Page 115 of Kingdom of Chaos
“That’s not what you need in a partner,” he says. “You don’t need to be coddled, set on a shelf or a pedestal to be looked at or fawned over. You need to be challenged and treated as an equal, not just a pretty object to be protected. You want someone who understands your strength and stands with you, not someone who’s too afraid you’ll break to let you learn how to fly.”
But I feel like I’m about to break. Not because I was wrong before. Wanting to protect someone isn’t a flaw. But Talon’s right too. That kind of love isn’t enough for me anymore.
I don’t need someone to shield me.
I need someone who sees me.
Talon lifts a hand to my face. His thumb brushes gently against my cheek, wiping away a tear I hadn’t even realized had fallen.
“I see you,” he says as he moves closer, cradling my head between both his hands so my entire view is filled with him and him alone.
“I see someone who’s stronger than she knows. Who fights even when she’s breaking. I see fire. I see loyalty. I see someone who terrifies me in the best way, because she never backs down. Not from her pain, and not from her power. But I also see the cracks you try to hide. The fear you don’t speak out loud. And I still see you as the bravest soul I know.”
“Talon,” I whisper, overwhelmed. Not just by his presence, but by the weight of his words.
An ache blooms in my chest. I can’t tell if I want him to stop talking . . . or never stop.
But he doesn’t pause. He keeps going.
“I see someone who deserves to be chosen. I’d choose you, every time. Every version of you—strong, stubborn, scared—I see it all. I. See.You.”
The air between us shifts, charged and heavy, as something electric crackles under my skin. My magic stirs within me, and the gold and silver threads that bind us together appear, casting Talon in a soft glow and taking my breath away.
“I know this is difficult for you,” he says. “You don’t want to hurt anyone, and all of this is messy and confusing.” His tongue swipes over his bottom lip, wetting it, and I’m drawn in, helpless against the slow, deliberate motion. “But every time we get close, you push me away, like we don’t already know how this ends.”
“How does this end?” I ask, mesmerized.
His eyes search mine, not with uncertainty, but with a quiet promise I feel in my bones.
He steps in close, his hand sliding to the back of my neck, holding me like he’s afraid I’ll run before saying, “Becks was your first, but I’m your forever.”
A shiver rolls down my spine, and every part of me tilts toward him like gravity has chosen sides.
“Do you remember what I told you about the first time we kiss?” he asks.
Awareness coils low in my stomach as words that have been impossible for me to forget run through my mind.
“The first time we kiss, Freckles, it won’t be to make another guy jealous. It’ll be because we can’t live another second without tasting each other’s lips.”
I nod, not able to find my voice, and Talon’s gaze drops to my mouth. The look in his eyes makes my breath hitch, and as he inches closer every nerve in my body goes on high alert.
“And are you there?” he asks. “Because I am. I’m tired of waiting.”
My heart hammers in my chest as I whisper, “Yeah,” my voice barely there. “I think I’ve been there for a while.”
Something shifts in Talon’s expression. Relief, maybe. Or a sharper longing, raw and intense, like he’s been holding his breath for days and I’ve finally let him exhale.
He leans in slowly, giving me every chance to pull away. I don’t.
“Good. Because I’m done holding back,” he murmurs, and then his mouth finds mine.
He tastes like an intoxicating mix of danger and desire. His lips are soft and smooth and I can’t seem to get enough of them as they brush up against mine again and again.
The kiss is everything he promised it would be. Not about jealousy. Not about proving anything. Just us. Raw, consuming, inevitable. Deeper and different than anything I’d ever experienced before. More than I could even fathom a kiss being, because at once I’m broken into a million pieces, but then in the same breath, right back together again. It feels like electricity is being passed back and forth between us. This is the most alive I’ve ever felt in my life.
A moan rises from my throat and slips from my lips when his mouth breaks from mine and trails down my neck. I dive my hands into his hair, holding him close, refusing to let him go.
In one swift motion, Talon reaches down, hooks his hands under my thighs and lifts me. Instinctually, my legs wrap around his waist as he presses me back against the rough brick wall, his mouth never leaving my skin.
