She couldn’t move, her gaze trapped by the intensity in his.
With his hands still framing her face, his mouth claimed hers. He kissed her deeply, destroying her shaky barriers.
Her last resistance crumbled. Leya slid her hands up his heavily muscled biceps as his tongue found hers, the kiss turning intensely carnal. He dragged her close, his palm sliding down to her butt. And she sank into him as he sucked her tongue into his mouth. He picked her up, and she wrapped her legs around him as he braced her against the smooth tree trunk. His cock, a rigid bar, pressed into her core. She whimpered, moving against him, and he took over, rubbing his erection against her silk-covered clit.
Leya dragged her mouth from his, chest heaving, her gaze trapped by his hypnotic stare—
Voices sounded, hauling her back to where they were. Oh, God, what was she doing? While a part of her wanted his mouth back on hers, deeper, the futility of this hit hard.
She pressed a palm to his chest. “Put me down.”
Without a word, he let her slide down his tough body, over an erection he made no attempt to hide. “What’s wrong?”
Swallowing hard, she rubbed her face with shaky hands, then met his unwavering stare. “I will only be here a few days at most before I go home. And you will continue your search for your Chosen. I can’t get involved with you, Aerén. I just can’t.”
“I see.” A tic worked in his jaw. The lingering heat in his light eyes faded. He nodded and stepped back. Without another word, he stalked out of their secluded spot to the pathway. The loss of his body against hers, his warmth, left a keening hollow in her chest.
Her head spinning, her mouth still tingling and swollen from their wild kiss, it took several deep breaths before she could compose herself. She tucked back the curly, damp strands escaping her topknot, grabbed the breakfast dishes, and joined him on the paved path.
At his grim expression, she bit her lip, remorse twisting her gut.
“Look, it’s just a kiss. It’s no big deal—” The lie stuck in her throat.
“Just a kiss?”
She swallowed hard. “If I had to let guilt consume me with every guy I kissed, I’d be a basket case.” Guys? A hysterical bubble caught in her throat. It sounded like a truckload. She’d had one serious relationship and a few dates before Lee. After him?Nada.
“Every guy?” A tic started on his jaw.
How granite could grow harder, she didn’t know, but Aerén mastered the stony expression.
“My lady, allow me.” Severn reached for the plate and cup she’d forgotten she’d picked up.
Leya blinked blankly at the guy, grateful for his interruption, for stopping this catastrophic conversation from careening downhill because she’d be the one flattened. She always leaped in with her heart.
“Oh, thank you.”
He gave her a little smile, a quick bow to Aerén, and hurried off.
She continued, seeming unable to stop rambling, “Look, what happened was something that ran away from us. Probably the buildup of all the adrenaline still rushing through us from the attacks by the demon, the rebels, then being rescued by your enemy, and we let it take over.”
He remained silent, his features unreadable.
She hated the distance between them. Whatever this emotion burning between them was, it felt different from Lee, more intense, making her feel out of her depth. It was better to keep her walls up around him and forget the heart-shattering kiss.
CHAPTER15
The brief respitehe’d gotten from Grounding was fast crumbling.
Just how many had she kissed?
By the dark stars, he shouldn’t even let his thoughts go in that direction, considering he was eons old and there had been many females in his life. Still, Leya—
Fuck!His jaw clenched down hard. He shut out the thought, his entire being focused on the female who was slowly eroding his sanity.
Chosen or not, as this difficult female liked to remind him she wasn’t, she was still underhisprotection. He wanted everyone in this place to know that, too! It still pissed him off they’d left her to eat outside in weather that even his people tended to avoid.
“Come.”
