Page 50 of Ruthless Moon

Tears escape my eyes, burning trails of dishonor, grief, and anger at my situation.

I need this moment. We both do.

That’s the lie I tell myself so Liam won’t stop.

He takes the rest of his clothes off and crawls over my body, his heat warm and delicious against my skin. My spirit sings with desire. Everything inside me wants to wrap my arms and my legs around him and convince him to take me. Claim me.

We could run. We could leave behind this duty and honor and find another place to be together. Raise a family. Be happy.

More tears.

How did my father manage to raise a child with such a sense of honor and loyalty? I’ve never hated that part of my personality until this moment.

I put my hands on Liam’s shoulders and struggle not to lose myself in the pleasure of his mouth trailing kisses across my breasts. I hug him close, curling my fingers into his taut muscles like claws.

I want this.

I want him.

“We can’t.” The words come out in a desperate broken plea. I can’t tell if I’m begging him to keep going or really to stop. My emotions are so raw, it feels like I’ve impaled myself on a stake.

His body tenses over mine. His mouth stills against my skin.

Then the tension melts away and his weight presses me down into the mattress, our bodies seemingly becoming one. Our heartbeats and breath fall into sync and we lie there a few seconds for what seems like eternity.

“I know.” He slips his hands under my shoulders and rolls, taking me with him.

Now I’m draped over his naked body like a blanket. His hard erection is sandwiched between us and the throb of it against my belly tears my heart to shreds.

He pulls a blanket over us and cups my face with one of his large, calloused hands. His thumb strokes over my cheek, wiping away the salty reminder of my conscience.

“I would’ve stopped before we went too far.”

“I don’t know if I would’ve let you.” Fresh tears paint my cheeks. “I’m marrying your cousin.”

The statement makes him still.

I push up and clamber off him. “We’re doing the right thing. We’re protecting everyone.”

He growls and catches my ankle before I can get off the bed. “What if we’re not? What if us letting each other go is a terrible mistake?”

He pulls me back to his side, grabs my head and slams his lips against mine. It’s like throwing the main breaker to my brain. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. He kisses me like a man starved. He kisses me the way authors describe it in romance novels—all-consuming-mind-altering-bliss.

His passion makes me believe in true love. It makes me wish this could be our path. It makes me sad when I remember it never can.

He must’ve felt when the sadness returned. He rolls us on the bed and presses me down into the mattress, trapping me with his weight. His arms. He’s afraid I’ll run again.I should.

He pulls his mouth from mine and stares down at me, the look in his eyes so priceless. I know I’ll never forget this moment. Never forget how itcould have been.

“Fate. Magick. Everything is screaming that you’re mine, Gen.”

Before I can respond, he’s kissing me again. The world spins off its axis completely. It’s Liam and me, entangled again in an intimate dance of tongues and unspoken promises. And I let him take me there. I let the dance continue. I want it so badly.

The softness of his lips grazing against mine sends a shiver cascading through me, igniting every nerve ending in my body. There’s a raw, urgent need in the way he kisses me, as though he’s a man trapped in a desert, drinking me the way he needs life-sustaining water.

His mouth moves with mine in a rhythm that leaves me breathless. His tongue gently explores the curve of my lower lip before he deepens the kiss, and I willingly surrender to the intoxicating swirl of sensation.

Each touch, each taste, sends a thrill of pleasure coursing through me, pulsating in time with the steady drumming rhythm of our shared heartbeats. The world outside our bubble ceases to exist. Reality collapses into this singular point of connection.

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