Page 71 of Broken Fate
I remained against him, unmoving, barely letting myself breathe. Was that it? Had we finally crossed a line that even Kiel couldn’t take back?
More importantly, was it one I was okay with? Things were happening so quickly. Mere weeks had passed since my Fate Night. Even less since my parents' death. Days since Clive.
How to tell if it was something I wanted or just an emotional reaching out, desperate for any sort of touch after being deprived of so much? Did I know? Did I care?
“Kiel.” The word came unbidden, without thinking.
He pulled back just enough for me to tilt my head up, locking eyes with him.
“Yes?” his whispered reply was nothing like the powerful bark of his commands from moments before. Soft. Curious. Eager.
Nervous.
Kiel wasnervous. What would he, one of the strongest shifters I’d ever met, have to be nervous about withme?
The answer hit me like a lightning bolt. It wasme. That was what he was nervous about.
“I …” I faltered, stunned by the revelation that somehow he, the man who held me still with the fingers of one hand without even trembling, could somehow be brought to the edge because he was worriedIwould rejecthim.
Gates started to drop over his eyes as I hesitated. Walls rebuilding themselves, strengthening, preparing for the worst he saw coming.
“Wait,” I said, slipping one hand from behind his back to lay against his cheek. “Don’t go.”
A tremor struck him. The biggest man I knew shivered. A vulnerability I never would have guessed he possessed.
“I didn’t mean to push,” he said, the walls pausing but not retreating. He was on the edge, hovering over the precipice.
At that moment, I could choose my own destiny. Whatever I said or did next would forever alter our relationship. Coworkers. Friends.More. The power was in my palms. He had given that to me and was now waiting to find out what I decided. What Iwanted.
My tongue flicked out, running across dry lips. A lump stuck in my throat. Tightness gripped my lungs, forcing me to breathe shallowly. Fast. Uneven. If he let go, there was no way my legs would support me. Not in that instant.
“You didn’t,” I told him, the words just sort of falling out of me. “It was just … unexpected. That’s all.”
“I see.” His muscles were still rigid, my fingers barely able to make the tiniest dent from squeezing. Was he even breathing? The way his eyes flicked from me to our embrace, away, and back again told the entire story of his thoughts and emotions.
What he wanted. What he thought he should do. What he thought I wanted.
Back to that again. What didIwant?
Kiel started to pull back again.
“No.”
He froze, head cocked slightly to the side in surprise.
Without thinking, I leaned up into it. Our second kiss was unlike the first. Then, he had taken it from me. Not against my will, but unexpectedly.
Like then, my wolf howled her joy, head tilted to the sky, proclaiming to the world how she felt about it. My head mirrored hers as Kiel crushed his mouth against mine, his restraint melting as we discovered what I wanted together.
The hands stroking me dropped to my waist, lifting me easily into the air so my legs could wrap tight around his waist, my arms over his shoulders.
“Now, I’m the one with the height advantage,” I said playfully before putting it to good use, pulling my face to his, my lips parting as our tongues met and teased one another.
A growl rumbled up from deep within Kiel. His hands slid under my hips, grabbing my ass firmly. The next thing I knew, my back was being thrust against the wall, my body pinned there by his weight. I was trapped, and Kiel was in control.
And Ilovedit. The pounding of my heart was swiftly being replaced by the throbbing from between my legs, an incessantneedthat could only be fixed by one thing. I tightened my grip around his neck, my hips grinding into him, showing him what I needed. What I craved.
Spinning us around, Kiel lay me back onto the bed, muscles pinning me in place, hands above my head and spread wide. He traced a line with his mouth from my collarbone, up my neck, and along my jaw. Arching up into him, begging him with my body to take me, I moaned, the sound only bringing further flames into his eyes as he stared at me, drinking in my fully clothed body.
