“And you believe that is all I want from you?” he asked, shoving down all the arguments he wanted to make. He wasn’t about to debate her feelings with her. People did that to him all the time, as if his feelings were wrong and invalid.
“I think you want more. I think you want things from me you don’t even realize yet,” she answered. “Things you don’t even realize I could give you.”
“And what do you want?” he asked, searching her face for something. Anything.
She hesitated, the first time she’d ever shown any real uncertainty, as she bit her lower lip and looked at the floor beside him. He wanted to step closer. Tilt her face up to his and pull the answer from her, but he didn’t want to interfere either. She was this never-ending conundrum of perplexities and secrets that simultaneously drove him mad and kept him intrigued to no end.
“I don’t think I know anymore,” she finally admitted, still staring at a spot on the floor. “I don’t know, and I find that unsettling.”
“Why?”
“Because there was a plan and then…” She trailed off.
“We have centuries left if the Fates allow it,” he said. “And every single one of those years will be spent with me. That means you don’t have to figure it out on your own.”
She finally looked at him again. “You make me want things I can’t have.”
“What makes you think there is anything you can’t have? Anything I wouldn’t give you?” he asked.
“I want to believe that. I truly do.”
The words were nothing but a whisper. The pained agony of a tortured soul, and for reasons he’d never be able to explain, they had him surging forward. Her eyes went wide, but she didn’t flinch back. Not this time. No, this time she was leaning in as he brought his mouth to hers, tilting her face just right, and by the Fates, when did he suddenly not know what to do with himself when kissing someone?
He was debating what to do with his hands. Would she push him away if he touched her any more than he already was? If he cupped her jaw or slid his hand into her hair? Would she tense if he pressed his body against hers just to godsdamnfeelher?
It was hard to think about any of that when her mouth was so warm. He tried to be so careful as he tentatively licked along the seam of her lips, hoping he wasn’t pushing her too far or asking for too much. He didn’t know with her. He never knew, and he both loved and hated it. Loved that she was a constant enigma that kept him always wondering what she’d do next, and hated that he couldn’t read her. Couldn’t figure her out. Never knew where he stood with her. Knew that wasn’t entirely her fault but also resented her a little for it.
She pulled back, and he froze, waiting to see what she’d do next. Her breaths were fast as she stood so godsdamn still.
Until she pushed up onto her toes, capturing his lips again before he could do anything more than suck in a breath. This kiss was aggressive and almost violent, so much like her, and still he fisted his hands at his sides, not willing to be the reason she stopped any of this. It had to be her. She had to initiate all of it from here on out, because he knew if he let his control slip even a little, it would shatter completely.
With every tentative movement of her lips, he let himself get lost in her a little more. Every sense narrowed in on how soft her lips were against his. How slick her tongue was as it explored and fought with his. The soft sounds that came from her when he pressed back with his mouth.
He might not have touched her with his hands, but he’d told her he didn’t need them to make her feel. Pulling back, the soft moan of disappointment turned into a sharp gasp of surprise when he dropped his lips to her neck. She tipped her head back, and he worked his way up, pressing hard, wet, open-mouthed kisses as he went, marking his pathway to her ear.
That was when it happened.
Her hands landed on his chest. Touching him. Tentatively sliding along his flesh. By the gods, he was going to come just from her fingers on his skin.
Then the bells sounded.
The warning echoed through the night air, the sound more than a little jarring with their open windows.
Kailia jerked back, eyes wide as she scrambled to the window. He followed, trying to think through the lust and sudden burst of adrenaline. But as soon as he saw what was drifting along the streets, any thoughts of kissing and touching and where it could lead were gone.
“We need—” Kailia started, but he’d already grabbed her elbow, tugging her from the room. Gods, he wished they could Travel, but they were too close in proximity to them. Just likethey couldn’t Travel away from them in battles, they couldn’t Travel in too close either.
They ran, racing down the stairs and halls as fast as they could. At some point, Razik appeared, running alongside them. They burst through the doors of Everfall Manor, continuing down the paths and streets until they found the phantoms.
Kailia had summoned her bow, arrows already nocked, and he once again stood by, helpless. He’d lost count of how many times this had happened now. How many times he’d been useless while she’d defended him and their towns and their people.
“They have fucking arrows now?”Razik growled, more in annoyance than anything.
Cethin was inclined to agree. Every time they met these things in battle, the creatures seemed to have gained a new skill. The phantoms drifted along with bows of their own. They weren’t as fast as Kailia, but she still couldn’t take them all down at once.
“You need to get out of here,” Razik snarled, dragon fire flaring as he caught an arrow and incinerated it while Kailia took out the phantom who’d shot it.
The sound of footsteps had him turning to find Corveth and several guards running down the street. The phantoms saw them too. Or sensed them? Considering he wasn’t sure if they could actually see with their pupil-less eyes. A few of them diverted their attention to the newcomers, but the majority stayed fixated on Cethin.
