Page 134 of Shadows of Winter
“No,” Vlerion agreed softly, but he took her hands and continued to gaze at her. “But I do wish you to have a reason to return.”
Did that mean… he would kiss her? Hope and nerves teased her belly. She should step back so that he wasn’t tempted, so there was no danger.
But her treacherous feet took her closer to him, and she tilted her head back to search his eyes, though his face was hard to read in the dim night. The snow on the ground was bright but not enough to illuminate his features.
“You don’t think the mystery of the purple glow is enough to draw me back?” she murmured.
“It may be. I can tell you’re intrigued.” Vlerion lifted his hand to her face and threaded his fingers through her hair, brushing her scalp, his touch stirring pleasure in her entire body. “But you will also return for me.”
It was a statement, a cocky and arrogant statement, but when he bent his lips to touch hers, she couldn’t argue with it. His kiss was gentle—careful—and she knew he didn’t want to rouse his lust—to risk rousing the beast. It was for her. He wanted her to enjoy it.
And she did. Her heart ached with how much it meant that he cared, especially since the last man who’d kissed her had wanted to know why she couldn’t be normal. Vlerion would never ask that. Because he wasn’t normal. He understood what it was to have a dark side. But his was too dark, something no man should ever have to endure.
As she sank into his embrace, returning his kiss and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she wanted nothing more than to fix his life. For his happiness and so he wouldn’t have to be the beast. And for this, so she could kiss him without worrying. So he could kiss her and more.
Heat spread through her body, images of what that more might entail creeping into her. The restraint faded from his kiss, and his hand drifted down her back, as it had in the dungeon, and he cupped her, pulling her into his hard body.
Desire flared within her, and she struggled to tamp it down, to keep their emotions in control. She’d never been so drawn to anyone in her life, never needed a man’s touch so much.
She curled her fingers into his hair, not wanting to break the kiss, to break away from him. There was hardly anyone out here. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad if…
Vlerion broke the kiss with a growl that mingled frustration with desire.
“You are dangerous to me,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. Instead of pulling back, he nuzzled her ear, his lips and beard stubble brushing her, sending such delicious sensations through her that she almost groaned.
His arms still held her close, and she had to fight her body’s urges to keep from rocking into him, imagining him taking her to the snowy ground and making her cry out in exquisite pleasure.
“So dangerous,” he added.
“Do you still want me to come back?”
“You will come back.” He nipped her earlobe, sending a sharp stab of desire through her, before releasing her.
She gripped his shoulders, not wanting to let him go, not even able to object to the order. She did manage to infuse a hint of sarcasm in the, “Yes, my lord,” that she gave him.
Vlerion snorted, catching it. “You will also return to my training so I can drill respect into you.”
“I look forward to it.”
He took her hand, brushing her knuckles with his lips, before stepping back out of reach. Even that slight contact made her close her eyes and long for more.
The snow crunched under his boots as he walked into the stone hut, then climbed down the rungs, leaving her.
But not forever. She would be back.
THE END
