Page 34 of The Dark Rises
I immediately submerge my body and wipe the water from my eyes. It’s the man who came to visit Leandra a couple of months before we moved here. The same one who fueled my dreams for week, with his dark hair, blue eyes, and wicked smile.
“Cormal,” I stammer. “What are you doing here?” I turn my head to look at the desolate landscape. “How did you even find us?”
He flashes a smile that makes my toes curl. “There are few places I haven’t been. Until now, this was one.” He looks around. “Dangerous, but the quiet is peaceful.”
A vague answer, but I’m not surprised. It’s what I’d expect from the king of criminals. “Leandra’s in the little house down the path. If you turn around, you should see it from where you’re standing.”
White teeth flash. “I’m not here to see her.” His hands rub up and down his arms. “I’ll return tomorrow. Same time and place?”
Days slide by in a spinning wheel of images. Long walks in a white wonderland with equally long discussions about nothing and everything. Innocent dips in the hot springs that slowly become infused with a layer of unfulfilled need.
Like today.
Blue eyes study me intently as he faces me in the water.
My fingers clench with the desire pulsing through me, but I hold them under the water so he can’t see. Nervous, I bite my lip, wondering if he wants me the same way I want him, or if this is some long game of torturous friendship.
His large hand reaches out and snags me by the waist. “If you don’t want me to kiss you, tell me now.”
The huskiness of his voice propels me forward. “That’s all I’ve wanted for weeks. Kiss me, Cormal.” I wrap my slim arms around his neck and press my naked body up against his.
He inhales sharply and spears his other hand through my hair. Firm lips softly touch mine like butterfly wings once, twice, three times. When I move restlessly against him, wanting more, he groans, and those same lips harden, ruthlessly devouring everything in their path. His tongue plunges into my mouth, stroking and sucking, and stealing every thought from my head. I moan beneath the onslaught.
Without thinking, I wrap my bare legs around his body, and for a second, the kiss gets even wilder until he suddenly jerks away. Completely.
Startled, I stare at him. “What is it?” My body throbs in all the places it touched his, and all I want is to be in his arms again.
“You’re not ready,” he tells me.
Bewildered, I frown. “For kissing?”
“For all the things I want to do to you.”
It’s still dark when I wake, my body throbbing now as it did then. Young and inexperienced, I didn’t know what he meant, but I thought I did, and I wanted it with every fiber of my being.
My hands drift down my body, tempted to take care of myself, but I hold off. It’s not my fingers I want. It’s him. It’s always been him.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CORMAL
Aamon and Madoc are covered in bruises, welts, and blood when I arrive. Madoc flicks a glance at me, then continues to bloody his fists against his opponent. Neither of them are using magic, only brute force. Aamon pauses every once in a while, but Madoc refuses to let him stop, snarling at him to get back in the fight. This goes on for at least another hour.
Aamon finally folds his arms and shakes his head. “No more.”
Madoc flips him off and stalks away. “Fine. I’m going to grab a shower.”
I conjure a couple of chairs for Aamon and me. For several minutes, we sit in silence.
“Has he been like this since he returned?” I ask nonchalantly, as if I’m not too invested in his answer.
Aamon eyes me with suspicion but nods. “Upset.” He moves restlessly on the chair.
“Here,” I say, offering him an orange.
His large hand takes it, but he gives me a confused glance.
Grabbing the other one in my pocket, I peel it, then slip a slice into my mouth. “It’s good.”
