Page 73 of Fate's Sweetest Curse
His eyes widened slightly. With his arms at his sides, he looked…caught.
“How do you feel, Noble?”
He placed his big hands on my shoulders, and for a moment I thought he’d lean closer—but then he turned me around again, so that I faced away.
“What are you—?”
“I can’t…” His voice was strangled. “I can’t stand you looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to break all the rules.”
I tilted my head, stealing another glance at him. He clicked his tongue, pinched my chin in his thumb and index finger, and guided my head forward again.
“Doyouwant to break the rules?” I asked.
Without answering, he released my chin, trailing his fingertips along my jaw, under my earlobe, to my nape. He stroked the top of my spine, sending a shiver all the way down.
My bodice felt too tight; I found it hard to breathe.
If he wasn’t going to talk, I would. “Whatarethe rules, anyway? Other than a feeble attempt to maintain the distance that our guardians imposed upon us over a decade ago?” I asked. “We aren’t kids anymore. Neither of us have to worry about our former stations. In Fenrir Territory, we can be whomever we want.”
He huffed a joyless exhale. “Hattie.” He sounded patient, like he was humoring me.Be serious, that tone said.
I balled my fists. “You’re infuriating, you know that? You can’t just say you care about me, storm off, and never elaborate.”
Noble’s fingers paused briefly, then continued their slow, tantalizing perusal of my neck and shoulders. Innocent touches that made my mind go to more intimate places. My thighs tensed; my lower abdominals squeezed.
Oderin had been wrong about forbidden desire. This wasn’t exciting, this wasexcruciating.
But then Noble stepped closer, his chest grazing my back as he lowered his lips to my ear. “You want me to elaborate on how I feel about you?”
“That’s what I’ve been asking.”
His breath was hot. “You want to know how I feel, even if it makes everything about this worse? Unfair?”
I swallowed thickly. “Yes, Noble.”
“Hmm,” he rumbled, as if considering the notion. “How do I feel?”
The hand that had been toying with the edge of my strap slid sideways, pushing the fabric off my left shoulder again, exposing my skin from earlobe to upper arm. I went motionless, breath caught somewhere between my mouth and lungs, waiting for…for I didn’t know what. For him to do whatever he’d do next.
The anticipation did not prepare me.
Noble lowered his head, gliding the tip of his nose along the edge of my ear, behind my jaw. Awareness sizzled under my skin, burning me with a furious flush. His other hand—his right hand—found my hip, fingers digging in with a deliciously possessive pressure. He inhaled against the side of my neck like he wanted to breathe me into his lungs, then something wet—fucking Fates, histongue—glided along my pulse-point and down, until he buried his mouth against the crook of my neck.
A soft, pleasure-filled, confused little moan escaped me. It was my most ticklish spot—as he knew—but also one of my most sensitive.
My mind couldn’t keep up with what was happening, didn’t know how to make sense of it, especially not with Noble’s ardent mouth sliding over my skin, kissing my neck. All I could do was tilt my head, giving him better access, and he chuckled faintly at my transparent bid formore.
His lips were soft,reverent, the perfect contrast to the rough scrape of his stubble. Another moan—louder this time—rose out of my chest. It was answered by one of his own, shockingly low and feral. Hearing a sound like that come from cool, collected Noble made my heart tumble into my belly and pulse there, needy and desperate.
I leaned back into him, thoroughly enjoying…whatever this was.
Fates, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.Knowingwould probably just sully it.
“How do I feel?” Noble mused against my skin, the deepness of his voice vibrating from his chest into my back. “I feel like I’m starving, Hattie. I feel like I’m freezing. I feel like I’m blindfolded. I feel like I’ve been living in a cold dark cave, hungry and hollow, and the only time I feel satiated or see the sun is when I’m with you.”
