Page 58 of Blooms of Darkness

“Breathe.” A voice so unlike my nightmares brushed my skin, softer than a whisper in my ear, pulling me from my flashback.

I didn’t open my eyes, but Kade took one of my hands gripping the wall and placed it on the hard muscle of his chest. I didn’t fight him as he rested my palm there, his heartbeat dancing beneath my fingertips.

“Breathe with me, Illiana.” He said my name like he cared about my well-being.

My hand shook once, but I drummed my fingers to stop them. His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath obviously deliberate. Kade inhaled, held the breath in his lungs for a moment, and exhaled evenly.

Though shaky at first, I mimicked him, matching each breath, until eventually, my trembling ceased.

“I’ll say it one more time,” Lord West hissed with venom in his tone. “Who’s there?” I opened my eyes, staring directly into the storms swirling in Kade’s steady gaze. He leaned closer, and the way his right arm hovered above my head caged me and settled my sense of safety even more.

A movement to my right caught my attention. Lord West’s boots were a foot away from us. If he peered farther around the corner, we’d be impossible to miss.

Fates above,please don’t let him hear my frantically beating heart or notice Kade hovering over my body as though I were ripe for the taking.

Kade’s shadows swirled around us, mesmerizing me almost as much as the fact we had yet to be caught by Casimir. A subtle flick of his wrist and the already-dim light grew darker as his shadows thickened. I couldn’t even see Kade in front of my face, despite us touching.

“Why so paranoid, Casimir?” Ryland asked.

Casimir’s boots retreated, the thudding now indicating distance between us. I couldn’t seem to care if the two of them picked up their argument or not.

My body suddenly felt hot in ways it hadn’t in years. Despite Kade’s arrogance and wish for a crown, this was now the third time he had stepped in to help me from near certain peril.

Kade’s head shifted back slightly so our noses were touching. “This is becoming a habit, Little Rebel. How many more times will I have to save you?” he murmured, his breath hot on my face, the scent of the honey sweet wine we’d drank drifting into my senses. It mixed with the fresh smell of the earth after a storm as Kade’s entire being enveloped me against the wall.

“I’m sure I could have saved myself,” I whispered, gaining a bit of my inner strength back in our taunting.

I felt his smile, his lips so close to mine.

He’d saved me not just with whatever these shadows were, but, from my spiral into a nightmare. My spiral into a panic would have surely outed my position. Without even realizing it, he’d done what no one, save Ian, had ever been able to accomplish.

My breathing escaped unevenly as he moved slightly, bringing his left hand up to cup my chin, tilting my face toward his.

The darkness dissipated, and for the first time, I noticed Kade’s sleeves were rolled up on his forearms. On his right arm, propped next to my head, a design of black ink swirled like the shadows he wielded, tattooed up his forearm before disappearing beneath the rest of his shirt.

It called attention to the way his muscles shifted. I glanced from his arm back to his eyes.

I’d lost my mind, but the adrenaline coursing through me moments before hadn’t fully subsided. The wine I’d consumedencouraged me as much as the scent of this infuriating man did, daring me to make a move.

I licked my bottom lip, and he inhaled sharply.

There was no way he couldn’t feel how my body melted into his. No way my intention and need weren’t written all over my face. Still, he allowed me to make this choice, careful not to bring me any closer.

All it would take was one small movement and our lips would touch.

I lifted my lips to his. A whisper of a kiss in this shadowy retreat. My heart nearly beat out of my chest in anticipation.

Fuck it. Why the hell not,I thought.

My fingers curled into his chest, and I pressed my mouth harder against his. My core ignited in flames, a blazing heat with a never-ending burn as he matched my movements.

The other voices faded into the background, speaking again, but I didn’t care.

How could I care when this man’s lips claimed mine like he’d been desperate for me?

I wanted to moan into his mouth as his tongue claimed mine. The ever-present tingling sensations raged over me, pooling low in my belly.

Kade’s hand slid to the back of my neck, as he pressed his body into mine, his hips pinning me to the wall.

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