Page 8 of Rogue's Possession (Covenant of Thorns 2)

“Oh no, no, no.” I poked him in the chest, but he only held me tighter to him. “I’ll make a sand timer—” I barely caught myself in time to avoid sayinghourglass,“—and we’ll use that. Same length of kissing every time. Lips to lips, only.”

His mouth quirked at that, making me relieved I’d caught that particular loophole. “I want my first kiss now.”

“We don’t have the timer yet.”

“So make it.” He let me go. “I will want to approve the length of time. I need to assess your level anyway, if I’m to teach you.”

Making this thing was a small effort, but my faults include pride. I wanted Rogue to be, if not impressed, at least satisfied.

I created a perfectly clear image in my head of what I wanted, along with the most precise sense of five minutes I could produce. One minute would be better, but I doubted Rogue would go for it. I held out my hand, palm up, and wished the timer into being.

It appeared on my hand, looking suspiciously close to my grandmother’s egg timer, with its cheerfully yellow plastic end caps. I would have modified them into a less-tacky natural wood, but I didn’t want to give Rogue the impression that it hadn’t turned out exactly how I wanted it to.

He took it from me, turned it so the sands slid the other direction, and nodded. “Agreed.”

Showing off, he withdrew his long-fingered hand and left the glass hanging midair, the bottom full, the top empty, waiting to be overturned.

“My lady.” He took my hand and laid it over his heart again, drawing me close. Thunder rumbled with the surf, the sound of drumbeats running through it, darkly musical, and the rain poured over us.

I trembled with anticipation, not wanting to contemplate whether I’d allowed him to maneuver me into this deal because I wanted to taste him, needed his lips on mine.

“Our kiss.” The glass tumbled over and he leaned in.

I expected the wolf, the demanding, ravishing kiss, maximizing his time with the most he could take. Instead his mouth brushed mine, a slow seeking, tenderly exploring, urging me to open. A flower blooming in the warm sun, I unfurled, the desire he fulminated in me pouring forth. He kissed me like he loved me, a nourishing caress that stretched into infinity, drowning me in warm pleasure.

I was in seriously deep shit now.

Chapter 3

In Which I Sign Up for Courses at the Local CommunityCollege

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In Faerie, life is not precious until evaluated and priced according to the going market. Usually this evaluation is not under the control of the person whose life itis.

~Big Book of Fairyland, “Rules ofBargaining”

The last grainsof sand slipped through the glass with a soft sigh. No—I couldn’t possibly hear that over the rain and the drumming of the surf. That was me. Rogue still held my hand in his, looking into my eyes.

“Come away with me, Gwynn. Let me show you what we could have.”

I wanted to say yes. Heavens help me, I did. This was why he wanted the kissing. Erotic teasing I could withstand—more or less—but these drugging kisses went straight to my foolish heart. Which clearly needed armoring. Teflon might work.

“Nice try, but no.” The words came out with a satisfying edge. I stepped back and wiped the rain off my face, twisting my hopelessly tangled hair back behind my neck. “You can teach me what I need to know here, while I keep doing my job.”

“You are an exceedingly stubborn woman.”

“Please don’t tell me you’re just now figuring that out.”

Rogue snapped the timer out of the air and pocketed it somewhere inside his cloak. He hid his irritation well, but I could scent it on the air, a tinge of impatience. Point for me. Good to know I got under his skin too.

A subtle movement and I glimpsed the ever-patient Larch making his way around from the point, leading my horse, Felicity. I had no idea how such a stolid fellow managed to move so gracefully. Brownie magic, no doubt.

“Well.” I felt awkward. End of date, no more kissing allowed. Did we shake hands?

“Until tonight, lovely Gwynn.” Rogue bent over my hand and brushed it with an air kiss. With a wink, he disappeared.

“Poof,” I muttered to myself, suppressing my smile out of principle, then turned to make the short walk to Larch and Felicity.

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