Page 136 of Revealing Fate

Felíne’s chest heaved. Her heart thundered.

Kal’s hands slid upward and cupped the full weight of her breasts over the thin band of fabric that held them. Gooseflesh erupted. Her nipples pebbled instantly. He ran lazy thumbs over them, sending jolts of pleasure straight to her core like bolts of lightning. Felíne’s knees wobbled.

“How about now?” Kal asked, remembering their game. “Still warm?”

“Hot,” Felíne croaked. “Definitely hot.”

Kal’s right hand left her breast and wove into her tangle of hair to cup the back of her neck. He tugged softly, forcing her head into a tilt until she stared up at him. His lips found her jaw, left fingers still toying at her breast. “Did you dream of me kissing you?” he asked, warm breath washing over her.

Felíne panted. She didn’t even care. Something sultry and wanton uncoiled itself within her. She felt wild. Revealed. As though pieces of herself that she’d been forced to keep hidden in darkness had finally been permitted into the light. And the one seeing her, truly seeing her, for the first time was Kal. She gazed up at him and found only reverence. Only want. If his eyes had been mirrors, Felíne knew she’d see the same sentiments reflected in her expression.

“Yes,” she said. “I did. And I don’t want to play anymore.”

Chapter 48

GLORY

IDON’T WANT TO PLAY anymore.

Kitty’s words were incendiary. Only a decade of training with his grandfather, Magnus, kept Kal from imploding on the spot. The old Bladesinger of Ilistaar had demanded discipline from his pupils, and Kal’s status as his only grandchild hadn’t spared him the rigors of training. On the contrary, it intensified them.

And the woman before him was the first person in Kal’s entire adult life who made him lose control.

Robb and Skott Carrow? He hadn’t killed them because they’d come for him. Kal had killed them because they frightened Kitty. Dared to touch and intimidate her. That was unforgivable.

What had come after? Her panic attack aside, Kal could get used to sitting before a roaring fire with her soft body nuzzled against him, her flushed face pressed into his chest. He loved the feel of her. He’d fucking purred for gods’ sake.

And now? Kal couldn’t tear his gaze from those amber-moss irises.

I don’t want to play anymore.

He knew what he wanted. But what did she mean?

“Tell me what you want,” he said. Kal forced his hungry hands away from Kitty’s decadent body and commanded them to relax at his sides. He thrilled at how his touch distracted her, so obviously scrambling her wits, but not when it came to her consent. He wanted her fully aware when she answered him. Kal had half a mind to scoop the blanket off the floor and cocoon her in it so he wouldn’t be so tempted to influence her response.

“I want you,” she said.

The beast beneath Kal’s skin roared in triumph. His fingers were seconds from weaving into her wild hair, shredding those last teasing pieces of fabric that clung to her pale skin, pulling her flush against his body and deeper into his lair when her next word froze him solid.

“But…”

Damn it, no! “But what, Kitty girl?”

She tried to duck her face, cheeks reddening a lovely shade.

“Hey,” he said, curling a finger under her chin. “You have nothing to fear from me.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” she replied, a hint of humor glinting briefly. Then it died. “I can’t be…touched.”

“I think that ship has sailed,” he murmured, running the curve of his knuckles down one arm.

Kitty took a deep breath. “No, I mean, it’s not permitted. The Goddess…” she stalled. Started again. “My mother’s priests, and the elders, they said…”

Kal waited, listening while she sorted through what she needed to say. Never mind his internal wailing. That fucking curse.

Finally, Kitty grew frustrated enough with her attempts at tactful communication that she spat it out. “I can’t go to the Primordial Male having lain with another man,” she blurted. “I cannot be touched.”

Hearing that title sent a screaming pain echoing through the caverns of Kal’s hollowed heart. And knowing the task she was expected to undertake? That she’d been taught any real physical intimacy made her, what? Unclean?