Page 459 of Kingdoms of Night

What was he thinking? Had she said too much?

Tanis could only assume that was the cause of his sudden distress. She was a fool to think that they could ever be together when there was so much standing in between them. Obviously, she had voiced his own concerns, and that was why he had nothing to say.

She opened her mouth to tell him it was all right. That she’d suffered worse rejections in her life, and that she would survive after this.

Except, the moment she parted her lips around the words, he lunged forward. Rowan dropped the bow onto the ground and reached for her. His hands grabbed her face, holding her forcefully still while he pressed his mouth against hers in a kiss that seared her to the bone.

He was not kind. He was not gentle. He kissed her like a dying man who had thirsted for this moment his entire life and that if he didn’t kiss her, he surely would die.

Tanis grabbed onto his shirt, holding on for dear life as he gripped her with surprising strength. His hand moved from her face, curling around her hip and fisting the fabric there. He tugged her hard against him, pressing her body against his from thigh to shoulder.

She shouldn’t enjoy this so much. It shouldn’t feel so right to be in his arms like this, but she melted into him. Tanis dug her hands into his hair and held him even tighter. Their teeth clacked, and she felt for a second a sharp bite on her lip that surely had drawn blood, but that was perfect.

This feral, unhinged passion was how she felt every time she looked at him. Every time she strived to move about the camp when he was just sitting there, perfect as he was.

“I’ve wanted to do this for months,” he whispered against her lips, pulling back enough to say the words although he pressed a kiss in between each one. “I thought you wouldn’t want.... You wouldn’t...”

Why did they always struggle to find the words to say to each other when their bodies knew the response?

Tanis parted her legs around his thigh, forcing them even closer as she bit his lip as well. An answering groan was the perfect response for all that she wanted to do to him. “I wanted,” she whispered against his tongue. “I wanted you more than anything.”

“I dreamt about you every night.” His fisted hand trembled over her hip. Rowan curved his fingers along the back of her head, holding her in place for a kiss that gentled. He eased them into something softer. And somehow, that made all of this so much more real. “I thought I was rushing you to heal, and that’s never what I wanted. I only wanted you to be happy, and I didn’t think you could be when you were still trying to deal with the memories of all those you lost.”

Oh, this sweet man. This man who kissed like the devil but poured sweet honey wine from his tongue.

“I did,” she whispered into his lips. “I needed time, and you gave that to me with more grace than I ever imagined. You have been here for me from the beginning, Rowan. From the first moment, you stumbled into my cave and pretended that you were dead.”

A chuckle burst out of him and she got to feel that smile she so adored pressed against her lips. “I didn’t trick you, then?”

“No.” she replied. “You’ve never been able to trick me.”

“I suppose you’re right. But now what?” He clearly asked with the intent of allowing her to set their pace. “What would you like to do, my dragon?”

It was her turn to grin. “I think you should run.”

“Run?” He lifted a brow.

Tanis pushed his shoulder and separated them. A wild grin spread across her face. “Run, my elf, and I will catch you in the way of the dragons. I think you’ll quite like what I do when I find you.”

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

CHAPTER 14

The sudden heat that flashed through his body at what she suggested. Run? He was supposed to run from her like some kind of deer and she was the predator? It went against everything he’d been taught about being a man and providing for his family...

Yet, some part of him whispered, “Yes.”

He wanted to run from her. He wanted the exhilaration of the chase and wondered when or how she was going to catch him. The taste of fear on his tongue only made him want to run faster. And he didn’t know what this was that she suggested, but he knew no matter what, he would like it.

She’d make sure that he enjoyed himself. He saw the same answering heat in her gaze and the desire that burned in them. Not the desire to devour him, although he certainly hoped she might. But that passion was one of a woman who had seen a man she wanted and she would stop at nothing until they fed the passion that tried to eat them both from the inside out.

He swallowed hard and took a step back from her. “You want me to run?”

“I do.” Her eyes burned. “Don’t be afraid of me, Rowan.”

The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.

He curled his fingers into fists. “I have to warn you, elves are known for our speed.”

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