Page 10 of Realm of Wind and Vines
“You felt something back there at the rock wall,” I declare.
It’s not a question, but he tries to deny it anyway. Stopping his pacing, he turns to scowl at me. “No.”
“There is no point in lying about it. I know you felt something.” I lock hard eyes on him. “Because I could feel it too. Through our mate bond.”
Alarm flits across his handsome face for a second before he doubles down on the scowl. “You’re imagining things.”
“Admit it. You felt something. You can feel something in your gut when you look at me.”
“Yes, it’s called disgust.”
A frustrated snarl rips from my throat. “Goddess damn it, Draven. Stop insulting both of our intelligence and just admit it.”
He flexes his hand again and then jerks his chin towards the door. “I don’t want you here. Go back inside.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you admit that you felt something.”
Opening his mouth, he looks like he’s about to snap at me again. But then he just forces out a long, calming breath and instead glances towards the tangle of trees across the grass.
“Fine,” he grinds out. “Come with me. I don’t want to talk about this here where people can hear.”
Hope surges inside me. It’s so intense that I have to scramble to catch up with him as he starts stalking towards the mass of trees and vines on the other side.
The last golden rays of the fading sun barely manage to pierce the woods, painting most of it in shadows. I follow Draven a short distance in. Far enough away that no one will be able to see or hear us. Then he stops right next to a large tree that is covered in vines.
“Alright, fine,” he grinds out again. “I might have felt something when you leaned against the rock wall like that. But it was gone so quickly that I’m not even sure what I felt.”
My heart starts thumping in my chest. “Okay. That’s good. Can you remember anything about what it felt like? Anything at all?”
“No. I don’t know.” He glances at the tree next to us and then clears his throat. “Maybe you could… recreate it?”
That treacherous heart in my chest is pounding so hard that I’m sure Draven can hear it. Licking my lips, I try to stop the surge of hope inside me from burning out of control as I move over to the tree trunk. Draven watches me intently as I lean my back against it and then raise my hands above my head.
My heart skips a beat as that fire flickers in Draven’s eyes for a second.
It’s working.
I drag in an unsteady breath as he moves closer until he’s standing right in front of me. His gaze sears through my skin as he rakes it over my body. A small gasp escapes my lips when he suddenly reaches up and starts undoing my black fighting leathers. Each brush of his fingers is like a bolt of lightning through my veins.
When he has gotten the jacket open, I slowly lower my arms so that he can slide it off my shoulders. His strong hands move confidently across my collarbones.
Then the black leather slips off my shoulders and lands with a thud on the ground behind my feet, leaving me in only a thin white undershirt.
Draven rakes his gaze over my body again. “Arms above your head.”
I obey and raise my arms again before crossing my wrists above my head in the same way that I did back at that rock wall.
“This does bring back memories,” Draven says slowly.
A warm shudder rolls through my body as he draws his hands up along my arms. Tilting my head back, I watch as he grabs a few of the vines that hang down from the tree.
“Draven?” I ask, uncertain.
“It was usually handcuffs, I remember,” he says while moving the vines towards my crossed wrists. There is a devilish glint in his eyes. “But I suppose these will have to do.”
Fire washes through me as he ties my hands firmly above my head and then slides his palms down my arms again. I arch my back as he reaches my chest and traces soft fingers over my collarbones.
Bracing his knee against the tree between my legs, he leans closer while he pushes the collar of my white shirt aside, exposing more of my chest. His mouth is so close to mine that I can feel his hot breath on my skin.
