I kissed him.
Though I’d closed my eyes out of habit, I could feel his mouth freeze under my lips—the briefest hesitation, followed by a small gasp that came and went so quickly I might have imagined it. But no, I felt that pull of air between us, just before he leaned into the kiss… and he leaned in hard.
Oh.
One hand slid around the nape of my neck as he pulled me even closer, his tongue brushing against my lower lip in gentle request. I let my mouth part for him, temporarily forgetting that this was supposed to be a game.
As Kieran’s tongue began to explore my mouth, I could taste him. I found myself pleasantly surprised at the heady mix ofblack tea, a hint of citrus, and… clove, maybe?Fuck, he was good at this—I could feel every slow, deft stroke of his tongue all the way to my very core. Hesitant, I let my own tongue wander into his mouth, and was startled again by the sharpness of his canines.
I was running out of breath, and I pulled back just barely for a moment’s pause, only for him to tighten his grip on my neck. Without warning, he planted a soft but demanding bite on my lower lip, tugging at it, pulling me back in. I felt heat pool at my core almost immediately, and in that moment—against my godsdamned will,Fates above and leylines below be damned—a small whimper of pleasure escaped my mouth.
Oh, fuck.
Chapter Fifty-Four
Kieran
Holy Hel, that sound.
That fucking sound.
Arken almost immediately leapt up off of my couch after the whimper left her lips, her cheeks flaming with embarrassment. I had to take a few seconds to blink, trying to process what had her so clearly horrified with herself.
Oh. She thought I had just been teasing her.
“That was so inappropriate, gods, I am so sorry,” she said quickly, one hand still covering her mouth. She couldn’t look me in the eye.
Inappropriate? Oh no, sweetheart.
This was probably the most appropriate thing that had ever fucking transpired between us, no matter how long we’d bothbeen running from it. As she started to try and take a step back, perhaps to put some distance between us, I caught her by the wrist.
“Arken,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm, though my heart was pounding. “Don’t… Come back here, please.”
Please don’t run away from me, Arken. Not now.
I would beg, if she asked me to. I needed her to stay. I needed her, period.
She was staring at the carpet now, looking somewhat pained, conflicted and still clearly mortified. When she finally peered back at me through those thick, dark lashes, I could see hints of shame lingering in those golden eyes.
I let my own smolder in her direction, finally letting her see just how fucking badly I wanted her. I licked at my lower lip absentmindedly, reveling in how it had swollen after she’d kissed me.
She kissed me.
“Stay,” I requested softly.
“I—We… We really shouldn’t do this, Kieran,” she whispered back.
I knew that, I did. I just didn’t care, not anymore. I had carried her weak, lifeless body out of the woods last night and almost lost myself inside the terror that I had been too late. What I was about to do would surely complicate things between us, but I didn’t fucking care anymore.
“I know,” I said, tilting my head. Studying her. Searching for what she really wanted. “I know we shouldn’t. But since when do we always do what we’re supposed to, Ark? Please,just come back here and kiss me again.”
My voice had dropped so low that it nearly matched her hesitant whisper, and my mask crumbled. Because this had never really been a game. Not to me. There was no hiding the pleading behind my words, no way to disguise how much Iwanted her or the fact that I would kill just to hear that she wanted me back.
I knew she did, but this was her decision to make.
“Would it help if I begged, sweetheart?” I asked with sincerity. I would much prefer to hearherbeg—and hear that fucking whine again, for that matter—but I would beg for this.
“Maybe?” she said the word with indecision, as if it were a question as she pinched at the bridge of her nose with her free hand.