Page 206 of Red Ruin

“Buthow?” he asks, more despairing than frustrated.

I work on pure, stubborn spite, but that’s not what he needs here.

“Kiss him.” I give Tan a gentle push. “Simms almost fought Remy to protect you. Open your heart and let him feel what you’d do to save him. He’ll sense that and unconsciously give you his trust.”

“Even now?”

“Even now.”

Tan takes a shuddering inhale.

I’ve seen him and Simms do much more than kiss, but as Tan rises on his toes, heat burns my cheeks, and something stuffy fills my chest.

Tan clutches his Sentinel’s jaw. His finger joints whiten, but his mouth moves slowly and so gently.

The brush of lips is too intimate.

Too real.

I want to turn away, but I have to see this out until the end.

Tan pours himself into his partner.

Death magic whines, the earth shakes, but Tan’s lips blend all the sweetness of a first kiss and all the desperation of a last goodbye.

Have I ever kissed like that?

Have I everbeenkissed like that?

Whether yes or no, I’m afraid to know the answer.

As the temperature rises, there’s a subtle shift in the air.

The death magic is being forced out. Slowly, the earth stops shaking.

Tan did it.

I bite back a sigh of relief, not wanting to break his concentration.

Vhex and Remy don’t give a fuck.

They both tug me. I brace to stop their fight before it starts.

I purse my lips toshhhhh, then freeze in a weird goldfish pucker, letting out a hiss instead.

The dukes aren’t glaring at each other.

They’re watchingmewith ten times the intensity of that life-and-death kiss.

While I was gawping, their silks were lacing tight. I don’t need to read the dark flames doing pyrotechnics in their eyes.

I can read their souls, and they’re both screaming the same thing:

I can kiss you so much better.

My heart rattles.

“Tan has this under control,” I offer shakily. “Let’s gather the guards and figure out how we’re dealing with the lich king.”

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