Page 25 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“Dead,” he breathed as his dagger sat at my throat. My chest throbbed with anticipation. My eyes drifted down to his mouth as he smiled. “That was too easy, little viper. Did you let me win so I’d kiss you again?”

My eyes narrowed on him out of fear that he could see exactly how much I thought about him kissing me, among other things. Fuck, my mind was a traitor. My darkness was swirling quickly inside of me at the thought of his lips on mine.

Mine.It purred into my mind. I closed my eyes tightly as I tried to control myself.

“You just got lucky.” I lied.

“What happened to your face?” He raised an eyebrow at me. Cassius shifted slightly, and I nearly closed my eyes to focus on the feeling of him moving against me. I was too attracted to him. My face heated as I realized how much I had been looking forward to this.

“Training,” I breathed.

He stood and helped me up. He was so odd. Cassius stepped forward and planted a kiss on my lips, but it was fleeting. It made my skin hot. Bright swirls of red and orange appeared as my vision pulsed black. Gods, I was losing control of myself, and Cassius seemed to know exactly what was happening as he gave me a knowing smile. He tried to stifle his smile, but it was impossible when my swirls glowed brighter at the sight of him. He barely fucking touched me, and I was spiraling.

“You’ve been practicing.” He watched me as he got into a fighting stance again. “Again, little viper.”

I widened my stance as I glanced at the three guards watching us in the distance. Haden and two large fae males. Leer and Zade, I think. When they saw me looking, they turned like they had been caught spying. Cassius used my distraction to make a move on me, but I knew he would. I crouched down and swiped his legs out beforecrawling on top of him. Cassius rolled us, so I was on my back.

Both of us lost our daggers.

Cassius’ black eyes moved over my face. When he leaned down like he might kiss me, I head-butted him.

“Fuck!” He groaned as he fell off of me. I rolled, grabbed my dagger, and moved behind where he kneeled. My fingers slipped through his dark hair and yanked it back forcefully, making a moan escape him. Fuck, is that what he sounded like when he was turned on? Swallowing hard, I tried to mask my lust and desire. My vision was pulsing with black as I admired the muscles in his neck flexing.

His eyes were watching me, but he didn’t look scared of me. His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and I swallowed hard as images of him using that perfect mouth to make me cum plagued me. Fuck, I was breathing heavily as I stared at him. He made no move to get away from me. His hands fisted tightly at his sides.

I put the blade against his throat as I leaned down.

“Dead,” I whispered, and I felt him shiver at the contact of my lips on the shell of his ear. The three guards were moving closer to us, but Cassius waved them off.

“Are you going to plunge that dagger into my heart, Thea?”

I should. I should have sliced his throat open, but an uneasy feeling filled me at the thought. My darkness swarmed in a frenzy inside of me. It was worried for Cassius. So, I moved in front of him. Cassius’ eyes darkened as he kneeled before me, bleeding from his cut brow.

“I want to know what kind of sick war game this is.”

Cassius lifted his hands like he might grab me, but then lowered them and smirked.

“This has nothing to do with the war.”

“Then what—”

“I thought it was foreplay.” His deep voice confessed in a whisper. Lust immediately coiled deep in my belly. My breathing was uneven, even to my own ears. Something about Cassius on his knees in front of me was making me feel crazy with need. “You like me kneeling in front of you, don’t you?”

Yes.

“Again,” I muttered because I didn’t know what else to say. “Fight me again.”

Cassius stood, and I turned around so I could start in my spot. When I turned back, Cassius was watching me like there was nowhere else he’d rather be. Neither of us moved at first, then we were both charging each other.

Like our first fight, Cassius and I mirrored each other's fighting moves. The sounds of war around us had faded,and all I could focus on was him. The way he moved, the way he smelled like rain and forest, the way he made me question my own loyalties to Cerithia. Because I wanted to pull him into my tent and have my way with him.

“Distracted?” He smiled like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

Fuck. His black eyes drifted down to my crown tattoo before meeting my eyes again. Something zapped through my arm where the crown tattoo sat. Lust and longing. For the love of stars, I could not stop thinking about Cassius doing a lot more than kissing me. Part of me wanted to lose so he would kiss me, and that concerned me. We kept fighting. We were equal in nearly every stance and move. My eyes watched as Cassius breathed heavily. Sweat ran down his neck as he watched me like prey.

This was dangerous, so I put all I could into winning this round because I couldn’t kiss him again. I kicked Cassius’ chest when he spun away from my blade, and he fell back into a tree, but he just used it to bounce off and come at me. His jaw was tense as he swiped and swiped until he finally got my camisole strap, making it fall dangerously close to showing him my chest.

His eyes traced the deep dip near my breast. When I tried to adjust it, he struck. His move forced me to move back into a tree.

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