Page 64 of Wolf's Bane
“Yes.” She moved to straddle him and pushed him until his back rested against the stones.
A bright, jolting charge surged through him at contact with the stone. Solenne moved off his lap, but he held in place. “It tingles. That’s all.”
She frowned, then gestured to a spot with a bloody handprint. “I thought so too, when I touched it. Alek? We’re naked.”
“You kept your boots on.”
“And I am sitting on your lap.” She moved just so, brushing her chest against his. His cock stirred to life.
“I noticed.”
She leaned in, lips nearly touching his. Their breath mingled. She was in his blood.
“Ruin me,” she breathed.
Stars above, yes. His brain sizzled at her words and the rare need in her voice. Careful of bruises, his hands skated up her back. He gripped the back of her neck, fingers wrapping around the delicate flesh, and drew her head back. Moonlight glinted in her eyes. Normally gray, they almost looked violet.
He wanted her more than anything, more than he wanted to see another sunrise, more than he wanted to hear his father’s voice again, his mother’s embrace. More than he wanted to be free of his affliction.
But not more than he wanted her safe and prospering. He could not give her the future she deserved.
“Solenne, no,” he said, before repositioning them into a more modest arrangement.
She folded her arms over her chest. Not in modesty, he realized too late, but in irritation. “Do you think I’m stupid?”
“No.” Far from it. Solenne was the brightest person he knew, in every respect: intellect, personality, and capacity for kindness.
“Then you do not think I know my mind?”
“How am I in the wrong for not letting you sully yourself with me when you’re bleeding and traumatized? The adrenaline is making you say such things.”
Her chin took that stubborn set he knew well. He imagined she’d march back to the house in the nude if her ankle could make the journey. Even if it couldn’t, she might make it with the power of spite.
“I thought—I thought that thing was going to kill me. I made a wish on the stones. Do you know what I wished?” She barely paused, agitation mounting with each word. Clearly, she was not interested in his response. “Not that someone would rescue me. I wished Luis would stay away to survive, and I wished I had told you that I loved you!”
The words echoed off the stones and rang in his head, clearer than any bell.
“You love me?”
“Yes. Isn’t it obvious?” Her shoulders sagged. “Do you remember when we went swimming in the river? I didn’t want to go in the water and you pushed me? Then you immediately jumped in to save me. I was so angry with you, but I knew I could rely on you. Then. That’s the moment I started loving you.”
“You were—” He tried to remember how he had felt when he was that age. It seemed impossibly young. “Eleven. And then you asked me to marry you.”
She lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. “I was overwhelmed with emotion and you did not say no.”
“You were eleven.” A child. He had been a child. From the moment he met Solenne, he knew she was his friend. His affection did not grow until much later. It astounded him she had been so sure of her heart even then.
“I never stopped. It’s you, Alek. It’s always been you.”
Thump, thump, thumpwent her heart, even and true.
She moved upward, bringing her lips to his. Contact sent a jolt through him, fixing him in place in this moment. He barely moved, allowing her to take what she wanted. The injury to the bottom lip opened, and the taste of copper flooded his mouth.
She pulled away and smiled as she licked her lips. The split lip gave her a dangerous appearance. The beast inside him loved watching as she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth, unapologetic.
His heart quickened.
“Do not feel obligated to return the sentiment,” she said, her tone nearly a purr. “I know how you feel. I’m your anchor. And if you’re worried about sullying me, you’re too late.”
