Page 277 of House Ignis

Two weeks of silence crashed back into me all at once.

The heat in my belly turned to ice, then to a roaring flame of fury.

“You promised me,” I said, the words a jagged accusation.

My arms were still held fast by his magic, but I refused to look away as his jaw worked in silence.

I didn't have to guess what he was thinking; the bond told me everything. Self-loathing. Adoration. Guilt so sharp it hit me hard enough to steal my breath.

In a single, violent motion, his hands found my waist and yanked me flush against him.

The impact was electric.

We were chest to chest, and I could feel the rigid length of him pressing into my belly— a hard, insistent pressure between our bodies.

He knew exactly how I was unraveling, but I needed him to see the wreckage he’d left behind.

Hot tears finally broke, tracking down my cheeks.

His gaze followed them with a devastating focus.

His hand rose, his touch light as a falling feather as he wiped the moisture away, his thumb lingering until it grazed my bottom lip.

My breath hitched, a jagged sound in the quiet forest, and I instinctively pressed myself closer to his heat.

His silver eyes snapped to mine, dark with a turbulent hunger.

“Tell me what you need,” he murmured, his voice a low, rough vibration. Surprise jolted through me as he continued, “Tell me what you need right now. We can talk—we can lay it all bare—or we can leave the words for later and continue the game.”

The game.

The reminder sent a fresh wave of liquid heat crashing through my center.

The anger was there, simmering, but the need was a wildfire. I didn't want the words. I wanted the ruin.

Talk later. Fuck now.

“What are the rules?” I whispered, my voice thick with a dark, unyielding desire. I licked the salt of the final tears from my lips, my gaze locked on his.

His expression darkened, a low grunt vibrating through his chest.

“It’s simple, darling,” he rumbled, his silver eyes tracing the line of my throat. “You run. And I hunt.”

My heart seized, my breath turning into a ragged staccato as my pupils blew wide.

He was looking at me like I was his prey, and gods, the heat that pooled between my legs was agonizing.

I nodded eagerly, my body already leaning into the directive.

He leaned in, his lips brushing the shell of my ear, his scent of rain and darkness overwhelming my senses.

“Good little flame,” he hissed, the endearment a brand against my skin. “Now run.”

The shadows vanished instantly, their cool pressure retreating and leaving me staggering.

He stepped back into the darkness, granting me exactly one heartbeat of a head start.

My pulse thundered, and I fucking ran.