Page 38 of Bound to the Heartless Duke
“And you’re still impossible,” she bit back, her eyes narrowing slightly.
“I warned you about me, Lily. Long before any of this happened. Since you befriended my sister,” he murmured. “Long before the kiss.”
“I’m still trying to forget that,” she muttered.
“You don’t look like you’re trying very hard.” His voice was soft and low now, far too intimate.
When he leaned in, she didn’t retreat. She couldn’t. There was hardly an inch of space between them now, barely a breath. Her fingers curled at her sides, her breathing growing shallower by the second.
“Do you regret it?” he asked.
She paused, before letting out a shaky breath.
“No,” she said. “Yes,” she quickly added. “I… I don’t know.”
His eyes dropped to her mouth again, but this time, they lingered, tracing the seam of her lips.
“Would you stop me if I did it again?” His eyes flicked back to her own.
Lily’s chest rose sharply in response.
“Would you?” Magnus asked, his tone more serious now.
“I should,” she whispered.
“But you won’t,” he pointed out, lips only a scant distance from hers.
If she were to tilt her head only a little, they would be kissing yet she couldn’t.
Her heart rate quickened. She should move. She should?—
Step back, Lily!a voice at the back of her head screamed.
Magnus didn’t kiss her. Not yet. He just stood there, letting his proximity speak for him.
“I can’t afford another mistake,” Lily said softly.
Magnus lowered his head, and his warm breath fanned her cheek. “Then don’t make one.”
She blinked up at him. “I don’t trust you.”
Magnus’s smirk returned, barely. “Good. I’m not the sort of man you should trust.”
Even though he was slightly bent, his tall frame still loomed above her shorter one. Their noses brushed for a split second, their foreheads almost touching.
Everything was too still. Too heavy.
When she thought he was going to lean even closer, footsteps sounded down the hall, sharp enough to interrupt them.
Lily stepped back immediately as if burned. And although Magnus’s expression didn’t change, the heat in his gaze simmered lower.
“You’re safe, Lily,” he said quietly. “But I won’t pretend around you. Not anymore.”
She didn’t even know what to say. So all she gave was a faint nod before turning around and walking away from him.
At the door, she looked over her shoulder at him. “I didn’t tell them about the gaming hell because it’s none of their business.”
He looked up.
