Page 104 of A Tribute of Fire

“He’s not important to me.” I didn’t deny that he was the sender, though.

A fact they seemed to pick up on.

“He is the one who sent it! That must be why you’re blushing right now,” Io declared.

“I ... never mind.”

That made everyone break into peals of laughter and I couldn’t help but smile, too. I could deny him all I wanted, but there had to be a reason I thought of him as often as I did.

“You can’t stop thinking about me,” Jason murmured into my hair. My back was pressed against his chest and he held me against him tightly. He nuzzled my hair, then dropped a kiss on the top of my ear.

“It’s you who can’t stop thinking about me,” I countered, running my fingernails along the tops of his forearms.

I could hear the smile in his voice. “In the light of day you can protest all you want, pretend like nothing is happening between us. Now we’re here alone, under the cover of darkness, in my bed. Can we attempt to be honest with one another?”

Then he lifted my hair, brushing it over my left shoulder. His other hand was splayed against my stomach, holding me in place. He began to kiss the back of my neck with hot, little, delicate brushes of his full lips and I collapsed against him, my entire body aching for him.

“Lia, what is it you want?” he asked, kissing along my shoulder. “Tell me.”

There was a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I had to stop this, but I couldn’t remember why. There was no room for rational thought—just pure need.

“I want to touch you. To see you,” I said.

He released me and I shifted away from him, turning around so that we faced one another. Jason got up on his knees and my stomach pulsated with want as he reached up to unpin the top of his tunic.

I sucked in a sharp breath when the top fell away, exposing his chest. Liquid heat gathered along my spine, spreading out to my limbs, and I got up on my knees and moved closer.

He was more beautiful than any statue I’d ever seen. I reached out cautiously, almost afraid that my fingers might catch flame when I touched him. Now he was the one with stuttering breath as I put my palm flat against his broad chest.

There was such an addictive warmth in his skin, a strength and hardness to his muscles that were a sharp contrast to my own body.

I let my fingers drift down, tracing the outlines of the fascinating ridges and planes of his torso. I watched his stomach contract sharply when I made contact, heard how harsh his breathing had become, felt the way he shuddered from my touch.

“Perfection,” I said and leaned forward to kiss his pectoral muscles. His hand went to the back of my head, his fingers flexing against my scalp before he pulled me back.

“My turn,” he said, his eyes molten pools of desire.

Now I was the one shivering. This was new territory but I trusted him. I trusted Jason more than anyone else in the entire world.

His hands went to the belt at my tunic and my breathing became unstable. It was too loud and too fast but I didn’t want him to stop.

“May I?” he asked.

I was struck by a giddy urge to laugh uncontrollably. He could do whatever he wanted to me and I would thank him for it.

But I saw that he wanted my assent. “Yes.”

He undid the belt that cinched my tunic in at the waist and held the fabric in place, letting the belt drop onto the bed. Without breaking eye contact he pulled the tunic up over my head and I felt the cold air hitting my skin.

With a loud gasp I sat up in my own bed. Dreaming again. I bit off a groan. I had wanted to see his face and reaction to my body, to feel my skin against his, and then I was embarrassed that I had been so amenable to something I knew I could never have.

And I had kicked my blanket off in the process. No wonder I was cold. How was it possible to feel chilled and overheated at the same time?

I had drifted off, and I had not intended to. I had planned to wait until my adelphia had fallen asleep and then sneak out to the docks to try and get a message to my parents.

There was a rustling sound and I looked at the window. Kunguru was on the windowsill, watching me.

I was worried he might call out, but he didn’t. The nearly full moon outside made it easier to pack up my knapsack. I took one of the bags of salt and left the other behind.

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