Page 46 of Blue Embers
“I don’t know anything.”
“They won’t know that until they kill you to find out.”
“So you want to protect me?”
I closed the door behind me, following Persephone as she walked down the hall toward the restroom, pulling her hair from its tight ponytail as she did.
“You’re vulnerable in more ways than you want to accept right now,” I said.
“I know,” Persephone turned quickly on her heels. “I know I am and that’s what scares me. I need to figure out how to stand again on my own.”
“Your sisterjustdied.”
“And before that, she left me alone for years. I can do this alone. I just need to remember how.”
“These aren’t your everyday threats. And you’re not on your own.”
“Killian, you’re a Draak,” she said firmly. “Stop acting like I mean something to you. I know my place. I know where the line is. You’re crossing it by coming into my house trying to say that you’re here to protect me. I can be strong. You made me feel like I wasn’t alone, but I am. I can be. Let me stand on my own before I start thinking I don’t have to.”
“I can’t do that.”
“We barely know each other! How can you say that?”
I watched the fire inside Persephone brighten and suddenly I needed her. I wanted her and my body screamed it. My core sizzled with desire for the woman. A desire to hold her close. To protect her. To claim her. I could feel her pulse tapping the air, sending ripples of soft noise toward my ears. Her scent was stronger now as if my senses had zeroed in on it over all else. Gods, I didn’t care that I hadn’t known her that long. I wanted her.
19
Killian
. . .
Persephone turned from me with a groan when I couldn’t answer her. Truthfully, I couldn’t put what I was feeling into words. I was disappointed in myself for letting her get to me like she had, but it was done. She’d already burrowed deep and I couldn’t step back now. Persephone retreated toward her room, aggravated and emotionally drained judging by the sound of her uneven heartbeat.
“I don’t know what else to say,” she said, opening her bedroom door and walking inside.
I marched after her, my chest on fire just from the thought of putting my hands on her again. Not like last time. I wanted her for real this time. All of her. As she threw the door closed, I pressed a hand against it before it locked and walked in, getting a bit tired of doors being slammed in my face. Again she turned, surprised by my intrusion, and glared as if waiting for an apology. I didn’t have one, though. I wasn’t sorry for forcing my way into her space if it meant getting my point across.
“Killian, stop,” she said. “I can’t do this. I can’t let myself fall too far when it comes to you. I can’t. I know it will hurt too much when all of this is over. I’m not myself around you and it’s terrifying me.”
“You’re running. You’re running for the same reason I’m chasing you,” I said. “Because you’re not sure what will happen if you stop. Just like I’m not sure what will happen if I catch you.”
“This doesn’t qualify as catching me? You’ve cornered me in my own room. I’m not one of your flings. I was stupid earlier to think I could make you some kind of supernatural booty call. That’s not me. I can’t do that and not feel something.”
“You’renotone of my flings.” I stepped closer. “I don’t chase flings. I don’t chase anyone.”
As I closed in on Persephone, she backed away, keeping some space between us until the wall came up behind her. She sidestepped before she hit it, attempting to get around me, but I was unwilling to let her pass. Not when I had her so close.
I reached out, grabbing her shoulders and pushing her up against the wall with a decisive yet gentle force. She was startled at first, but by the way she didn’t fight me, she knew I wouldn’t hurt her. I never would. Her expression softened to something less defensive and more understanding. She stared me in the eyes, waiting for me to speak, her body tense under my grip.
“I’m not letting you go tonight,” I told her, slowly loosening my grasp. “Not unless you can tell me you don’t want me here and you know I can hear a lie.”
“I do want you here,” she whispered. “That’s the problem.”
“I’m here,” I murmured, delving deep into the rich aqua of her eyes. “And you deserve my full attention.”
She relaxed, watching me for a while before she started to move away again. The woman was stubborn, but so was I. I stepped in, cupping her cheeks in my hands and leaning into an abrupt, deep kiss. She gasped, her body stretching up to meet me as my tongue plunged into her mouth. I couldn’t get enough of her, so I kissed her harder, expecting her to protest, but she didn’t. She reached around me, her arms hugging my waist.
Turning Persephone to the bed, I began to lift the hem of her shirt off her stomach, feeling the warm, smooth flesh under my bare fingers. She was breathing hard, slipping her hands under my shirt before I raised hers over her head. Her white, lace bra cupped her small breasts while the rest of her top half was bare now, fair and perfect.
