Page 455 of Axis of Fire

Somewhere inside me, every coherent thought dissolved, replaced by nothing but warmth and the impossible awareness of how close he was.

His hand drifted higher, grazing the bare skin above the neckline of my dress with featherlight care.

"You look beautiful," he whispered.

"So unbelievably beautiful."

He kept kissing me.

Kept tracing my skin with slow, lingering touches, as though trying to convince himself...

me...

and the entire world...

that this was what he wanted.

My body responded instantly.

A sharp ache settled low in my stomach.

I wanted him.

God, I wanted him.

The passion I'd kept buried inside me rejoiced now that I'd finally surrendered to it.

Forgetting everything and everyone around us, my fingers found the buckle of his belt, trying to undo it.

"Not now," Airis murmured.

One of his hands caught my wrists, pinning them gently above my head while his body pressed me against the wall of flowers.

"That's not fair," I whispered, leaning in for another kiss.

I kissed him as though I'd spent all twenty-five years of my life saving every ounce of passion...

every ounce of tenderness...

every bit of desire...

just for him.

And it felt as though he was doing the very same.

Until—

he froze.

For the briefest moment.

I was about to ask what was wrong, but I never got the chance.

His kisses suddenly turned fiercer.

Possessive.

Almost desperate.