Page 35 of A Storm in Every Heart
“My best friend’s sister,” he finishes, on a growl.
His best friend’s sister. Of course.
I don’t think that’s what he was originally going to say, but I’ll never know for sure. I don’t think even Kastian knows what he meant to say.
Because until the day he dies he’ll never remember me…and I can’t ever tell him why.
I let out the breath I was holding on a growl and shove both hands against his chest. “Move. I can’t deal with this, and I don’t owe you any explanations.”
Kastian doesn’t move an inch, as if my shoving my entire body weight against him were no more than a light breeze. “Do you really think that Magnus will hesitate to hurt you too?”
“I think if you can’t already understand why it’s worth the risk to find out, then I’m not going to waste any more of my time explaining it to you!” I shove him again. “Now, move!”
“No,” he snaps back, shaking his head as if to clear it. “This conversation isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is. Move, or I’ll make you.”
“And how are you going to do that?” He smirks bitterly. “What are you going to do, Princess? Cook my brain like that damn shopkeeper?”
“Maybe!” I snap.
“Try. It won’t work.”
“Of course it would,” I hiss. “You’re not that special,Your Majesty.”
“Try,” he repeats, taunting me.
I let out a growl of frustration. I cannot do this with him. This is all too much; too familiar. One hundred years of pent-up anger is at risk of exploding everywhere, leaving me shattered in the process.
Like she’s rising to defend me before I break, the little voice in the back of my head that I always try to keep buried pushes to the forefront. The voice is all siren. She feeds on fury and desire and often can’t tell the difference between the two. Now, she wants me to forget about hurt feelings and stupid mortal problems and take what she’s always known belongs to her.
I lean forward until my mouth is barely a breath away from his. I hear myself speak in the same coaxing, seductive tone I used on the shopkeeper. The same tone I used on Kastian decades ago. “Move, Kastian.”
For a fraction of a second I hold my breath, thinking maybe he’s right—Maybe this time it won’t work on him—but then I hear his strangled voice repeating the same surrender as every other man. “As you wish.”
The siren inside me smiles with smug satisfaction, and I let out the breath I was holding. But before I can even think—before I’m sure if I’m glad or disappointed—Kastian follows my order andmoves.
He leans in and captures my bottom lip between his.
For perhaps half a heartbeat I’m too stunned to react. Then, the shock sharpens into something molten, electric, and all too familiar.
I part my lips with a soft gasp, and that sound is like the opening note of a crescendo.
My back hits the wall, softened by his hand pressed against the stone, as he tilts his head to intensify the kiss. Kastian’s tongue moves over mine, exploring with a slow, rough, and possessive fervor that sends shivers down my spine. He tastes of sweet dark wine and something else, something untamed and metallic.
My hands slam against his chest, fingers curling and clawing as they slide upward, seizing the fabric of his shirt in a fierce grip. He lets out a deep, guttural groan from the back of his throat, a primal sound that reverberates through both of us.
We’ve kissed before, but not like this. Before was innocent and new.
This is anything but innocent.
His hand abruptly detaches from the wall, and he seizes the back of my head, fingers tangling in my hair. My teeth catch his bottom lip, desperate and reckless. I let out a soft whimper, squirming as I push my hips firmly against his and feel the hard outline of his cock pressing into me.
I want his hands all over my body. I don’t want to be slow or romantic. I don’t need the foreplay—I’m already drenched in anticipation, and I just want to feel him inside me. I ache for it.
As if he read my mind, Kastian pulls back from my mouth, hunger flashing in his eyes. He seizes the delicate fabric of my dress at the neckline. The sound of ripping fabric fills the room as he yanks it down, exposing both of my breasts to the chill air. My already-hard nipples pebble into almost painful points.
He growls low in his throat. “Fuck.”
