He was close now, his eyes bright, burning. She’d never seen such tightly restrained emotion in his face or in the lines of his body. His desire was so potent it was intoxicating; she felt herself tremble under the weight of it. He wanted totouch her—she knew this, she saw it in the rigid control he maintained over his hands, in the stiffness of his stance, in the way he moved incrementally closer until she saw nothing but him. His eyes dropped to her lips and his own lips parted, drew breath. He exhaled shakily.
She worried that if she said a word, she might combust.
“I touched you,” he said softly. “Do you remember?”
Alizeh’s heart was pounding so hard now she actually felt a bit faint. What could she say to his question? The truth was a single word easily delivered and yet this answer seemed desperately, desperately fraught. She felt it, felt it even as she said,Yes,I remember, against his throat. Even then she knew she was pitching forward into madness.
He whispered, “And do you condemn me for it?”
He tilted his head, his lips almost grazing her cheek, and the harsh sounds of her own shallow breaths grew only more desperate. She didn’t know when he’d gotten so close, but he now occupied her senses entirely: the heady scent of his skin; the sight of his naked chest; the sound of his beating heart. She lacked only touch, only taste, and she ached for it. Her mind was gone; she couldn’t even remember her own name standing this close to him. She knew, dimly, that this was a bad idea, that she was playing with fire, but Alizeh had survived an inferno once, and she thought she might survive such a blaze again.
“No,” she breathed.
She saw a shudder move through him, a heavy exhalation that rocked his frame. He made a desperate, broken sound as he closed his eyes, but still, he didn’t touch her. He wouldn’tput his hands on her, wouldn’t put an end to her torment, and she was far too conflicted, even then, to claim him for herself.
“Alizeh,” he whispered. “Let me make you my queen.”
It was a cold, sharp snap of reality.
Alizeh stiffened and drew back, her head cleared in an instant, alarm roaring through her body.
“Did you—” she said, panicking. “Are you trying to seduce me? To get me to marry you?”
Cyrus looked like he’d been struck.
He stared at her, his chest heaving, his eyes so plainly devastated she was overcome at once with regret.
“No,” he said, exhaling the word.
The nosta warmed.
“I’m sorry,” she cried, shaking her head, “I’m sorry, I know it’s a terrible accusation, but why did you— Why would you—”
“Why are you acting like this is a surprise?” He was recovering slowly, his pain calcifying, heating before her eyes. “I made my intentions clear from the beginning, Alizeh, I want to marry you—”
“Thedevilwants you to marry me,” she exploded. “That’s not at all the same thing! How can you not see—”
“Marry me,” he countered, “and you get your crown, the devil is briefly sated, and I’m discharged, in great part, of my debt. We all get something we want. Why is that so wrong?”
“It’s one thing,” she said angrily, “to enter into a false arrangement in the pursuit of our own interests. But this— Cyrus, this wouldn’t be false, and it would complicateeverything. What were you going to do? If I kissed you? What would come next?”
“I would marry you,” he said, stepping closer again, coming dangerously within reach. “I’d marry you tomorrow. And then I’d take you to bed. For weeks.”
She felt her face heat, her heart pounding recklessly. It was a shocking thing to say, but more shocking was the way her body reacted to his pronouncement, with a flare of desire she struggled to extinguish.
“And then?” she said, failing to steady her voice. “You expect me to kill you?”
He hesitated. “That choice is yours to make.”
“You’re unbelievable,” she breathed. “How can you be so cavalier? This is a deathly serious situation—”
“And what wasyourplan?” he said, his eyes flashing. “How did you think this would end?”
“I don’t know,” she said, and shook her head. “I wasn’t— I wasn’t thinking—”
“And now you’re thinking too much.”
“You’re being cruel—”
