Page 59 of The Onyx Covenant

When I return, arms full of kindling, I stop short, eyeing the empty palm of his hand.

“You ate them all?” I ask, a touch of amusement in my voice.

Theron lifts a shoulder in a lazy shrug, his lips quirking at the corners. “What? You said they were good for me.”

I laugh at him, arranging the kindling in a small circle of stones I’d gathered from around the cave, then use the firerod to strike sparks. It takes several attempts before the dried twigs catch, a tiny flame fluttering to life. I blow on it, nurturing it carefully, adding more wood gradually until we have a small but steady fire.

The cave fills with warm light, pushing back the shadows and taking the edge off the cold. I rummage through my backpack again, finding the sticky bandages and salve. Using a strip of fabric torn from my soaked shirt, I shuffle over to Theron’s side.

“Hold still,” I instruct, kneeling beside him. “This might sting.”

“I think I can handle it after apparently dying,” he says dryly.

I reach over and pat the wound carefully, wiping away blood to reveal a deep gash across his forehead. “You did die. Trust me, I was about to lose my mind.”

He winces as I apply pressure. “I like that you worried about me.”

I shrug and try to be gentler, acutely aware of his gaze on me as I work. Our naked state suddenly feels more significant with the firelight playing across our skin. I notice his gaze lowering down my body.

“So, you just died, and you’re checking me out,” I say, trying to lighten the mood and distract myself from the fire within me, sparking alight for him.

“Hard not to when you’re in front of me nursing me while naked,” he replies. “No man could resist this.”

I apply the salve to his wound, leaning closer to make sure I cover it completely. His breath warms my skin, his gaze never leaving me.

“You’re still staring,” I murmur.

“You’re beautiful,” he answers simply.

I reach for a semi-wet bandage with edges that are sticky for adhering, determined to finish my task without giving in to the fire burning between us.

“Hold this in place,” I instruct, positioning the bandage over his wound.

As he raises his hand to hold the bandage, his fingers brush mine, and the contact sends jolts of desire through my body. Our gazes lock.

Without warning, Theron’s hand moves to the back of my neck, drawing me toward him until our lips meet. The kiss is unexpected, urgent, a claiming rather than a request. And Goddess help me, I respond instantly, as if my body has been waiting for this since the day I walked away.

The familiar sensation of the poison from dinner rises through my blood again, a liquid fire that shouldn’t still be there but undeniably is. Or maybe it’s just Theron—the taste of him, the scent of him, the feel of his skin against mine—that’s the real intoxicant.

His lips are soft despite the urgency behind them, his tongue tracing the seam of my mouth in a plea for entry. I grant it without hesitation, a small sound escaping my throat as the kiss deepens. I’ve dreamed about it more often than I care to admit.

“Lyra,” he exhales the word against my mouth, his hand sliding into my damp hair. The tenderness in the gesture nearly undoes me.

I shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t want him, not after everything—the heartbreak, the betrayal, the year of forcing myself to hate him—but my body remembers his. My skin recalls the exact pressure of his fingers, the precise heat of his mouth. Muscle memory takes over as I press closer, my hands finding their way to his shoulders, feeling the coiled strength there.

Theron draws back just enough to look into my eyes, his pupils dilated with desire. “I need to feel you against me,” he murmurs, his voice a rough caress. “Need your skin on mine.”

“Not sure we should do this,” I manage to say.

His lips find the sensitive spot just below my ear that he somehow still remembers. “Why?”

I open my mouth to list them all—our packs, our families, his father, who would kill me without hesitation—but his lips drag across my neck, and every rational thought disintegrates.

“Can’t think of any, can you?” he murmurs, a smile in his voice as his hands slide down my sides.

I gasp as his mouth moves to my collarbone.

“You’re irresistible.” He draws me fully against him so I’m kneeling between his spread legs, our chests pressed close.

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