Page 114 of Kingdom of the Two Moons

He’s right. It was ridiculous, trying to flee from him.

He stops close to me. His scent is everywhere, entrancing and dangerous. Then my chin is in the cage of his fingers. He tilts my head so I look up into his eyes again, the rage in them still as hot as burning coals.

“Will you let me go after you’re done with me?” I need to ask. Need to know.

“Done with you.What do you think I will todowith you?” he asks back, right into me. Lashes lowered. His gaze on my lips, on the echoes of bruises on my face.

My mouth goes dry. “I don’t know.”

“Don’t lie to me,” he snarls, his grip on me hardening. “Tell me what you think Iwantto do to you?”

I look down, startled, unable to hold his gaze. My body trembles with tension. Exhaustion. And more.

“Tell me,Melody,” he says again, his power banking up against me like a wildfire.

It’s all wrong. So wrong.Yet the sound of my name on his lips floods me.

“Hurt me.” I can hardly force the words out.

His fingers trace down the line of my neck, pausing directly on my pulse, as if he could stop it. His voice still vicious and deep, hisface so close, his breath a brush against my senses. “And why would Iwantthat?”

“Because you’re angry.” I force the words out.

This time, it’s not a question as he says, “Indeed, I am.”

I close my eyes, nodding, biting down my lips so hard I taste blood. Every instinct in me is screaming to run. Moments pass between us. I say nothing, only looking up when he says with a jerk of his chin, “Take that off.”

He takes a step back, pointing at my shirt.

I freeze, my eyes wide as I glance up at him.He’s going to flay me. He’s going to punish me for what I did. Of course he is. He warned me last time, and I was stupid enough to ignore it.

But I can’t find the strength to move.

When I don’t react, he repeats, “Take that top off. I won’t say it again.”

I look down to the floor and slowly start to peel the half-torn T-shirt from my raw skin. I pull it over my head, holding the scrunched-up fabric protectively in front of me as if it could shield me.

He looks at me, his gaze swiping indiscreetly over me in a way that makes me self-conscious all over. Absurdly enough, my mind goes back to those incredibly beautiful women at the equinox celebrations. My cheeks flush with shame, vying with the fear that has befallen me. Although I’m wearing a black bra, I’ve never felt more naked.

I will not be afraid.

I pull my shoulders back the way I did in Lyrian’s house. Force myself to look him straight in the eye.Fuck the rules. Force myself to bear the bottomless depths in them.

I don’t blink when he snarls, “I really should teach you manners.”

“Then don’t make me wait, please,” I reply coolly, still not looking away. I would not yield.

I will survive. I will not be afraid. I will never be afraid again.

He tilts his head then. His fingers are cool when he touches me again, running the tips over the vulnerable stretch of skin whereKyrith hit me. My flesh is still sore, still swollen. His eyes flicker with something dark.

His voice falls low, even lower when he asks, “Would you want that? That I hurt you?” He doesn’t say it like he’s angry, though, but gently. Darkly. There’s something in his voice that runs down my throat like slow-dripping honey. As if he’s my lover, asking for permission.

His words, his change of tone, do something to me. To my body. To my very soul. I shiver against it. Heat fills my blood. I know he notices; feels that shift in me.

What is this? A game? A dark one. One I don’t know the rules of.

Or maybe I do.

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