Page 21 of A Spark in the Ash

I’ll definitely be bruised later. He’s going to look like he was struck by a hundred tiny bolts of lightning.

Why does that turn me on, too?

WhoamI?

I let my lips trail from his mouth to his jaw. It’s rough, covered in scruff. I trail down to his neck, anxious to try his move.

He makes a sound of pleasure. His hands rise farther up my back, and he clings to me, closing every bit of space between our chests.

I honestly didn’t know that being with someone physically like this could feel this good. And we’ve still got seventy-five percent of our clothes on. But this just feels…right. How can this feel natural when the shadow monster inside of me is raging, fighting to break free so it can kill the man beneath me? It does, though.

It really does.

My hands slide back down over Jaxon’s chest, needing to feel more of him.

But suddenly he feels like an inferno. And in that exact same moment, he pushes me back and rolls away in a movement that is so fast, I hardly even see him do it. It takes every ounce of self-control I have to not let my darkling form erupt.

I roll onto my hands and knees, prepared to spring into action. My brain trips over itself, confused and warring with my hormones as I try to figure out what just happened.

Jaxon sits up, scooting himself backward along the floor until his back reaches the wall. His hands are glowing brightly and fissures are racing up his arms, all the way to his neck. He looks at his hands as he huffs ragged pulls of breath in and out.

“I just…” he growls as he stares at his glowing hands. “I just need a minute.” His eyes slide over to me and I see him search my body for marks of injury. “Holy hell, Serena.” He shakes his head, his eyes scared and worried. “We need to be so damn careful. We can’t…we can’t take this too far. I don’t know how much self-control I can keep if I get too lost in you.”

I’m breathing hard. I shift back, sitting on my butt and stare at him. I nod. “Okay. We’ll be careful. We won’t take things any farther than we did just now. But I just want you to know, that none of what just went down bothered me. None of it.”

There it is. A wicked smirk pulls in the corners of his mouth. The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know.

He enjoyed it, too.

He looks down at his hands again, watching as the light slowly fades. He lets a curse slip out as he shakes his head. “I’m coming back for more, I promise you that.” As he looks at me, I can practically see what he has planned for me etched on his face. It sends my blood raging once again. “But first I need a minute. And a shower.”

I chuckle. “Fine,” I say as I climb to my feet. Cautiously, I watch him stand back up. “You know where the showers are. I’ll get you some clothes from your room and leave them on the counter.”

The heady expression on his face tells me he’s imagining a different scenario.

But he’s the one that just said we need to pace ourselves.

I know he isn’t wrong.

“Thanks,” he says, and he turns and walks into the washroom.

Chapter Eight

I keepmyself busy in the kitchen while I wait for Jaxon to finish his shower. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but weirdly, I feel like cooking for him.

I don’t know how to cook.

Okay, I make the two of us a plate of chopped up vegetables and some hummus from the fridge, but I do make some effort.

I turn when I hear him step into the kitchen.

He looks like his old self. He’s wearing his standard colors, black jeans with a white t-shirt. His hair is wet, combed back away from his face.

He looks…refreshed, and not just in the fact that he’s just had his first shower in weeks.

“You’re doing it again,” he says.

“What?” I ask.

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