When he leans into my palm—such a small movement, probably unconscious—something fierce and protective ignites in my chest. Because whatever secrets he’s carrying, whatever made him this way, I want to be the place where he doesn’t have to carry them alone.
In this perfect moment, it feels like he wants that, too.
Slowly, I release the rings, letting them fall back against his chest, and kiss him again. This time it’s different—not desperate or hungry, but something quieter. A promise that he’s safe with me, and a plea that he doesn’t shut me out again.
I think he understands, because he deepens the kiss with a groan that vibrates through my entire body. His hands, which had been still against the wall, suddenly come alive, one tangling in my hair while the other holds my waist.
“No one’s touched those rings since I put them on.” He leans down so his forehead presses against mine, and he’s gazing into my eyes as if he’s seeing something new there—something he might have lost. “Four years. And you just—” His hand slides down my neck and traces my collarbone, deliberate and claiming. “You gave me something I didn’t realize I needed. You touched me like I wasn’t broken.”
The vulnerability and gratitude in his voice make my chest tight. But there’s heat there too, building with every word as his fingers travel lower, teasing the sensitive skin of my hip.
“Logan.” I lean against the wall, taking a deep breath to calm the electricity building beneath my skin. “What about what you said before, about what could happen if I lose control of my magic in here…”
“Trust me.” His touch grows bolder, making my breath catch. “I’ll make sure you keep it contained.”
Desire rushes through me so quickly that I’m barely able to form words, especially when there’s a flash of challenge in his eyes.
“What is this?” I finally manage to ask. “A test?”
“No.” His gaze travels up and down my body, like he’s preparing to consume every part of me. “An experiment.”
Apparently not wanting me to question him further, his fingers dip below my waistband, then lower still, his touch so delicate and precise between my legs that it feels like he’s reading every nerve ending, rewriting me with his touch. The shock of it rips through me, desire laced with power that crackles through my body like live wire as he touches me in the most perfect ways imaginable, silver light flickering across my skin in intricate electrical webs that hum and pulse with my pleasure.
“Control it.” His storm-gray eyes blaze molten, pinning me in place. But I see the effort it’s taking him, too—the muscle jumping in his jaw, the slight tremor in his free hand, and the bead of sweat on his brow.
I bite my lip hard, fighting to hold back the buzzing current as his fingers slide inside me, curling in a way that makes my vision blur at the edges. My hands grip his shoulders, nails digging into his skin, desperate for balance, for something to hold onto so I don’t combust and incinerate the entire tower.
“I can’t,” I choke out as electricity gathers in my fingertips, begging to break free and fill the room with their power.
His rhythm slows, bringing me back from the edge as silver sparks appear around my hands. “You can.”
The moment I regain a semblance of control, he increases his pace again, thumb circling in counterpoint to his fingers. Every drag feels intentional and devastating, like he knows the map of my body better than I do. And each time the electricitythreatens to break free, he adjusts—slowing down, changing angles, keeping me suspended in that exquisite space between pleasure and release.
“This is what you do to me,” he murmurs, his breathing quickening with need. “Every time I see you. Every time I think about the way you kissed me during the Hydra trial, and when the flames turned purple around us.” His control slips for just a second, his fingers pressing deeper, harder. “You have no idea how much I wanted to grab you in there and—” He doesn’t finish his sentence, instead using that moment to press the perfect point that sends a wave of pleasure through me that makes the electricity surge.
My hips move against him, needing just a little bit more?—
He stills his hand, lessening the pressure. “Not yet.”
“You’re torturing me.” I groan and squirm against him, but he holds me in place, withholding the final push I need.
“I’m learning about you. Now, let’s try again.” He gives me a wicked smirk, and his fingers resume their maddening rhythm, making my electricity dance beneath my skin, the magic seeking release as desperately as my body.
I focus everything I have on containing the storm as the world narrows to Logan’s hand between my legs and his chest against mine, my body arching against his hand.
Just when I can’t hold back any longer, he creates a wall of fire around us and says, “Now. Let go.”
The command sounds desperate, like he needs this as much as I do, and his mouth captures mine as pleasure crashes through me in waves. Electricity follows, but it doesn’t explode outward through the tower. Instead, it coils between us, suspended in the air as silver light weaves across our skin, crackling like it belongs to him as much as me.
I want to live in this moment forever. Because it’s magical, and beautiful, and positively perfect.
Unfortunately, moments don’t last forever, and time moves forward as my legs tremble from the aftershocks rippling through me. Logan’s arm wraps around my waist, keeping me steady. His breathing is as ragged as mine, like he just ran a marathon, and we stay like that for several moments, my forehead resting against his chest as I struggle to catch my breath.
“How did you know?” I finally ask. “When to stop me, and when to push me? You told me that my magic couldkill everyone at this party,and then you…” Heat curls through me at the memory of what he just did. “Why did you risk them all like that?”
“There was never a risk,” he says simply. No hesitation, and no apology. Just iron certainty. “I had control the entire time. Because I pay attention to you, Jade.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and his hand lingers against my cheek, my skin humming with pleasure where he’s touching me. “To everything about you, and to everything you do.”
The intensity in his eyes makes me wonder what he’s not saying. But right now, with my body buzzing from his touch and the taste of him on my lips, I can’t bring myself to care.
