Page 70 of The Forgotten Prince

More than anything, he should just go.

Now, before she said something she would later come to regret.

His look, his touch, was affecting her strangely.

A lump formed in her throat. And then he tugged and Gwendolyn tugged back, and though she didn’t know what the gesture proposed… somehow, she did.

She didn’t want him to release her.

She wanted him to come inside… with her.

She wanted to kiss him again.

Wanted…

His fingers sank deeper into the soft flesh of her arm, and Gwendolyn returned the gesture in kind, both staring at one another with gazes changing from ire… to surprise… to… unmitigated desire?

Hot points of desire burst behind her closed lids when she didn’t even remember closing her eyes.

He tugged once more, pulling her toward him, and Gwendolyn said, “Málik.”

“Do not tempt me,” he begged.

And then, before she perceived how best to respond, he drew her into his arms, covering her mouth with his own, slipping his hot tongue between her trembling lips. A soft gasp escaped Gwendolyn as he enfolded her in his embrace, holding her possessively as he tasted and explored the depths of her mouth.

Gods. Oh Gods.

This wasn’t a sweet kiss.

She could taste his desire.

And hers.

Her heart pounding all the while like a forger’s hammer, they kissed ardently, exploring each other’s mouths with the fervor of two starved beasts—both of whom had gone without sustenance too long. The groan that escaped Málik’s mouth set fire to Gwendolyn’s body, and when he attempted to extricate himself, she lifted her arms, locking them about his neck, pulling him down for another kiss. “No,” she whispered. “Don’t… go.”

“I—”

“No,” she said again. “Do not deny me.”

His hands lifted to her cheeks, cupping her face between his hands—how and when they alit there, Gwendolyn didn’t know for sure, because in her mind they were both still standing, arms entwined.

“Please,” she begged.

“You have always been my weakness,” he whispered, and the meadowy scent of his breath left her hungry and helpless…

“Come inside,” she begged.

He shook his head, refusing.

Gwendolyn begged with her eyes.

“Who can say where we go from here, or whether we live or die? If, in truth, your father will flay you, what more will he do to me? I will not regret my death for this cause, Málik, but I will regret…” She swallowed. “Not having known…”

Gently, he lifted a finger to her lips, hushing her.

“Come inside,” she pleaded, and though she had never in her life used her feminine wiles, she did so now, shrugging her gown off one shoulder to bare the pale moon of her flesh for his hungry eyes.

A strange haze passed over his wintry gaze… a film of burning ice. And then he lowered his hot lips to her shoulder, searing her flesh with a kiss. And swiftly baring his teeth, he rested his upper fangs against her bared shoulder, and there remained, pressing the points of his very sharp teeth into the tender skin.

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