“Anything?” she asked, a husky note in her voice. There was something in the depths of her cornflower-blue eyes I hadn’t seen before—a hunger that stirred the fiery beast in my chest.
“Anything,” I repeated, my voice a dry rasp.
Adara pulled me closer until our chests were nearly touching, and then lifted her chin, bringing her lush mouth within a hairsbreadth of mine. I could almost taste her on my tongue, and part of me wanted to close the gap between us. To claim her mouth fully,consciouslythis time, and show her what it would be like to bemine.
But I wanted the choice to be hers, so I held still. And I waited.
The first brush of her lips against mine was tentative. Feather light. Like she was testing the surface of an icy river, seeing if it was solid enough to bear her weight. An unconscious purr of approval rumbled up my throat, and that seemed to embolden her, encouraging her to slide her other hand up to my shoulder, to press her lips more firmly against mine.
My own fingers itched to grab Adara’s ass, to pull her against me so she could feel my growing need for her. But this moment was too precious for that. It was the first time the two of us had willingly gone to the other’s arms, the first time we’d set aside our pride and differences and acknowledged the growing feelings between us.
So I didn’t give into the urge. Instead, I closed my eyes and kissed her back, using my mouth and tongue to slowly stoke the fire within her. My free hand hung loosely between us as I explored the contours of her mouth, teasing her with little flicks of my tongue. She opened her mouth to catch my tongue, but I retreated, chuckling a little when she growled.
“You’re holding back,” she accused, her eyes sparking with ire.
“I’m just waiting for you to tell me what you want.” I leaned my hip against the edge of the bed, a taunting grin on my lips. “Or to take it, if that’s the mood you’re in.”
Adara stalked toward me, her hips bumping into mine and forcing me onto the bed. She stepped in between my legs and grabbed my face between hers, then leaned in and caught my mouth in a savage kiss. Instantly, my inner beast reared up, roaring its approval, and I matched her ferocity with my own, yanking her hips into mine as I plundered her mouth with a single-minded intensity.
The kiss was a battle of wills as much as it was a battle of tongues, both of us seeking the upper hand, neither of us giving in. Somehow my hand found its way into her hair, hers beneath my shirt, seeking out secrets between each pounding heartbeat. Her touch was electrifying, the taste of her all-consuming—I wanted to drown myself in her, wanted to mark every inch of her with my scent until I imprinted myself into the very marrow of her bones.
My fingers tightened on the hair at the base of her skull, tugging her head back so I could trail kisses across her jawline and down the side of her neck. A gasp flew from her swollen lips as I nipped at her collarbone, and I grinned against her skin as I felt a shudder race through her spine.
“Einar…” her nails dug into my shoulders as I licked the spot where I’d just bitten her.
“Mmm?” I continued along the neckline of her gown, careful not to stray beneath the fabric. “Is there something you need, Adara?”
“I…” she sucked in another sharp breath as my teeth closed around a particularly juicy spot on her neck, and the scent of her desire thickened in the air, so potent that my fangs lengthened. She cried out as they punctured her skin, sinking into flesh, and the sweet, coppery taste of her blood gushed into my mouth.
Fuck!A rush of images flooded my head from Adara’s past—running through the fields with Mavlyn as a toddler, struggling to use her water magic in front of her jeering classmates, kicking Dune in the chest and sending him flying into what looked like a picnic spread. Touching my stone hide and watching me come to life, dancing with me in the air temple, opening her mouth to my kiss—
Adara moaned, the lustful sound echoing through the room and snapping me free from the reverie. I wrenched my mouth free of her neck, horrified at what I’d done, swiping at the hot blood on my lips as though I could erase the stain of the sin I’d just committed.
“What…” Adara stared at me, eyes glassy with shock and desire as her fingers slowly came up to graze the bite marks on her neck. But before I could say anything more, the door banged open, and Adara leaped back as Prentis barged into the room, his eyes wild, a swirling ball of water magic in his hand.
“What’s going on in here?” Prentis demanded. “I heard you scream…”
The words died in Prentis’s throat as his gaze zeroed in on Adara’s bleeding neck. She clutched at the wound, angling her body away as though she could hide it, but he was there in an instant, pulling her hand away so he could study the bloody bite marks. Guilt clawed at the inside of my chest like a living thing, and when Prentis rounded on me, his expression livid, I didn’t even bother defending myself.
“You bastard!” He flung out his hand toward me, and the sphere of water spun across the room, unraveling into a glowing blue rope that wrapped around my ankle. I cursed as Prentis yanked my feet out from under me, and my world went spinning as he whipped me through the air and slammed me onto the floor. Wood splintered beneath me, and I roared in pain as the bones in my wings snapped from the force of the blow.
“Prentis, no!” Adara screamed. She grabbed Prentis’s arm and yanked him back, but he shrugged her off as he continued to stalk toward me. I tried to struggle to my feet, but he yanked on the whip again, and I went right back down.
“You sick, depraved, rot-brained fire worm,” Prentis snarled. He planted his boot in the center of my chest, his lip curling into a sneer as I bared my blood-stained fangs at him. “You claim to be Adara’s protector, and yet the moment the two of you are alone, you attack her?”
“I didn’t mean—” I began, but the words ended in a gargle as Prentis pressed his boot against my throat. I would have been impressed by how intensely he defended Adara’s honor if he weren’t trying to kill me, and once more, I cursed the shackles that still bound my magic.
But just because I didn’t have my powers, didn’t mean I was powerless.
Righteous rage flooded me with renewed strength, and I grabbed Prentis’s leg with both my clawed hands and bucked my hips at the same time. My wings shrieked in pain as I put all my weight onto my upper back and flung my legs high, hooking my heels around Prentis’s hipbones. The water fae lord’s eyes widened as I flexed my legs again, jumping up to my feet and taking him down in one motion. His water whip snaked around my legs even as he crashed into the floor, trying to trip me up. But instead of trying to stay upright, I dropped all my weight on top of him so I was straddling him.
“I would never dream of attacking Adara,” I snarled, pulling my fist back. “But I have no qualms about attackingyou.”
I punched him square in the face, baring my fangs in a savage grin as Prentis’s nose crunched beneath my fist. He swore loudly as blood gushed from his nose, and I reared back to punch him again, already feeling his water rope snaking up my back to try and tie my arms up. If I could just knock him out before he could use his magic on me again—
“That. Is. Enough!”
A firm hand curled around the back of my collar, and I went sailing through the air once again. Mercifully, I crash-landed on the bed instead of the floor, but my broken wings still shrieked in pain from the impact, stars exploding behind my eyes. The sounds in the room faded into a faint buzz, and it took a supreme effort of will for me to force myself upright and try to see what was happening.
