Page 77 of Outcast Fae
Heat and light. Breath and skin. The cosmic meeting of two stars that exploded wondrous tingles that tripped over my skin like pixie wings.
But was it only me who felt this way?
He responded by wrapping his arms around me and returning my kiss with as much intensity. His lips were soft and insistent. They glided against mine, forcefully, nibbling. His large hand climbed up my back and tangled in my hair. He pressed me against his firm body with a groan. My fingers explored his chest, the taut muscles under the uniform, the soft skin at the base of his neck, the stubble on his jaw.
Wanting more, I ran my tongue over his bottom lip, tasting him. He growled and tasted me back. I felt his animal hunger, his desire, a living, pulsing thing that emanated from his body.
Oh, yes, Vaughn hadn’t lied about how he felt. He had a right to be scared if this was what my touch and kiss could do to him. But why would it frighten him? Why did he seem to be guarding himself against me?
Against my will, I broke the kiss. It was Vaughn’s turn to be out of breath and out of balance. His expression seemed to saywhy would you pull away?
Then, without knowing why, I remembered something he’d said early on, after we first arrived on the island.
Never trust a fae. You can never be sure it isn’t all a glamour.
Realization dawned on me. That was it, wasn’t it? The reason why he was fighting this attraction: because I was fae, and he thought my kind always acted to deceive.
I touched his cheek tenderly. “I promise you, Vaughn. That was no glamour.”
Then I turned and walked away, wondering if there was a way to get through his prejudices and hoping that there was because we were going to need each other.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The moodat the camp was the worst I’d ever seen.
When Vaughn, Daniella, and I got back, the remaining campers barely seemed to acknowledge our return. It was strange that more wasn’t said about finding me since Daniella had said Vaughn sent people out to search, but the only one who seemed to have done that was Sinasre. The rest were still sitting around a dead campfire, their shoulders slumped and their eyes on the sand. The listlessness and depression were nearly palpable in the air.
I stared at the campmates still left: Elon, Patricia, Gina, Henry, Daniella, Vaughn and myself. Sinasre, when he returned, would finish our group off at eight. But a pang of worry cropped up as I thought of my cousin. Maybe they took him, too. Maybe they were trying to torture Kiana’s secret location out of him. It would only make sense that they would ask him, too, and he likely would know.
I turned to Vaughn as the panic grew. “Where’s Sinasre?”
He shook his head.
I asked the group around the fire. “Where is Sinasre? We need to talk, all of us.”
Patricia was the first to answer. “Dunno. He went looking for you.”
“When?”
She shrugged. “Over an hour ago.”
More worry compounded in my gut. “Which way did he go?” My eyes searched the tree line for tell-tale signs of his path.
Vaughn stepped over and put a hand on my arm. “Tally, you aren’t thinking of going after him, are you? You’re in no shape to do that. Plus, he’s plenty capable, from what I’ve seen. He can find his way back.”
“What if they have him?” I said quietly.
Vaughn frowned. “Then there’s nothing you can do about that.”
The anger I had grown so familiar with rose up inside me once again. How could there be nothing I could do? The impotence this island thrust on its inmates had to be the worst part of captivity, and I didn’t know if I could stand it any longer.
“We have to do something, Vaughn,” I whispered through my teeth. “We can’t keep letting them do this to us.”
He clenched his jaw, considering, but before he could answer. A stream of smoke formed on the other side of the campfire. We all knew what that meant. Everyone stood and watched as Meadow Song and Silver Bear materialized on the sand.
What new nightmare would they bring us now?
“Hello,” Meadow Song said in her overly sweet voice. “How is everyone today?”
