Page 51 of A Light So Blinding
She stared up at him, this monster who had covered her in starlight. He wasn’t what she had expected. He never was. One moment he was a warrior fighting for his life in a labyrinth, and the next he was sitting here putting fireflies in her hair because he couldn’t cover her in gemstones.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared up at him. Bjorn looked down at her with that soft expression, a man who by all means had no idea what he did to her. He didn’t have the faintest clue how much it meant to her that he cared at all. He wanted her to be happy, healthy, well fed, all the things that people should have done for her since she was a child.
But none of them had. She’d always had to take care of herself and everyone else.
Until him.
She moved before her thoughts could catch up with her. Astrid reached for his jaw, sliding her fingers along the harsh angles there, and tugged him down to her lips.
She’d known kissing him would be a little odd. After all, there were tusks on his bottom jaw that came out from his lips. They weren’t entirely compatible, at least in a way she was used to. But she wanted to try. A kiss had always been something soft between people, a thank-you, anI appreciate what you have done for methat went beyond what words could convey.
And because he was a good man who had done so much for her already. She didn’t want him to think that she didn’t see all his effort. She did. And it had changed how she would see the world for a very long time.
For a moment, he remained frozen underneath her touch. She had intended only to give him a peck anyway, so that was fine. But then hegroaned.
The sound was deep and guttural. It came from deep within his chest, like she’d prodded an old wound of his. Then he lunged forward. His powerful arms circled her, clutching her against his warm chest. Her palms slammed down upon him, and the heat of his skin burned.
He kissed Astrid back like she had never been kissed before. There was desperation in the way his lips and tongue moved over the seam of her mouth. But it was so much more than that. It was worship as she parted her lips and he delved between them, tasting her for the first time.
Every muscle inside of her tensed, seizing as pleasure coursed through her from head to toe. A wave of heat made her feel like she would soon start to pant, but she didn’t recognize this person. She wanted to beg him to touch her more. Suddenly, all she could think about was the ache in her breasts and the sudden hollowness between her thighs.
She wanted a troll. It was wrong. Deplorable. He was a different species, and she should never have been tempted by him in the slightest, and yet, her fingers clenched harder on hisstrong shoulders. She leaned into the kiss, kissing him back like she had never kissed another man before.
Because he was ravenous. He kissed her like a dying man who didn’t care who or what saw them right now. This was the last kiss of his life, if his touch was to be believed. He was making the most of every second he got with her.
When he pulled away, Astrid was breathless and could barely think straight. She shouldn’t have kissed him. He shouldn’t have kissed her back.
But she couldn’t regret what they had done.
His eyes and expression were so soft. Bjorn tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then followed the line of her jaw down to her lips. He traced them with one ragged claw. “Why did you do that, bright one?”
She didn’t know. She’d wanted to. Because something in her felt like it had been important for her to do it?
Taking a deep breath, she said, “You are a good man, Bjorn. Kind and thoughtful. You have cared for me more than anyone else has my entire life.”
“You are a priestess. I did what I was supposed to do.”
“But before that, I lived on the streets with my sister. We were orphans with no family, no hope. The kingdom we live in is difficult for many, and a long life is only given to those with money or power.” She licked her lips. “I still remember the starving little girl who was kicked away from stalls of food and who barely slept in the gutters while trading the watch with her little sister. I became powerful so that little girl would never experience that again.”
At her every word, he seemed to grow more and more angry. When he replied to her words, it was with a snarl. “No child should endure that.”
“I will never endure it again. I thought our journey would be difficult, but you have made me remember that I am moreresilient than I thought.” She took a step back from him, needing to clear her head.
Night had settled upon them. The fireflies were all alight, blinking on and off in the distance. They made Bjorn’s features peek in and out of her vision. It was so difficult to see him now that there were trees above their heads to hide the moonlight. But she swore he was angry. She thought she would know the set of his shoulders easily by now.
“Astrid,” he said, his voice so low she almost didn’t hear him. “I don’t think you understand?—”
But then they were both interrupted by the rustling of leaves and bushes before another troll walked into the clearing. Astrid couldn’t see her well, but she could definitely tell it was a woman. She was tall and lean, with wide hips that clattered with the sound of bones clacking against each other. She was decorated with so many of those gleaming white bones. There had to be at least two hundred of them creating the entire skirt.
Her top was similar to the skirt, although it seemed like it was made out of much smaller flat bones, so at least it appeared to be a little more comfortable than the skirt did. The troll woman didn’t look at her at all. She just looked at Bjorn as her face lost all the slate gray coloring and turned nearly white.
“Bjorn?” she asked, her voice croaky with some emotion Astrid couldn’t name. “Surely it’s not you?”
“It’s me.”
“But it’s been...”
“Years,” he replied. He took a step farther away from Astrid and then sank to his knees.
