Page 94 of Lake of Sorrow
Though surprised, she responded automatically, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.
“It is difficult to be with you.” He kissed her neck, then nuzzled her ear. “And it is difficult to be away.”
She swallowed, fighting the urge to completely melt into him, to let him kiss whatever he wished, or to dare to kiss him herself. “Because you’re worried I’m getting myself in trouble?” she whispered.
A legitimate concern.
“That, yes. And because I want you.”
The raw admission made her heart ache. She wanted him too. As he well knew.
“Never before have I struggled so much to keep my distance from a woman.”
“Because of my beauty and wit, I presume, not your weird curse being drawn by my weird blood.”
“You are beautiful.”
“And my wit?” She kept her words light, afraid that if a more serious mood came over her, she would struggle to step back again.
As his hand cupped her, keeping her in his arms, he nipped at her earlobe, sending a jolt of pure arousal through her. “I believe snark is the appropriate term for what you possess.”
She caught herself arching into him, bringing her lips to his ear, slipping her tongue out, tasting his warmth. “I think you like it.”
“It bothers me less than it should.”
“If I were a noble, would it bother you at all?” She sucked on his earlobe, wanting him to think of her as an equal, even if it was a silly thing to desire. It wasn’t the reality in the kingdom, neither the law nor the culture suggesting that commoners and aristocrats stood on the same ground. But she wanted him to admit that she was worthwhile, that she was good enough for him. She grazed his ear with her teeth, then dared to nip, as he had, while her fingers curled into the back of his neck.
“You are more than a noble,” he rasped, his grip on her tightening. “You have power I don’t understand.”
She released his ear, whispering, “Power that draws you.” Though her body remained heated in his arms, and she longed for them to remove their clothes and fully explore each other, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the reminder of why he wanted her.
“You draw me.” He turned his face to meet her gaze.
She caught the dangerous glint mingling with the lust in his eyes, the promise that the beast lurked under the surface, poised to erupt.
A laugh from somewhere in the park reminded her that they were not alone. Many people could be killed if the beast were freed.
But Vlerion’s attention was only for her. He lowered his mouth to hers, claiming her with a kiss filled with desire.
A mistake. She realized she’d made a mistake with her arousing nip. She tried to break the kiss even as her body longed for what he promised to give her. She struggled with her own desire as much as his, but they couldn’t allow this to progress.
She planted her hands on his chest. She couldn’t— They couldn’t.
But his grip was too tight to escape, his desire too hard to deny. Any second, the beast would arise.
A scream of alarm came from the other side of the park.
Confused and captured by Vlerion’s grip, Kaylina thought he’d already started to change, that people were screaming as they witnessed it.
But when Vlerion broke the kiss, his breathing heavy, his eyes glazed with lust, he was still human. For the moment.
The people on the other side of the park were looking toward the street, not toward Kaylina and Vlerion.
“Something’s wrong,” he rasped, then swallowed, trying to collect himself. He looked at Kaylina and stepped back, anguish replacing the glint of the beast in his eyes. “I apologize. I was… I have no excuse.”
“Yeah, you do,” she whispered.
But he shook his head in denial. “I?—”