Page 92 of Saints & Sinners

Grace tilted her head, smiling in a way that made my stomach flip. “So, what I’m hearing is that you no longer find me a nuisance?”

“I think we established that a while ago, Grace.”

She chuckled, dragging me onto the bed with her. I groaned as she nestled her head into the crook of my neck, and the scent of strawberries filled the space. She was becoming an addiction and that was dangerous. Too fucking dangerous. But I couldn’t stop it. I was too far in with her.

I took a deep breath through my nose, staring at the ceiling. Grace’s fingers ran circles along my chest before she tilted her head, and I felt her lips smiling against my neck.

“Hunter?”

I hummed, afraid if I looked down at her, I’d lose any restraint—not that I had any around her.

“I like you too... in a tolerable way, of course.”

Yeah... I was done for.

Chapter Forty-Five

I was making my way out of Sariel’s class when I barely had time to react. Hunter grabbed my wrist and pulled me down an empty hallway.

His name fell from my lips in a squeak. Rain splattered against the windows, blurring the outside, as he shoved me against the wall, pressing his finger to my lips.

“Shh,” he warned. “Unless you want Sariel to come here and lecture us both on moral discipline.”

A laugh bubbled up in my chest, but the firm press of Hunter’s finger against my lips had me swallowing it down.

His grey eyes glinted, a smirk curling at the edges of his mouth. “You think that’s funny, Bambi?” he murmured, his voice low and rough in a way that sent heat up my spine.

“A little,” I admitted, my lips brushing against his fingertip as I spoke.

Hunter inhaled sharply, dropping his hand but not stepping back. Instead, he braced one arm against the wall beside my head, caging me in. “You know what’s not funny?”

“Let me guess. You?”

His smirk ticked wider, but the look in his eyes darkened. “The fact that I nearly got my ass kicked today in training because youwere distracting me.”

My stomach fluttered. “Distracting you?”

“Yeah.” His gaze flickered to my lips as his voice turned into a lazy drawl. “It’s kinda hard to focus when you’re standing there, stretching and looking all...” He trailed off as his body pressed in just a little more. I suddenly forgot the meaning of breathing.

“All what?” I whispered.

“Tempting.”

My pulse skipped violently.

“That’s not my fault,” I said, feigning innocence.

Hunter exhaled slowly like he was barely holding himself together. Then, without warning, he gripped my chin, tilting my head up so I was fully caught in his gaze. “How about I show you what happens when you distract me?” he murmured, his breath hot against my lips.

And then he kissed me.

Hard.

Like he was punishing me for every single second he had to spend thinking about me. Like he was staking a claim. Like I was his.

My back hit the cool stone, and Hunter pressed himself against me, his body heat sinking through every layer of my training uniform. His hand slid into my hair, tilting my head as his tongue traced along the seam of my lips.

The worst part?

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