Page 33 of Soulbound
* * *
—Lady Eberhardt
* * *
AT FIRST SHE hadn't quite understood what Malachi meant by "gift."
Cleo shivered in the cool night air as they waited by the gatehouse for Bishop and Verity to return with the carriage. Her body raged with unsuppressed desire she couldn't quite leash. Everything ached. From her nipples to the heat between her thighs, to the knot in her chest where the bond tied her to Sebastian... she was drowning in it. Drowning in Malachi's kiss. Her lips burned. "Do you think Remy is—"
"I would really rather not think about it," Sebastian murmured, his hands in his pockets, and his face cold and distant.
The woman, Odette, had been sliding her hands under Remy's waistcoat when they left, with Malachi watching them over the rim of his brandy with hungry eyes.
And she was not thinking of hungry eyes, or hands sliding under waistcoats, or... or Mother of night help her, any of those incendiary thoughts that only made the ache worsen.
"Gray's an incubus," she whispered, touching her branded lips.
As she drew her hand away, Sebastian shot her furious glare as if the kiss were her fault.
"I didn't ask him to do it," she protested. And the magic lancing through her was the sole cause of her restless desire. Wasn't it? "What on earth are Verity and Bishop doing? They went for the carriages almost twenty minutes ago." She rubbed her arms, trying to ease the ache beneath her skin. Sweet goddess, but she needed to be touched. "Do you think Bishop and Verity—"
"Yes," he practically snarled, and it was only then she realized how on edge he was, wound up tighter than a child’s top.
Cleo stared at him. "It’s just… it’s been an awfully long time since they left to find the carriage, and Verity had that look in her eye…."
And the heavy magic in the air affected them all.
Perhaps even Sebastian.
"What did you say to him to make him change his mind?" he asked, staring into the darkness.
"It wasn't a complete vision." They still hadn't returned, and a part of her believed they never would. "I saw flashes of his past." When Malachi Gray had loved a woman enough to sacrifice everything for her, though he knew his feelings were unreturned. Cleo understood what it felt like to be the only one with her heart on her sleeve. "He loved a woman once. I tried to appeal to his better nature."
"The man has none."
"Considering the Wand is now safely tucked in Bishop's pocket, I'd beg to differ," she replied coolly. Fever raged beneath her skin. It was getting worse. "Malachi was...." She trailed off, still feeling that invisible velvet glove stroking down her spine, Malachi's lips spilling pure heat through her body as he kissed her.
"Quite a kisser, by the look of it," Sebastian said.
Cleo tipped her chin up. "Quite."
He was angry. Even though she couldn't feel it with the bond locked down, she could still see it in the tension of his jaw. Cleo wrapped her arms around herself and turned away. It all hurt. She felt knotted up inside and twisted.
Alone.
The lights of London spread out before them in the distance, and cool wind stirred through her skirts. This was almost rural here, exacerbating her sudden sense of isolation.
"I kissed you the first day we met but it wasn't... wasn't like this," she whispered. "You never responded that time. I've never been kissed. Not properly. Well, not until now."
And it ached that her first passionate kiss had been with someone else, and not Sebastian.
Sebastian froze, glancing down at her from beneath those dark lashes. For a long second she thought he wasn't going to reply, and humiliation branded her.
Quiet words: "I remember a second kiss."
So did she—the faintest brush of his lips against hers.... "When you thought you were dying. Just once. And you've never touched me again."
No matter how much skill Malachi Gray had, it didn't compare to that single moment. But how long could a simple kiss like that sustain her hopes and dreams? It had been months. She knew Sebastian had needed to focus on his training, but surely he could have written her back.
