Pulling back, I lock gazes with her. The desire in her eyes urges my lips to trap hers, and I move in. Wanting to caress them as much as the yearning demands to hurt them.
“Caben,” she says, low and breathy. I halt my descent. She bites down on her lip, and my arousal hardens painfully against my pants.
“What, love?”
A slow smile curls her lips. “Fuck off.” Then she spits in my face.
? 6 ?
Kaliope
CABEN’S BLUE EYES GLOW brighter, transforming them into near silver beams, as rage them. My spittle trails his face. He bears down harder on my trapped hands, his frame going rigid, and I can feel the tremble in his body. I squirm under his hold, angered that even at my full strength, he seems to be more powerful.
As his gaze flicks over me, his lips part and he runs his tongue over his bottom lip, taking in some of my saliva. I should cringe, but the heated look in his eyes causes me to halt my movements.
“I’ve been dying to taste you,” he says, his words sending a shiver down my spine. “But I’m afraid that won’t be enough.” He wipes his face clean with his free hand, keeping a firm grip on my wrists with the other. Then he reaches down and grasps my thigh, bringing it up around his hip. His body presses into mine, and the feel of his hardness against my center spikes me with fear—and longing.
I close my eyes, trying to block out the conflicting emotions swirling within me. This isn’t Caben. This isn’t Caben.
His stubbled cheek scratches at the side of my face as he leans in…his lips caressing my neck… This isn’t Caben. I chant louder in my head. Refusing to accept that this is the man I love. If Caben is inside, buried beneath the evil, Bale has stripped him of everything I once admired.
I can’t allow my emotions, my feelings for the man who is lost, to factor into my duty.
This is not Caben.
His warm breath rolls over my skin as his lips trail the column of my neck. My stomach tightens with anticipation and need. It’s painful and pleasurable, and the mix of fire and nausea war within me. I swallow as he thrusts harder, his fingers digging into my flesh, gripping me closer as his arousal hardens.
Against my will, my body responds, heat igniting between my thighs. I open my eyes; see Caben. Feel him.
Curse the goddesses. Curse everything and everyone. My fingers close around his, and my leg pulls his body seamless along mine. No air between us to breathe, to allow oxygen to my brain to think and rationalize.
Caben flicks his tongue out against my skin, and I close my eyes. “Let me in, Kal.” His hand moves along my leg to caress the back of my thigh as he tightens his hold. The heat from his palm creates a pleasing friction, and I suddenly wish there was nothing between us—no barrier of clothing keeping his skin from touching mine.
As his lips track a path higher, my body continues to betray me. A moan escapes my lips, and as he brushes his against mine, I feel him smile. Just a second before his mouth is crushing mine.
All thoughts are lost. Cast into the deepest part of the sea. So many times I’ve imagined the moment when Caben would kiss me again. When he was back. A tear trickles from the corner of my eye. I feel it slip down my cheek.
But this kiss…it’s not the kiss of Caben returning to me. It’s hungry and violent and demanding. His lips work hard against mine as his tongue darts inside my mouth, consuming and controlling. Trying to own me. Possess me.
As my lids slowly open, I see a faint red glow in his pupils, and I’m here. Yanked out of my desire and back into reality. The sadistic, wrong reality that is now the truth of us. Guilt and hurt replace the lust fueling our moment, and I wrench my mouth free.
“No,” I bite out, jerking my head sideways.
He groans and then grips my jaw, forcing me to look at him. “No?” A wicked smile tilts his lips. “That’s not what your body says, Kal.” He releases his grasp on my chin, and his hand roams the length of my leg until his fingers find the top of my uniform pants. Then, with a sudden motion, he dips his fingers beneath the band. The feel of his skin finally connecting with mine sends a current through my body.
Fighting the want pulling me under, my legs buckling, my will being rendered helpless, I shake my head. “Not like this,” I whisper.
I hear his deep chuckle, and as he works the button on my pants, his body thrusting more demandingly against mine—I know it’s wrong, but I only wish to be lost for one moment more. Just forget the world of goddesses and dark magics and fall into Caben.
But the possessive gleam in his eyes releases me from that craving. And I realize with a sobering clarity that it’s not fully Caben’s allure enticing me. The power radiating off him in waves has to be affecting me, and I need to get far away from him. From it.
The zipper gives, and he’s yanking my hips forward. “Spread your legs,” he whispers near my ear. “I want inside. Now.”
I lick my lips, earning an appreciative look from Caben, and then I kiss him. Slowly. Tenderly. Then pulling back, I say, “Never like this.” Pushing my back off the wall, I ram my forehead into his and then drive my knee into his crotch.
His hold on my wrists releases as he grabs himself and bends over. Not giving him time to recover, I haul back and punch him hard. My knuckles explode with pain, but I land another blow with my elbow to his nose.
“Bitch!” he shouts.