The beast shudders, and so do I.
“Briana.”
“I want to choose something before they try to make me remember what it felt like not to have choices.”Her eyes hold mine.“I choose you.I choose your touch.I choose the bond.I choose the bite.”
A rough sound tears out of me.I go to my knees before I know I am moving, and Briana’s eyes widen, but I don’t touch her.I kneel in front of her because if I stay standing, I might forget how sacred this is.Because every instinct in me says claim, and I need the beast to understand that being chosen is not the same as taking.
“You kneel a lot for someone who looks like violence,” she whispers.
My laugh is broken.“Only for you.”
Her hand lifts, and I wait.She touches my hair first, fingers sliding through the dark strands tied at the back of my head.The touch is tentative, then firmer.Curious.
My eyes close.
“Knox,” she says.
“Yes?”
“Stand up.”
I do.Slowly.Her hand stays in my hair as I rise, and the pull of it nearly ends me.When I am upright, she looks almost startled by how close we are.I keep my hands open.
“Tell me yes,” I say, voice rough.“Tell me no.Tell me to wait.Tell me anything, and I will listen.”
Her breath trembles.“Yes.”
One word.My world breaks open.I don’t move until she moves first.She presses both palms to my chest and leans into me, not much, just enough.
My hands settle at her waist, where she allowed them before.Her body tenses under the first contact, then she breathes through it and stays.I feel the exact second fear loosens and want takes its place.
Goddess.I bend my head slowly, and she doesn’t pull away.
“Can I kiss you?”I ask.
Her eyes lift to mine.Dark, bright, terrified, wanting.“Yes.”
I touch my mouth to hers like she is a flame.Briana makes a small sound, not fear, not pain, something wondering, and my control shudders.Her fingers curl in my shirt.She kisses me back awkwardly for half a second, then with more certainty, her mouth parting beneath mine.
The beast roars, but the man holds still.I let her set the pace.
One kiss.
Then another.
Then her hands slide up my chest, around my neck, and she pulls me closer.I growl into her mouth before I can stop it.She freezes, and I stop instantly.
“Sorry,” I rasp.
Her eyes open slowly.Her lips are swollen, and her breathing is uneven.
“Do it again,” she whispers.
My hands tighten by a fraction.“Are you sure?”
Her mouth curves, shaky but real.“I’m starting to hate that question.”
“You will hear it anyway.”
