Gabriel reaches for the leather tying my hair, tugging on it. The knot comes undone. My curls fall against my back, and he exhales shakily. Is he as affected by this as I am?
His breath brushes my cheek as he runs his fingers down my hair.
Move, I yell at myself. Why am I letting him touch me?
I should put a stop to this. I should jerk away and remind him of all the reasons why he and I will never be anything more than whatever we are right now.
There are so many things I should be doing, but instead, I stand there. Heat coils in my core, and every second feels like an eternity as the Hunter and I share the same air.
“It’s true,” he says, his voice raspy.
It takes me a moment to remember we were talking about the horse.
“Oh?” I whisper.
“He doesn’t have a great temperament, thanks to the way he was raised.”
I wet my lips, and even though I’m breathing, it feels like my lungs aren’t getting enough air. “Is that where he gets his name?”
“Among other reasons, yes.” Is it just me, or has the pitch of Gabriel’s voice lowered?
His hand shifts. He grazes my cheek, then my jaw. Softly. Carefully. What is he doing?
My pulse picks up, but I don’t move. “I see.”
I don’t, not really.
Gabriel’s brows knit together. “You know, he’s selective about the people he likes.”
“Is he?”
His dark gaze dips to my lips and lingers. “Extremely.”
The air between us is charged, and every second seems longer than the last. Why does it feel like we’re no longer talking about Chaos?
Gabriel’s thumb brushes the corner of my mouth, and his head lowers. There is a thundering drum in my chest as the Hunter closes the space between us, as if he’s going to kiss me.
And I’m . . .
Not pulling away.
My eyes flutter shut, and heat courses through me. What will his lips feel like when they meet mine? Will he kiss me softly? Gently? Or will his kiss be warm and urgent and full of all the things left unsaid between us?
Ineedto know.
Every second feels like a lifetime as I wait for his mouth to land on mine. Surely soon?—
A feline cry rises in the distance. The sharp sound is a warning of some kind. It cuts off as quickly as it began, but the moment is already shattered.
My eyes fly open, and Gabriel inhales sharply. His head jerks up, his hand falls to the sword sheathed at his side, and his face hardens into that of the Hunter I know him to be.
“The dagger you had in the tunnels, do you still have it?” he asks, his voice back to normal as if we hadn’t been sharing an intense moment and he hadn’t been about to press his lips to mine.
“Of course.” I pat my hip where the weapon is sheathed.
Gabriel pulls my hood over my head, his thumb brushing my Mark, then my brows. A moment later, Mist runs out of the wood, her silver eyes wide. She comes to stand beside the Hunter, a growl rumbling through her.
“Good.” Gabriel pushes me deeper into the woods towards a cluster of pine trees. “Go and hide. Don’t come out until I come get you.”
