Page 74 of An Empress of Fire & Steel

“As much as I would love to see you attempt to kick his ass,” Torin purred into her ear, sending her into a different kind of frenzy altogether. “I don’t want you to summon a wind that could literally tear this inn apart.” She stopped thrashing against him and stilled in his grip. “I know how talented you can be in that area. Let’s leave this inn standing, shall we?” He smoothed a hand down her arm, calming her.

Torin was right. She could summon air, and it would only take a small gust to blow this inn apart. Then there was her fire that burned so horribly when she was enraged; she dreaded to think of how quickly this pokey little inn would go up in flames.

Instead of punching Artem, she made a rude gesture at him.

Artem’s laugh shook through the inn. “Fell in the waterfall…” He wiped away tears of laughter. “Yeah, right,” he muttered as he left the room. “Fell.”

Emara’s air swooped in and slammed the door shut, and the whole room shuddered around them.

Was it that obvious, what had happened between them? Maybe they would never be able to hide the broken barrier again. Was she ready for that? Did she want to hide it?

Torin’s arms relaxed around her and his hands slid to her hips, manoeuvring her around to face him. “Has anyone ever told you how captivating you are when you get all worked up?”

She let out a huffy laugh. “I am pretty sure it has only been you.”

“I like the sound of that,” he whispered before his lips met hers. His bottom lip grazed over her own, teasing her into submission.

She couldn’t stop it, this pull towards him. How she felt around him was indescribable. She felt safe yet unpredictable. She felt like she couldn’t breathe when she looked at him, yet her body had never felt more alive when he kissed her, like her lungs were deprived of oxygen until his lips were on hers. The consuming desire she had for Torin Blacksteel was wild, surreal, and profound. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. There were times when she wanted to kill him, and in the same minute, she wanted to slam her lips against his and let him devour her. He was the most strikingly attractive man she had ever laid eyes on. And yet, he seemed to want her.

She pulled back from his lips. His closed eyes fluttered open and he stared at her for a long second.

“Are you okay?” He did not front his mocking tone, nor did his insanely beautiful smile appear. This was Torin in his most genuine light.

“Yes,” she said, pulling back even further.

Was she okay?

Her heart quickened and she lifted a hand to rub her temple.

“You don’t seem to be.” His eyes worked over every inch of her face.

“I just—”

“Is it about what Artem said about the union?” His jaw tightened and a flash of violent rage slammed out any concern. And then it was gone, replaced with a gentle emotion. “You know there is no pressure from my side about that.”

“It’s not that.” She sighed, unable to get through the buzzing sound in her head and the wave of insecurity that threatened to appear any moment.

“Is it because I lied about you pushing me into the waterfall?” he teased, one eyebrow lifting.

She dragged her teeth along the bottom of her lip and turned away.

He shifted his weight onto both feet. “Talk to me, Emara.”

The second he spoke her name, a warm, rolling feeling coiled in her stomach. She looked at him. “I just…” She paused, placing a hand on her navel to steady the nerves. “What I did…with you. I have never done that with anyone before.”

Concern lit his eyes, his brow pulling down enough to show that something about what she had said troubled him. He took a small step towards her. “I don’t want you to feel embarrassed about what we did.” His hand came up to her face and brushed her cheek.

“I don’t feel embarrassed,” Emara declared, shaking her head. “I just want you to understand how much that kind of thing means to me.” Lowering her lashes, she found the floor. “What I gave to you was…trust.”

What she really wanted to say lingered thick in the air.

Please don’t break my trust.

He ran the back of his hand down her jaw, and with one finger, he tilted her head back up to meet his gaze. “I want you to understand how much that meant to me too.” His words were more sincere than she could have ever imagined him capable of. “What we shared together…” He cupped another hand on her face and his nostrils flared. “It means you trusted me enough to be intimate with you.” The sharpness of azure in his eyes turned soft, and her heart melted. “I will never take the trust you graced me with for granted, I promise you that.” He lowered a hand to capture hers and brought it up to his lips. He kissed her forehand and then her temple. “You have seen parts of me that I truly despise and yet you still kiss me like you haven’t seen them at all.” His voice trembled a little, and it sent a wrenching feeling into Emara’s heart and gut. “If you think for one second that I will hurt you”—he let out a breath—“I will not.”

“You can’t promise me that,” she whispered as his thumb rubbed into her cheek.

His jaw clenched. “I can promise you anything I want to as long as I mean it.”

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