Page 46 of Burn With Me

Lightning strikes in his blue eyes, clear as day and dark as night. “Why?” he repeats quietly, sounding stunned. “Fucking, why? Because he will fuckingkill you, Aurora. That’s why.” There’s a flash of that enigmatic emotion within him at the roar that erupts from his throat.

Small trembles start up and move throughout my whole body, taking over. “Why the fuck do you care whether or not he kills me?” That’s the question that I can’t help but ask.

Why is he dancing around it? Why won’t he admit it? Is it really that fucking hard to just come right out and tell me everything? Does he not think I can handle it? Does he think I’m some pathetic little girl in need of his protection?There are all these questions and no answers. I’m alone here in the dark, confused—not just by his words but thereasonfor them.Why does he even care if I live or die by his father’s hands?

I need it in plain words. I need to know if it’s the truth or if I’m just fucking crazy because being around him makes me feel like I am; like every second spent in his grasp is another second I’m slipping free of my carefully maintained facade that everything is alright.

“Why do you care, Isaac?” I repeat the question, looking up into his gaze. Daring him to continue. Daring him to open his perfectly sculpted lips and tell me another lie. Is this really about his father, or is he afraid of me? “I’m not important,” I continue, stabbing at his ego. Pricking his pride. He’s close enough to the edge that I know if I keep it up, something will break, and maybe, I’ll finally see a little bit of the real emotions of Isaac Icari spill out. “I’m nothing but a pawn, right? I’m just your stepsister.” The last word is a fucking taunt, a barb I know he won’t be able to resist biting back against. “Not your friend and certainly not your lover.”

He pulls back and this time instead of the flat of his palm, his fist hits the wall, making the paintings and mirror nailed into it shake and tremble with the force of his anger.

“Shut. Up.” His words are dark and violent. Shaking with an inner fury that I knew he had to possess yet haven’t seen him release in front of me.

I tilt my head back, chin up, with my eyes on his, and I do something I never thought possible. “Make. Me.”

Silence and seconds stretch between us. I don’t know who moves first, but I’m afraid it’s me. Itisme. I can’t help it. All I know is that we have been building towards this moment. I’ve been climbing the mountain that is Isaac Icari for what feels like all of eternity and I’m tired. Tired of fighting against our natures.

I push up and slam my mouth against his. There’s a stunned moment where he doesn’t move and I open my eyes to find him staring back at me. I don’t move away. I don’t apologize. If he denies me now, if he rejects this, then I’ll know the truth. Iwascrazy.

But he doesn’t do any of that. In fact, the slow curve of his mouth reveals that I haven’t, in fact, lost all sense of reason. Not at all. His anger turns into pleasantly surprised amusement. He smirks against my lips and then he reaches down, cupping the back of my neck, and his eyes slide shut.

Tongue against tongue, he delves inside of me and sucks out the very last breath of resistance lingering between us. And fuck him. He’s a good fucking kisser. I may have started this. I may have been the first to give in, but if Isaac is anything, he’s a control freak. To him, he has to be the one to finish it.

He pushes me back into the wall until my skull is flush with the plaster and then, he consumes me. A leg slides between both of mine, his knee pressing up against my pussy, and a whimper escapes me as the rough feel of fabric presses right against my clit. Now I know what that smirk was about. It was almost like he was saying,Oh, Sunshine, you’re going to regret choosing this path.

But I don’t.

“You should’ve run when I told you to,” he tells me. “You should have run so far and so fucking fast…”

“Why?” I taunt. “So you could watch my ass?”

He barks out a laugh and shakes his head before bowing towards me. His hands are hard on my body, their hold unbreakable. I squirm under his strength, my insides clenching and unclenching as need pulses through me and goes nowhere.

“I’ll make sure you’re safe,” he promises. “It’ll be painful. It won’t end here. Just remember—as you suffer in the fire you lit—you wanted this.”

“I know.” It’s the only thing I can say. I can’t deny his words because he’s right. Idowant this. Even if he burns me alive, I won’t regret this. Because this is the most alive I’ve felt since that night three years ago when a man who should’ve never touched me thought he could take without consequences.

No. I shut that thought down without remorse. I don’t want the past to intrude on this. This isn’t forhim. This is for me. This isallfor me.

I shove my hands up into his sandy blond hair, the mixture of brown and gold tangling in my fingers as his curls twine around the digits and I kiss him back. He wants to eat me alive? Swallow me whole? Own me? Fine. He can, but he’ll have to fight for it first.

22

ISAAC

Aurora Summers kisses like the world is ending. She opens her mouth and lets me sink deep like this will be the last time anyone shows her any sort of affection. She’s all hard lines and jagged edges—a princess trapped in an incredibly high tower, surrounded by walls of thorns and even a fiery dragon or two. When she finally decides to break free and step outside, she bursts to life.

Feminine hands shove up into my hair as she yanks me closer, demanding more. I reach down, cupping under her thighs and lifting her against me. And just as I expect, she doesn’t hesitate. Her legs open willingly and she wraps them around me. Once she’s decided she’s going to do something, she doesn’t second guess it—she just goes for it.

“You’re so greedy,” I murmur against her mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get off this time.”

“I don’t know if I can trust that,” she replies, panting. “I’ll just have to take it for myself.”

Her chest pushes against mine. I can feel the rapid beat of her heart. Her scent is in my nose. Her hair in my face. Her hands on my skin. I want more. I want it all.

“Oh, you’ll take it,” I warn her, rotating my hips as I press my cock up between her legs, letting her feel my desire. “You’ll take every last inch of my cock and your pussy will never be the same.”

Cheeks flushed, eyes glazed over with lust, she stares back at me with her back to the wall. “Prove it.” The words are a challenge and I’ve never been one to back down from a challenge.

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