"No." I hold his gaze. "Of course not."
"Of course not?" He's close enough now that I can see the gold flecks in his eyes. "It's a rather intense need."
My breath shallows. "It is. But it's for you."
He closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they're molten. "Is it you? Or the bond?"
I stare at him. "You can't be serious."
The look he gives me says he absolutely is. Something snaps in my chest.
"Is it the bond when you stare at me across a room like I'm the only person in it?" I step toward him, closing the distance he created. "Is it the bond when you watch my lips like you're dying to know how they'd feel against yours? When you angle every glass we share so your mouth lands exactly where mine was?"
Another step. He doesn't retreat.
"When you choose the chair closest to mine, every single time? When you find excuses to brush your hand against mine over maps we've already memorized?" My voice drops. "Should I continue?"
His eyes blaze. He closes the final distance between us, and suddenly my back is against the wall and he's everywhere, one hand cupping the back of my neck, his calloused thumb tracing the line of my jaw. My pulse is a drum.
My hands find his cloak, fisting the fabric, pulling him closer. I tilt my face up, eyes closing, waiting. He doesn't close the gap. I make a sound of frustration and yank him toward me.
"Tell me what you want." His voice is a low rasp against my lips.
"Right now? I want to kill you."
"Right now," he breathes, "I just might let you."
And then his mouth is on mine.
The kiss is slow. Devastating. His tongue traces the seam of my lips before sliding inside, exploring with a precision that makes my knees weak. A soft brutality.
A careful conquest. As if he's been imagining this for weeks and refuses to rush a single second of it. I try to match his pace. The hunger burning through me makes it impossible.
His hands slide down my sides, my hips, and settle on my thighs. I try to deepen the kiss, to chase him when he pulls back. He breaks away just far enough to search my face. His eyes are dark and wild, storm clouds over a churning sea.
Through the bond, I feel hesitation. A question. My voice won't come. So I answer in a different way. I slide my hands down his arms, feeling the muscles coil beneath my touch, and dig my nails in.
The lights flicker. He hoists me up in one fluid motion, lifting me against the wall. His hands slide beneath my skirt, rough and warm, and a shiver races through me as I wrap my legs around him.
He settles between my thighs, but not close enough. Not where I need him. I lock my ankles behind his back and pull. The motion forces him forward, pressing him exactly where I'm burning for him. The sound he makes is low and raw. His mouth crashes back into mine.
I rock against him again, and he growls into my mouth, a sound that vibrates through my entire body. I try to get closer, always closer, but it's not enough. He grips my hips and drives forward, hitting exactly the right spot, and I gasp, breaking the kiss. My head falls back against the wall. I've never felt so completely out of control. I don't want it to stop.
Some distant part of my mind notes that we're wearing far too many clothes. Then his mouth finds my neck, and I stop thinking entirely. His teeth graze my pulse point. His tongue follows. When he sucks hard enough to leave a mark, I forget my own name.
My fingers sink into his hair, gripping, pulling him closer. "Gods, yes?—"
"Fuck," he breathes against the hollow of my throat.
He pulls back suddenly, and I make a sound of protest before I can stop myself. "Look at me."
I do. And the air leaves my lungs. No one has ever looked at me the way he's looking at me now. Like I'm the only thing in the world that matters. Like he'd burn kingdoms to keep me.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." His voice is guttural.
Before I can respond, his mouth claims mine again. I dig my nails into the back of his neck. He bites my lip in response, and the sound I make is shameless. His hips surge forward.
I meet him thrust for thrust. The kiss turns savage. All teeth and tongue and desperation, flames consuming everything in their path.
