Page 115 of Frost Bound

Neve had been fully prepared to let the punishment take its course.

It had made him sick, but he couldn’t play favorites.

The moment Lumi had been escorted out of the judgment chamber, he’d taken Lia and fled. As soon as they were away from prying eyes, he’d rounded on her.

Flyka and Olwen followed behind from a distance.

“Why did you do that?” he snapped.

She looked at him with shock written all over her face. “What?”

“Why? She deserved it.”

Dahlia shook her head. “Do you hear yourself? That is the last of your family. How could you say such a thing?”

He stabbed a finger toward her eye. “Because of the marks that still cover your body. She told me everything. If you hadn’t fought so fiercely, she would have murdered you.” He ran a hand through his braids.

“It didn’t come to that. We’re both fine.”

“Really?” he growled. “Because I’ve heard your nightmares, Lia.” She snapped her open mouth closed and looked away. “Your body is healing, but what about your mind? You’ve hardly explored this week. Since you’ve arrived at the palace, there hasn’t been a day you haven’t poked around.”

“Why are you angry atme? I saved her foryou!”

He pressed into her space, his hand tangling in the hair at the nape of her neck. “I didn’t ask you for that.”

“But you wanted it all the same.” She glared up into his face, defiant even when he glowered at her. “I would never part you with another family member.” She reached up and touched the mourning piercing he’d given her earlier. “I found another solution. One where your sister can heal and become a better person. Where you don’t have to say goodbye forever.”

Emotion surged inside him, and he broke.

He grasped her chin and pressed his lips against her own. Hard.

It was foreign and felt wrong, but he didn’t regret it. He stared wide-eyed at her. He didn’t know what to do from here. All he knew was that he’d been obsessed with her lips from the first moment he’d taken one look at them.

She didn’t move for a moment, and he pulled back, panting. “Show me,” he rasped desperately. “Seittae.” Please.

Her eyes darted all over his face, before she grabbed a handful of his tunic and lifted onto her toes, pressing her soft lips against his, sliding them back and forth in a teasing caress.

Pure bliss crashed over him. This was what he’d been missing. What he’d been craving for weeks. Neve shuddered, wanting to drown in the sensation. He threaded his fingers through her curls as one of her hands wandered down his chest.

It was heaven. It was hell. It waseverything.

Her lips parted and she bit his bottom lip. Heat surged in his chest, and he released her chin, cursing and slamming his shaking left hand against the wall. She was so bloody soft it made him lose himself. It would be so easy to be too rough. She bit at him again and he growled.

Everything about Dahlia was delicate, but her little bitty bite? It stung and helovedit.

Neve tilted his head and nipped gently at her bottom lip, minding his fangs. A spark shot through him, thrilling at the way her breath stuttered and how she pulled him closer.

But when she opened her mouth and licked at him? He lost all sense.

She tasted like perfection. Ginger, and something sweet.

He pulled on her locks, dipping her head back against the wall. His left hand curled around her thigh, and somehow he found himself with her legs around his waist.

He blazed a path of kisses down the delicate column of her throat and laved her pulse with his tongue. Madness swirled in his mind; he wanted to lick every inch of her. She grabbed a handful of his braids and pulled him back to her sweet mouth. The heat of her body melded into his own and he shuddered when she flicked her tongue along his fang. He tipped her head farther back, tangling his rough tongue with her smooth one.

His left hand clenched on her thigh, his claws pricking the delicate material.

It would be so easy to tear the fabric from her body and claim her right here.

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