Page 61 of Dragon Unleashed
Not sex.
Focus, Paige.
“Um. We should keep moving,” I manage to say. Aries nods, but the look he gives me says he knows exactly what I’m thinking now.
We make it through the door, which closes and seals behind us, then down the first set of stairs. At the landing, I stop and give the password that will allow us passage. “Custos.”
I motion for Aries to continue down the next flight of stairs. My skin prickles with awareness as the magical alarm system fades behind us. “You can put me down now,” I say.
He grunts and does.
Together, we descend the rest of the stairs. At the bottom, I reach up and click on the light, illuminating the empty space next to the furnace that’s just large enough to hold roughly two school buses side-by-side.
It’s empty now, though usually, it’s used as a time-out for trouble-making books.
Which, given Aries, seems a perfect fit.
My nose wrinkles as the mildewy smell hits me. When I look over at Aries, I can tell he’s less than impressed.
“This is where you wish to spend the night?” he asks.
“No. I want to be in my bed, but you said we couldn’t go check my apartment.”
“I will go check, just say the word.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“You are welcome to alert the others and have them search upstairs instead.”
“You already know why I can’t do that.”
“And you already know how I feel about letting you back upstairs tonight.” Aries narrows his gaze on me. “I will not put you at risk.”
“It’s my life, though. My choice,” I argue. “Just because we slept together—”
Aries closes the distance and yanks me against him, his lips brushing against my cheek. “You and I having sex absolutely changed things, Paige. There’s no use denying it. And I will protect you with my last breath.”
I swallow hard. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?
“Aries.” I tilt my face up to look at him, trying my best to hide my anguish at what I’m about to say. “We can’t ever be anything else.”
His gaze darkens. “I know that.”
“Then maybe we should—” He cuts me off by covering my mouth with his. His lips move against me, his tongue sliding over the seam of mine so I’ll open for him.
Which I do, without hesitation.
I sink into the kiss, my hands sliding up his arms and into his hair. I hold onto the thick strands, pulling him closer as my entire body turns liquid in his hands.
Aries reaches down and lifts me then steps up toward the wall and presses me against it, his lips never leaving mine. I wrap both legs around his waist and hold him against me, his hard length pressing directly between my legs.
I moan against him, the pressure damn near too much.
I’m still sore from last night, but the idea of asking him to stop doesn’t even cross my mind. We may not be able to be anything more than what we are right now, but what we are is pretty damned great, and I’d be a fool to waste even a moment of it.
So, I let my hands trail down and grip the bottom of his shirt. I rip it over his head and toss it to the ground then pull myself closer to him, his flesh hot against me.
Around us, the dingy basement fades away, taking every single one of our problems with it.
