Page 20 of Thorn of Sorrow

My fangs ached, my hunger pulling at the fringes of my restraint, but I kept it at bay. Because this wasn’t about me.

This was about Kyson learning, maybe for the first time, that he could be touched, wanted, worshiped, without expectation, without fear. I wanted more, but didn’t push. Didn’t overwhelm him, allowing him to enjoy his meal while our first kiss lingered between us.

Chapter Five

Kyson

The past two days had been a relentless carousel of questions spinning in my head, but only two played on a loop.

Why had Giovanni shown me that memory? And what did that kiss mean? Had I overreacted about the “meat dangling” thing? Make that three questions.

Four. Why had he given me the best kiss of my life then disappeared? I hadn’t seen Giovanni since our kiss, and it was driving me insane. What if he thought I was a terrible kisser and wanted to spare my feeling by avoiding me?

Ugh! A guy deserved to know if he sucked at kissing. I’d never had anyone who’d complained in the past, but those men paled in comparison to Giovanni.

They were cheap cuts of beef while he was prime rib.

Now I wanted a rib roast. He had me all twisted up inside, and I hated feeling this way.

Just do what you always do. Act like he doesn’t exist.

After the way he kissed me? Not happening.

“Ready?” Dane asked, pulling me out of my thoughts and bringing me back to the present.

“You are seriously trying to get me killed,” I grumbled. We were in the hallway outside my bedroom, both of us wearing T-shirts, pajama pants, and socks. “This is such a bad idea.”

He’d knocked on my door ten minutes ago, eyes bright, with a harebrained idea.

And like an idiot, I’d agreed. I was just worried a vampire would pick up Dane’s scent, but he’d argued that my “offensive” smell would keep them away. We were also right outside my bedroom, like that was somehow reassuring.

“Where’s your mind at?” He placed his hands on his hips, staring at me like he could will the answer out of my head.

I wasn’t sharing this with him. Not when I couldn’t even figure it out myself. “Wondering how I let you talk me into this. What’re we, seven?”

“Just one time,” Dane pleaded, giving what might have been puppy-dog eyes, but his eyes were so round it looked like he was trying to put me under a spell instead.

With a deep sigh, I nodded. “Sure, why not. It’s not like I wanted to live forever, anyway,” I said before our reckless game began.

“Go!” Dane shouted.

“Cheater!” I took off then slipped, feeling like a cartoon character as my feet flew into the air and I landed right on my ass with a hard thump. Pain exploded through my lower half, making me curse like crazy. A dull throb spread through my tailbone, like the universe itself was punishing me for my terrible life choices.

Dane kept going, sliding the rest of the way down the hallway in his socks on the marble floor, like I was supposed to have done.

Showoff.

He shouted, his arms flailing like windmills. My jaw dropped as I watched him slam into the wall before crashing to the floor.

Holy. Shit. That was a huge wipeout.

“You okay?” I shouted, shoving to my feet, only for my body to remind me I’d sustained my own injuries. Pain shot up my back, forcing me to remain still while praying it subsided.

Dane’s arm shot up, his thumb doing the same a second later. “Maybe this was a bad idea after all,” he groaned, his voice echoing in the large hallway. “Why did you let me talk you into this?”

I chuckled, resting my hands on my knees. “I think I broke my butt. Next time, we need to use pads and helmets.”

And a pillow taped to my backside.

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