Page 182 of A Tribute of Fire

He was so, so, so handsome. Had he always been this attractive? I wanted to fan my overheated face with my hand but refrained.

My fingers relaxed so that they were flat against his strong chest. It was pleasurable to touch him, to be with him.

It reminded me of the time in training when Suri had sneaked past my defenses and slammed me flat on my back. I had struggled to pull air into my lungs, the wind knocked out of me.

I remembered what it had been like when I could finally draw a large, full breath in. That’s what seeing him again was like—as if I’d been holding my breath for days and could only now breathe again.

“You shouldn’t be here. Men who attempt to view the festival come to a bloody end. I learned that today.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he said, sounding amused.

He had no idea what he would be up against. That despite how gifted he was with a blade, Antiope would certainly be a formidable opponent. She might even win.

“Did you miss me?” he asked as if he already knew the answer.

Yes, I had missed him.

Desperately. Completely. Totally.

His heart beat quickly under my hand while my own heart was trying to bruise itself against my rib cage.

“Because I’ve missed you,” he said, and his words made my stomach knot up with pleasure.

Want for him beat through my blood, filling me up. My body felt like it was on fire just from standing close to him. I was desperate for him to touch me. I’d never craved physical contact before, but if he didn’t put his hands on me soon, I was going to expire on the spot.

As if he knew exactly what I needed, he reached up with his thumb and ran it along my jawline. It was such a small gesture but it made the fire inside me reach dizzying heights. It shredded my nerves, this heady concoction of pleasure and yearning.

He moved his thumb over to drag it across my lips and sent bolts of desire from my mouth directly to my abdomen.

Jason touched me like he felt exactly the same way that I did.

Everything around me took on a soft, gentle sheen and he was the only thing I could see clearly.

He took his hand away and leaned his head forward, as if he intended to kiss me. “Thank you for not biting me.”

“What?” I asked, very confused.

“When I put my hand over your mouth earlier. I apologize for doing it—I didn’t want you to make a noise and draw attention to us.” His lips ghosted over mine and I shivered in anticipation.

“Oh. You’re welcome.”

“There might be other parts of me that you want to bite later and I’m letting you know now that I won’t mind at all,” he said in a silky tone, and I didn’t understand why it made me want to collapse against him.

Why would I bite him? That shouldn’t have been arousing but for some reason it was.

Maybe because everything Jason said and did made me want him more.

My brain tried to remind me of something. Something important. But he was hovering his lips along the same path his thumb had taken earlier—along my jaw and over to my ear. The warm, wet heat of his breath against the outer shell of my earlobe was very nearly my undoing. I could actually taste my desire for him on the tip of my tongue.

“The book!” I said suddenly and then immediately turned all that lust into anger. I pushed against his chest, taking a step back.

He looked bewildered. “Book?” he repeated.

“Yes. Did you steal the book I took from the chief recordkeeper out of my room?”

CHAPTER SIXTY

He looked genuinely surprised. If he was acting, he was very believable. “No. Why would I help you steal the book and then take it from you later? As far as I know, it has no value to anyone but you.”

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