He hasn’t kissed me since that day we stood and looked at all his weapons. He hasn’t even tried.
Tell me the point at which I needed to seduce you to gain your cooperation.
He didn’t need to. And maybe he’s been spending all this time proving it.
“Did you really think I’d be disappointed?” he says, and his voice is lower. Quieter.
“Yes.”
“Never, Callyn.”
“Notnever.”
“Truly never. Never disappointed.” He twists another tendril, and his fingers slip along my jaw. “Proud.”
The word makes me shiver. I can’t remember the last time anyone ever said that to me. I can’t remember the last time anyone but Jax even tried to look out for me.
Despite the breeze, the sunlight is so warm, and Alek is just . . . ?just so vibrant. I don’t know if it’s the dark red of his hair, or the gleaming buttons of his clothes, or the sparkling silver of the thread in his jacket. Or maybe it’s just his eyes, or the sharpness of his jaw, or the slope of his mouth. Maybe it’s just the fact that he might be sitting here like a spoiled nobleman, but I know he could be on his feet in an instant, fighting a battle. I can’t seem to stop looking at him, especiallyhere, sitting on a pile of fabric on the side of the road, the broken carriage sitting crookedly a short distance away. For an instant, I can forget the palace and the political intrigue and the potential for war. I can imagine we’re just outside of Briarlock, that I’m just Callyn again, running a bakery and trying to keep my sister out of trouble.
When his finger brushes against my lower lip, my mouth opens, and his thumb finishes the motion, drifting along my teeth.
And then I don’t have time to inhale, because he’s kissing me.
Every time he does this, it feels like a surprise, like I have no warning. His mouth overwhelms my senses, and I’m inhaling his breath before I even realize it. When his tongue brushes mine, I feel a clenching low in my belly, and my fingers grab hold of his jacket.
His hands take hold of my waist, and then I’m captured in his arms, held against his body. The world spins, and I don’t realize he’s layingme back until I’m justthere, pressed into the stretch of fabric. Alek is still kissing me, his hands along my rib cage, his weight pinning me beneath him. When his hips shift, I feeleverything, and it draws a gasp from my throat.
Alek smiles against my lips. “Did you doubt I wanted you, Callyn?”
“No, but . . .” I hesitate. “Maybe.”
He sobers, regarding me. “I’ve wanted you since the moment you first pulled that knife.”
That makes me flush. “Sometimes I think about the way you pinned me up against the wall.”
His grin is back, and he kisses me, but it’s slower now. He’s watching me. Gauging, judging, questioning. When his hand slides up my rib cage, he’s slow and cautious, every inch deliberate and purposeful.
So I take hold of his hand and press it right to my breast.
His smile widens, and his hand splays, his fingers slipping just under the edge of my corset. It makes me gasp again, but now he’s more sure. He doesn’t stop there, and when his hand slips fully under my corset, my gasp turns into a low sound.
He’s pressed so tightly against me, but I shift my thigh, and he gives a sharp little inhale. Encouraged, I slide a hand between us, my palm seeking the warm weight between his legs.
When I find it, Alek makes a low sound himself, his eyes falling closed. “Callyn,” he whispers.
“You’re not the only one who can be confident,” I say.
He laughs softly, canting his hips so he presses into my palm, just as his fingers stroke the sensitive bud of my breast. Alek’s other hand finds my knee beneath my skirts, and I didn’t even realize his fingers were seeking my skin. As his hand travels up my thigh, a fire lights in my abdomen, and my thighs shift again, opening for him.
I’m startling myself with my forwardness—but it’s like sparring with Tycho and standing up to Nolla Verin has broken down my walls andgiven me new perspective. A new sense ofcontrol. I want this. I wanthim. I’ve wanted him since the moment he looked into my eyes and whispered my name.
When his fingers brush over my undergarments, I’m all but panting into his mouth.
“Yes?” he murmurs, his mouth warm against my jaw.
I nod fiercely.
I’m ready for him to be fast and sure, his fingers sliding into me, but he’s achingly slow, pulling fabric aside, drifting along my skin in a way that makes me shudder.
