Page 40 of Awakened Light

“I guess this is goodnight,” I finally said.

“Good day, actually,” he joked.

“You’re right. Good day.”

Another stretch of silence passed between us.

“Just think about staying. Sleep on it. You’ve spent your whole life following a well-laid path, and I want you to really weigh your options today. Think it through. Choose what you want to do.”

What I want to do? It was so hard for me to comprehend a world where I got to choose my fate, but I loved how much Thorne left me to make my own decisions.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah?” he asked, smiling.

“Yeah. I’ve got a lot to think about.”

We both looked out the window and saw the strip of orange sky starting on the horizon.

“That’s my cue,” he said, then started out of the room.

I watched him go, taking my time to appreciate his muscular body as he walked away. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and pressed his hand onto the banister and paused.

“Fuck it,” he said.

Before I could blink, he was back in front of me, his eyes boring into mine.

“If you’re going to make a decision, then you need all the facts. And the fact is that I’m fucking crazy about you, Cat. Think about this when you’re deciding.”

He slid his hands along my face, and his lips crashed into mine. I gasped from the exquisite pleasure and pain of his passionate kiss. From the second our lips touched, my body was no longer my own to command. My desire for him took over, and I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave into the kiss I’d craved since the first time I’d seen him.

A kiss I needed more than I needed the air I could no longer breathe.

My primal need for him ripped through me as his tongue slid into my mouth. Emotions I never knew existed inside me unleashed as his rough hands cupped my face, and he deepened our kiss.

With a whoosh, he sent me backward, and my back slammed into the wall. His large body pressed into mine as he pinned me against it, his fingers sliding through my hair as he pulled my lips tighter to his.

I clung to his back as I struggled to stay upright from the power of his kiss. A kiss I never wanted to end. The feelings for him it awakened inside me were a force of nature I had no power or desire to control. With every touch of his lips against mine, my unquenchable desire for him grew inside me like a fire I could never put out.

His lips softened against mine, and I whimpered as he gently pulled them away. Heavy breaths lifted his wide back as he kept me pinned to the wall with his hypnotic stare.

“I hope this gives you a reason to stay,” he whispered against my lips before he vanished from my arms.

Rays of sunlight crept into the room and warmed my skin as I stood alone, panting against the wall. I touched my swollen lips as I tried to process what had just happened.

I’d kissed a vampire.

And I’d never wanted anything more in my life than to do it again... and again... and again.

CHAPTER NINE

Thorne

I PACED INSIDE MY ROOM, waiting until I felt the sun set. Anxiety tore apart my insides while I wondered what decision Catrain had made.

Would she stay? Would she go? Desperation to know the answer stole my sanity.

After that kiss we’d shared last night, I couldn’t imagine she’d be able to go.