Page 97 of His Darkest Desire

He clenched his jaw, and his hands flexed, pricking her scalp with his claws. “What did you see?”

“I saw you. Your past, the other goblins at your tower…the queen.”

Though his skin paled, Vex’s expression darkened. His body did not ease. “Ah. That is…regrettable.”

A tear spilled from the corner of her eye, trickling into her hair beneath his palm. “I’m so sorry for everything you went through. For all you lost.”

A crease formed between his eyebrows, and his lips parted with a silent sigh. “You need not be sorry, Kinsley. All you witnessed occurred long ago. It is in the past, where it shall remain.”

“The past stays with us, Vex. I know that too well. The pain I saw in you…that wasn’t pain you buried in the past, it’s pain you’re still carrying with you. It’s still present.”

He hummed thoughtfully. Gentling his touch, he took a thick strand of her hair between finger and thumb and stroked it idly. “After all these years, I ought to have learned the wisdom you’ve just shared. At heart, I know that no matter how much I wish it were otherwise, the queen is with me still. Thanks to her curse.”

His crimson eyes met hers, gleaming with something raw, something vulnerable. “You could have let me die, Kinsley. You could have been free, released from our pact. Why did you aid me?”

Kinsley scowled. “You seriously think I’m that kind of person?” She tugged her hand out of his grasp. “That I’d just let you—”

Vex buried his fingers in her hair, angled her face toward him, and slanted his mouth over hers.

Kinsley’s eyes widened, and she thrust her hands out, meaning to stop him. But she found herself unable to resist. His lips crushed hers, hungry and fierce, demanding, yearning. Just like when he’d first kissed her, Kinsley closed her eyes and gave in to him.

But this time, she returned the kiss with equal fervor.

Their lips molded to each other, hot, firm, and passionate. Every breath was shared between them.

Vex’s arm slipped beneath her, cinching her against him, and her hardened nipples brushed his chest through her nightgown. The sensation sent a jolt straight to her clit that made her whimper. A growl rumbled from him in response.

Flames curled low in her belly, licking at her core, and their heat spread through her body. Every thought vanished. Only Kinsley and Vex existed, here, in this moment. She could focus on nothing else but him—the solidness of his body atop hers, his spicy scent enveloping her, his heat radiating into her, and his taste… Oh God, his taste. She needed more.

The heavy ache in her core expanded, and her cunt pulsed with need.

Kinsley slid her hands up Vex’s chest to capture his face between them. When she parted her lips, his tongue swept over them and delved into her mouth, where its tip split to caress hers.

The feeling, both foreign and erotic, startled Kinsley. With a gasp, she tore her mouth from his and shoved against his chest. Surprise flashed across his features as he fell back onto the bed, allowing Kinsley enough time to scramble away.

Nearly tripping on the hem of her nightgown, she climbed off the bed and turned toward him. Her chest rose and fell with her rapid breaths, her body trembled with unfulfilled arousal, and her inner thighs were slick with her desire.

Kinsley wanted Vex, craved him, and yet…

She clutched fistfuls of the nightgown at her sides, squeezing.

He wanted something from her, something she could not give him. And that secret was a chasm, wide and deep, stretching between them.

They shared more than a magical pact. So much more. She felt it, deep in her heart, deep in her soul. Being with him was right. It was…fated.

Yet how could she give in to her lust while keeping that secret?

Tell him. Just tell him, Kinsley.

I…can’t.

What would he do to her when he found out? What would he do when he discovered she’d mislead him, lied to him?

Vex rolled onto his hands and knees and fixed his glowing red eyes upon her. Kinsley could only watch as he stalked toward her like a prowling cat, his movements powerful, graceful, sensual. Her heart beat faster with every inch of distance he closed.

But rather than pounce, Vex swung his legs over the edge of the bed and sat before her, settling his long, claw-tipped fingers on his thighs. Strands of hair hung in his face and over his chest and shoulders, making it only harder to look away from him.

“You flee as though I’ve burned you, Kinsley,” he said, his voice low and husky. “But it is I who burns.”

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