Then again, I carry that shit on my back like it’s sewn into my skin. Maybe it’s my fault that I can’t escape it.
All of a sudden, Alistair’s face is inches from mine. He plucks the roll from my fingertips, takes the deepest pull I’ve seen yet, and drops the burnt end. Without warning, he grabs my face and pushes our foreheads together. “Stop thinking so damn hard, Sienna.” My heart pounds as he bumps the tips of our noses. “And breathe.” Sealing his lips over mine, he exhales all the smoke from his lungs into my mouth. I tense, but his grip tightens on my cheeks, leaving me with no other option but to inhale.
I taste the smoke first, its woodsy scent unmistakable. But then comes the rush of heat, and with it, something sweeter and...intoxicating. Grabbing Alistair’s waist, I fight my need for air and pour my heart into a reckless kiss, moaning as I sweep my tongue into his hot mouth and greedily swallow whatever divinity the gods have poured between his lips. Need burns through me so fast that I whimper, unable to stop the sound from slipping free.
Alistair has turned to stone. “Si?—”
I cling to him with animalistic urgency, biting his bottom lip and rubbing my body over his. “Alistair,” I pant, loving the way his body trembles. “I need?—”
Our eyes meet, and something in him snaps. He shoves me against the wall and groans so deep that I feel it in my bones. “Tell me that you need me.” Tilting my head to the side, he scrapes his teeth against my jaw then licks the column of my throat. Finding my pulse, he nips the delicate skin and shudders, his hands hooking over my ass to hold me closer. “Tell me that nothing else matters.”
A shiver races down my spine. Why would he care about that?
“There’s just you—” He lifts me off the floor and slams our hips together. “And me.” The heat of his body pulses in time with his heartbeat. “Say it.”
I tangle my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. He can’t be serious. I don’t want to say anything, let alone something likethat.“Kiss me.”
There’s a moment of silence as he freezes in place, one hand palming my ass while the other teases the bare skin at my waist. Then he sighs, a full-bodied motion that catches me off guard. Gently lowering my feet back to the floor, he takes a step back and breathes deep like he’s clearing his head. His hand lingers on my hip until he slowly drops it by his side. The long-forgotten smoke rolls off the edge of the balcony on a gust of wind.
I should apologize and make an excuse that the full moon has gone to my head, but I can’t bring myself to speak. When I clear my throat, it scratches like I’ve swallowed ash.
Alistair works his jaw without producing any words, his gaze flicking to my lips as he curses under his breath. Then he puts so much distance between us that the cold comes rushing back in. We shiver in unison as we stare at one another.
“That was . . .” He stares at me for a long moment and absentmindedly rubs his mouth. “A mistake. Wasn’t it?” When I don’t answer—because what the hell am I supposed to say after damn near begging him to kiss me?—he groans. “Seriously, Sienna, I need you to say something, or I’ll drive myself insane thinking about that kiss.”
I pick up my blanket from the ground and wrap it around my shoulders. “Don’t worry about it.” My walls go up in record time, sealing off my heart from whatever crazy temptation falls over me every time Alistair Dire walks into the room. “It never happened.”
Alistair’s eyes narrow. “Never happened?”
“Exactly. I was never here.” I’m about to take the coldest bath of my life and scrub the memory of Alistair’s hard cock pressing against me from my mind, permanently.
Because what thefuck, Sienna? Did I lose all sense in the span of two seconds? At the taste of whatever magic graces his ungodly soft lips?
I make the mistake of looking at him before shamefully retreating to my bedroom.
Not only is his cock still hard, but so are his eyes.Angrydoesn’t begin to describe the fury on his face. Irises flashing bright gold, he grabs my wrist before I can pull open my balcony door. “Is this a game to you?” He spins me around and pushes us against the glass panel so hard that its cracks splinter, the shrill sound making me flinch. “Are you trying to break as many hearts as possible, or are you naive enough to think that your actions don’t have consequences?”
My mind races alongside my heartbeat. “I’m not trying to break anyone’s heart, Alistair. I’m just trying to survive like everyone else.”
A sneer pulls at his lips. “By torturing the men who want to claim you?”
“Callum and Revyn don’t have to know about this.” They’ll be devastated once they find out I kissed Alistair and just as confused about it as I am.
Alistair shakes with rage. “I’m not talking about them!”
“Then who are you—” I gape up at him. “Notyou?”
He clenches his jaw and stares at my lips.
No way.
Nofuckingway.
I shove him. “Your father hates me!” When he doesn’t deny it, I laugh, the sound lost to a sudden gust of harsh winter wind. “You’re crazy if you think I’ll ever mate with you.” To emphasize my point, I push him again, grateful when he takes two steps back. “I’d rather die!”
Ignoring my outburst, Alistair crosses his arms and has the audacity to look annoyed. “Why did you kiss me?”
I don’t have an answer other than the truth, and I refuse to tell the man that his lips are holy relics I could worship until the end of time.Gods, how pathetic is that? “Why does it matter? It won’t happen again.”
