Page 22 of In Her Own Rite

“What do you know?” Has she felt it, somehow? No, she can’t have. If she knows what I saw, the look in her eyes would be closer to terror.

She eyes me for a moment, something happening in her mind that I can’t figure out.

“Nothing,” she says finally, and looks away.

“Tell me.” I come closer to her, so there’s just a few inches between us.

She says nothing, thinking, then looks up.

“So you don’t like the dress?” she asks finally. There’s a little playfulness in her eyes—flirty, bold.

I shake my head. Maybe it’s the beer, or the last of thekattaka, but for once, I don’t stop myself.

“You look beautiful. I like it too much.”

She raises her chin just slightly, and it feels like an invitation. My eyes fall over her body again, and I know she’s watching me as I take her in. I admire her exposed shoulders, bare and elegant in the moonlight. The thin red straps are tied into little bows, undoubtedly some mainland fashion Maren bought for Em just to make me lose my goddamn mind. The silk in the front of the dress dips low between her breasts, skimming over them—soft, small, full—and falls around her waist and hips, accentuating the shape.

As she watches me take her in, something in the air grows thick and heady. Her breathing grows heavier, and it’s unmistakable. She’s getting turned on. I feel myself grow hard before I can help it.

“Em,” I groan, looking away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come up here. I’ll give you some space.”

I turn, but her hand reaches for my wrist, pulling me back.

“I don’t want space.”

“You’re only saying that because you’re going into heat soon,” I manage to get out. “When I offered and your head was clearer, you didn’t want this.”

“I did. I do,” she says, her breathing labored. “Kieran…”

She pulls me towards her until our bodies are pressed together, a thousand dreams I never let myself have. I take a deep breath. She smells divine, like sex and heat and lush, decadent wild, but also still like Em: soft and sweet, a trace of rose water and cardamom. I straighten my body and push myself away from the sill.

“I can’t do this to you,” I say, my voice thick and raspy with desire. “You’re not yourself. You can’t make this decision right now.”

“Kieran, I’m stillme. I’m not drunk, I’m not out of my mind. I'm not even in heat yet. And if I were, I’d still be able to make this decision.”

I don’t respond. I can’t.

“You… you said you like the part of me that doesn’t hold back,” she says. “The part that feels safe telling you what I really feel. So… let me.”

Her voice is nervous, and I can see a tremble in her hand as she takes my right hand and lifts it, placing it gently on the side of her neck and resting hers on top. Then she reaches for my left hand and rests it on her hip.

My whole body goes taught. I’m afraid to move.

“I know you don’t see me this way,” she says quietly. “You said it doesn’t have to mean anything. So let’s just have… one night. To pretend.”

She looks up, her eyes hopeful and yearning, and I can’t hold it anymore.

In seconds, my mouth is on her, tasting the sweetness of her mouth, feeling the fullness of her lower lip between mine. I press her into me and feel her melt, a low moan escaping from her as she kisses me back. My hands skim down to her waist, over her hips, to all the places I’ve never touched, never let myself imagine. It’s better than anything—better than every dream, every flicker of fantasy I ever let myself have. My lips move over hers slowly, savoring.

Just one night. If this is the only time, I’m making it count.

I lean down to kiss her neck and her head dips back. She gasps as I taste her skin, delicate against the roughness of my beard.

“Sorry,” I say, raspy, pulling away.

“No. More.” Her hand finds the back of my head and moves me towards her again, and I groan as I find a place just at her collarbone that makes her breathing grow heavy, a few inches below where her mate bite would go.

The scent of her arousal is intoxicating, and it mixes with mine, the hardness of my cock pressing between her thighs as she gasps.

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