Kingsolver growled low, his enormous form bristling as he lunged toward Flame again, but she dodged effortlessly. She was playing with him, and he knew it. She lunged, colliding with Kingsolver in a burst of energy. His growl rumbled as he grappled with her, but Flame held her own, before suddenly bounding off at full speed with him in hot pursuit.
Blake stepped flush against my back, my every nerve endingon high alert at the press of his firm body, the evidence of his arousal, as he guided my hands through the next movement. The proximity made it hard to think, the energy between us crackling, ready to explode.
“You’re still holding back,” he murmured, his breath teasing the nape of my neck.
My heart pounded, and I could feel something building inside me, begging to be released.
But it wasn’t just the magic. It was everything. The pull between us, the heat of his skin so close to mine, the way his hands hovered, never quite touching but always there, always close.
“I’m not holding back,” I said, my voice coming out breathless. There was a burn behind my eyes.
Blake’s words curved around me, knowing. “You are. And so am I.”
Energy hung between us, heavy, charged, and I couldn’t ignore the double meaning. The tension in the air was palpable, and the line between magic and something even more dangerous was blurring by the second.
“I can’t.”
“Rubi—”
“I said I can’t,” I snapped, turning and walking away—my fear even stronger than the pull between us.
43
After putting Flame in her stall for the night, calming us both with a grooming session, I went back to my rooms.
Blake was leaning against my door, waiting.
My heart skittered at the sight of him and my step faltered. The whirl of emotions and sensations and magic between us earlier had been so overpowering, I wasn’t ready to face him.
“We need to push it further,” he said, his voice low and steady, though there was an edge to it.
I swallowed hard, avoiding his eyes. “Push what?”
“The bond,” Blake replied, stepping closer to me, pulling my eyes to his with the force of his will. “The Pairing. We’re supposed to be stronger together, but we need to understand how it works. Let me in, Rubi. Let me protect you. Please.”
I breathed out. He was right, I knew he was, but the fear of losing control was so strong, as strong as my fear of failing—of reaching for magic and finding nothing. He was asking me to trust him completely.
But he wasn’t just anyone. He was the Ambush Master and the Ravager in one. He was the man who’d held me as I broke down.
I opened the door and let him in.
Once inside, Blake raised his hand, the air around him crackling with magnetic energy. His control over metal was flawless, and as his fingers twitched, all the metal in my room rose, twisted, and swirled in the air. But this time, he wasn’t just using his own magic. I could feel him reaching for me.
I felt a tug deep in my chest, the thread between us pulling taut, and a strange sensation began to spread through my body, like something was searching me. Blake was trying to draw magic from me, to amplify his own, but there was nothing.
No fire, no spark.
Blake frowned, his jaw tightening. “There should be power here. I can feel the connection, but…” His eyes locked on mine, frustration flashing behind them. “There’s nothing to draw from.”
My stomach sank.
I could feel it. The pull, the tension. But there was no magic flowing between us, no power for him to take. Just…emptiness. It was easy then for the doubt to creep in, a sinking feeling in my gut.
“I don’t have much magic,” I said, my voice barely a whisper but with a bitter edge to it. Defensive. “You knew that before you Paired with me. Don’t—”
“Rubi,” Blake cut me off. “Stop.”
I crossed my arms.
