Page 37 of Fate Unchained

“How would you describe it, then?”

He was way too close and way too … male. Her gaze flicked down to his chest. Focus on anything but his mouth. His skin was warm bronze, not tinged blue from walking around without a shirt, like it should have been. She swallowed hard. Staring at his chest wasn’t helping her stay focused. “We were snowbound.”

“You know, I haven’t kissed anyone in two hundred and twenty-seven years.”

Her gaze flew up to meet his. “What?” That was a mistake. Now she was stuck, locked in eye contact with him. Her blood heated. She definitely wasn’t going to need her coat. “What did you just say? How old are you? And why are you talking about kissing?”

“I turned two hundred and forty-eight last month.” He closed the distance between them. “And I’m talking about kissing because I have a mouth to kiss with again.”

She licked her lower lip, and his gaze flicked down to her mouth. “Happy birthday.”

“The vulk don’t celebrate things like that.”

She should step backward and keep her distance. “Everyone should celebrate their birthday,” she whispered.

He tilted her chin up with one finger. “Then I’ll celebrate now. Make it all better and kiss me.”

Her pulse jumped. He was so close she could see the gray flecks hidden deep in his dark eyes. His mouth was full, with a small crease bisecting the lower lip. A really nice mouth.

Something flickered in his eyes before he wrapped his hands around her waist and lowered his head. She had one fleeting moment to realize he was really going to kiss her before his mouth was on hers.

She gasped, and he used that to deepen the kiss, his full lips soft yet demanding. They slid over hers, coaxing her lips farther apart until he sucked gently at her lower lip.

Her heart rate galloped faster, and she felt dizzy. The air was like champagne, filling her with fizzy bubbles. She put her arms around his neck, and Kyril swung her around, settling her against the gate and moving closer, wedging between her legs so her thighs cradled him. His tongue met hers, and he groaned.

His mouth grew hungrier, skating over hers. Claiming every inch. She nibbled at his lips, growing bolder. One of his hands entwined in her hair, and he tilted her head farther back and thoroughly took her mouth.

This was proper kissing.

A shout rang out from the main street, and Lilah leaped back, whirling toward the village. Leading a group of men all kitted out in heavy coats and oilskin pants, her father pointed at her. “Lilah! Thank the heavens.” Her father ran toward the gate. “I just assembled a search party …” His gaze flicked to Kyril, and his eyes narrowed. “How did you survive out in the blizzard, and who the dickens is this?”

Kyril smiled. Her heart stopped for a moment. His grin was fleeting, but it caught her off-guard how boyish it made him look. Like he’d told a wicked joke. He stepped forward. “I’m the one she’s been searching for.”

15

Kyril descended from the washroom in Lilah’s father’s house down to the living room. Dusk had fallen, and the setting suns spread a reddish haze inside the house. He rolled his shoulders. The shirt she’d found for him barely fit, but if he really needed to wear more clothes, it would work. The boots were a no, and he held them in one hand, making his steps silent on the stairs.

Lilah and her father were in the kitchen, with Lilah sitting at the table with her back to Kyril. Neither noticed him and he drew back into the stairwell. He studied her father, Hershel. The man walked soundlessly, the way a true hunter did, even if it was clear he’d slowed down as his age, or drink, crept into his bones. He stalked the kitchen with his hands shoved into his pockets, then slapped them down on the table. Leaning across it, he said, “You’re telling me this man is the vulk?”

He’d heard most of their talk while he was upstairs, with Lilah explaining about the cave and finding Kyril, but she hadn’t said anything about the runes or their battle with the shade. Better that way. Fewer questions. However, Hershel hadn’t said a thing until now.

Lilah nodded. “I’m not trapping him for Boris. The vulk is going to help me instead.”

“No. You’re not going anywhere with one of the vulk. They’re dangerous. Deadly. He won’t care about you or putting your life in danger. Let the immortals fight their own battles, Lilah.” He lowered his voice. “I’ll take care of him.”

Lilah lifted her chin. “He’s already saved me once. I’ll be … safe. And I’m already involved in this battle. I don’t have a choice. Magic is linking us together for now.”

Lilah felt safe with him.

An odd feeling stirred in his chest, and the same protectiveness he’d felt when she slept surged over him. She was right. He’d kill anyone who touched her. Shit, he’d kill anyone who made her frown.

Lilah put her hand on her father’s. “It’ll be fine. I know what I’m doing.”

“You need to keep your power hidden. Look at what has happened so far. First Boris is forcing you into using it, now this vulk.”

They stared so intently at each other that they still hadn’t noticed Kyril. He debated dropping one of the boots he held, but he didn’t. He waited.

“You used your power to make a life for yourself,” Lilah said. “I want to use mine.”

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