Page 54 of Forever Touched

“Kissing me. It’ll lead to other things, and I don’t feel right doing that so soon after what you’ve been through.”

“Kissyou? I wasn’t thinking about kissing you,” I quickly replied, frantically trying to shield my mind from him. It was one thing to peer inside someone else’s mind, but quite another to have them peer intoyours. I was not okay with this. Not even a little.

“Maybe not,” he said, slipping his hand to the nape of my neck and raising the towel. As he gently wiped the blood from my throat, I held perfectly still so I wouldn’t do something stupid like kiss him. “But youwantto kiss me. I can feel it.”

“So? I enjoy kissing you. Is that a crime?”

That insufferable mouth of his curved into a faint smirk. “Not at all. I enjoy kissing you too.”

Butterflies erupted in my stomach. We really needed to stop talking about kissing, because kissing was all I could think about now.

Desperate for a subject change, I blurted, “Do you still think I’m disgusting?”

He froze, and I immediately flogged myself for asking such a vulnerable question. What if he said yes? What if he hated that fate had chosen awitchto be his soulmate? Ablood whore?

He was destined to become king of the entire vampire kingdom. He could have anyone he wanted. Did he secretly wish he’d never met me? If he hadn’t, our soulmate bond would still be dormant. Hewouldn’t feelobligatedto be with me.

The question left me feeling naked. I feltself consciousin a way I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wanted to take it back, but before I could, he quietly replied, “No, Adalyn. I don’t think you’re disgusting. I never should have said that.”

Tears of relief pricked my eyes. Quickly blinking them away, I said, “Well, I know why you did. You still blame witches for what happened to your brothers—and to the entire vampire kingdom, I suppose. I’m just a reminder of that.”

With a short sigh, he set down the towel and met my eyes. “You do remind me of what happened, but it’s not fair of me to put that burden on you. I put that burden on my brother’s mate once, and I almost lost him because of it. Even Loch knew that persecuting an entire race for what one witch did to him was wrong. But he and our younger brother Troy went along with my need for revenge, which led to the entire kingdom being cursed for a century and ultimately Troy’s death.

“I’mthe one who should be blamed for that, not witches. They were just trying to protect their own the same way I was. Still, I’ve despised them all these years, unable to shake the rage I feel every time I remember how my brothers were tortured. Their innocence was stolen right under my very nose. They suffered because I failed in my responsibility to protect them, and I hate myself for that.”

Stunned that he’d opened himself up so completely to me, I struggled to respond. Loch had been right about him. He was still haunted by the past, carrying the weight of it like his personal cross to bear. He’d done some terrible things in the name of justice, but I could feel his confliction. Hisremorse.

He was no longer the monster he thought himself to be.

The realization took my breath away, and I impulsively leanedforward to kiss him. He tensed for a moment, then whispered my name like a prayer and kissed me back. In a matter of seconds, the kiss turned passionate, our tongues eagerly seeking each other out. Warmth unfurled in my belly, and I urged him closer by opening my legs. With a quiet groan, he stepped between them.

The second his hard erection brushed against my inner thigh, though, he pulled back with a hiss. “Adalyn, I can’t. I don’t want to hurt you.”

A protest sprang to my lips, my body aching for his attention. I could sense that he wanted this as much as I did, his desire making mine that much more intense. It would be so easy to reel him back in. One touch, onethought, and he wouldn’t be able to resist me.

But I suddenly hesitated, remembering how he’d respected my wishes yesterday in the rain. How he’dlistened, sacrificing his own wants in favor of mine.

The tables were turned now. I had a chance to respect him in return, to honor his request despite how badly I wanted to tear off his clothes.

He didn’t want to hurt me, and that spoke volumes about who he was. It made me want to kiss him all over again, but instead, I nodded and quietly replied, “I understand.”

The abject relief on his face almost made me laugh.

Shaking my head, I waited for my lady bits to cool off before saying, “It’s for the best anyway. I’d probably fall asleep halfway through.”

A smirk tilted his mouth. “Not possible with me.”

“So cocky.”

“If the shoe fits.”

“Or pants,” I added, making the mistake of glancing at his groin. When I saw how hard he still was, my lady bits burst into flames oncemore.

Groaning, Everett stepped away so he could gently draw my legs together.

“You should, um,” I said, slightly out of breath. “You should finish patching me up now.”

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice strained.

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