Page 84 of Thorns & Fire
He came alive beneath her touch, his breath shuddering out of him as a wave of emotions hit.He felt that familiar storm magic dancing across his skin, calling out to him like a dark promise.
‘What I want to do to you isn’t what a good man would do,’ he murmured.
Wren’s hand reached up, cupping his face and turning him to her, finally.And he stared at her.She was wearing a nightshirt that hit the tops of her thighs, the fabric thin enough that he could see the outline of her sinful curves beneath.
‘Does that mean you want to do wicked things to me, Bear Slayer?’she whispered, her thumb now tracing his bottom lip.
‘Wicked isn’t the half of it, Embers.’He breathed her in like he’d been deprived of air, like he could fill his lungs with the very essence of her.His gaze travelled every inch of her, taking in the flush across her freckled cheeks, the curve in her parted lips, the heat in her stormy gaze.
The heir of Delmira would break him.He had known it from the moment he’d first kissed her, and long before.He reached forher, sliding his fingers along her jaw, scanning her face for any hesitancy.
There was none.
Instead, she was up on her tip-toes, pressing her mouth to his.
It was the whisper of a kiss, the promise of something far deeper.
They broke apart, staring at one another, their chests heaving with restrained desire.
‘Torj—’
But he slanted his lips over hers, kissing her hard.
Gods, he’d been wanting to do it for a lifetime.Every little touch between them had been like a bolt of lightning, and now...they both moaned at the contact, and Torj gripped her hair at the roots as she opened for him, allowing his tongue to sweep in and explore.The taste of her, thesoundsescaping her as they deepened the kiss – it was enough to make his knees buckle.
More.More.More.He had to havemoreof her.She was as intoxicating as ever, dragging the darkest want from his very being, turning him feral with need.
She bit his lower lip, the brief sting of pain causing a burst of pleasure, even as he tasted copper.Her cuts forgotten, Wren’s hands were all over him, demanding, claiming – and Furies save him, he’d give herexactlywhat she wanted.
Her nightshirt slipped from her shoulder as she raked her fingers across his chest and down his abdomen, as she shoved him against the doorframe.She was everywhere, just as impassioned as he was.The wall between them had come crashing down and now they broke upon each other like waves in a storm.
And as Wren’s breath flickered against his lips, as his desire nearly consumed him, he saw it...
That thread of gold linking them once more.
Wren was oblivious to it, her fists balled in his shirt, her mouth reclaiming his.
And then she broke away, as though sensing the jolt of shock that coursed through him.
The shimmer of gold vanished, and all Torj saw was her.
Running a thumb across her lips, she stepped back.
‘What are you doing?’he managed, heart hammering.‘I—’
But Wren cupped her hand over his mouth, her gaze fierce.‘I’m going to leave before you say something to ruin this.’Her hand remained over his mouth.‘Let me have this, Bear Slayer.I don’t want every intimate moment we’ve shared to be tarnished by your words of regret.’
Her request seared the open fracture in his heart.Regret?How could she think he regretted her?She was all he’d ever wanted.To have shared what they had was a privilege he’d never thought possible.His only regret was hurting her, not being good enough for her...But he said none of this.Instead, he nodded slowly.
Wren released him and pressed a soft, gentle kiss to his lips before nudging him towards his room.
‘Goodnight, Torj,’ she murmured, and the door clicked closed behind him.
On the other side, with waves of feeling mercilessly barrelling into him, Torj braced himself against the timber.
I love you.
CHAPTER 32
