Page 28 of Wake the Dream

She moaned low in her throat, and in a move she’d never anticipated, brought her arms around his neck and used the leverage to draw herself higher, pressing her chest against his. Oh yes, she could learn to love his taste: like one of those expensive chocolate treats you only got once a year, rich and dark. Unexpected for the sweetness.

What the hell was she doing?

Her heart stopped. Sputtered. Started again, but it wasn’t the same as before. Nothing was the same as before.

Chapter 8

Kieran

He’d kissed her.Damn it, he’d kissed her and he hadn’t meant to.

His own heart did strange, crazy things beneath his ribs, and he had no idea where his ankles had gone. Kieran took a deep breath and continued to kiss her like his life depended on it, determined to put some serious thought later into tracking down his ankles.

Illaria arched her back. It pleased him to see that her breath had gone uneven. Perfect. It meant he’d gotten to her the same way she’d gotten to him, even though he hadn’t regarded this as a likely occurrence. Hadn’twantedanything like this, either, and would have been happy to push away the desire under the guise of dislike.

Who was he kidding?

He shoved her coat and shirt roughly away from her shoulders and started nibbling his way down her neck.

The logical part of his brain screamed at him to let her go. The two of them could never be together, not in any meaningful capacity. Yet he found he liked the idea of continuing, of giving her a bite. Or two. Her skin beckoned him and instead of giving in to the voice telling him to stop, he sank his teeth down. Illaria shook against him, her body stiffening, and before he knew it, she’d grabbed his head and brought her lips to his. She kissed him hungrily, rubbing herself against him.

His fingers dug into her skin when he dragged her closer.

Brain turned off, his baser instincts kicked into gear. He would have taken her right there against the wall if she hadn’t groaned, pushing against his chest. With some reluctance, he released her, easing away but still keeping his hands on her hips.

“That was...” She shook her head and he was pleased to see her cheeks turned a bright candy-apple red. “You were...”

His lips twisted in a smile, pulsing with energy. “Amazing? Brilliant?”

“Completely out of line.”

And there went the rest of his good mood. He released her quickly enough that he would have lost his balance had the wall not been at his back. “Um, not the answer I was expecting, I’ll be honest.”

It burned a hole through him in a very different way. He reached up to rub the sore spot in his chest, watching the way her eyes darted away to land on...well, anything but him.

“I’m sorry, it’s...it’s not a good time. It’s not that you were bad—”

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