He stops but doesn’t turn around.
“Why did you leave? After you kissed me?”
“Rosalina…”
Heat trills through me. I run my hand over the raw skin of my forearm, a choking sensation in my chest. He gave me something I can never thank him for, and he’s going to walk away.
“I’ve seen you do this with Kel,” I say, voice breaking. “One minute you’re present, every piece of you bright and available. And the next… You’re gone. Sometimes literally, out running around the Briar or whatever you do. But sometimes you can be right in front of me and it feels like if I reached out and touched you, you’d disappear.”
“Rosalina,” he says lowly, “you don’t know who I am. What I’ve done.”
“Then let me in,” I whisper. “Plant your roots in me, Ez. I’ll keep you safe.”
He turns, body rigid. “We can’t do this.” But he’s stepping toward me.
“Why not?” My words are a breath, carried away in the bracing wind. I back up as he stalks closer, bumping against the railing. My heart hammers like a cornered rabbit.
He shoots an arm out on one side of me, seizing the rail. “Because I’m dangerous.”
“I’m not afraid of you.”
He’s so close, I have to arch my back over the railing to avoid being pressed against him. There’s something inhuman about the way the helmet glowers down at me, his body made of steel. Electricity nips through my core, a desire to push that steel until it snaps.
He captures a loose strand of my hair and curls it around his finger. “You’re tempting the fates.” His head lowers to the crook of my neck, and I catch a glimpse of his skin between the armored collar and the helm. I inhale, taking in his familiar scent of leather, iris, and cedarwood. “And yet,” he murmurs. “I find myself doing the same.”
His other hand slams down on my opposite side, fully caging me in. I brace myself on the railing and breathe out, my bust pushing against his huge chest. The cold armor of his breastplate sends a shiver through the thin fabric of my blouse.
“You know,” I murmur, “I’m Kel’s mate.”
“Obviously.” His body pushes harder against mine.
“And Dayton and I like to fool around.”
His voice is a dusky growl. “I know that, too.”
“And Farron and I… Well, Farron is special to me. Very special.” Little gasps escape between my words.
“Why are you telling me this, Rosalina?”
My mouth falls to that gap between his armor and his helmet. “In case you kiss me again, I want you to know those facts. I’ve told them you kissed me. And they don’t care. Dayton and Fare said they liked it, actually—”
His knee jams in between my legs, wedging them apart. “But didyoulike that I kissed you?”
I gasp, the feeling of his huge, hard leg in between mine filling me with pressure. My lips linger on that precious gap of skin. “Very much so.”
He sighs, as if in resignation. Then he grinds his leg into me. I let out a small whimper, hands lacing around his neck.
As if aware of how weak he’s made me, Ezryn embraces me. I grasp the edges of his armor, wanting nothing between us.
His hands grip my hips and I melt against him, wondering if his touch will consume me whole. He dips his head to the space between my breasts and lets out a growl. “Sometimes I hate this fucking thing.”
“W-what?” I shake my head, trying to remember what words are.
“The helmet. I want your perfect—” His words turn into a feral snarl.
My breathing grows labored, and I press myself down harder on his knee. Electric pleasure rushes through me, and his name is on my lips. “Ez—”
“Hello?” a voice calls from inside the bedroom. “Rosie? Ez?”
