Page 44 of Caged By the Lich

His arms wrap tightly around me, lifting me off the ground as if I weigh nothing. I wrap my legs around his waist, clinging to him as our tongues clash and our breaths mingle.

The room spins around us, but all I can see is him. All I can feel is him. The world narrows down to just the two of us, lost in a whirlwind of passion and need.

His eyes, swirling with purple amidst the gray, meet mine for a brief moment, and I see the reflection of my own desireburning in them. It's like we're sharing the same breath, the same heartbeat, the same soul.

His lips trail down my neck, leaving a path of fire in their wake. I gasp, arching into him, needing more. Needing everything. His hands grip my hips, holding me firmly against him as he trails kisses along my collarbone. I'm lost in sensation, drowning in the intensity of our connection. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced, and I never want it to end.

I can feel his heart pounding against my chest, matching the frenzied rhythm of mine. It's like we're two halves of a whole, finally coming together to form something new, something powerful, something soul shattering.

It's so intense, so much that I'm stunned, and when Olvaar moves back up to my lips, he must see something on my face because he pauses. He pulls back a little, those eyes swirling with purple still, and he cocks his head.

"Astrid?" His voice is so rough and so damn attractive that I almost groan from the way my name sounds on his lips.

But I can't sort through my mind fast enough, and it shatters everything. He quickly drops me to my feet, taking a step back, and the regret all over his face is enough to gut me.

"V, I-"

And then I cringe. His eyes darken as I use the nickname, the one that I only ever use when I'm pushing him away, when I'm angry, blue flooding his eyes. And I know that look.

He's pissed.

I want to tell him that this wasn't a mistake. I want to beg him to kiss me again. I want to say that it felt like my soul was being ripped out and I'd gladly give it over to him.

But when he shakes his head, cursing beneath his breath as he heads for the study door…

I say nothing at all.

20

OLVAAR

Istorm out of my study, my mind reeling from the kiss with Astrid. The taste of her lingers on my lips, igniting a fire I can't extinguish. Fuck. This wasn't supposed to happen.

I bark orders at the guards, demanding no one disturb me. My feet carry me through the winding corridors of my home, each step echoing my internal turmoil. I need space. I need to think.

Locking myself in my private chambers, I pace as my magic lashes out, slamming into stone walls built to withstand it.

My fingers run through my hair, tugging at the roots as if the pain might ground me. It doesn't.

"Dammit," I growl.

The look on her face…

Why the fuck does it bother me so much? Why did I want her to want me back? I curse myself for caring, for wanting, for being desperate enough to hope that a human could desire me the way I want her. I would rip my chest open and hand her my heart just to make her smile…

And she looked stunned. Shocked.

Afraid.

And she said nothing when I left.

My body is shaking, this need pounding through me to go back to her. It's gripping me so hard that I can barely breathe, the desire that I felt the first time I saw her. And fuck…the kiss made it worse.

I can't shake the memory of Astrid's soft lips, the way her body melted against mine. It felt... right. It felt like I had found a piece of myself I didn't know I was missing and now I've ripped it back out, like I need her to breathe and now I'm suffocating.

I've officially lost my godsdamn mind, and I don't even care. I'd give up everything for that woman. She's ruined me…

And she doesn't even want me back.

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