Page 70 of Akur

“Never,” he whispered, his breath so hot and close across her lips. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”

His heat seared through her. But instead of burning, it felt like being wrapped in liquid fire that caressed rather than consumed. One of his massive hands slid up her spine to cradle the back of her head, fingers threading through her hair.

“Constance…my human…” he breathed against her lips, and she felt rather than saw him smile. “You think too much.”

Then his mouth claimed hers, hot and demanding. The kiss ignited something primal within her, making her gasp against his lips.His other hand tightened possessively at her waist, drawing her closer as she melted against the solid wall of his chest. Time seemed to stop, the darkness around them fading into insignificance as her world narrowed to the points where they connected.

When he finally broke away, they were both panting. His forehead rested against hers, his skin still blazing with that otherworldly heat.

“Akur, your heat…”

He groaned. “We should move.” He said this, though he made no attempt to release her. “The Hedgeruds will find another way.”

“Let them try,” she whispered back, smiling now. “I won’t let them take you either.”

A laugh rumbled in his chest. “Now who’s making promises they shouldn’t keep?”

“I learned from the best.” Her retort made him chuckle for real this time.

The ground beneath them shuddered, a distant reminder that they weren’t safe. Not yet. Maybe never. But for this moment, suspended in darkness with his heat wrapping around her like a shield, she couldn’t bring herself to move.

“We need to go,” Akur rumbled again.

“I know.” As she shifted up on his chest, the wet sensation of blood made her stomach clench. “But you’re hurt.”

“I heal fast.”

“Not fast enough.” Her fingers traced what felt like mangled flesh and bone on his shoulder, making him hiss. “And you’re burning up again.”

A light flickered to life by her side, the same little device he’d used before, and it cast an eerie glow across Akur’s blood-streaked face. The sight made her breath catch. His normally teal skin was ashen, and fresh cuts marred his features. But it was his eyes that scared her the most—they were almost completely black, only a thin ring of amber visible around his pupils.

“Your eyes,” she breathed, reaching up to touch his face. “They’re different.”

He caught her wrist before she could make contact. “Don’t. Just holding you like this…” His jaw clenched again. He caught her wrist before she could make contact. “The heat…it’s progressing faster than it should.” He said it almost as if it was his life’s greatest failure.

“Because you keep pushing yourself too hard…for me.” The words burst out of her before she could stop them. “You’re going to kill yourself, and for what? To save one human who’s probably going to end up dead, anyway?”

His grip on her wrist tightened to the point of pain. “You are not going to die.”

She yanked her hand free, anger and fear making her voice shake. “You can barely stand, you’re bleeding everywhere, and your body temperature is high enough to cook your brain! And for what? Some promise you made to protect me? I never asked for that.”

“No,” he snarled. “You didn’t ask. But I gave it anyway. And I will keep giving it until there is nothing left of me to give. And you…you’re special.”

“Special enough to die for?” The words came out bitter.

His eyes flashed, that ring of amber briefly flaring. “Special enough tolivefor.”

The raw conviction in his voice struck her silent.

He meant it. This stubborn, infuriating alien warrior truly believed she was worth dying for. A bitter laugh escaped her lips.

“You’re insane,” she whispered, voice thick with unshed tears.

He didn’t argue, didn’t defend himself. He just looked at her, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her heart ache. They were trapped, surrounded by enemies, his body ravaged by injuries and consumed by an alien heat she couldn’t comprehend. And yet, in that moment, all he seemed to care about washer.

Something snapped inside her. All the fear, the grief, the frustration—everything. Leaning forward, she didn’t think. Didn’t give herself a moment to pause. She kissed him again, pouring all of that fear, her gratitude, and something else burgeoning deep inside her into that single contact. It was a fierce, demanding claim, a silent plea for him to live.

For them both to survive this.

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