Page 20 of Shadow Master
He was looking at me as if I was his focus, as if I was his world. Desire surged through me like a mini tsunami, and then I kissed him, tasting myself on his lips and not caring. He was mine, and I needed to claim him.
I gripped him and lowered myself onto him again. We rocked together for a few seconds, adjusting and finding our rhythm, and then I picked up the pace until he was crying out, his fingers digging into my hips until darkness surrounded us, lit only by the weave.
I locked eyes with him as our threads connected and kissed, and then his ethereal form shivered as we shattered together.
* * *
Kash’s thick,long lashes cast shadows on his cheeks as he slept. I wanted to touch him, to brush his hair back, wake him, and take him again. But he wasn’t a nightblood, he wasn’t like me, and he’d need his rest for what was to come.
Now that I’d fed, sleep refused to take me. Instead, the night called to me. I pulled the covers over Kash’s half-naked form, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and then crawled out of the tent.
The night closed in around me like a shadow hug, and the crescent moon cut a slice in the sky, casting silver fingers across the landscape. The world was a low hum as cadets milled about or sat around fires. This was the lull before a change in shift, before the dawn brought an influx of trainees through the mist to us.
Would the dawn bring Hyde to camp, or had Orion commandeered him?
“Justice?”
My pulse fluttered as a figure stepped out of the shadows from around the forge and strode toward me.
Hyde was dressed in a black long-sleeved tee and gray joggers. He must have just changed out of his armor.
“Hey.” I kept my tone light and locked my knees to stop myself from striding forward to meet him.
“I’ll be helping with the training from now on,” he explained.
I nodded. “Good. That’s … good.”
We stood facing each other, awkwardly, tensely. Damn, he looked good. He smelled good. I wanted to touch him.
I took a step back. “I should get back to my tent.”
“Or we could talk.”
We could. But talking wasn’t what I wanted to do. I wanted to hold him. Be close to him. Yes, talking wasn’t enough anymore, and I was too tired to pretend right now.
He swallowed hard. “I know this is difficult, but I don’t want to lose you. Not completely.”
“There is no halfway, Hyde. You know that. This thing between us … It’s too strong. Better if we just focus on the task at hand. It’s best if we keep the one-on-one interactions to a minimum.”
The words fell like shards from my lips.
His jaw tensed. “You could have died out there in the trials.”
He needed to stop devouring me with his eyes. “I know.”
“But you came back. You survived, and I can’t lose you.” He took a step toward me, and my body leaned forward into his orbit.
We were like opposite poles wanting to meet. Needing to connect. But we couldn’t. Not without getting hurt.
I checked myself and lifted my chin. “I have to get back to my tent. Kash will be wondering where I got to.”
He froze. “Kash?”
I nodded. “Yes. He and I … He’s a good guy.”
His nostrils flared. “Yousleptwith him?”
I met his gaze evenly but couldn’t help but flinch at the hurt in his eyes. “I did.”
