Page 68 of Dark Reign

With her face angled toward mine, the next thing I knew my lips were no longer pressed to her neck, but to her mouth. The smoothness of both her palms grazed my jaw and I let her draw me in, let this kiss happen. It was no secret she’d been my undoing from the moment I laid eyes on her. That fact was only reinforced when I leaned closer, hovering over her now as I allowed her soul to take root in mine just a little more than it already had.

Her body was in perfect sync with my own, and the evidence was in how her lips moved freely with mine, how she surrendered as I captured her tongue. Her heat surrounded me, and this time, I knew without a doubt I wasn’t the only one being vulnerable. Whether this was the first sign of her true self being revealed, or a latent reaction to the undeniable magnetism between us … it was real.

Perhaps the purest, rawest moment we shared thus far.

Much to my disappointment, the kiss began to slow, my lips turning cold the instant the blip of consciousness faded from Corina. Her lids fluttered a few times, this time with a hint of rosiness to her cheeks that hadn’t been there a moment ago. It was enough to let me know she’d be okay. Enough to let me know the risk I’d just taken hadn’t been for nothing.

Who was this girl?

The one who could start my dormant heart with just a glance.

And why had I allowed her to upend my entire life so easily?

I asked myself these questions as she drifted into a deep sleep. It wasn’t lost on me that, when she awoke, I’d have to explain so many things.

I wasn’t certain I was ready to break the news to her, but her kiss filled me with something I hadn’t had before.

Hope.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Corina

This feeling of being weightless was new. Typically, coming out of an episode left my limbs feeling heavy, difficult to move, and this was nothing like that. It took a moment to realize there was a bed beneath me, not cement like there should have been.

The last thing I remembered clearly was running in the alley. After that, there were only pieces—some that fit together, others that … didn’t.

My hand went to my forehead and I blinked slowly, filtering the amount of light I let reach my eyes. It was only what naturally seeped in through the window, but there may as well have been a spotlight shining in my face.

I’d never felt this before, had no idea where I was or how I got here. It didn’t take long for panic to set in, and I struggled to sit upright to get my bearings. However, a firm male voice stopped me in my tracks.

“Lie back,” he urged.

A silhouette came into view, one lined in silver as he stood like a barrier between me and the window.

“You’ll feel strange for a while,” he stated. “But I assure you, you’re safe.”

“Where …” I couldn’t say more. I was so weak, confused.

The side of the bed slumped beneath Julian’s weight when he sat next to me, his arm brushing mine, the variance between his temperature and mine as different as fire and ice. I eventually moved away an inch or two, but took note of how I hesitated to do so. It was almost as if I wasn’t so put off by the thought of touching him.

Almost as if I welcomed it.

My gaze was suddenly fixed on his back, at muscles that looked more like rolling hills beneath his gray t-shirt. I bit my lip while scanning the breadth of massive shoulders that fed my imagination. All I could think of for a moment was holding them, running my palms across their smoothness.

His golden-brown hair was tousled like he’d had a rough day. Damp, it jutted out all over his head in every direction. I wondered if maybe he showered, but that didn’t quite make sense because last I’d seen him, he was already clean and dressed to the nines. I stopped rationalizing as I zoned out watching him, and only one thought came to mind … he was absolutely, undeniably beautiful.

I closed my eyes at the thought, uncertain of why it popped into my head so freely.

What’s wrong with me?

Yes, I’d onlyeverthought of him as handsome, but I couldn’t stop myself from looking at him in ways I shouldn’t have now—whereas before, I’d done a pretty good job of controlling my thoughts and feelings. Now, the pull was perhaps even stronger than when we first met at the gala.

Lifting my gaze, I tried to stare at something other than him and felt even more confused. We were back at the palace.

“How’d I get here?” I was finally able to ask, clearing my throat.

When he didn’t answer right away, my heartrate spiked just enough to notice.

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