I froze.
Every nerve lit like a firework about to ignite.
His lips burned as hot as the rest of him, pressed tight to mine, his body solid and unmovable.
For one dizzying heartbeat, I gave in. For one destroying insanity, he sank heavier over me. Our bodies pressed and heated, all of him against all of me, his lips parting, the warmth of his mouth dark and—
“What thefuckare you doing?” Wrenching away, he rolled off me and lay panting on his back.
Scrambling to my knees, I touched my lips.
Another barely-there kiss but...wow.
I’d been kissed before, but only once, and only by a boy I’d had no feelings for. I’d chosen to lose that first kiss label because I was sick of being mocked for it. I sometimes regretted not losing my virginity that night too, just to get it over with.
That kiss when I was sixteen had lasted a far sight longer than this one, yetthisone?
It kept stinging and stinging andstinging.
The faint flavour of his taste—honey water that he liked to sip, and the lingering scent of peppermint tea almost made me drunk.
Rook, stop being so ridiculous!
Sitting upright, he planted one hand on the carpet and scooted against the couch. Resting his head against the back of it, his fingers clutched the silver disc trapping his heart.
He looked so wretched, so drained and agonised, I crawled toward him and pressed the back of my hand to his slick forehead.
His eyes closed as he groaned, but he didn’t stop me from touching him.
His temperature would blow apart a thermometer.
“Why is it hurting you so much?” I asked softly.
His lips pulled back in a snarl. “Apparently, they thought I wasn’t behaving.”
“Behaving? But don’t they want you to be with someone...for obvious reasons?”
He gasped as his fingers turned white, twisting the shirt over his chest. “If my—” Another grunt escaped him. “If my pulse climbs...they remind me to...stay calm.”
“Byhurtingyou?” Anger filled me on his behalf. “Why would they hurt you when they need you?”
He laughed morbidly. “Hilarious, isn’t it?”
“That’s not the word I’d use.”
He exhaled heavily as he braced against another wave. “They do it because...they’d rather keep me sick and powerless than...let me kill myself.”
I stiffened.
My hand fell away from his forehead as my fingers curled into fists. “I really, reallyhatethose men.”
His eyes cracked open. They found mine, and whatever he saw on my face made him frown. “You’re angry at them?”
“Furious,” I spat. “Livid.”
“Because they stole your life and threw you in here—?”
“Because they’ve kept you trapped and at their mercy and it’s not fair.”
