Page 52 of Magic of Sins

All of a sudden Caden’s hand is on the back of my neck and he pulls me toward him.

Alarmed, I start to open my eyes, but he growls, “Keep them closed!”

And then I see it. A thin, red thread stretching between Caden and me. Even though I keep my eyes closed, I can see everything clearly. My half-opened lips. His thundercloud gaze lingering on them.

He wants me, and now that we’re so close, he can barely restrain himself. I can taste his desire. Sweet and dark and burning. I want more of it.

Much more.

“You can hold the thread, but you can’t pull on it,” Caden says.

His breathing is heavy. The grip on my neck tightens. His fingers are warm and a little sweaty.

I try to follow Caden’s instruction, but I don’t know how. I’m not even aware that I’m holding the thread, let alone pulling on it.

“For heaven's sake, Kaya! Concentrate.”

Caden’s forehead touches mine.

He’s losing control.I’mmaking him lose control. I have never felt so powerful and so scared at the same time.

“You have to stop doing that,” Caden mumbles, concern creeping into his voice.

“I don’t know how.”

And I don’t even know if I really want to. It feels good. So good. I feel more alive than I ever have in my life.

“Kaya, stop!”

Suddenly, my hands are on his chest. Under the fabric of his shirt I can feel his muscles, hard and defined. But it’s not enough for me. I want to feel his warm, bare skin. My fingers go to the buttons of his shirt.

“Let go. Let go of the thread!”

Caden’s voice seems infinitely distant. Like that time with Ava, dots dance before my eyes, but this time they are not blackbut red.

And all of a sudden I feel the thread as clearly as if I were actually, physically holding it in my hands. It’s stretched to its breaking point. The shock of it is like a cold shower. I finally manage to let go. Slowly the thread slips from my grasp.

Caden pushes me off him and jumps up from the sofa. His shirt is wrinkled, the top buttons are undone, revealing his bare chest, which rises and falls with his frantic breaths. He looks at me like I’m the devil himself.

Oh, God, what have I done?

“I’m so sorry,” I stammer in a choked whisper, slapping a hand over my mouth.

Caden runs a hand through his blond hair. He still seems a little dazed.

“I was right,” he says. “You really don’t waste any time.”

Caden asks me to try it one more time. I tell him I think it’s a bad idea, but he insists.

“I’m the only guinea pig you have, Kaya. So make it count!”

As much as I hate to admit it, he’s not wrong. Unless I want to try my powers on Ava or the library patrons again, he remains my only hope of getting the hang of this.

“Get something to eat,” I suggest.

There’s no way I want to feed on his lust again. Not while it’s directed at me and affects me as much as it did. I mean, I unbuttoned his shirt! What was I thinking?

Caden’s mouth twists into a cheeky grin.

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