Page 64 of Shadow

“You can let me go now,” she mumbled against my chest, her voice flustered. “I’m fine.”

The words were there before I could stop them. “Do you ever wonder what it would be like if you stayed here?”

She tilted her head back, her eyes locking onto mine, searching for something.

“I wish I could,” she whispered, her honesty hitting me like a blow.

I lowered my head as she lifted hers, meeting me halfway. Our lips touched, soft at first, testing boundaries neither of us had acknowledged aloud.

I wanted more. I wanted to claim her, to lay her back on the blanket and drown in the heat of her body.

But I didn’t.

Her taste was a mix of everything that defied logic and ignited conflict within me. As the kiss deepened, I felt her walls crack, the emotions she had so carefully guarded bleeding into mine. And I couldn’t decide if I wanted to pull her closer or push her away before I lost myself completely.

The women who came to me over the past few years didn’t want romance. They wanted safety, security, a haven from the dangers of their world. Their desire didn’t include standing at the edge of the ocean and stealing kisses under the sky.

Maybe that was why they had never satisfied me.

To them, I was a tool. I understood or at least tried to. Vulnerability was not something I had ever experienced.

Her lips tasted like sunshine and longing; a bittersweet blend that stirred something primitive in me. Beast’s power simmered, but this time he wasn’t kicking ribs to send jolts of pain through me. Instead, he wastastingher too, soaking in the unique essence of who she was.

Her innocence, the newfound grace replacing her earlier clumsiness, her quiet but unyielding strength.

It was all there, and maybe it had been all along.

When we broke apart, her eyes searched mine, a question forming before she finally spoke.

“Why did you request a woman as the liaison?”

I caught a strand of her hair that had come loose, twisting it gently between my thumb and forefinger.

“To keep Beast from killing the emissary,” I replied simply.

She frowned, her brow furrowing slightly. “I thought Beast didn’t like me.”

I glanced past her at the ocean, the horizon stretching endlessly. “I think Beast protests too much. He just doesn’t know what to do with you.”

Her lips curved faintly, but the tension didn’t fade. “You don’t plan to kill me, do you?”

I lowered my eyes to hers. “I don’t think so.” My grin came slowly. “I’m like Beast. I haven’t figured out what to do with you yet.”

I knew the need in her eyes mirrored my own, but there was something stronger holding her back. It was her sense of duty and honor.

“I need to return home,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the longing beneath it. “I have to help my people prepare for the hellhounds, with or without the Shadow Warriors.”

Her words hung in the air between us, a reminder of the impossible choices that defined us both.

I cupped her jaw and kissed her again, the warmth of her skin seeping deep inside me. As our lips met, I tugged the scarf free from her hair. My fingers wove into the dark tangles, holding her close, anchoring us both in the moment. Her mouth was soft and warm, inviting in ways I hadn’t allowed myself to imagine before now.

Why hadn’t I kissed her sooner?

Beast was unusually calm, savoring her taste as much as I was. He wanted more.Iwanted more. She had gotten under our skin the moment she stumbled into our lives, and now she was buried so deep I couldn’t ignore it.

But the truth was unavoidable: this entire situation was impossible, and I never should have let it come this far.

When I finally pulled back, reluctantly breaking the connection, her voice was soft. “It’s not happening between us, is it?”

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