Page 39 of Iron Heart

“No,” I shake my head “Here, let me.”

I step closer, and reach up to brush it out myself. My fingers graze his as I sweep the web from his dark locks. I jolt a little at the contact of his skin with mine.

His hair is soft. The only soft thing about him, as far as I can tell.

I resist the urge to run my fingers through it.

I realize I’m closer to him than I thought. I had to step close to reach up for the cobweb, because he’s so tall. My eyes come up to his chin. I’m near enough to see the individual hairs of his short beard.

His lips are right there. One corner of his mouth is lifted just slightly, in the start to a smile or a smirk — I can’t tell which.

And I realize his hair isn’t the only thing that might feel soft.

“There,” I half-whisper. “All gone.”

I start to pull my hand back, but Dante reaches out and catches hold of my wrist.

“You need help with anything else?” he asks me. He sounds different. His voice is lower. Thicker. He’s close enough that it feels like it’s rumbling through my chest cavity.

“You already asked me that,” I say, hearing the hitch in my throat.

“No, I didn’t.” His voice shifts even lower. “I asked you if you wanted me tomoveanything else.”

I swallow.

“I don’t know what to say to that,” I stammer.

“Then maybe we should stop talking,” he says, and his mouth finds mine.

His lips are soft, is the last coherent thought I have. His mouth is insistent, hungry, like he’s been waiting to do this for a while. And like he isn’t going to stop unless I tell him to.

I’m not going to tell him to.

His hand is in my hair. His other arm slips around my waist to draw me to him. He’s hard.Reallyhard. I moan before I even realize I’m doing it. His mouth and tongue are punishing mine, and it’s so delicious it feels like I’ve never been kissed before now, and I haven’t, not like this.Thisis something different. It’s like air, or food, or water, or all three at the same time. This is something Ineed. Dear God, whatever he’s doing to me right now, please don’t ever let him stop.

My heart is thumping now, pounding hard in my chest, but not in the weird, erratic way it does when I start to have an episode. More like it’s trying to get my attention, jumping up and down to tell me,Wow, keep doing more of this!Which it doesn’t even have to do because, hello, for once my heart and I are in total agreement.

Dante presses me back against the wall. His kiss deepens as he pulls me closer, lifting me up, until I’m pressed against the hard length of him. Immediately, my body reacts, a fire beginning between my legs that threatens to consume me. My hands reach up and then they’re in his hair, fisting, pulling him closer, and we’re kissing each other like the world’s ending, like there’s nothing more for us except each other. I moan again, and in answer a deep, tortured groan rips from Dante’s throat.

Then, suddenly, his lips are gone.

He pulls away, breaking the kiss. My mind shouts,no! But I manage not to scream it out loud.

My chest is rising and falling rapidly. I’m confused, and dizzy, and every cell in my body just wants to go back to three seconds ago. I don’t know what’s happened to make him stop.

“You come in hot, don’t you?” I pant. I try to make it sound like a joke, but even I can hear the whine of need in my voice.

“I’ve tried not to. I swear to God I have.” His black eyes find mine. “I’ve been trying like hell to ignore you, Tori.”

“Why?” I gasp.

For a second, he says nothing. I hear his ragged breathing. His hand still tangled in my hair, he tilts my face up toward his. He looks almost angry.

“Because you’re more than I can handle.”

That’s the last thing I would have expected him to say.

“I’mmore than…you… can handle?” I repeat dumbly.