Page 107 of An Empress of Air & Chaos

“Who?” Emara screwed up her face.

“The girl who likes to know everything before she is given a command. That’s not how training works.” He finally turned to face her, “I make the rules, angel.”

“Can one of your ridiculous rules be that all pet names are banned from training?”

“Only from training?” He cocked one eyebrow towards the sky.

“Everywhere!” she almost screamed.

He paused for a second, as if mulling over something, before he returned to his hike. “I like ‘angel.’”

“You’re infuriating,” Emara growled.

He halted and spun around quickly; he was so close to her face before she even had time to blink. “Tell me, why do I get under your skin so much?” His voice was unpredictably calm.

“Because you are exasperating,” Emara managed to say fully collected.

“But have you ever thought about why? Why I make you so enraged?” His voice was like sweet honey warmed through chocolate.

“I…I don’t know. It’s because…” Her eyes traced his face, down his muscular neck, and to his broad shoulders. She swallowed. She then traced her gaze along his arms, strong and sculpted with muscle. A singular blue vein ran from his wrist right up the inside of his forearm. She closed her mouth, unable to find any words that would make sense.

“I will tell you why.” His eyes sharpened. “Because ever since you met me, you have found yourself drawn to me, and you can’t think for the life of you why. It maddens you to think that someone like you would be attracted to someone like me.”

Her pulse quickened at his words.

“It scares you to think that you could be involved with someone who has a wild side, someone who doesn’t do everything by the book.” He allowed his lips to stay parted, not quite forming a smile. “Yet, I think you crave the wild.”

Although it was a winter’s day, Emara could feel nothing but scorching heat. Red hot, scorching heat pounding through her.

But Torin didn’t falter. “You get angry when you are around me because you don’t want to like that I challenge you—but you do like it. You are the kind of girl who needs someone who will challenge you, or you get bored easily.”

Emara’s full body seized into a tight knot.

“You can’t stand the fact that you are sexually attracted to me, and it scares you to even think about exploring it, so you shut it down.”

She felt like her stomach was rolling around her insides as her heart hammered against her chest.

“I would go as far to say that I bet that you think about me at night…when you’re in bed.” His eyebrows lifted into a cocky frame to highlight the pleasure in his eyes at his declaration. “Alone.”

“That. Is. Preposterous.” Emara balled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms.

How dare he?

“Absurd!” she yelled at him.

A thin layer of amusement crawled into his stoic frame. “Which part, angel?”

She wasn’t sure which part! She wasn’t sure if all of what he said was true or if none of it was. Confusion rippled through her, causing a wave of dizziness. She glanced at his lips as she always did when his face broke out in a wicked smile.

There was a part of what he said that might be true…

Maybe all of it.

“There is a part of you that wants the danger. A part of you that strives for it. Why else do you want to be trained?” he asked genuinely.

“I want to be able to protect myself,” she blurted out, unable to think of anything else.

His chin dipped in agreeance. “You want to be able to feel alive and liberated. I saw it in your eyes in the courtyard when I gave you my sword. You are like me.”

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