Color bloomed on her cheeks, the only sign of surprise. “A desire that doesn’t exist,” she replied stiffly. Steam rose from the water around her, fire simmering beneath.
Dominic took her arm and gently spun her to face him. He peered down at her eyes, then her lips, her skin that glowed with renewed cleanliness, and the supple curves of her lithe, toned body, covered only by her underwear and the fabric around her breasts. He’d seen her like this before. He didn’t know why something inside him now simmered at the sight of her. He remembered the feel of her body pressed against him as they slept, wanting to feel it again with nothing between them. He recalled the way she’d angled her head to give him better access to her throat, practically melting in his touch when he’d kissed her neck in that alley in Lykrios, and had the intense urge to do it again.
“You don’t have to hide it,” he said softly, reflecting his own thoughts.You can want me without love.
She gazed up at him, the angle bringing her lips dangerously close. Sharing the same breath, Dominic assessed her gaze. Emotions flashed in her eyes. None he could recognize.
Water rippled, and suddenly, her hand was in his. He stilled, sparks dancing through his fingertips, up along his arm, but not the magical kind. Not the kind made by Adara’s fire. Both of their eyes darted to that spot in the water where their fingers laced. Dominic let out a shaky breath, hoping she didn’t notice. The corners of his mouth twitched into a soft smile. He lifted hisother hand, a finger resting beneath her chin, tilting her head to look back up at him.
Her lips parted as she inhaled sharply, eyes searching his. Her wary gaze told him all he wanted to know. The walls around her heart were crumbling for him, and she was scrambling to rebuild them. He wouldn’t let her. With their fingers intertwined, his thumb shifted up along her wrist, brushing along her artery to feel her pulse hammering beneath.
He needed to know what she felt like molded with him. To know that this desire was purely lust. To know that whatever it was he felt toward her would never last. He needed to feel how much she wanted him. Dominic leaned in closer, their lips almost grazing one another. Barely any space left between them, he waited, wanting Adara to be the one to close the gap, to give in.
“Just say it, and I’m all yours.”
Chapter 44
Adarashiftedherweight,just enough to make Dominic think for a second that she might take his offer.
Part of her wanted to press her lips to his and see what he tasted like, to explore the rest of him. To run her fingers over his powerful, scarred body. To give in to the burning desire that pooled within her. But she did not trust herself to stop at physicality. Her stomach roiled, repulsed by the way her body reacted to him, loathing her own thoughts.
His hand still in hers, Adara squeezed and twisted. “Idespiseyou,” she seethed.
Dominic let out a sound of pain, leaping back before she could break his fingers. “What theHel!” he shouted, ire in his emerald eyes. The wind howled, a mirror of his pain, palm trees rustling.
Adara shrugged. “Your manipulations won’t work on me.”
“You didn’t have to try to break my hand!”
“If I did, your magic should heal you quickly,” she said blandly, hoping he’d take the bait and explain why his current injuries were mending slower than usual. In answer, the earth around her shuddered, barely, energy crackling around them. She’d set fire to this oasis if it meant snuffing out his magic that connected him with the earth, the water, the air.
Dominic surged forward, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her to him. He held her there with her wrist pinned to her chest between them. She reached for the dagger sheathed at her vambrace, but hesitated to pull it free. Anger flashed in his eyes. Magic sizzled between them. His grip was iron, his posture immovable, but Adara did not feel threatened. He would not hurt her.
“Why must you think everything I do is a lie?” he asked through clenched teeth, his voice rough. “Is it so hard for you to believe that I might actually feel something for you?” His eyes scanned hers, something deep hidden behind those gorgeous green irises, in the shadows that danced along the sharp angles of his jawline as the trees rustled overhead.
Despite his height, Adara glared down her nose at him. “Yes.” She yanked her wrist from his grip, but refused to back away.
He didn’t reach for her again.
“Hate me,” he said, a little breathless, the rise and fall of his chest so close to hers.
Adara’s heart beat rapidly, fire flowing through her veins, itching to be released. So much—she had felt so much these past days in Malryn. And it was making her anxious. The fire was controlled by emotions, driven by how intense they were.With Dominic, her feelings were all over the place, a whirlwind throwing her around.
Her heart had failed to remember who he was at his core, but her head would not soon forget. The notorious, heartless Dominic Nite. She hated how easily he could flip the switch. Hated how he toyed with her emotions, made her believe he was anything but a monster. Made herwantto see that there was more to him.
His gaze flickered between her eyes and her lips. Something shone brightly in them— lust, desire, need? It was hard to tell, but it was something akin to deep want. Usually, she saw nothing in those eyes. Hollow. Empty. A void that sucked the life from whatever he looked at. Recently, she had learned to read whatever lay within.
His hand cupped her jaw, thumb grazing her cheek. Heat that had nothing to do with her magic rose to her face.
“Hate me all you want.” His expression was harsh, voice strained, low, almost a whisper, as if he could barely bring himself to speak. “But if you’re going to, I’m going to make you hate me because you want me so badly and you can’t stand it.”
A rush of cold hit her like a physical blow when he pulled away. Turning his back on her felt more personal than it should have as he waded to shore. Droplets of water rolled down his muscled back, racing between chasms and ridges of scars and wounds like a river flowing through a canyon.
She sighed, shivering in the sudden cold, empty space that stretched between them.
I’m sorry,she thought, as if she could project her thoughts onto him. She didn’t know why she felt the need to apologize.
Shehadto hate him. No matter what. She fingered the key dangling on a chain around her neck, the weight of it suddenly heavy and frigid against her chest. Love only got you hurt. She would not love again—ever. It was why she was so adamantabout winning this war of hearts. She’d experienced enough love for one lifetime, enough pain for the many lifetimes she’d now live, thanks to Andreilia’s water.
