Pain twisted her guts. She needed him to understand, to keep his distance. “You need to stop worrying about me. This was never going to end well. Give up on saving me.”
“I can’t.”
Those words knocked the breath out of her. Her eyes blew wide, lips parting. How could someone seem so willing to risk themselves for her? She searched his face for some sign that he didn’t really mean it. That the world still operated as she thought.
Anger set his jaw in a hard line, but something else had scrunched his brow and lit the fire in his eyes. Despite her best efforts, she saw hunger.Want.
A shudder ran through her, and Iryana tried to shake off the feeling that sank deep inside her in recognition. Why did he have to be so attractive? Why did her body have to react to him the way it did?
She couldn’t help but think his insistence on protecting her was cruel. To make her think there was someone she could rely on, someone who would still be there when it really mattered. It was all a lie.
And yet…
Fear and the desire to run battled with the quaking in her chest. Pyetar seemed frozen too—until his gaze dipped down to her mouth.
She couldn’t help the small sound that escaped her lips.
With a suddenness that didn’t leave her a moment for questioning, they moved toward each other. Finally, in agreement. The moment his lips met hers, all thoughts fled.
She clung to him as he pulled her closer. Her hands tangled in his hair; his wrapped around her waist. Warmth flooded through her from his body pressed so tight to hers. It felt so good.
Pyetar kissed her desperately, as if the act itself could keep her safe. His mouth was hot, moving urgently against hers as if pleading with her. Her chest was still tight from the panic and despair of the last few days, but it only drove her further into a frenzy. She couldn’t kiss him deeply enough, couldn’t get close enough.
One of his hands slid up her back and over her shoulders. He cupped her jaw, thumb trailing over her cheek. Then his hand slid back to her neck, tilting her head back to deepen their kiss even further. Iryana groaned against him.
The way he was touching her—it was almost reverent. She should have expected it after the way he’d taken care of her injuries. The way he’d carried her after rescuing her from the dakii.
Mere whispers of thoughts crept in, only to be batted away by another kiss, another touch.
This isn’t what it’s supposed to feel like.
Pyetar sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, and her whole body tightened. Her hands dragged down his shoulders, gripping the soft white fabric of his shirt, holding him close as he resumed their desperate kissing.
This is nothing like being with the others. This is more than cold, physical touches to drive the loneliness away.
She trailed her tongue against his lips, and his chest vibrated with a deep groan. His hands grew wild, sliding along her back, her arms, down her side.
This won’t last.
The heat of his breath trailed along her jaw. A soft gasp escaped her lips as her head tilted back even more. His lips pressed to her neck, and a shiver raced down her spine.
She would drive him away.
Iryana slowly moved backwards, pulling him with her, until her legs hit the side of the bed. Pyetar lifted her, sitting her on the bed. Her legs wrapped around him, and he started tugging at the few straps of her armor she had fastened.
He would see her, see what she was really like. The pieces.
He pressed against her, and the jolt of need through her body had her back arching. His hands traced a fevered path up her thigh as she ripped his shirt free from his pants and pressed her hands to the hard muscles of his stomach. Need coiled through her body.
“Iryana,” he whispered. Half-groan, half-plea. He stilled against her, clutching her even tighter.
The pain that would bring…
She froze.
With a groan, Pyetar tore away from her. He bumped into the table at the center of the room in his rush to get away, his hands raised as if to ward her off.
Iryana stared wide-eyed at him, her chest still heaving. Oh no, no, no, her mind screamed. What had she done? She had to take it back. Then she realized the way he was looking at her.
