Page 144 of Obsidian and Frost
“That’s not entirely true,” he said, actually squeezing my hand back and surprising the hell out of me. He swallowed hard. “What you showed me of your recurring dream… Iwantto be that with you. I mean… do that to you… with you.”
I pressed my free hand to his bloodied and torn shirt and with a spark of my purple magic, I had him dressed in clean clothes.
He started and looked down at himself. “It’s the exact same.”
“I thought that would bring you comfort.” I gestured at the beaded bracelet encircling his wrist that was a stark contrast to his otherwise muted attire. “Just like this seems to.” I’d seen him rubbing it every now and then as he’d sat on my bed.
“I suppose it has taken on that function. It was a gift from a couple of the children at Haven Initiative.”
“That’s really sweet.”
“Ketheron has over a dozen of them.”
“You think you’re unlikeable because he has more?”
He lifted a shoulder. “It’s not something I concern myself with.”
Of course it really was.
“He has a way about him that invites those sorts of gifts and so many of them. You wouldn’t have received even one if you weren’t likeable to them. There’s no pretense at their young age. If they’re fond of somebody, it’s made known.”
He took my words in. “I see.”
I chuckled. “You’re more likeable than you think. Especially when you allow people to see beyond that harsher exterior which initially seems unmovable to many. But not to me. I liked you from the first moment we met.”
“When you were suffering from a fatal stab wound and in agony?”
“Yes. The fact I felt that way even then says a great deal, wouldn’t you agree?”
He stared at me then, intensely.
I expected him to avert his gaze, but he actually didn’t.
And then he leaned in.
His lips brushed mine.
Softly, tentatively.
His hand tightened in mine.
I stroked his fingers.
That slight touch did something to him, and then he was grasping my nape and kissing me deeply.
I clutched his bicep as I responded, opening for him as he slid his tongue into my mouth.
It was all-consuming and profoundly erotic as he tasted me, going deeper, harder, groaning into my mouth, then shoving his hands into my hair and fisting it wildly.
And then he was stroking down my body, like he couldn’t feel all the different parts of me and explore fast enough.
It was a heady rush of passion, an implosion of so much that had been held at bay for far too long.
Heat rolled through me, and I was lost to the moment, to the feel of him against me, the taste of him, his sandalwood scent inundating me, as sparks of pleasure did the same.
He broke the kiss, panting, his eyes wide in absolute disbelief.
And then a smile spread over his face.
