Refusing her just then, when her declaration had lit his veins on fire, tested evenhiswell-trained limits.
“You should be forewarned; this can never move beyond physical.”
She nodded quickly. “Okay, okay, I know the drill, it’s not the first—”
“Do not misunderstand,” he interrupted, unwilling to accept where her words were heading, that she might think this was simply another instance where her body was all that mattered when, in truth, he was in awe of her, “my restraint is for your safety and nothing more. I prefer to enter into this with full transparency, not to trap you or take anything you do not wish to give. Were the circumstances different…” his eyes traced her lips, staring with carnivorous need, the thought unfinished and hovering to fill the tense air.
Lust bloomed in the depths of her eyes and Kieran’s jaw clenched. If he was going to continue this, continue tempting fate, then she deserved the truth. “You should know, then, that my Death Sense does not work on those I care about.” Memories threatened to rush through him, but he forced them back.
Sera was silent and he could not predict what her response might be. He did, however, fear it.
“That is incredibly fucked,” she said. “That’s not agift. That’s a curse.”
His gaze drifted, growing distant. “It is my purpose. It’s common with fae gifts, to have certain limits. If I allow myself to care for you, then I can no longer keep you safe. For now, that requires we keep this purely physical and I’m afraid kissing would be entirely too risky, where you’re concerned.”
“No kissing,” she agreed, “but I wonder if that rule extends beyond your mouth?”
Sera ignored the ache in her heart as she slid her hand over Kieran’s chest.
All this time, he had been trying to stop any growing attachment to her because he feared he wouldn’t be able to protect her. He had said nothing specific, and yet, it had been the most meaningfully romantic words she ever heard.
Were circumstances different…
Her heart was in danger, if not already beyond saving, but… she couldn’t help the whimsical voice in her head that urged her to trust. Just… just one more time and maybe, maybe this could be her good thing. He said he couldn’t keep her safe if he started caring for her, but that was her choice, too. Maybe she didn’t care as much about him sensing her death as she cared about him touching her again.
Kieran triggered no warnings. Showed none of the usual signs. Sera had built a lifetime of cautionary tales and maybe it had been for this moment. For the moment when she could weigh all that shit and know, just know, that this would be like nothing she’d ever experienced. He’d just admitted that he was worried he’d start caring for her, that he risked losing his Sense for her, but the admission hadn’t tempered her emotions. It’d worked them into a frenzy of hope and longing, her heart soaring at the thought of someone decent wanting her.
And if she put all her sincerest effort into trying, then maybe this could be the break in her destructive streak. Or maybe she was just so turned-on, ready to combust, that she would have told herself anything if it meant seeing how far he was willing to take this.
None of that mattered right now. She could assess dangers and reckless choicesafter.
Sera’s hands wandered while the implication of exploring him with her mouth lingered in the air, energizing the already heady atmosphere. Fascinated that he had shown no outward reaction. Most men would be pawing to get their pants off at the insinuation of using her mouth. But not this one.
He made no move, his expression neutral, and yet, she did catch the barest dilation in the silver of his eyes. It probably counted, but she was not eager to claim victory. Not yet.
Her fingers plucked the hooks and ties to loosen his pants, but she was careful not to touch his skin directly.
“You’re quiet,” she said, scrutinizing his face while she teased at the tucked-in edges of his shirt. She waited before reaching lower, where she had no doubt he was hard and straining against the envious fit of his suit. A reaction he couldn’t hide, no matter how practiced.
Kieran stared over her shoulder, not meeting her eyes, and not allowing so much as a muscle to twitch. His only movement was to respond, “Yes, that’s the point.”
“No, this is a different sort of quiet,” she purred. “Where do you go when you’re in danger of losing control?” Her fingers slipped lower, the loosened waistband of his pants falling a fraction.
He stared directly into her challenging eyes.
She tilted her head, all shoulders and come hither and bedroom eyes, all the same practiced motions she’d used time and again. “I’m just curious. Cause I like to imagine your thoughts are as scandalous as mine.”
Kieran caught her wrist suddenly, fast enough to stop her wrist from reaching any further. She looked up, not sure what she expected to see in the inscrutable gray of his eyes, but finding that the soft, silvery color had been almost entirely consumed by black. Sera squeezed her thighs against the pulse between her legs. She felt ensnared, caught, and Divine above the thought made her so wet.
Sera almost lost her breath as he spun her so that her front pressed into the door. She wasn’t sure who needed the safety of this position more, her or him.
For a second, she thought he was ignoring another rule, that he was planning to take her standing, against the door, while people went about their day just outside.
He started to hike up the layers of her skirts, bunching them around her waist with one hand while the other drew feathered patterns on her shoulder, up her neck. Long, strong fingers threading the loose strands of her hair.
She almost lost again when she felt his breath on the back of her neck. Almost cried out, gasped, moaned, she had swallowed all of it down with the greatest amount of restraint that Sera Blair hadeverachieved. Then the careful graze of his lips ghosted over her shoulders, and she was grateful he couldn’t see her face, because all that restraint would surely be clear. Her flexing jaw, closed eyes, straining muscles.
He hiked her dress higher. Higher. And she set her palm against the door under the pretense of steadying herself. Normally, foreplay didn’t quite get her there and she’d be clenching her teeth for this part, but Divine save her, she was so tightly wound, so thoroughly aroused he would not find any resistance.
