it back.
